The plantation experiences unprecedented prosperity-but slaves begin to disappear without a trace. Within a season, Jabe has grown into a full-grown man with ""the strength of fifty"" and the seeds have sprouted into a fruit-bearing pear tree. Setting the pattern for many extraordinary feats to come, Jabe calls out to the fish that have eluded Addy's attempts to catch them, and they virtually fly right into Addy's wagon. To thank Addy for bringing him to shore, Jabe gives her a golden pear (""This must be the fruit of heaven,"" she sighs), and then plants its seeds by the river. But the boy, Jabe, is no defenseless babe. Plenty sends her to fish by the riverbank. Addy, a slave on the Plenty Plantation, discovers a boy floating in a basket when Mr. Readers will immediately recognize that Nolen (Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm) has set her sights high: the tale opens with an unmistakable reference to the story of Moses in the bulrushes. Folklore and history give an uncommonly rich patina to this freshly inspiring original tale set in slavery times.
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