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££^^^\\«:. 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. .:«\^%£###
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##£^\:.... 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.) :«\^%£####
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##££%^\«:. 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. .....:\^%#
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###£%^\«:. 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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