Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster — page 7
The song is not particularly special Their voices are not particularly sweet But when they sing the most unusual thing happens Instead of people snapping their windows shut to block out the sound they rise from their beds one by one throw back the curtains and decide to love the world just a little bit more Parents suddenly feel the urge to hug their children Children suddenly feel the urge to let them And every person young and old spends the rest of the day softly humming the song of the girl and her Sweep For as long as the girl could remember the Sweep had been at her side First he carried her in a sling over his back and fed her bottles of milk When she got a bit older he would let her ride upon his shoulders and pick apples from the trees they passed And when she got older yet they walked together like true equals The Sweep shared everything with the girl If he had a scarf he would let her wear it during the cold days and take it for himself on the hot ones If they found a loaf of bread the girl would eat half and pass the rest to the Sweep he would eat half of what remained and then give it back to the girl then she would eat half again and so on They would trade the loaf back and forth like this until the bread was gone and their bellies were full The Sweep let the girl share in his work too First he just had her scoop ashes from the hearth but when the girl became a bit stronger he let her climb chimneys with him From the start the girl was a natural climber PART ONE INNOCENCE