From the earliest age, enslaved children were trained to do their parents' work and were taught strict obedience so they could survive, terrified by the punishment their parents endured. Yet, like children today, they still found time to play. An anonymous verse evokes life in a slave cabin through a mother's voice comforting her child while the father ploughs the enslaver's corn and the mother cooks, promising food to a hungry child when no one is looking.
