Excerpt from The Crocodile’s Treason
South African Folktale

Crocodile was, in the days when animals still could talk, the acknowledged foreman of all water creatures and if one should judge from appearances one would say that he still is. But in those days it was his especial duty to have a general care of all water animals, and when one year it was exceedingly dry, and the water of the river where they had lived dried up and became scarce, he was forced to make a plan to trek over to another river a short distance from there

What effect is accomplished by the author's choice to begin the story with this paragraph?
A) It introduces the reader to the entire cast of characters who will appear in the story.
B) It introduces the reader to the character of Crocodile, and emphasizes his particular importance in the story.
C) It introduces the natural setting of the story in great detail.
D) It showcases the Crocodile's essential lack of authority and control.

Read the passage from the opinion of the court in dred scott v. sandford, written by justice taney. the question then arises, whether the provisions of the constitution, in relation to the personal rights and privileges to which the citizen of a state should be entitled, embraced the negro african race, at that time in this country, or who might afterwards be imported, who had then or should afterwards be made free in any state; and to put it in the power of a single state to make him a citizen of the united states, and endue him with the full rights of citizenship in every other state without their consent? does the constitution of the united states act upon him whenever he shall be made free under the laws of a state, and raised there to the rank of a citizen, and immediately clothe him with all the privileges of a citizen in every other state, and in its own courts? the court thinks the affirmative of these propositions cannot be maintained. and if it cannot, the plaintiff in error could not be a citizen of the state of missouri, within the meaning of the constitution of the united states, and, consequently, was not entitled to sue in its courts. what claim does justice taney make in this passage? that sanford has the right to enslave scott that scott has the right to be emancipated that scott is not a citizen of missouri that sanford cannot sue because he is not a citizen