The machine generates enough light for one outhouse. The waterlevel in the trough must be checked every two days and any upturned rats disposed of in the jettison bags. These are located to the rear of the outdoor tap. If the bags are brimming with rats throw them on the hag. Highup on the hag behind the black bales seeping poison. Make sure the halogen burns through the night. Keep an eye on the number of moths collecting on the glasspane. We keep bits of crumbs and spits of breakfast in the Jacob's biscuit tin atop the chestfeezer. The outdoor freezer in the adjacent shed. These remains, strudel, gristle, fried gurnings, striped giblets, are for the birds in the ditch. Rakeup cutgrass in the backfield. Appoint an ombudsman to settle disputes over the land and its geometry. Trundlewheels, calipers and spiritlevels can be found in the spareroom. If you have the time you can count your uncle's trophies, mounted on springs in that verysame room. He lives away from home now.

Attend to these instructions and your fuel will be replenished.

We will watch you of course, but you need not pay us any mind. If you see something flash in the night, do not look up. There is no need to genuflect, should you feel the urge. There is no need to speak loudly, we can hear. Be deliberate. Be circumspect. Be deferential. If you must sing, sing quietly to yourself, there is nobody who wishes to listen. We have reviewed your collection of books and found it to be satisfactory, though there was some concern expressed over the sketches in the margins of the heavier volumes. Nobody loves squirrels that much surely.