Slave-Owner's Son

Congratulations! You have found the "DVD" enhanced page! Here, you will find writer's commentary, in this style and color, interjected throughout the story, offering some behind-the-scenes insight into the stories. Hope you enjoy!

Jedidiah was named after Jed Clampett, father on The Beverly Hillbillies. "Jedidiah" means "Beloved of God", though in this case it's meant to be ironic.

Meant to show the contrast between him being a "slave driver" (literally!) and making them get up at the crack of dawn while he doesn't seem to give a care when he gets up.

He steps back, turns, and yells toward the kitchen. "Mary! Where's my breakfast?"

Mary -- named after Mary, the mother of Jesus

"Commin', Massah." Plates clink against one another as this house-slave gathers the food, puts it onto a tray, and rushes it to him. "Sorry, sir. Been tryin' to keep it warm, so's you won' have to have cold food when you finally get up."

"God, I thank Thee for Thy blessings upon me. I thank Thee for giving me the wisdom to get this land and these slaves, and the sense to know what to do with them. I pray Thy blessings upon me and upon this cold food I'm about to partake. Amen."

Initially, this was closer to the prayer by the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14 (Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector). It's still meant to make you think of that.

In another part of the house, his young son slips on his overalls, pats down his hair (hoping it will stay in place), and runs out the side door. He knows his daddy is watching, so he runs around the far end of the field, through the trees, and into a clearing where the slave quarters are. There, a mother is watching over some children, about the boy's age.

Ben's name is explained in the story itself.

Leah -- from the Bible, Jacob's wife, mother of quite a few children.

As he runs over, he hears the boys laughing. He pauses, creeps around to the other side, sneaks up behind one of them, and tackles him.

Pouncing Lessons, a la The Lion King maybe?

I initially intended this man to be Moses (Moe) who plays an important role later. I don't specifically spell that out, but I still think that's the way I want it to be.
I also hoped the reader would catch the difference between their father's reaction and Ben's father's probable reaction (why Ben had to sneak out.)

Ben's father finishes off his breakfast, leaves the dishes behind, and goes back upstairs to clean himself up before heading to town. His wife stays at home, resting on the couch. The doctor has given her something for her nausea and told her to rest as much as she can.

After a while, Ben bangs open the door and runs into the house. His mother hollers, "Benjamin!"

She looks him over, noticing mud from the top of his mussed hair to the bottoms of his bare feet. "What in the world have you been doing?"

"You do that, now. You're a good boy, and I don't want your father gettin' all upset about you trackin' mud in the house."

Ben's mother is kind to him, and Ben is a sweet boy. We haven't seen any interaction between Ben and Jed yet, but we already know loads about what their relationship must be like.

"Of course. I understand. Hope you feel better." His mother smiles as he tiptoes back toward the door.

The next day is Sunday, and the entire family dresses in their best and heads to the local church. Pastor Ford, a short, balding man, steps up on the platform and begins to orate.

Pastor Ford - Named after (and patterned after) Reverend Ford in Pollyanna

"Turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 3." He glares at the crowd, raises his fist, and pounds the pulpit. "'ALL have sinned and come short of the Glory of God!' Every last one of you! There is NONE righteous! NO, NOT ONE! That means you!" he looks at the wealthiest man in town. "And YOU!" He looks at the head deacon. "And even YOU!" He looks toward Ben's family. Jedidiah is sure the pastor is looking directly at Ben. His wife thinks the pastor is looking at Jedidiah. Ben looks at the pastor and thinks it's funny that his face is turning red. "ALL of you need to repent! God can save your soul, but you need Him to save you from the Lake of Fire! TURN from your sins, before God thrusts you into the Pit of HELL! No one will survive the Wrath of God unless GOD HIMSELF has mercy on your SOUL!" He lowers his voice, almost to a whisper. "Praise the Lord ..."

After singing a song, the congregation disperses. Mary has a veritable feast waiting for Ben and his family when they return. Ben devours his chicken and potatoes while his mother merely picks at her food.

Chicken was our standard Sunday lunch for years. For variety, we would switch between KFC, Hardee's, and homemade from time to time. KFC was my favorite, and I loved their mashed potatoes and gravy.

Sarah's name also comes from the Bible -- Sarah (probably meaning "Princess") was Abraham's wife, the "Mother of Many Nations", if you will.

"I don't feel well. I guess it's just that stomach sickness the doctor is treating me for."

"Well, he'll be back over here tomorrow. Maybe he'll know something more by then."

