The Drinking Gourd Study Guide

By Colleen Schreurs

When Deacon Fuller sends his misbehaving boy, Tommy, home early from church, Tommy accidentally discovers a family of runaway slaves hidden in his barn. Big Jeff and his family have escaped and are fleeing to Canada where they can be free. Tommy learns that his father has hidden them and is part of the Underground Railroad, a group dedicated to helping runaway slaves to freedom. Tommy helps his father hide Big Jeff, Vinnie, Little Jeff, and baby Pearl in the hay wagon and take them to the river, following the route of the drinking gourd, a constellation in the northern sky pointing the way to freedom. While his father goes for the boat, a slave search party approaches and Tommy must think quickly to save them. He tells the men, who recognize him from church, that he is running away because he is afraid of being punished. The men laugh and ride away without searching the wagon. Later that evening, when Big Jeff and his family had been sent on their way toward freedom, Tommy and his father discuss obeying the law and the true value of a man. Setting: Southeastern US 1851 Guide: 25 pages, 7 sections

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586093002
• ISBN13: 9781586093006
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Progeny Press
• Length: 34 Pages