kinky hair, big eyes, huge red lips and an open mouth. She tells me put the sixpence in the mouth and take my hand out before the black boy bites me.All the boys and girls watch and they have little smiles. I drop in the sixpence and pull my hand back before the mouth snaps shut. Everyone laughs and I know they wanted to see my hand caught in the mouth. Mrs. O’Connor gasps and laughs and says to my mother, Isn’t that a howl, now? Mam says it’s a howl. She tells me behave myself and come home dancing. I don’t want to stay in this place where Mrs. O’Connor can’t take the sixpence herself instead of letting me nearly lose my hand in the black boy’s mouth. I don’t want to stay in this place where you have to stand in line with boys and girls, straighten your back, hands by your sides, look ahead, don’t look down, move your feet, move your feet, look  at Cyril, look at Cyril, and there goes Cyril, all dressed up in his saffron kilt and the medals jingling, medals for this and medals for that and the girls love Cyril and Mrs. O’Connor loves Cyril for didn’t he bring  her  fame  and  didn’t  she  teach  him  every  step  he  knows,  oh, dance, Cyril, dance, oh, Jesus, he floats around the room, he’s an angel out of heaven and stop the frowning, Frankie McCourt, or you’ll have a puss on you like a pound of tripe, dance, Frankie, dance, pick up your feet for the love o’ Jesus, onetwothreefourfivesixseven onetwothree and a onetwothree, Maura, will you help that Frankie McCourt before he ties his two feet around his poll entirely, help him, Maura. Maura is a big girl about ten. She dances up to me with her white teeth and her dancer’s dress with all the gold and yellow and green fig- ures that are supposed to come from olden times and she says, Give me your hand, little boy, and she wheels me around the room till I’m dizzy and making a pure eejit of myself and blushing and foolish till I want to cry  but  I’m  saved  when  the  record  stops  and  the  gramophone  goes hoosh hoosh. Mrs. O’Connor says, Oh, thank you, Maura, and next week, Cyril, you can show Frankie a few of the steps that made you famous.Next week, boys and girls, and don’t forget the sixpence for the little black boy. Boys and girls leave together. I make my own way down the stairs and out the door hoping my pals won’t see me with boys who wear kilts and girls with white teeth and fancy dresses from olden times. Mam is having tea with Bridey Hannon, her friend from next door. Mam  says, What  did  you  learn?  and  makes  me  dance  around  the 142