Latest / We Were There at the Normandy Invasion / Irish Twins - Lucy Fitch Perkins

Transcript

Irish Twins - Lucy Fitch Perkins · We Were There at the Normandy Invasion

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Chapter one of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: by Mamma Fish. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Chapter one, Grannie Malone and the Twins. One day of
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the World. When it was young summer in Ireland, Old
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Grannie Malone sat by her fireplace knitting. She was all alone,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: and in her lap lay a letter. Sometimes she took
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the letter in her hands and turned it over and
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: over and looked at it. Then she would put it
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: down again with a little sigh. If I but had
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: the learning, said Grannie Malone to herself, I could be
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: reading Michael's letters without calling in the priest. And tis
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: long since he paused this door. Tis hard work waiting
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: until someone can tell me what it all is in it.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: She stooped over and put a bit of peat on
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: the fire, and because she had no one else to
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: talk to, she talked to the tea kettle there now.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: She said to it, 'tis a lazy bit of steam
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: that's coming out of the nose of you. I'll be
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: wanting my tea soon and no water boiling. She lifted
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the lid and peeped into the kettle. Tis empty entirely,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: she cried. And a thirsty kettle, it is, surely, and
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: no one but myself to fetch and carry for it.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: She got up, slowly, laid her knitting and the letter
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: on the chair, took the kettle off the hook, and
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: went to the door. There was but one door and
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: one window in the one little room of her cabin,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: so if the sun had not been shining brightly, it
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: would have been quite dark within. But the upper half
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: of the door stood open, and the afternoon sun slanted
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: across the earthen floor and brightened the dishes that stood
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: on the old dresser. It even showed Grannie Malone's bed
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: in the far end of the room, and some of
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: her clothes hanging from the rafters overhead. There was little
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: else in the room to see except her chair, a
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: wooden table and a little bench by the fire, a
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: pile of peat on the hearth, and a bag of
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: potatoes in the corner. Grannie Malone opened the lower half
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: of the door and stepped out into the sunshine. Some
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: speckled hens that had been sunning themselves on the doorstep,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: fluttered out of the way, and then ran after her
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: to the well. Shoo, get along with you, cried Grannie Malone.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: She flapped her apron at them. Tis you that are
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: always thinking of something to eat. Sure there are bugs
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: around in Ireland without your always being at my heels
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: to be fed. Come now, scratch for your living like honest, hens,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: and I'll give you a sup of water if it's
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: dry you are. The well had a stone curb around
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: it and a bucket with a rope tied to it.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: On the curb. Grannie let the bucket down into the
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: well until she heard it strike the fresh spring water
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: with a splash. Then she pulled and pulled on the rope.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: The bucket came up slowly and water spilled over the
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: sides as Grannie lifted it to the curb. She poured
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: some of the water into the dish for the hens,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: filled her kettle, and then straightened her bent back and
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: stood looking at the little cabin and the brown bog beyond.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Sure it's old. We all are together, she said to herself,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: nodding her head. The old cabin with the rain leaking
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: through the thatch of a wet day, and the old
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: well with moss on the stones of it, and the
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: hens themselves too old to cook and too old to
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: be laying except on the doorstep in the sunshine the creatures.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: But tis home, thanks be to God. She lifted her
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: kettle and went slowly back into the house. The hens
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: followed her to the door, but she shut the lower
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: half of it behind her and left them outside. She
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: went to the fireplace and hung the kettle on the hook,
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: blew the coals to a blaze with a pair of
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: meeky bellows, and sat down before the fire once more
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: to wait for the water to boil. She knit round
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: and round her stocking, and there was no sound in
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: the room but the click click of her needles, and
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: the tick tick of the clock, and the little purring
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: noise of the fire on the hearth. Just as the
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: kettle began to sing, there was a squawking among the
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: hens on the doorstep, and two dark heads appeared above
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: the closed half of the door. A little girl's voice
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: called out, how are you at all, Grannie Malone, And
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: a little boy's voice said, we've come to bring you
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: a sup of milk. That mother sent you. Grannie Malone
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: jumped out of her chair and ran to the door.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Oh if it's not the McQueen twins, the two of them,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: She cried, bless your sweet faces. Come in, Larry and Eileen.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: You are as welcome as the flowers of spring. And
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: how is your mother the day? May God spare her
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: to her comforts for long years to come. She swung
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: the door open as she talked, took the jug from
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Aileen's hand and poured the milk into a jug of
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: her own that stood on the dresser. Sure mother is well,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: and how is yourself, Grannie Malone, Eileen answered politely, barring
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: the rheumatism and esthma and the old age of my bones,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: I'm doing well, Thanks be to God, said Grannie Malone.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Sit down by the fire now till I wet a
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: cup of tea and make a kakin for you. And
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: indeed it's yourselves. Can read me a letter from my
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: son Michael. Well, that's in America. It has been in
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: the house these three days, waiting for someone with the
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: learning to come along by. She ran to the chair
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: and picked up the letter. The twins sat down on
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: a little bench by the fireplace and Granny Malone put
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: the letter in their hands. We've not got all the
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: learning yet, Larry said. We might not be able to
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: read it. You can try, said Granny Malone. Then she
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: opened the letter and a bit of folded green paper
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: with printing on it fell out. God bless the boy,
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: she cried. There's one of those in every letter he
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: sends me. Tis money, that is? Can you make out
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: the figures on it?
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Now?
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Larry and Eileen looked it over carefully. There it is,
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: hiding in the corner, said Larry. He pointed to a
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: five on the green paper. Five pounds it is, said
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Granny Malone. Sure it's a fortune. Oh it's himself? Is
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: the good son?
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: To me?
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: What does the litter say? The twins spread the sheet
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: open and studied it while Granny hovered over them, trembling
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: with excitement. Sure that's dear, isn't it, said Eileen, pointing
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: to the first word. Sure, said Larry. Letters always begin
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: like that. Dear g R A N N I e
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: speled Eileen. What could that be? Grannie? Tis from my grandson,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: young Patrick, then cried Granny. Indeed, he's but the age
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: of yourselves. How old are you at all? We're seven,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: said the twins. Patrick might be eight, said his grandmother.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: But surely the clever children like yourselves, and the two
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: of you together should be able to make it out.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: There's but one of Patrick, and there should be more
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: learning between the two of you than in one alone,
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: even though he is a bit older. Try now, and
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Eileen tried. This was the letter. It was written in
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: a large staggery hand. Dear Granny, we are all well.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: We hope these few words will find you the same.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Dad is an Alderman. Now he has a silk hat,
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: and one day he wrote in a procession. He says
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: he is going to Ireland to get you someday and
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: bring you back to this house. I have a pup,
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: I call him Bud. So no more at present, from
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: your loving grandson, Patrick Malone. Will you listen to that now,
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: cried Granny Malone. Is it taking me back to America?
