Strong Horse Tea

by Alice Walker

Quotes to think about:

"It was almost spring, but the winter cold still clung to her bones and she had to almost sit in the fireplace to be warm" (Walker 477).

"Black people as black as Rannie Mae always made him uneasy, especially when they didn't smell good" (Walker 478).

"Cold wind was shooting all around her from the cracks in the window framing, faded circulars blew inward from the walls. The old woman's gloomy prediction made her tremble" (Walker 480).

"Rannie Toomer began to tremble way down deep in her stomach" (Walker 481).

"The rain fell against her face with the force of small hailstones" (Walker 482).

"Lightning struck something not far off and caused a crackling and groaning in the woods that frightened the animals away from their shelter. Rannie Toomer slipped down in the mud trying to take off one of her plastic shoes to catch the tea. An the gray mare, trickling some, broke for a clump of cedars yards away" (Walker 482).

"In spurts and splashes mixed with rainwater she gathered her tea. In parting, the old mare snorted and threw up a big leg, knocking her back into the mud" (Walker 483).

"Quickly she stuck her mouth there, over the crack, and ankle deep in the slippery mud of the pasture and freezing her shabby wet coat, she ran home to give the still warm horse tea to her baby Snooks" (Walker 483).