"But Dad, I have cleaned it, 'cept for a couple o' peas, but I don't like them very much."

"OK!" Ben runs off. Unbeknownst to his father, he runs again to the slave quarters to play with the children. This time, instead of wrestling in the mud, they're throwing rocks around in a game of catch. After a few minutes, the adults stop what they're doing and head toward the back of the manor.

Jedidiah is standing on the porch, holding an old, worn, Bible in his hands. "Gather 'round. You need to hear this as much as anybody. God has a word, even for the likes of you. ..."

Monday morning, the doctor arrives to check on Sarah, and Ben slips out, unnoticed, to join the slave children again. As he rounds the wood pile, he sees the boys throwing sticks. "What ya doin'?"

Not sure who Billy was named after. Only "Billy" I can think of at the moment was Tina's brother ...

"Bet I can throw farther than the both of ya!" Ben reaches back to grab a stick from the woodpile. He mutters to himself, "Gotta find a good one." He digs into the pile, sticks and small logs falling around his feet as he plunders. "There!" He grabs a stick, rears back, and throws it with all his might. "See? Farther than you! Farther than Billy! See, no need to fight no more, right? ... OW!!!" He grabs his ankle. He looks down as a snake starts to slither away. "I ain't lettin' you get away!" Ben picks up his other foot and stomps on the snake's head with all his might. The snake squirms for a minute then lies still.

A reference to Genesis 3:15, where God is talking to the Serpent and says in part, "you will strike His heel, but He will crush your head", which itself is a reference to (or foreshadowing of) Jesus' death and what it did to Satan. (If you've seen The Passion of the Christ, they portrayed that symbolically quite well.)

Ben sits down, leans back on the wood pile, and places his hand on his forehead. Miss Leah rushes up to the house, "Massah! Massah! Yo' boy's been hurt! Massah!"

Ben points to his ankle then reaches down, grabs the dead snake by the tail, and waves it around triumphantly. Miss Leah lets out a scream. Jedidiah glares in disapproval.

"Well, son, you'll be glad to know, that snake isn't poisonous." Ben almost looks disappointed. "But you will need to stay indoors for a few days while it heals up." He turns to Jed. "I have some cream back at the house. Put some of that on his ankle twice a day. It'll take the sting out and keep it from getting infected, and he'll be up and running again in no time."

The men help Ben back to the house and lay him on a couch next to where his mother is sitting. The doctor speaks up. "Seems like your brave little boy had a run-in with a snake. But he's going to be fine." She sighs, smiles, and shakes her head. "Now, back to what we were saying a minute ago."

"Yes. From what I can tell, and from what you've told me, it's not so much a sickness in your stomach as something else."

She smiles, her eyes twinkle, and tears form at the corner of her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be. I'd like to keep an eye on you, to make sure everything's OK."

The father punches the arm of the chair and stomps off. "Jed, wait. Please." She reaches for him.

"How could she forget?" Ben wonders to himself. His dad kept reminding them, reminding him, about how he almost killed his mother.

I doubt the father actually said it this way, but that's certainly the impression Ben got from his father, which has shaped his life and their relationship.

Back several years ago, Sarah was pregnant with a baby boy. Due to complications with the pregnancy, she had to stay in bed during the last several weeks. During the delivery, she became very weak and nearly died. As soon as the doctor announced it was a boy, Jedidiah announced the boy's name was to be "Benoni". When questioned about it, he pointed to Genesis 35. There, you read that Rachel died in childbirth, and with her last breath, she called his name "Benoni". Reverend Ford said that name meant, "Son of My Troubles". Jed thought that was very fitting. After Sarah recovered, she was told what the father had done, and she was upset. Picking up the Bible herself, she read the passage again and declared, "If you read the next part, it says the father renamed him Benjamin, which is a much nicer name." Jed wouldn't hear of it.

I considered having him point to the Birth Certificate and say, "What I have written, I have written," a quote from John 19:22 (Pilate wrote a sign stating, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". The Chief Priests protested, wanting it to read, "He claimed to be the King of the Jews." Pilate said, "What I have written, I have written.") I knew back then birth and death records were kept in some fashion, but I didn't really know enough about it to make sure it seemed "authentic". Of course, I don't know if I put that much thought into all of the aspects of the rest of the story.

Sarah called him Benjamin earlier, so I wasn't sure if this comment was superfluous or explanatory. I ended up leaving it in anyway.