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: He'd be This is a terrible journey together and a
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: strange country at the end of it for me to
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: be laying my old bones in. But I'd be a
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: proud woman to see my own son in any country
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: of the world. And he and Alderman. There was a
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: letter for Michael himself in the envelope also, but the
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: twins could not read that, however much they tried. So
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Granny was obliged to put the two letters and the
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: green paper under the clock over the fireplace, to wait
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: until the priest should pause that way. End of chapter one.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: Chapter two of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins. The tea party. Sure
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: this is a fine day for me altogether, said gren Malone,
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: to get out her bit of flour to make the cake.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: I can wait for the letter from himself. The way
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: I know they're in health and have not forgotten their
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: old mother troth. We'll have a bit of a feast
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: over it now, she said to the twins, while I'm
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: throwing the cakeen together, do you get some potatoes from
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: the bag, Aileen, and put them down in the ashes,
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: and you, Larry, stir up the fire a bit and
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: keep the kettle full. Sure tis singing away like a
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: bird this instant minute. Put some water in it. A
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: vic and then shut up the hens for me. Aileen
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: ran to the potato bag in the corner and took
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: out four good sized potatoes. There's but three of us,
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: she said to herself. But Larry will surely be wanting
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: to himself. She got down on her knees and buried
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: the potatoes in the burning peat. Then she took a
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: little broom that stood near by and tied it up
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: the hearth. Larry took the kettle to the well for
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: more water. He slopped a good deal of it as
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: he came back. It made great spots of mud, for
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: there was no wooden floor, only hard earth with flat
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: stones set in it. A run, now, Larry, you do
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: be slopping things up the equal of a thunder storm,
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: Aileen said to him. Never mind that, now, Larry, said
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: Grannie Malone. It might have been that the kettle leaped itself,
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: and no fault of ye own at all. Sure a
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: bit of water here or there, there's nobody any harm.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: She hung the tea kettle on the hook over the
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: fire again. Then she brought the cakin and put it
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: into a small iron baking kettle and put a cover
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: over it. She put turf on top of the cover.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: Twill not be long until it's baked, said Grannie. And
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: you can be watching it, ii Leen, while I set
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: out the table. She pulled a little wooden table out
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: before the fire, put three plates and three cups on it,
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: some salt and the jug of milk. Meanwhile, Larry was
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: out trying to shut the hands into the little shelter
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: beside the house, but he couldn't get them all in
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: one old buckle. Hen ran round the house to the door.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: Larry ran after her. The hen flew up on top
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: of the half door. She was very much excited. Cut cut, cut,
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: she squawked. Cut, cut yourself down, cried GRANNINGE Malone. She
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: ran toward the door, waving her spoon shoe along. Out
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: of this with your bad manners, she cried. Just that
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: minute Larry came up behind the hen and tried to
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: catch her by the legs. Cut, cut, cut a cut, quaked,
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: old speckle, and up she flew right over Grannie's head
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: into the rafters. Then she tucked herself cozily down to
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: go to sleep. Did you ever see the likes of
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: that old speckle? Now, cried Grannie Malone. She ran for
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: the broom. Sure she must be, after thinking I was
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: lonesome for a bit of company. Do you think I'd
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: be wanting you at all? You silly, when I have
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: the twins by me, she said to the hen. She
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: shook the broom at her, but Old Speckle wasn't a
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: bit afraid of Grann. She didn't move. Then Granning Malone
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: put the broom under her and tried to lift her
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: from her perch, but Old Speckle had made up her
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: mind to stay, so she flew across to another after
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: and lit on Granning Malone's black coat that she wore
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: a mass on Sundays. She thought it a pleasant, warm
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: place and sat down again. Bad luck to you for
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: an ill favored old thief, screamed Grannie. Get off my
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: Sunday cloak with your muddy feet. It's ruined. You'll have
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: me entirely. She shook the cloak. Then Old Speckle, squawking
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: all the way, flew over to Grannie's bed. She ran
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: the whole length of it. She left a little path
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: clear across the patchwork quilt. Larry stood in one corner
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: of the room, waving his arms. Aileen was flapping her
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: apron in another while granning Malone chased old Speckle with
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: the broom. At last, with a final squawk, she flew
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: out of the door and ran round to the shelter
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: where the other hens were, and went in as if
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: she thought home was a best place for a hen.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: After all, Larry shut her in. As soon as the
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: hen was out of the house, Aileen screamed, I smell
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: something burning. Tis the caking, cried Grannie. She and Eileen
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: flew to the fireplace. Aileen got there first. She knocked
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: the cover off the little kettle with the tongs, and
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: out flew a cloud of smoke. Ach murder, Tis destroyed entirely.
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: Poor Grannie groaned. Altern it quick, said Eileen. She was
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: in such a hurry she didn't wait for a fork
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: or stick or anything. She took right hold of the
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: little cakeen and lifted it out of the kettle with
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: her hand. The little cake was hot. Ow ow, shrieked Aileen,
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: and she dropped it right into the ashes. Then she
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: danced up and down and sucked her fingers the scenes.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: Help us. That cakeen is bewitched, wailed poor Grannie. She
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: picked it up and tossed it from one hand to
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: the other while she blew off the ashes. Then she
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: dropped it, burned side up into the kettle once more,
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: clapped on the cover, and set it where we cook
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: more slowly. When that was done, she looked at Aileen's fingers.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: It's not so bad at all, mavareen, Praise be to God,
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: she said. Sure. I thought I had you killed entirely
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: the way you screamed. Ileen is always burning yourself, said Larry.
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: Mother says tills only when she's burned up altogether that
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: she'll learn to keep out of the fire at all.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Twas all the fault of that disgraceful old hen. Granny
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: Malone said, sure, I'll have to be putting manners on her.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: She's no notion of behavior at all at all. Reach
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: the sugar bowl, Larry, Evic, and sit down by the
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: table and rest your bones. I'll have the tea ready
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: for you in a minute. Sit you down too, I mean,
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: while I get the potatoes. She took the tongs and
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: drew out the potatoes, blew off the ashes and put
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: them on the table. Then she poured the boiling water
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: over the tea leaves and set the tea to draw
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: while she took the cakin from the kettle. Tis not
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: burnt so much, after all, she said, as she looked
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: it over. Sure we can shut our eyes when we
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: eat it. She drew her own chair up to the table.
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: The twins sat on the bench on the other side.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: Granning alone crossed herself, and then they each took a
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: potato and broke it open. They put salt on it,
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: poured a little milk into the skin, which they held
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: like a cup, and it was ready to eat. Grannie
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: poured the tea, and they had milk and sugar in it.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: The little cakine was broken open and buttered. And musha,
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: tis fit for the queen herself, said Larry, when he
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: had taken his first bite. And I mean said, indeed, ma'am,
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: it's a grand cook. You are entirely sure. I'd need
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: to be a grand cook with a grand company I have,
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: Grannie answered politely, and with the fine sun I have
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: in a Maria to be sending me a fortune in
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: every letter. Tis a great thing to have a good son.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: And do you be that same to your mother? But
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: both of you, for tis but one mother that you'll
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: get in all the world. And you've a right to
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: be choice of her. Sure, I'll never at all be
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: a good son to my mother, laughed Darlin. Well, then,
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: said Grannie, you can be a good daughter to her.
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: And that's not far behind. Wilt now till I tell
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: you the story of the Little Cakin, and you'll see
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: that tis a good thing entirely to behave yourself and
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: grow up fine and respectable, like the lad in the tale.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: It goes like this. Now, it was once long ago
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: in old Ireland there was living a fine, clean, honest,
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: poor widow woman, and she having two sons, and she
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: fetched the both of them up fine and careful. But
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: one of them turned out bad entirely. And one day
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: she says to him, says she, I've given you your
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: living as long as ever I can, and it's you
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: must go out into the wide world and seek your fortune. Mother,
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: I will, says he. And will you take a big
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: cake with my curse or a little cake with my blessing?
