----
-~~ ~~-
†~ ~†
@&*†-~.... ............ † † ............ ....~-†*&@
&*†-~..... †~ ~† .....~-†*&
*†-~...... -~~ ~~- ......~-†*
†-~....... ---- .......~-†
-~........ ........~-
~......... The River That'S Our River Makes A .........~
.......... Large Bend Like A Scooping Hand And A ..........
~......... Decent Days Travel North From That .........~
-~........ Stands Our House In The Middle Of A ........~-
†-~....... Forgotten Apple Orchard. Our House Is .......~-†
*†-~...... Built Of Dark Clay And Abandoned By A ......~-†*
&*†-~..... Stranger. The Window Has No Glass But .....~-†*&
@&*†-~.... Instead Steel Bars To Keep The Animals ....~-†*&@
£@&*†-~... Out. ...~-†*&@£
#£@&*†-~.. ..~-†*&@£#
##£@&*†-~. Around The House Is A Thick, Thick .~-†*&@£##
#£@&*†-~.. Brush Of Ferns And Bushes. There Live ..~-†*&@£#
£@&*†-~... The Animals That We Fight To Keep Away, ...~-†*&@£
@&*†-~.... For They Speak To Us To Join Them In ....~-†*&@
&*†-~..... The Luscious Caves Below Ground. They .....~-†*&
*†-~...... Mean No Harm But It Is Not In Our Best ......~-†*
†-~....... Interest To Do So. There Is Important .......~-†
-~........ Work That Needs To Be Done, And It Cant ........~-
~......... Be Done By Animals. (Father Says This.) .........~
.......... ..........
~......... Every Morning Our Father Clears The .........~
-~........ Ferns And Uproots The Bushes Only For ........~-
†-~....... Them To Grow Back Each Night. Their .......~-†
*†-~...... Leaves Are Teal, White And Yellow, Some ......~-†*
&*†-~..... Even The Color Of Wine. They Have Lilac .....~-†*&
@&*†-~.... Flowers And In The Morning They Are Wet ....~-†*&@
£@&*†-~... With Dew. ...~-†*&@£
#£@&*†-~.. ..~-†*&@£#
##£@&*†-~. Father Is Away During The Day Doing .~-†*&@£##
#£@&*†-~.. Important Things Elsewhere. He Is Weary ..~-†*&@£#
£@&*†-~... When He Returns Home, Each Day More So ...~-†*&@£
@&*†-~.... Than The Next. We Learn To Cook For Him ....~-†*&@
&*†-~..... So That He Does Not Have To. We Tend To .....~-†*&
*†-~...... His Clothes. ......~-†*
†-~....... .......~-†
-~........ Suddenly The Dense Bushwork Is Mirrored ........~-
~......... Inside. Stems And Leaves Appear Close .........~
.......... To The Walls And Far From The Light. We ..........
~......... Are Glad, For The Flowers Are Beautiful .........~
-~........ And Smell Good, And There Is Little ........~-
†-~....... Decoration In Our House. But When .......~-†
*†-~...... Father Comes Home He Is Angry And Cuts ......~-†*
&*†-~..... Them All Down In A Frenzy. We Are .....~-†*&
@&*†-~.... Scared Of Him Then. ....~-†*&@
£@&*†-~... ...~-†*&@£
#£@&*†-~.. We Are Then Tasked With Removing Any ..~-†*&@£#
##£@&*†-~. Indoor Plant We See. But They Are So .~-†*&@£##
#£@&*†-~.. Beautiful! We Wait Just Until Father ..~-†*&@£#
£@&*†-~... Comes Home And Until Then We Enjoy ...~-†*&@£
@&*†-~.... Them. Sometimes An Animal Will Sneak In ....~-†*&@
&*†-~..... But We Always Shoo Them Out. With Fresh .....~-†*&
*†-~...... Cut Flowers Thrown Right Outside The ......~-†*
†-~....... House He Suspects And Resents Our .......~-†
-~........ Inaction. But He Doesn'T Have The ........~-
~......... Energy To Scold Us. He Weakens Quickly. .........~
.......... It Is Not Long Before He Is Still Tired ..........
~......... Even In The Morning And Must .........~
-~........ Reluctantly Leave The Outdoor Weed ........~-
†-~....... Cutting To Us As Well, Untrusting That .......~-†
*†-~...... We Will Carry It Out. ......~-†*
&*†-~..... .....~-†*&
@&*†-~.... Now He Leaves As Soon As He'S Awake And ....~-†*&@
£@&*†-~... Falls Asleep As Soon As He Returns. We ...~-†*&@£
#£@&*†-~.. Are Left To Care For Us And The House ..~-†*&@£#
##£@&*†-~. And The Orchard. But It Is Hard And We .~-†*&@£##
#£@&*†-~.. Are Distracted. We Are Not As ..~-†*&@£#
£@&*†-~... Persistent As Father And Quickly Fall ...~-†*&@£
@&*†-~.... Behind In Our Duties. ....~-†*&@
&*†-~..... .....~-†*&
*†-~...... ......~-†*
†-~....... .......~-†
-~........ ........~-
~......... .........~