It was a hot, humid summer day. The sun’s rays beat down onto the fields below, where slaves were toiling tirelessly to meet their masters’ demands. Plantations all across the South were suffering from the unusually dry season. Crops were failing left and right, trapping plantation owners in pools of debt. Many of them were in need of a miracle in order to stay on their feet. The soil was dry and rough. Austin’s bare feet scraped along the ground as he continued his tedious chore of harvesting crops. He had become so accustomed to this task that he toiled on without even having to watch where he was going. This usually made his work much more efficient, but today, the terrain had changed because of the tasks of the other workers. Austin …show more content…
“Yes, I am a talking gopher. Now please let me go.” “I don’t think so, animal. A talking gopher may be of some value to me,” Thomas replied. “I strongly advise against keeping me, sir. And by the way, my name’s Austin, not animal,” the gopher responded. The plantation owner just laughed and took the gopher inside, muttering things like, “Just imagine how much people will pay to see a talking gopher.” Austin was used to cramped spaces, but he didn’t like being in them against his own will. Yet, here he was, trapped in a wooden box at the mercy of an oppressive plantation owner. However, the gopher didn’t plan on being in there for long. After a full lunch, Thomas arose to check on his new money-making opportunity, the talking gopher. But what he found stopped him in his tracks. The wooden case was empty, with a large hole burnt through it. The gopher was nowhere to be seen, until Thomas’s dog pranced up to him, wagging his tail, holding a furry mass in his mouth like a prize. Thomas plucked the gopher from the dog’s mouth. “Can you not just let me go?” Austin inquired after shaking off his