When the sun comes back, and the first quail calls,
Follow the drinking gourd.
For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom,
If you follow the drinking gourd."

It sounded like a simple folk song sung by slaves, but it was really a map to freedom -- for hidden in the lyrics were directions to the escape route known as the Underground Railroad.

In glowing paintings that evoke the American folk tradition and a simple text inspired by slave narratives, the story is told of one brave family who followed the drinking gourd - the Big Dipper - north to liberation.