After the doctor leaves, Jed takes Ben out back, yelling at him for playing with the slave children, and forbidding him from ever doing that again.

"Don' know, Papa," Ben sobs. "Some time, I reckon. Jus' playin', not hurtin' nothin'."

"You've been around them so long you're starting to sound like them. I thought I told you never to go over there!"

Sums up Ben's views nicely.

Sums up Jed's views nicely.

He whips him soundly, his mother hearing his anguished cries all the way in the house. Ben runs back inside and into his mother's arms, tears streaming down his face. She rocks him and pats him on the head. "But Mama. I was just playin'. I thought I was a good boy." She wipes her own eyes and whispers, "I know. I know. You are. It's OK." Jed slams the door as he enters, walks past, and turns his head away from them.

Several months pass, and Sarah's pregnancy starts to show more and more. Jed eventually forbids her to leave the house, stating that it would be a "disgrace" to be seen in public, even though she's a married woman. As the day draws near, doctor visits become more frequent. Late one night, Sarah screams out in pain. Jed jumps out of bed and quickly lights a bedside lantern. She looks up at him, eyes wide. "Get the doctor. It's time."

He rushes out the door, nearly forgetting his robe and slippers. Ben, standing silently in his doorway, waits for his father to leave before running to his mother's side. "Mom, are you OK?"

"If it's a boy, I'll teach him how to play, how to wrestle, how to throw, how to run. He'll be the best boy you never seen!"

He pauses for a moment. "Well, if it's a girl, I'll treat her real special. Beat up anybody who messes with her. I'll come rescue her, save her from the evil dragon, an', an'" His mother chuckles. "I'll be good, Mama. I promise." He kisses her on the cheek and lays his head on her side.

Jed and the doctor rush in. As the doctor unpacks his bag, Jed grabs Ben by the arm. "Get out, boy! You don't need to be in here."

"GO. NOW." There is such finality in his voice Ben decides not to protest. He holds his mother's hand for a second, looks into her eyes, and whispers, "I love you, Mama."

The next paragraph initially started, "Ben slips out of the room, not knowing those would be the last words he would ever hear his mother say." Not only did I decide it was somewhat unnecessary, I also didn't want to give away what was about to happen, though you could probably see it coming.

Ben slips out of the room and heads back to his own. He can hear the adults' voices, some indistinguishable noises, and finally, a baby's cry. After some time, the doctor comes to the boy's room and raps gently on the door. "Come in -- I'm still up. Couldn' sleep."

The doctor sits on the end of the boy's bed, his lowered head barely visible in the soft moonlight. "You have a new baby sister."

"Mom was right! I bet she's happy." The doctor says nothing. "What'd she name her?"

Commentary in my Bible describes her as "the most evil woman in the Bible." She led the nation into gross idolatry and was responsible for the slaughter of many of God's prophets. She bossed around her husband (King Ahab) and tried to rule the country with an iron fist. Not someone you'd like to spend a lot of time with, you know?

Jessie is actually the feminine form of Jesse, From the Hebrew name Yishay which possibly meant "gift". (Very fitting, but unintentional on my part.)

"For ... Oh, son." He sighs. "How do I say this? ... Your mother's with Jesus now."

This sounded a bit silly, but I wanted to show that the boy didn't quite get what was going on, at least not at first.

His eyes widen and tear up. "You mean ..." his lips quiver. "She's ..." he whispers. "She's gone?"

I almost quoted the President's daughter from Independence Day -- "Is Mommy sleeping now?" Decided against it.

A few days later, a funeral service is held in the church. Jed gets up to speak. He wipes his eyes with his hands and blows his nose on a handkerchief. "She was a good wife. Hard-headed at times, but a good wife. You know the trouble we had with Benoni. But she wanted another one. Well, she got her wish, but it cost her. It cost all of us. Lord, help me!" He breaks down in tears and steps down.

He does have a little bit of tenderness in him ... sort of ...

Pastor Ford gets up. "Life's joys are often mixed with sorrow. Sorrow is a way of life. In times like this, I remember the words of Job:

When I picked this verse, I wasn't thinking about its mention of birth, but after putting it in, it seemed that much more fitting.

The next day, Ben sneaks out to the slave quarters again, where they hold a private ceremony in honor of his mother. That night, after sunset, the slaves visit her gravesite to pay their respects.

The leaves turn red, golden, and brown, and a chill is felt in the air. Crops are ripening, and harvest time has arrived. Jed assembles all of the slaves around his back porch.

