----
-~~ ~~-
*~ ~*
@§%**-~,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,, * * ,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,~-**%§@
#@§%**-~,, *~ ~* ,,~-**%§@#
##@§%**-~, -~~ ~~- ,~-**%§@##
#@§%**-~,, ---- ,,~-**%§@#
@§%**-~,,, ,,,~-**%§@
§%**-~,,,, 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. ,,,~-**%§@
#@§%**-~,, ,,~-**%§@#
##@§%**-~, ,~-**%§@##
#@§%**-~,, ,,~-**%§@#
@§%**-~,,, ,,,~-**%§@
§%**-~,,,, ,,,,~-**%§