The zebra finches she tried to hatch before had rotted in their eggs.
The mouse had died right after she brought it home.
'If I have a child, can I even raise it properly?'
Cecilia Adler was speechless. '...What was that supposed to mean? That everything I try to raise dies?' "Of course it's still alive." The thing was, the livestock in the village belonged to the collective, and everyone took turns feeding them.
"It couldn't be because I gave it a piece of an apple core, could it?"
Ian Quincy gave a helpless smile. "Apple seeds are poisonous."
Cecilia felt a pang of guilt. "No one ever told me that. How come the pigs back home are fine after eating apple cores?"
"Pigs are a lot bigger."
Cecilia faltered. "...Next time... you know what, maybe I just shouldn't raise anything at all."
"As long as you can raise a child well, that's all that matters."
