Scarce
If you look for a leaf among the hills you will notice they are scarce. The hills have no trees around them, so there are no leaves. The leaves are scarce here on the hills.
Imagine being on the hills. You want a leaf to find and take back as a souvenir but there are none. Imagine looking feverishly for a leaf even though you don’t really expect to find one.
ぼう
とぼ
None
Still looking for a leaf, you determine that they are far too scarce to find here. Just before you give up, you discover a giant bowling (ぼう) ball. As you pick it up, another one comes thundering down the hill knocking over a tiny tree.
Leaves are scarce here because someone is using these hills for their bowling. The bowling balls knock over everything, and leaves can't grow.