"As you know, the crops are ready to be picked, and the faster you pick them, the better they'll be. If you wait too long, you'll ruin the crop. So I want each of you to work twice as hard as you have been. I expect you up early every morning, working late every night, until we get the crops in." The group starts to grumble. "I'm not asking you to do this, I'm telling you. Get out there and get to work! Or you won't like the consequences!"

After Sarah's death, I wanted Jed to become not only bitter, but also a little more harsh with both his slaves and his son. Not sure if I conveyed that well or not.

They toil day in and day out, harvesting what they can, until they are exhausted, but Jed is still not satisfied. One morning he steps out into the back yard and calls for one of the slaves. "Moses! Come up here right now!"

Moses was the man who led the enslaved Israelites to freedom. He's a leader among the slaves here, but not necessarily one who wants to lead them to freedom.

Off in the distance, a slender man in his thirties places his basket on the ground, steps gingerly around the plants, and makes his way up to the house.

Jed picks up a large bag that's barely half-full and hands it to him. "Look at this! What can you tell me about this?"

"How am I going to make anything off of this? Might as well not even go to market! And what's the problem? Am I not working all of you hard enough?"

"That's a lie. Lazy. That's what you are. You're all lazy!" He picks up a whip. "I'll go out there and show them ..."

"No, Dad!" Jed turns around to see Ben standing behind him. "Moe ain't lyin'. I seen the fields. There ain't much there. And you said yourself the Johnsons down the road are havin' a bad year, too.

No particular reason for this name. May have picked it because of its similarity to "Jones" (as in, "Keeping up with the Joneses"). "Johnsons' Farm" just had a nice ring to it.

"You hurt them 'cause you're mad, an' you spank Jessie when she cries because you're mad, and you beat me too hard when you're mad, ... an' just 'cause you're upset about Mama dyin' doesn't mean ..."

"ENOUGH! Sass me one more time and I'll use this on you instead of them! Understand?"

Almost wrote this as "GIT! GO!" Why? Oh, this is going to be a long one ...
In 2004, I was in our church's big Christmas drama (This Man Called Jesus) as a shepherd. Many of the sheep had names, but the one I handled most often (a rather stubborn one) apparently had no name. (Or at least no name the owner would say in front of the children or at a church event!) Due to her unwillingness to cooperate sometimes, my wife and I lovingly named her "GIT-n-GO!" For example, when we were trying to go up the ramp onto the stage, I would often have to lovingly whap her on the tail and command her to "GIT!" followed closely by a "GO!". Most times,she would eventually cooperate. Regardless, "GIT!" is a command most often used for a dog or other animal, not your son!

The heading here is a quote from the Christmas Carol movie starring George C. Scott. (I'll have to check if it's in Dickens' original story or not.) It's when Scrooge is at the boarding school and his sister comes to meet him and tell him basically, "It's time to grow up, move on, and start a career."

The crops don't turn out well that year, but the next year things improve. Over the next several years, the plantation grows. Jed buys more land and more slaves, but he never finds another wife. Jessie is a beautiful, quiet young girl who looks quite a bit like her mother. She spends most of her time inside playing by herself, virtually ignored by her father. Ben is a spindly, tanned young man now in his mid-teens.

At this point, I'll say Jessie is around 10 and Ben is around 15 or 16.

Didn't write this piece of the story. Decided to leave this in the narrative here. This one paragraph covers 10 years of the story, while the rest of the actual story only covers a few months here and there.

One Sunday, after his father's sermon to the slaves, Ben takes his new Bible down to their quarters and gathers the crowd.

This was supposed to be a recurring thing, but the story doesn't really bring that out.

"Now my father, God bless him, preached to you from Ephesians 6 today. He seems to like that passage:

"You know, though. He stopped at verse 8. Now I got my own Bible, and I read on a little further. And you may like to hear what's in verse 9:

His voice rises in volume, accompanied by affirming shouts from the slaves. "Sounds to me like God don't play favorites. My father's supposed to treat you the same way, doin' you right. Treatin' you right. We ain't free neither. We're servants to Him." He points a finger toward the sky. "We're His slaves!" He quiets down just a bit and continues. "Also found another spot in the book before it. Galatians 3:

"Says right there, plain as day. We're all the same. Don't know how he can claim he's doin' right when he's disobeyin' the Good Book. Now, if I ever take over this place. Lord, help me. If I'm ever in charge, I'm gonna ..."

"You're gonna, what, son?" Ben turns around to see his father standing over him.

