The goat gives milk, the sheep gives wool, the cow gives everything.
What else in Gods name do you want to know?
And Malachy yelped with fright because Dad never talked like that,
never spoke sharply to us.He might get us up in the middle of the night
and make us promise to die for Ireland but he never barked like this.
Malachy ran to Mam and she said, There, there, love, dont cry.Your
father is just worn out carrying the twins and tis hard answering all
those questions when youre carting twins through the world.
Dad set the twins on the road and held out his arms to Malachy.
Now the twins started to cry and Malachy clung to Mam, sobbing.The
cows mooed, the sheep maaed, the goat ehehed, the birds twittered in
the trees, and the beep beep of a motor car cut through everything. A
man called from the motor car, Good Lord, what are you people doing
on this road at this hour of an Easter Sunday morning?
Dad said, Good morning, Father.
Father? I said. Dad, is that your father?
Mam said, Dont ask him any questions.
Dad said, No, no, this is a priest.
Malachy said,Whats a? but Mam put her hand over his mouth.
The priest had white hair and a white collar.He said,Where are you
going?
Dad said, Up the road to McCourts of Moneyglass, and the priest
took us in his motor car. He said he knew the McCourts, a fine family,
good Catholics, some daily communicants, and he hoped hed see us all
at Mass, especially the little Yankees who didnt know what a priest was,
God help us.
At the house my mother reaches for the gate latch. Dad says, No,
no, not that way. Not the front gate.They use the front door only for
visits from the priest or funerals.
We make our way around the house to the kitchen door. Dad
pushes in the door and theres Grandpa McCourt drinking tea from a
big mug and Grandma McCourt frying something.
Och, says Grandpa, youre here.
Och, we are, says Dad. He points to my mother.This is Angela, he
says. Grandpa says, Och, you must be worn out, Angela. Grandma says
nothing, she turns back to the frying pan. Grandpa leads us through the
kitchen to a large room with a long table and chairs. He says, Sit down
and have some tea.Would you like boxty?
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