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: Says she. A big cake, sure, says he. So she
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: baked a big cake and cursed him, and he went
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: away laughing. By and by he came Florence to Spring
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: in the woods and sat down to eat his dinner
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: off the cake, and a small little bird sat on
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: the edge of the spring. Give me a bit of
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: your cake for my little ones in the nest, said she,
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: And he caught up a stone and threw at her.
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: I've scarce enough for myself, says he. And she, being
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: a fairy, put her beak in the spring and turned
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: it black as ink, and went away up in the trees.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: And whilst he looked for a stone for to kill her,
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: a fox went away with his cake. So he went
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: away from that place very mad. And next day he
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: stopped very hungry at a farmer's house and hired up
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: for to tend the cows. Be wise, says the farmer's wife,
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: for the next field is belonging to a giant, and
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: if the cows get into the clover, he will kill
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: you dead is a stone. But the bad son laughed
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: and went out to watch the cows. And before noontime
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: he went to sleep up in the tree, and the
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: cows all went in the clover, and out comes a
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: giant and shook him down out of the tree and
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: killed him dead. And that was the end of the
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: bad son. And the next year the poor widow woman
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: says to the good son. You must go out into
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: the wide world and seek your fortune, for I can
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: keep you no longer, says the mother mother. I will,
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: says he, And will you take a big cake with
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: my curse, or a little cake with my blessing? A
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: little cake, says he. So she baked it for him
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: and gave him her blessing, and he went away, and
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: she'll weep it after him, fine and loud, and by
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: and by he came to the same spring in the
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: woods where the bad son was before him, and the
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: small little birds sat again on the side of it.
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: Give me a bit of your cakeene for my little
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: ones in the nest, says she. I will, says the
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: good son. And he broke off a fine piece, and
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: she dipped her beak in the spring and turned it
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: into sweet wine. And when he bit into his cake,
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: sure he was turned into fine plum cake entirely. And
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: he ate and drank and went on light hearted. And
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: next day he comes to the farmer's house. Will ye
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: tend the cows for me, says the farmer. I will,
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: says the good son. Be wise, says the farmer's wife,
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: For the clover field beyond is belonging to a giant,
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: and if you leave in the cows, he will kill
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: you dead. Never fear, says the good son, I don't
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: sleep at my work. And he goes out in the
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: field and lugs a big stone up in the tree,
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: and then sends every cow far out in the clover fields,
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: and goes back again to the tree, and out comes
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: a giant aroorn, so you could hear the roars of
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: him a mile away. And when he finds the cowboy,
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: he goes under the tree to shake him down, But
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: the good little son slips out the big stone, and
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: it fell down and broke the giant's head entirely. So
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: the good son went running away to the giant's house,
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: and it being full to the eaves of gold and
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: diamonds and splendid things. So you see what fine luck
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: comes to folks, that it's good and honest. And he
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: went home and fetched his old mother, and they looked
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: rich and contented, and died very old and respected. Do
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: you suppose your son Michael killed any giants in America
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: the way you got to be? An Alderman, asked Aileen
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: when Grannie had finished her story. I don't rightly know that.
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: Grannie answered, maybe it wasn't just exactly giants, but you
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: can see for yourself that he is rich and respected,
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: and he with a silk hat and writing in a procession,
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: the same as the Lord mayor himself. Did you ever
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: see a giant or a fairy or any of the
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: good little people themselves? Granniem alone, Larry asked, I've never
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: exactly seen any of them with my own two eyes.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: She answered, but many is the time I've talked with
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: people and they having seen them. There was Mary O'Connor,
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: now dead, long since God rest her. She told me
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: this tail herself, and she's sitting by this very heart.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Wait now till I wet my mouth with a sup
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: of tea in it, and I'll be telling you the
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: tale of the very same way she told it herself.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: End of chapter two. Read by Nancy Cochran Gergen Gilbert Arizona,
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: September twenty four, twenty twenty five.
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: Chapter three of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: All librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: information or to volunteer, please visit librevox dot org. Read
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: by bra Gayegos. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins.
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: The tail of the leprechaun, Granny reached for the teapot
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: and poured herself a cup of tea. As she sipped it,
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: she said to the twins, did you ever hear of
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: the leprechauns? Little men? They are not half the bigness
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: of the smallest baby you ever laid your two eyes
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: on long beards they have, and little pointed caps on
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: the heads of them, and it's forever making the little
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: brogues shoes they are, And you can hear the tap
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: tap of their hammers before you ever get sight of
• 23:35
  Speaker 4: them at all. And the gold and silver and precious
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: things they have hidden away would fill the world with treasures.
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: But they have the sharpness of the new moon that's
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: sharp at both ends, and no one can get their
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: riches away from them at all. They do be saying
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: that if you catch one in your two hands and
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: never take your eyes off him, you can make him
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: give up his money. But they've the tricks the world
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: to make you look the other way, the leprechauns have,
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: and then when you look back again faith, they're nowhere
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: at all. Did Mary O'Connor, catch, one, asked Eileen, did she? Now,
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: cried Grannie, listen to this. One day Mary O'Connor was
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: sitting in her bit of garden with her knitting in
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: her hand, and she was watching some bees that were
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: going to swarm. It was a fine day in June,
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: and the bees were humming, and the birds were chirping
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: and hopping, and the butterflies were flying about, and everything
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: smelt as sweet and fresh as if it was the
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: first day of the world. Well, all of a sudden,
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: what did she hear among the bean rose in the
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: garden but a noise that went tick tack tick tack,
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: just for all the world, as if a broguemaker was
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: putting on the heel of a pomp. The Lord preserve us,
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: says Mary O'Connor, What in the world can that be?
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: So she laid down her knitting and she went over
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: to the beans. Now, never believe me if she didn't
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: see sitting right before her a bit of an old
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: man with a cocked hat on his head and a
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: dudein pipe in his mouth, smoking away. He had on
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: a drab colored coat with big brass buttons on it,
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: and a pair of silver buckles on his shoes, and
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: he working away as hard as ever he could, healing
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: a little pair of pumps. You may believe me or not,
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: Larry and Eileen mc queen. But the minute she clapped
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: her eyes on him, she knew him for a leprechaun.
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: And she says to him, very bold, God save you,
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: honest man. That's hard work you're at this hot day.
• 25:40
  Speaker 4: And she made her run at him and caught him
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: in her two hands. And where is your purse of money?
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: Says she? Money, says he? Money is it? And where
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: on top of earth would an old creature like myself
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: get money? Says he? Maybe not on top of earth
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: at all, But in it, says she. And with that
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: she gave him a bit of a squeeze. Come, Come,
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: says she. Don't be turning your tricks upon an honest woman.