"You're finished all right." He grabs his son and drags him toward the wood shed.

"Out behind the woodshed" is the classic image of where a daddy takes his son to give him a "whippin'".

He slaps his son across the face. "Don't talk back to me! And as for this ..." he snatches the Bible out of his son's hands and throws it on a pile of nearby sticks. "After I beat the tar out of you, you're gonna watch me burn this."

Even the slaves inside their quarters can hear the sound of the father's beating and the son's cries. After the whipping is over, the father turns around to grab the Bible, but it's not there. He curses, pushes the boy back toward the house, and stomps off toward the slave quarters.

"I know one of you took that Bible. Now, if you'll just 'fess up, I'll let you off easy. If you don't, I'll punish each of you until either someone coughs it up or every last one o' you's been taken care of. Now which is it?"

The boy, watching from a distance, sees each slave in turn stand up, face the father, and take the beating.

This to me is the pivotal point in the story, where the slaves' loyalty has shifted from the father to the son, and they are now willing to stand up for him, even against the father.

Ben runs back to the house, grabs a bag, and throws some of his clothes and belongings in. The door creaks open and he rears back and balls up his fist.

He lowers his arm, loosens his fist, and sighs. "Hey. Come on in." He squats down and hugs her.

"Packin' up and goin'. Cain't take it here no more. I just cain't stand the way he treats them, an' us. It ain't right!"

"Cain't be no worse. You're too young to know the kinda things that're goin' on out there, but believe me, it ain't right."

She hugs him. "By the way, got a present for you." She runs to her room then back into his, her hand behind her back. Ben looks down as she pulls out his Bible. He cries and hugs her.

After struggling with this for a while and running it past my loyal fans (both of them!) I decided to have Jessie be the one who has his Bible, signifying that she was out there, saw what happened, and knew what was going on -- more than either of them realized. I don't know how well I portrayed this here, but I think I'm somewhat satisfied.

Jed, Jessie, and Ben are sitting in the church house, fanning themselves and sweating while Rev. Ford thumps the pulpit, red-faced. "God punishes those who disobey Him! It may not come in this life, but it will come in the next! He is righteous and just! He will not let sin go unpunished! Ah, you may think you're safe. You may think everything's OK. You may have convinced everybody else, but God knows your heart! He knows there's a young boy out there who's disobedient to his father. He knows there's a wife disrespecting her husband. He knows what's going on in your heart! Be ready! And beg God for forgiveness, and He may yet relent! Hallelujah!"

Foreshadowing. Jed probably thinks he's talking to Ben. Heck, for all I know, the Good Reverend may think he's talking to Ben. But God was talking to someone else ...

After a large lunch, Jed steps out on the back porch to address the slaves once again. Ben sits just inside the door, listening, with his own Bible in-hand, following along and preparing his own follow-up sermon. The large doors do not drown out his father's booming voice.

"Repent, while you still have time! If you do not turn from your wicked ways, He will punish you. He has already given you chances, over and over again, but you've hardened your heart. You do not know when your last chance may be! You may be taking your last breath and not even know it! Get on your knees and beg His forgiveness while there's still time! You can ..." He falls silent, and Ben hears a sickening thud on the wooden slats of the porch. He rushes out the door to find his father laying there, clutching his chest.

I initially had this happen right after Ben got his beating down at the woodshed but decided to spread this out a bit and interject Rev. Ford's sermon before this, giving Jed one last chance, as it were. I also didn't want it to be Jed's anger that did him in or even a hint that Ben might think it was his fault again, but I wanted it to be Judgement.

"Oh, God." Jessie peeks out around the door. "Jessie, go back inside. I've got to go get the doctor!"

The doctor rushes back but can do nothing for him. A funeral is held the next day, and many people from the town come to pay their respects. Ben holds Jessie as she weeps.

I had a note here of, "More? Maybe???" but I really didn't know how much detail I wanted to put into the funeral service, etc. I'd considered having Ben speak, but decided not to.

The next morning, Ben steps out onto the back porch to see the slaves still working in his father's fields. He looks down to where the slaves always stood when his father was addressing them and notices how far down it seems. After standing there a moment, he goes back inside, throws on some older clothes, and joins the workers in the field. He works with them in the hot sun for the remainder of the day.

"My father was a decent man. Did the best he knew how. Though we didn't always get along, I did respect him and do miss him. Now, the burden of this is on me. What do I do with this, and what do I do with you?" He pauses, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Look at all of this land. These fields. This crop. Worth a lot of money. But what good is it? I don't need all of this. I just need enough to get by."

