because their sons go to the rich schools and,Ye have no right to raise
your hands to a better class of people so ye dont.
You never know when you might come home and find Mam sitting
by the fire chatting with a woman and a child, strangers. Always a
woman and child. Mam finds them wandering the streets and if they
ask, Could you spare a few pennies, miss? her heart breaks. She never
has money so she invites them home for tea and a bit of fried bread
and if its a bad night shell let them sleep by the fire on a pile of rags in
the corner.The bread she gives them always means less for us and if we
complain she says there are always people worse off and we can surely
spare a little from what we have.
Michael is just as bad. He brings home stray dogs and old men.You
never know when youll find a dog in the bed with him.There are dogs
with sores, dogs with no ears, no tails. Theres a blind greyhound he
found in the park tormented by children. Michael fought off the chil-
dren, picked up the greyhound that was bigger than himself and told
Mam the dog could have his supper. Mam says, What supper? Were
lucky if theres a cut of bread in the house. Michael tells her the dog can
have his bread. Mam says that dog has to go tomorrow and Michael
cries all night and cries worse in the morning when he finds the dog
dead in the bed beside him. He wont go to school because he has to
dig a grave outside where the stable was and he wants all of us to dig
with him and say the rosary. Malachy says its useless saying prayers for
a dog, how do you know he was even a Catholic? Michael says, Of
course he was a Catholic dog. Didnt I have him in my arms? He cries
so hard over the dog Mam lets us all stay at home from school.Were so
delighted we dont mind helping Michael with the grave and we say
three Hail Marys.Were not going to stand there wasting a good day off
from school saying the rosary for a dead greyhound. Michael is only six
but when he brings old men home he manages to get the fire going and
give them tea. Mam says its driving her crazy to come home and find
these old men drinking out of her favorite mug and mumbling and
scratching by the fire. She tells Bridey Hannon that Michael has a habit
of bringing home old men all a bit gone in the head and if he doesnt
have a bit of bread for them he knocks on neighbors doors and has no
shame begging for it. In the end she tells Michael, No more old men.
One of them left us with lice and were plagued.
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