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: And then she, being at the time as good looking
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: a young woman as you'd find, put a wicked face
• 26:12
  Speaker 4: on her and pulled a knife from her pocket and
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: says she, if you don't give me your purse this
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: instant minute, or show me a pot of gold, I'll
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: cut the nose off the face of you as soon
• 26:23
  Speaker 4: as wink the little man's eyes were popping out of
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: his head with fright, and says he come with me
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: a couple of fields off, and I'll show you where
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: I keep my money. So she went still, holding him
• 26:35
  Speaker 4: fast in her hand and keeping her two eyes fixed
• 26:38
  Speaker 4: on him, without so much as a wink, When all
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: of a sudden, what do you think? She heard a
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: whizz and a buzz behind her, as if all the
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: bees in the world were humming, And the little old
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: man cries out, there go, Your bees are swarming and
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: a going off of themselves like blazes. She turned her
• 26:58
  Speaker 4: head for no more than a second of time, but
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: when she looked back there was nothing at all in
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: her hand. He slipped out of her fingers, as if
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: he were made of fog or smoke, and sorrow. A
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: bit of him did she ever see after Note one
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: adapted from Thomas Cateley's Fairy Mythology. And she never got
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: the gold at all, sighed Eileen, never so much as
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: a half pennyworth, said Grannie Malone. I believe I'd rather
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: get rich in America than try to catch leprechauns for
• 27:29
  Speaker 4: a living, said Larry. And you never said a truer
• 27:33
  Speaker 4: word said, Grannie, tis a poor living you'd get from
• 27:36
  Speaker 4: the leprecauns. I'm thinking rich as they are. By this time,
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: the teapot was empty, and every crumb of the caking
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: was gone, And as Larry had eaten two potatoes, just
• 27:47
  Speaker 4: as Eileen thought he would, there was little left to
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: clear away. It was late in the afternoon. The room
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: had grown darker, and Grannie Malone went to the little
• 27:57
  Speaker 4: window and looked out. Now, run along with yourselves home,
• 28:00
  Speaker 4: she said, for the sun is nearly setting across the
• 28:03
  Speaker 4: bog and your mother will be looking for you. Here,
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: put this in your pocket for luck. She gave Larry
• 28:09
  Speaker 4: a little piece of coal. The good little people will
• 28:12
  Speaker 4: take care of good children if they have a bit
• 28:14
  Speaker 4: of this with them, she said. And you, Eileen, be
• 28:18
  Speaker 4: careful that you don't step in a fairy ring on
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: your way home, for you've a light foot on you,
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: like a leaf in the wind. And the people will
• 28:25
  Speaker 4: keep you dancing for dear knows how long. If once
• 28:28
  Speaker 4: they get you, we'll keep riding the boreen road, won't we. Larry,
• 28:34
  Speaker 4: good bye, Grannie, said Eileen. The twins started home. Grannie
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: Malone stood in her doorway shading her eyes with her
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: hand and looking after them until a turn in the
• 28:46
  Speaker 4: road hid them from sight. Then she went into her
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: little cabin and shut the door. End of chapter three.
• 29:00
  Speaker 5: Chapter four of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 29:05
  Speaker 5: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 29:08
  Speaker 5: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: by Belinda mac Reynolds, The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: Perkins The Tinkers. After Larry and Aileen had gone around
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: the turn in the road, there were no houses in
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: sight for quite a long distance. On one side of
• 29:30
  Speaker 5: the road stretched the brown bog, with here and there
• 29:34
  Speaker 5: a pool of water in it, which shone bright in
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: the colors of the setting sun. It was gay, too,
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: with patches of yellow butter, cups of primroses, and golden winds.
• 29:45
  Speaker 5: The winds had been in blooms since Easter, for Larry
• 29:48
  Speaker 5: and Aileen had gathered the yellow flowers to dye their
• 29:51
  Speaker 5: Easter eggs. On the other side of the road, the
• 29:54
  Speaker 5: land rose a little, and were so covered with stones
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: that it seemed as if there were no earthly left
• 30:00
  Speaker 5: for things to grow in. Yet the mountain. Fern took
• 30:03
  Speaker 5: root there and made the rocks gay with its green fronds.
• 30:07
  Speaker 5: The sun was so low that their shadows stretched far
• 30:11
  Speaker 5: across the bog land beside them. As the twins trudged along,
• 30:15
  Speaker 5: three black ravens were flying overhead, and a lark was
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: singing its evening song. Eileen looked up in the sky.
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: There's the ghost of a moon up there, Look, Larry,
• 30:27
  Speaker 5: she said. Larry looked up there, floating high above them
• 30:32
  Speaker 5: was a pale, pale moon, almost the color of the
• 30:35
  Speaker 5: sky itself. It looks queer and lonesome up there, he said.
• 30:39
  Speaker 5: And there's no luck at all in three ravens flying.
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: They'll be putting a grudge on somebody's cow. Maybe I
• 30:46
  Speaker 5: wonder where the little lark does be hiding herself. Larry
• 30:50
  Speaker 5: was still looking up in the sky for the little
• 30:52
  Speaker 5: lark when Eileen suddenly seized his arm. WHSs, Larry, she whispered,
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: look before you on the road. Larry stopped stock still
• 31:02
  Speaker 5: and looked. A man was coming toward them. The man
• 31:05
  Speaker 5: was still a long way off, but they could see
• 31:08
  Speaker 5: that he carried something on his back, and beside the road,
• 31:11
  Speaker 5: not so far away from where the twins stood. There
• 31:14
  Speaker 5: was a camp like a gipsy camp. Tis the tinkers,
• 31:18
  Speaker 5: whispered Larry. He took Aileen's hand and pulled her with
• 31:22
  Speaker 5: him behind a heap of stones by the road. Then
• 31:25
  Speaker 5: they crept along very quietly and climbed over the wall
• 31:29
  Speaker 5: into a field. From behind the wall, they could peep
• 31:32
  Speaker 5: between the stones at the tinkers camp without being seen.
• 31:36
  Speaker 5: The twins were afraid of tinkers. Everybody is in Ireland
• 31:40
  Speaker 5: because the tinkers wander around over the country without having
• 31:44
  Speaker 5: any homes anywhere. They go from house to house in
• 31:48
  Speaker 5: all the villagers mending the pots and pans, and often
• 31:52
  Speaker 5: they steal whatever they can lay their hands on. At night,
• 31:55
  Speaker 5: they sleep on the ground with only straw for a bed,
• 31:58
  Speaker 5: and they cook in a kettle over a camp fire.
• 32:01
  Speaker 5: The twins were so badly scared that their teeth chatted.
• 32:06
  Speaker 5: Eileen was the first to say anything. However, will we
• 32:10
  Speaker 5: get home at all?
• 32:11
  Speaker 3: She whispered.
• 32:12
  Speaker 5: They've a dog with them, and he'll bark at us. Surely,
• 32:16
  Speaker 5: maybe he'll bite us. They could see a woman moving
• 32:20
  Speaker 5: about through the camp. She had a fire with a
• 32:22
  Speaker 5: kettle hanging over it. There were two or three other
• 32:25
  Speaker 5: people about, and some starved looking horses. The dog was
• 32:29
  Speaker 5: lying beside the fire, and there was a baby rolling
• 32:31
  Speaker 5: about on the ground. A little pig was tied by
• 32:35
  Speaker 5: one hind leg to a thorn bush. If the dog
• 32:38
  Speaker 5: comes after us, said Larry, I'd drop a stone on
• 32:42
  Speaker 5: him out of a tree, just the way the good
• 32:44
  Speaker 5: son did in the story, and kill him dead. But
• 32:47
  Speaker 5: there's never a tree anywhere about, said Eileen. Sure that's
• 32:52
  Speaker 5: no plan at all. That's a true word, said Larry,
• 32:55
  Speaker 5: when he had looked all about for a tree and
• 32:57
  Speaker 5: found none. I'll have to think of so something else. Then,
• 33:02
  Speaker 5: he thought, and thought we might go back to Grannie's,
• 33:05
  Speaker 5: he said, after a while, that would be no better.
