««««                             
                          «^^    ^^«                          
                        *^          ^*                        
.........^ ............ *            * ............ ^.........
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..........                                          ..........
.......... 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.           ^.........
........^«                                          «^........
.......^«*                                          *«^.......
......^«*=                                          =*«^......
.....^«*=¤                                          ¤=*«^.....
....^«*=¤@                                          @¤=*«^....