Dad, will you tell me the story about Coo Coo? Cuchulain. Say it after me, Coo-hoo-lin. I’ll tell you the story when you say the name right. Coo-hoo-lin. I say it right and he tells me the story of Cuchulain, who had a dif- ferent name when he was a boy, Setanta. He grew up in Ireland where Dad lived when he was a boy in County Antrim. Setanta had a stick and ball and one day he hit the ball and it went into the mouth of a big dog that belonged to Culain and choked him. Oh, Culain was angry and he said,What am I to do now without my big dog to guard my house and my wife and my ten small children as well as numerous pigs, hens, sheep? Setanta said, I’m sorry. I’ll guard your house with my stick and ball and I’ll change my name to Cuchulain, the Hound of Culain. He did. He guarded the house and regions beyond and became a great hero, the Hound of Ulster itself. Dad said he was a greater hero than Hercules or Achilles that the Greeks were always bragging about and he could take on King Arthur and all his knights in a fair fight which, of course, you could never get with an Englishman anyway. That’s my story. Dad can’t tell that story to Malachy or any other children down the hall. He finishes the story and lets me sip his tea. It’s bitter, but I’m happy there on his lap. For days Malachy’s tongue is swollen and he can hardly make a sound never mind talk. But even if he could no one is paying any attention to him because we have two new babies who were brought by an angel in the middle of the night.The neighbors say, Ooh,Ah, they’re lovely boys, look at those big eyes. Malachy stands in the middle of the room, looking up at everyone, pointing to his tongue and saying, Uck, uck.When the neighbors say, Can’t you see we’re looking at your little brothers? he cries, till Dad pats him on the head. Put in your tongue, son, and go out and play with Frankie. Go on. In the playground I tell Malachy about the dog who died in the street because someone drove a ball into his mouth. Malachy shakes his head.No uck ball.Car uck kill dog.He cries because his tongue hurts and he can hardly talk and it’s terrible when you can’t talk. He won’t let me 21