• 33:09
  Speaker 5: Eileen whispered, for surely our mother would go crazy with
• 33:12
  Speaker 5: worrying if we didn't come home at all, and we're
• 33:14
  Speaker 5: already so late. Well, then Larry answered, we might just
• 33:20
  Speaker 5: bide here until it's dark and creep by the best
• 33:23
  Speaker 5: way we can. Anyway, I've the piece of coal in
• 33:26
  Speaker 5: my pocket, and Grannie said no harm would come to
• 33:29
  Speaker 5: us at all, and we having it. Just then the
• 33:33
  Speaker 5: man who had been coming up the road reached the camp.
• 33:36
  Speaker 5: The dog ran out to meet him. Barking joyfully. The
• 33:40
  Speaker 5: man came near the fire and threw the bundle off
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: his shoulder. It was two fat geese with their legs
• 33:46
  Speaker 5: tied together. The Saints preserve us, whispered Eileen. If those
• 33:51
  Speaker 5: aren't our own two geese, d'ye see those black feathers
• 33:54
  Speaker 5: in their wings. He's the thief of the world, said Larry.
• 33:59
  Speaker 5: He forgot to be frightened because he was so angry,
• 34:02
  Speaker 5: and he spoke right out loud. He stood up and
• 34:05
  Speaker 5: shook his fist at the tinker. His head showed over
• 34:08
  Speaker 5: the top of the wall. Eileen jerked him down west. Now, Larry, Darling,
• 34:14
  Speaker 5: she begged, if the dog sees you once, he'll tear
• 34:16
  Speaker 5: you to pieces. Larry dropped behind the wall again, and
• 34:21
  Speaker 5: they watched the tinker's wife loosen the string about the
• 34:23
  Speaker 5: legs of the geese and tie them by a long
• 34:26
  Speaker 5: cord to the bush beside the little pig. Then all
• 34:29
  Speaker 5: the tinker people gathered around the pot and began to
• 34:32
  Speaker 5: eat their supper. The baby and the dog were on
• 34:35
  Speaker 5: the ground, playing together. The twins could hear the shouts
• 34:38
  Speaker 5: of the baby and the barks of the dog. It
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: was quite dusk by this time, but the moon grew
• 34:44
  Speaker 5: brighter and brighter in the sky, and the flames of
• 34:47
  Speaker 5: the Tinker's fire glowed more and more red as the
• 34:50
  Speaker 5: night came on. Sure it isn't going to get real
• 34:54
  Speaker 5: dark at all, whispered Larry. Then we'd better be going now,
• 34:58
  Speaker 5: said Eileen, for the tinkers are eating their supper, and
• 35:02
  Speaker 5: their backs are towards the road, and we'll make hardly
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: a taste of noise with our bare feet. They crept
• 35:08
  Speaker 5: along behind the rocks and over the wall. Now, whispered Larry.
• 35:14
  Speaker 5: Slip along until we're right beside them, and then run
• 35:17
  Speaker 5: like the wind. The twins took hold of hands. They
• 35:20
  Speaker 5: could hear their hearts beat. They walked softly up the road.
• 35:25
  Speaker 5: The Tinkers were still laughing and talking. The baby and
• 35:28
  Speaker 5: the dog kept on playing The twins will almost buy
• 35:32
  Speaker 5: when all of a sudden the geese stood up. Squawk squawk,
• 35:37
  Speaker 5: they cried, squawk, squawk. Whatever is the matter with you now,
• 35:43
  Speaker 5: said the tinker's wife to the geese. Can't you be quiet?
• 35:46
  Speaker 5: The dog stopped romping with the baby, sniff the air
• 35:49
  Speaker 5: and growled. Lie down, said the woman. There is a
• 35:53
  Speaker 5: bond for your supper. She threw the dog a bone.
• 35:57
  Speaker 5: He sprang at it and began to gnaw it. Larry
• 36:00
  Speaker 5: and Eileen had crouched behind a rock the minute the
• 36:03
  Speaker 5: geese began to squawk. I believe they know us, whispered Eileen.
• 36:08
  Speaker 5: They waited until everything was quiet again. Then Larry whispered,
• 36:13
  Speaker 5: run now, and if you fall, never wait to rise,
• 36:16
  Speaker 5: but run till we get to Tom Daly's house. Then
• 36:20
  Speaker 5: they ran. The soft pat pat of their bare feet
• 36:23
  Speaker 5: on the dirt road was not heard by the tinkers,
• 36:26
  Speaker 5: and soon another turn in the road hid them from view.
• 36:29
  Speaker 5: But for all that they ran and ran ever so far,
• 36:33
  Speaker 5: until some houses were in sight. They could see the
• 36:37
  Speaker 5: flicker of firelight in the windows of the nearest house.
• 36:40
  Speaker 5: It was Tom Daly's house. They could see Tom's shadow
• 36:44
  Speaker 5: as he sat at his loom, weaving flax into beautiful
• 36:47
  Speaker 5: white linen cloth. They could hear the clack clack of
• 36:51
  Speaker 5: his loom. It made the twins feel much safer to
• 36:55
  Speaker 5: hear this sound and see Tom's shadow, for Tom was
• 36:58
  Speaker 5: a friend of theirs, and they often went into his
• 37:01
  Speaker 5: house and watched him weave his beautiful linen, which was
• 37:04
  Speaker 5: so fine that the Queen herself used it up the road.
• 37:08
  Speaker 5: In the window of the last house of all, a
• 37:10
  Speaker 5: candle shone. Sure Mother is watching for us, said Larry.
• 37:15
  Speaker 5: She's put a candle in the window. They went on
• 37:19
  Speaker 5: more slowly, now past Tom Daly's, past the McGuire's, and
• 37:22
  Speaker 5: the O'Brien's, and several other houses on the way, And
• 37:26
  Speaker 5: when they were quite near their own home, Larry said, sure,
• 37:30
  Speaker 5: I'll never travel again without a bit of coal in
• 37:32
  Speaker 5: my pocket. Look at all the danger we've been in
• 37:35
  Speaker 5: this night, and never the smallest thing happening to us.
• 37:38
  Speaker 5: And Eileen said, indeed, Musha tis well where the good children? Sure,
• 37:45
  Speaker 5: the good little people would never at all let harm
• 37:47
  Speaker 5: come to the likes of us, just as Granny said.
• 37:52
  Speaker 5: End of chapter four up to five of The Irish Twins.
• 38:02
  Speaker 5: This is a libervox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 38:06
  Speaker 5: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
• 38:10
  Speaker 5: visit LibriVox dot org. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins.
