««««
«^^ ^^«
;^ ^;
.^«;†@#@## ............ ; ; ............ ##@#@†;«^.
..^«;†@#@# ;^ ^; #@#@†;«^..
...^«;†@#@ «^^ ^^« @#@†;«^...
....^«;†@# «««« #@†;«^....
.....^«;†@ @†;«^.....
......^«;† 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. ##@#@†;«^.
..^«;†@#@# #@#@†;«^..
...^«;†@#@ @#@†;«^...
....^«;†@# #@†;«^....
.....^«;†@ @†;«^.....
......^«;† †;«^......