shed inquire from the man who delivered.We searched again every day
till at last I found a raisin in my bun and held it up.The boys started
grousing and said they wanted a raisin and Nellie said it wasnt her fault.
Shed ask the man again. Now the boys were begging me for the raisin
and offering me everything, a slug of their milk, a pencil, a comic book.
Toby Mackey said I could have his sister and Mr. Benson heard him and
took him out to the hallway and knocked him around till he howled. I
wanted the raisin for myself but I saw Paddy Clohessy standing in the
corner with no shoes and the room was freezing and he was shivering
like a dog that had been kicked and I always felt sad over kicked dogs
so I walked over and gave Paddy the raisin because I didnt know what
else to do and all the boys yelled that I was a fool and a feckin eejit and
Id regret the day and after I handed the raisin to Paddy I longed for it
but it was too late now because he pushed it right into his mouth and
gulped it and looked at me and said nothing and I said in my head what
kind of an eejit are you to be giving away your raisin.
Mr. Benson gave me a look and said nothing and Nellie Ahearn
said,Youre a great oulYankee, Frankie.
The priest will come soon to examine us on the catechism and every-
thing else. The master himself has to show us how to receive Holy
Communion. He tells us gather round him. He fills his hat with the
Limerick Leader torn into little bits. He gives Paddy Clohessy the hat,
kneels on the floor, tells Paddy to take one bit of paper and place it on
his tongue. He shows us how to stick out the tongue, receive the bit of
paper, hold it a moment, draw in the tongue, fold your hands in prayer,
look toward heaven, close your eyes in adoration, wait for the paper to
melt in your mouth, swallow it, and thank God for the gift, the Sancti-
fying Grace wafting in on the odor of sanctity.When he sticks out his
tongue we have to hold in the laugh because we never saw a big pur-
ple tongue before. He opens his eyes to catch the boys who are giggling
but he cant say anything because he still has God on his tongue and its
a holy moment.He gets off his knees and tells us kneel around the class-
room for the Holy Communion practice. He goes around the room
placing bits of paper on our tongues and mumbling in Latin. Some boys
giggle and he roars at them that if the giggling doesnt stop its not Holy
Communion theyll be getting but the Last Rites and what is that sacra-
ment called, McCourt?
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