• 38:16
  Speaker 5: The Twins get home. When they were nearly home, the
• 38:22
  Speaker 5: twins saw a dark figure hurrying down the road, and
• 38:25
  Speaker 5: as it drew near, their mother's voice called her them.
• 38:28
  Speaker 5: Is it yourselves, Larry and Eileen? Whatever kept you till
• 38:32
  Speaker 5: this hour? Sure you've had me distracted entirely with wondering
• 38:36
  Speaker 5: what had become of you at all? And your daughter
• 38:38
  Speaker 5: sits in the room with a lip on him as
• 38:40
  Speaker 5: long as today and tomorrow. The twins both began to
• 38:44
  Speaker 5: talk at once. Their mother clapped her hands over her ears.
• 38:49
  Speaker 5: Can't you hold your tongues and speak quietly now, one
• 38:52
  Speaker 5: at a time like gentlemen and ladies, she said, Come
• 38:55
  Speaker 5: in to your father and tell him all about it.
• 38:58
  Speaker 5: The twins each talk of her hands, and they all
• 39:01
  Speaker 5: three hurried into the house. They went into the kitchen.
• 39:05
  Speaker 5: Their father was sitting by the chimney with his feet up,
• 39:08
  Speaker 5: smoking his pipe. When they came in. He brought his
• 39:12
  Speaker 5: feet to the floor with a thump and sat up
• 39:14
  Speaker 5: straight in his chair. Where of you being, you spalpeens,
• 39:19
  Speaker 5: he said, it's nine o'clock this instant minute. The twins
• 39:23
  Speaker 5: both began again to talk. Their mother flew about the
• 39:26
  Speaker 5: kitchen to get them a bite of supper. Come now,
• 39:30
  Speaker 5: said the father. I can't hear myself at all with
• 39:33
  Speaker 5: the noise of you. Do you tell the tale?
• 39:35
  Speaker 6: Larry?
• 39:36
  Speaker 5: Then Larry told them about the cake in and the
• 39:39
  Speaker 5: silk hat, and Michael Malone and the tinkers, while his
• 39:42
  Speaker 5: mother said the Saints preserve us every few words, and
• 39:47
  Speaker 5: Aileen interrupted to tell how brave Larry had been, just
• 39:51
  Speaker 5: like the good son in Granny Malone's tale for all
• 39:53
  Speaker 5: the world. But when they came to the geese part
• 39:56
  Speaker 5: of the story, the father said, blother and got up
• 40:01
  Speaker 5: and hurried out to the place where the fowls were
• 40:04
  Speaker 5: kept in the yard behind the house. In a few
• 40:07
  Speaker 5: minutes he came in again. The geese are gone, he said,
• 40:11
  Speaker 5: And that's the truth, or I can't speak it. Bad
• 40:15
  Speaker 5: luck to the thieves, then cried the mother, the back
• 40:17
  Speaker 5: of my hand to them. Sure, I saw a rough,
• 40:21
  Speaker 5: scruggly man with the beard on him like a rick
• 40:23
  Speaker 5: of hay, come along this very afternoon, and I up
• 40:26
  Speaker 5: the road talking with missus mc guire. I never thought
• 40:29
  Speaker 5: he'd make that bold to carry off geese in the
• 40:32
  Speaker 5: broad light of day, and me saving them against Christmas
• 40:35
  Speaker 5: time too. Wait till I get that fellow. We're beating
• 40:39
  Speaker 5: his cheap, and I'll take the change out of him,
• 40:42
  Speaker 5: said the father. Aileen began to cry and Larry's lip trembled.
• 40:47
  Speaker 5: Come here, and now, you poor DearS, the mother said,
• 40:51
  Speaker 5: sit down on the two creepians by the fire, and
• 40:53
  Speaker 5: have a bite to eat before you go to bed. Indeed,
• 40:56
  Speaker 5: you must be starved entirely with the running and the
• 40:59
  Speaker 5: fright and all. I'll give you a drink of cold
• 41:01
  Speaker 5: milk warmed up with the sup of hot water through it,
• 41:04
  Speaker 5: and a bit of bread to comfort your stomachs. While
• 41:08
  Speaker 5: the twins ate the bread and drank the milk, they
• 41:11
  Speaker 5: father and mother talked about the tinkers. Sure they are
• 41:16
  Speaker 5: as a frost in spring and a blight in harvest,
• 41:19
  Speaker 5: said missus mc queen. I wonder wherever they got the
• 41:22
  Speaker 5: badness in them the way they have. I've heard said
• 41:26
  Speaker 5: it was a tinker that led Saint Patrick astray when
• 41:29
  Speaker 5: he was in Ireland, said mister mc queen. I don't
• 41:32
  Speaker 5: know if it's true or not, but the tale is
• 41:34
  Speaker 5: that he was brought here a slave, and that it
• 41:37
  Speaker 5: would take a hundred pounds to buy his freedom. One day,
• 41:40
  Speaker 5: when he was minding the sheep on the hills, he
• 41:43
  Speaker 5: found a lump of silver, and he met a tinker
• 41:45
  Speaker 5: and asked him the value of it. Where says, the
• 41:49
  Speaker 5: tinker tis not but a bit of solder. Give it
• 41:52
  Speaker 5: to me. But Saint Patrick took it to a smith instead,
• 41:55
  Speaker 5: and the smith told him the truth about it, And
• 41:58
  Speaker 5: Saint Patrick put a curse on the tinkers, that every
• 42:01
  Speaker 5: man's face should be against them, and that they should
• 42:04
  Speaker 5: get no rest at all, but to follow the road.
• 42:08
  Speaker 5: Some say they do be walking the world forever, said
• 42:11
  Speaker 5: Missus mc queen. And I never in my life met
• 42:13
  Speaker 5: any one that had seen a tinker's funeral. There'll maybe
• 42:17
  Speaker 5: be one if I catch the tinker that stole the geese,
• 42:20
  Speaker 5: mister mc queen said grimly. Missus mc queen laughed. It's
• 42:25
  Speaker 5: the fierce one you are to talk, she said, and
• 42:28
  Speaker 5: you that good natured when you're angry, that she'd scare
• 42:31
  Speaker 5: not even a fly. Come along to bed now with you,
• 42:34
  Speaker 5: she added, to the twins, there you sit with your
• 42:37
  Speaker 5: eyes dropping out of your heads with sleep. She helped
• 42:41
  Speaker 5: them undress and popped them into their beds in the
• 42:43
  Speaker 5: next room. Then she barred the door, put up the candle,
• 42:47
  Speaker 5: covered the colds in the fireplace, and went to bed
• 42:50
  Speaker 5: in the room on the other side of the kitchen.
• 42:53
  Speaker 5: Last of all, mister mc queen knocked the ashes from
• 42:55
  Speaker 5: his pipe against the chimney piece, and soon everything was
• 42:59
  Speaker 5: quiet in their and in the whole village of Ballymora
• 43:02
  Speaker 5: where they lived. End of chapter.
• 43:06
  Speaker 6: Five, Chapter six of The Irish Twins. This is a
• 43:16
  Speaker 6: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 43:21
  Speaker 6: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 43:27
  Speaker 6: Read by staceym The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins.