The group starts mumbling, not knowing what this is going to mean for them. Ben holds up his hand, and they stop.

"Now, listen. This job made my father a good bit of money, but he never used it for anything. 'Savin' it up for a rainy day,' he said. Well, I think the rain's a-comin', and it's comin' for all of you, too. I've said all along, it ain't right for all of you to be livin' in those shacks that ain't even fit for cattle to be in. It ain't right for you to work out in the heat while I'm inside in the shade. It ain't right for a man to claim he can own somebody else. Now, I can do somethin' about it. It won't be much, but I've got enough money for each of you to start out on your own." Excited murmurs are heard from the group. "Take your families. Take your possessions, what little bit you were allowed to have. I'm setting you free." The group cheers. "I'm going to sell off all but just a little bit of this land. Just enough for me to farm myself, feed my family, and make a little bit o' money to live on. Once I do that, I'll have more money to give each of you. An' I'll help you any way I can. Get you goin' in the right direction. Help you get started. Buy you some new clothes. New stuff. Anything you need."

The next morning, everyone packs up and heads out. There are hugs and tears as the group rounds up all of their meager possessions and head off to a new life, to enjoy their newfound freedom. Jessie hugs her older brother as they stand on the front porch waving as the caravan goes by.

Later that evening, there's a loud knock at the door. The townspeople have gathered to have a talk with Benjamin. The pastor speaks up. "Now, Ben. I understand you're emotional because of the loss of your father. But that's no reason ..."

"Sir, this has nothing to do with my father. It has to do with what God commands."

"Pastor, I've heard your sermons. And I've read the Good Book myself, cover to cover. Have you ever done that?"

"It says God is love. He loves everybody. To Him, we're no different from them, and we're supposed to treat them with respect -- same respect we're supposed to give everybody else."

"But, it's foolish, son! To give away your livelihood! Not to mention the riot it'll stir up when everybody else's slaves hear of this. What do you want us to do? Set all of our slaves free?"

"I didn't own them, so I couldn't give them away. Just like you," he points to a couple near the front, "Mr. and Mrs. Oleson, don't own the white folk who work in your store.

Mr. and Mrs. Oleson were the store owners in Little House on the Prairie.

The next morning, Ben walks out onto the back porch, looks over the empty fields, sighs, and goes back inside. His steps echo through the halls. The house feels emptier than it used to. He sits down in the front room and puts his head in his hands. Jessie comes out of the kitchen, sits down beside him, and puts her arm around him. "You did the right thing, brother. You know you did."

Suddenly, there's a loud knock at the door. As he stands up, he tells Jessie to wait there, not knowing what the townspeople might do. As he opens the door, he is greeted by Moe and all of the former slaves rallied around on the front porch. "Sir, we been talkin', an' we think we need to talk to you."

Moe stares blankly. "None of us ain' never been inside before, 'cept the house slaves."

"Please. Come on in." Ben steps back, allowing them through the door. They look around a bit, eyes twinkling, then finally congregate in the front room, "Missus Jessie" greeting each one as they enter.

Moe looks at Ben. "Ya see. Farmin' is what we do. Some of us born 'n' raised here. This is all dey know. So, if we go out 'n' work for a livin' out there, we'd be doin' 'xactly what we' doin' here. So why go workin' for somebody else, when we don' know how they might do us? Why not stay here an' keep doin' what we' been doin'?"

His eyes start to tear up. "Are you sure?" Everybody nods in agreement. "It won't be like before, though. It'll have to be different."

"You can come and go as you want. You won't have to worry about bein' treated badly. And you'll get paid for your work. An honest wage, so long as you give me some honest work. And I'll teach you -- to read, to write. If there's a trade you'd like to learn, I'll do my best to find someone to teach you. And there's no reason for you to live in those run-down shacks back there."

"I wish we had enough space in this house for all of you to stay, but we don't. You can come in any time you want, but there aren't enough bedrooms. So I"ll build you better houses. Put nicer stuff in it. And it'll be yours. And this land, these crops. They'll be ours. And if you want to go off on your own, I'll send you on with my blessings."

A few days later, after breakfast, Jessie and some of the ladies clean up the kitchen. Others are learning to sew and make garments while Ben and most of the others work the fields. In the distance, you hear sounds of hammers, as new houses are being built. The townspeople stop by, marveling at what they are seeing, wondering what sort of changes are in store for that town because of one slave-owner's son.