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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.           ,,,,,,^«*^
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££^*«^,,,,                                          ,,,,^«*^££
#££^*«^,,,                                          ,,,^«*^££#