• 43:33
  Speaker 6: How they went to the bog The next morning. When
• 43:37
  Speaker 6: the twins woke up, the sun was shining in through
• 43:40
  Speaker 6: the one little square window in the bedroom, and lay
• 43:43
  Speaker 6: in a bright patch of yellow on the floor. Eileen
• 43:47
  Speaker 6: sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Then she
• 43:49
  Speaker 6: stuck her head out between the curtains of her bed.
• 43:52
  Speaker 6: Is it today or tomorrow? I don't know, she said.
• 43:57
  Speaker 6: Larry sat up in his bed and rubbed his He
• 44:01
  Speaker 6: peeped out from his curtains. It isn't yesterday anyway, he said,
• 44:06
  Speaker 6: And glad I am for that. Do you mind about
• 44:09
  Speaker 6: the tinkers, Eileen? I do so, said Eileen, and the geese.
• 44:14
  Speaker 6: Their mother heard them and came to the door. Sure,
• 44:18
  Speaker 6: I thought I'd let you sleep as late as ever
• 44:20
  Speaker 6: you liked, she said, for there's no school to day,
• 44:24
  Speaker 6: but you're awake and clacking. So how would you like
• 44:27
  Speaker 6: to go with your data to the bog to cut
• 44:30
  Speaker 6: turf himself will put a bit of bread in his
• 44:33
  Speaker 6: pocket for you, and you can take a sup of
• 44:36
  Speaker 6: milk along. Oh weirah, cried Eileen. What have we done
• 44:40
  Speaker 6: but left the milk jug at Granny Malone's. You can
• 44:44
  Speaker 6: take the milk in the old brown jug, then said
• 44:46
  Speaker 6: the mother, and come along home by way of grannies
• 44:50
  Speaker 6: and get the jug itself. I'd like your father to
• 44:53
  Speaker 6: get a sight of the tinker's camp, and maybe of
• 44:56
  Speaker 6: that thief of the world that stole the geese on us.
• 45:00
  Speaker 6: It didn't take the twins long to dress. They wore
• 45:03
  Speaker 6: few clothes and no shoes and stockings. An their breakfasts
• 45:07
  Speaker 6: of bread and potatoes was soon eaten. The mother had
• 45:11
  Speaker 6: already milked the cow, and when they had had a
• 45:13
  Speaker 6: drink of fresh milk, they were ready to start. Mister
• 45:17
  Speaker 6: mc queen was at the door with Colleen the donkey,
• 45:20
  Speaker 6: and when Larry and Eileen came out, he put them
• 45:23
  Speaker 6: both on Colleen's back and they started down the road
• 45:27
  Speaker 6: toward the bog. When they came to the place where
• 45:30
  Speaker 6: the Tinker's camp should be, there was no camp there
• 45:33
  Speaker 6: at all. They looked east and west, but no sign
• 45:36
  Speaker 6: of the Tinkers did they see if it were not
• 45:39
  Speaker 6: for the two geese gone, I think you had been dreaming,
• 45:43
  Speaker 6: said mister mc queen to the twins. Look there, then
• 45:46
  Speaker 6: said Larry. Sure, there's the black mark on the ground
• 45:50
  Speaker 6: where their fire was. The twins slid off Collin's back
• 45:54
  Speaker 6: and ran to the spot where the camp had been.
• 45:56
  Speaker 6: There indeed was the mark of a fire, and near
• 45:59
  Speaker 6: by were some wisps of straw. There were the marks
• 46:03
  Speaker 6: of horses feet too, and Eileen found a white goose
• 46:07
  Speaker 6: feather by the thorn bush and a piece of broken rope.
• 46:10
  Speaker 6: They were here, surely, mister McQueen said, And far enough
• 46:14
  Speaker 6: away they are by this time no doubt. It's likely
• 46:18
  Speaker 6: the police were after them. They went back to the
• 46:21
  Speaker 6: road and the twins got up again on Colleen's back,
• 46:25
  Speaker 6: and soon they had reached the near end of the bog.
• 46:28
  Speaker 6: Mister McQueen stopped. I'll be cutting the turf here, he said,
• 46:33
  Speaker 6: and the two of you can go on to Granny
• 46:35
  Speaker 6: Malone's with the donkey and bring back the jug with yourselves.
• 46:39
  Speaker 6: Get along with you, and he gave the donkey a slap.
• 46:43
  Speaker 6: The twins and the donkey started along the road. Everything
• 46:47
  Speaker 6: went well until Colleen spied a tuft of green thistles
• 46:52
  Speaker 6: on a high bank beside the road. Colleen loved thistles,
• 46:56
  Speaker 6: and she made straight for them the first thing the
• 46:59
  Speaker 6: twin new. They were sliding swiftly down the donkey's back
• 47:04
  Speaker 6: while Colleen stood with her four feet high on the
• 47:06
  Speaker 6: bank and her hind feet in the road. Larry, being behind,
• 47:12
  Speaker 6: landed first, with Eileen on top of him. She wasn't
• 47:16
  Speaker 6: hurt a bit, but she was a little scared. Sure, Larry,
• 47:21
  Speaker 6: but you're the soft one to fall on, she said,
• 47:23
  Speaker 6: as she rolled over and picked herself up. I may
• 47:27
  Speaker 6: be soft to fall on, said Larry, but I'm the
• 47:30
  Speaker 6: easier squashed for that. Look at me now, it's out
• 47:34
  Speaker 6: of shape. I am entirely with the print of yourself
• 47:37
  Speaker 6: on me. Then whatever will we do with Colleen? Eileen said,
• 47:42
  Speaker 6: She's got her nose in the thistles and will never
• 47:45
  Speaker 6: be able to drag her away from them. They pulled
• 47:48
  Speaker 6: on the halter, but Colleen refused to budge. Larry got
• 47:53
  Speaker 6: up on the bank and pushed her. He even pulled
• 47:56
  Speaker 6: her backward by the tail. Colleen didn't seem to mind
• 47:59
  Speaker 6: it at all. She kept right on eating the thistles.
• 48:03
  Speaker 6: At last, Larry said, you go on with yourself to
• 48:06
  Speaker 6: Granny Malone's for the jug, Eileen, and I'll stay here
• 48:10
  Speaker 6: until she finishes the thistles. So he sat down by
• 48:14
  Speaker 6: the road on a stone, and Eileen trotted off to Granny's.
• 48:19
  Speaker 6: End of chapter six.
• 48:26
  Speaker 2: Chapter seven of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 48:32
  Speaker 2: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: by Shrimpfish, The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins the Bog.
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: When Eileen got back with the jug, she found Larry
• 48:53
  Speaker 2: still sitting beside the road. He was talking with a
• 48:56
  Speaker 2: freckled faced boy, and Colleen's head was still in the thistles.
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: The top of the morning to you, Dennis mc guire,
• 49:04
  Speaker 2: Eileen called to the freckled boy when she saw him,
• 49:08
  Speaker 2: And does it take the two of you to watch
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: one donkey at his breakfast. Come along, and let's play
• 49:13
  Speaker 2: in the bog But however shall we leave Colleen? She
• 49:17
  Speaker 2: might run away on us, said Larry. She's tethered by
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: hunger fast enough, said Eileen. Ropes would not drag her away,
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: But you could throw her halter over a stone to
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: be sure. Larry slipped the halter over a stone. They
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: set the milk jug in a safe place, and the
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: three children ran off into the bog. The bog land
• 49:39
  Speaker 2: was brown and dark. Tufts of coarse grass grew here
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: and there, and patches of yellow gorse. There were many puddles,
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: and sometimes there were deep holes where the turf had
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: been cut out. Mister mc queen was a thrifty man
• 49:58
  Speaker 2: and got his supply of turf er in the season.
