Vexed with having such a bad haul, when he had mended his nets, which the carcase of the a** had broken in several places, he threw them a second time. In drawing them in he again felt a great weight, so that he thought they were full of fish. But he only found a large basket full of rubbish. He was much annoyed.

"O Fortune," he cried, "do not trifle thus with me, a poor fisherman, who can hardly support his family!"

So saying, he threw away the rubbish, and after having washed his nets clean of the dirt, he threw them for the third time. But he only drew in stones, shells, and mud. He was almost in despair.

–“The Story of the Fisherman,”
Andrew Lange

How does the author’s use of the underlined words create meaning?

a. The imagery explains why the fisherman is poor.
b. The imagery explains why the fisherman is distraught.
c. The imagery explains why the fisherman is lucky.
d. The imagery explains why the fisherman is alone.