A settlement or a jail
The Moore River Native Settlement was supposed to be a place where boys and girls had to learn how to be servants. They had to speak English all the time, had no right to leave the territory of the settlement, it was impossible for them to visit their relatives and vice versa. Molly thought that the place looked like “a jail”. The bitter irony was that the girl was right. It was a jail, where children were taught how to obey their future masters.
What a wonderful day!
The first night in the settlement was a terrible one. The younger girls were so cold that they had to sleep with Molly. They were exhausted from worries and fears, then they finally fell asleep. In the morning, a loud female voice woke them up. She was shouting “rise and shine”, trying to make them get up. The irony was that to be able to rise and shine, they had to be full of strengths, relaxed and calm, not frightened and tired.
