The cart was old. Its paint had faded. It was for sale outside Cook's Antiques and Stuff. Nobody wanted it. Then two men came along. "This is exactly what we're looking for," one said. "We'll buy it." But the store was closed. They came by again. The store was still closed. "We'll borrow it," the first man said. "We can't do that," the other replied. "We can. We'll bring it back when he's finished with it." A truck was brought to take away the cart. Friends painted it green. "It's the color of grass when it rains," a woman said. "He would like that," said a man. The cart was moved again and parked at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Waiting. Two mules were hitched to the cart. The mules' names were Belle and Ada. "Ordinary mules for an ordinary funeral," the people told one another. "That was what he wanted." "The mule is a symbol of freedom," someone said. "Each slave got a mule and forty acres when he was freed." Excerpted from The Cart That Carried Martin by Eve Bunting All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