• 50:01
  Speaker 2: He would cut it out in long black blocks, like
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: thick mud, and leave it in the sun to dry.
• 50:08
  Speaker 2: When it was quite dry, he would carry it home
• 50:11
  Speaker 2: on Colleen's back, pile it in a high turf stack
• 50:14
  Speaker 2: near the kitchen door, and it would burn in the
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: fireplace all winter. The children were barefooted, so they played
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: in the puddles as much as ever they liked. By
• 50:26
  Speaker 2: and bye, Eileen said, let's play. We are Deirdre and
• 50:30
  Speaker 2: the sons of Usnach. And who were they? Indeed, said Dennis,
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: it was Granny told us about them, said Eileen. And
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: sure it's the sorrowfuls story in Ireland. Then let's not
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: be playing it, said Dennis. But there's kings in it
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: and lots of fighting. Well, then it might not be
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: so bad at all. Tell the rest of it, Dennis answered, Well,
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: then Aileen began Anne. There once was a high king
• 51:02
  Speaker 2: of a main, and his name was Connor. And one time,
• 51:07
  Speaker 2: when he was hunting out in the fields, he heard
• 51:09
  Speaker 2: a small little cry crying, and he followed the sound
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: of it, and what should he find but a little
• 51:15
  Speaker 2: baby girl lying alone in the field. Well, listen to
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: that now, said Denis. He did so. Eileen went on,
• 51:25
  Speaker 2: and he loved the child and took her to his
• 51:27
  Speaker 2: castle and had her brought up fine and careful, intending
• 51:31
  Speaker 2: for to marry her when she should be grown up.
• 51:34
  Speaker 2: And he hid her away with only an old woman
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: to take care of her, in a beautiful house far
• 51:39
  Speaker 2: in the mountain, for he was afraid she'd be stolen
• 51:42
  Speaker 2: away from him. And she had silver dishes and golden cups,
• 51:47
  Speaker 2: and everything fine and elegant, and she the most beautiful
• 51:50
  Speaker 2: creature you ever laid your two eyes on. Sure, I
• 51:54
  Speaker 2: don't see much fighting in the tail at all, said
• 51:57
  Speaker 2: Denis whist Now now come it, Aileen answered. One day,
• 52:03
  Speaker 2: when Deirdre had grown to be a fine big girl,
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: she looks out of the window and she sees Nasha
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: going along by with his two brothers, the three of
• 52:14
  Speaker 2: them together, they having been hunting in the mountain. And
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: the minute she slepts her eyes on Nasha there says
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: she is the greatest man in the width of the world.
• 52:25
  Speaker 2: And I'll be wife to no man but him, says she.
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: So she calls in the sons of Usnach, though the
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: old woman is scared to have her, and she tells
• 52:36
  Speaker 2: Nasha she's going to marry him. Anasa says, says he,
• 52:42
  Speaker 2: I'll never be one to refuse a lady. But there'll
• 52:45
  Speaker 2: be murdered the day Connor finds it out, says he.
• 52:49
  Speaker 2: So they went away that same night, and the old
• 52:52
  Speaker 2: woman fair distraught with fear. Soon along comes Connor to
• 52:57
  Speaker 2: see Deirdre for to marry her, and he had many
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: men with him. When he finds Deirdre gone, it's that
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: Nasha says he that stole her away, and he cursed
• 53:10
  Speaker 2: him and all his men, and himself went out for
• 53:13
  Speaker 2: to chase Nasha and his two brothers. But they never
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: caught up with them at all for ten years, and
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: Nasha and Deirdre living all the time as happy as
• 53:23
  Speaker 2: two birds in the springtime. No fighting it all yet,
• 53:28
  Speaker 2: said Dennis, And ten years gone by, Musha. Indeed, 'tis
• 53:32
  Speaker 2: not much of a tale at all. There is fighting
• 53:36
  Speaker 2: enough when the years were up, Eileen said. The men
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: of Connor pursued them uphill and down Dale, and when
• 53:43
  Speaker 2: they finally caught them, there was fighting that made the
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: ground red with the blood spilled. And when Nasha and
• 53:51
  Speaker 2: his brothers were all caught together and Connor was after
• 53:54
  Speaker 2: killing them, sure didn't Deirdre put an end to herself entirely,
• 53:59
  Speaker 2: and the four them or buried together in one grave.
• 54:03
  Speaker 2: But however, will we play it at all? Said Larry Listen.
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: Now said Eileen, I'll be Deirdre. Of course, you can
• 54:12
  Speaker 2: just be Nasha. Larry and Dennis can be Connor, and
• 54:16
  Speaker 2: he after us, and we running as fast as ever
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: we can to get away from him. You must give
• 54:21
  Speaker 2: us a start, Dennis, end of chapter seven.
• 54:31
  Speaker 7: Chapter eight of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 54:37
  Speaker 7: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 54:41
  Speaker 7: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 54:47
  Speaker 7: by Louise Jeshki. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins.
• 54:54
  Speaker 7: Chapter eight Diddy, Larry and Eileen to cold of hands
• 55:01
  Speaker 7: and began running as fast as they could. They jumped
• 55:05
  Speaker 7: from one tuft of grass to another. Dennis came splashing
• 55:09
  Speaker 7: through the puddles after them. He had almost caught them
• 55:13
  Speaker 7: when all of a sudden, Larry stopped and listened. What's
• 55:18
  Speaker 7: that now, he said? I Leen and Dennis listened too.
• 55:23
  Speaker 7: They heard a faint squealing sound. They looked all around.
• 55:28
  Speaker 7: There was nothing in sight but the brown dog and
• 55:31
  Speaker 7: the stones and the blue hills far beyond. They were
• 55:36
  Speaker 7: a little bit scared. Do you suppose it might be
• 55:39
  Speaker 7: a leprechaun? Ii Leen whispered, Tis a tapping noise they make,
• 55:45
  Speaker 7: not a crying noise at all. Larry answered, maybe it's
• 55:50
  Speaker 7: a banshee. Dennis said, they do be crying about sometimes
• 55:55
  Speaker 7: before somebody is going to die. Tis no banshee whatever.
• 56:00
  Speaker 7: Eileen declared, They only cry at night. They heard the
• 56:05
  Speaker 7: squealing sound again. Tis right over there, cried Eileen, pointing
• 56:10
  Speaker 7: to a big black hole in the bog where turf
• 56:13
  Speaker 7: had been cut out. Indeed, and it might be a
• 56:17
  Speaker 7: beautiful baby like Deirdre herself. Let's go and see. They
• 56:22
  Speaker 7: crept up to the bog hole and peeped over the edge.
• 56:26
  Speaker 3: The hole was.
• 56:27
  Speaker 7: Quite deep, and down in the bottom of it was
• 56:30
  Speaker 7: a little pig. Dennis rolled over on the ground beside
• 56:35
  Speaker 7: the bog hole and screamed with laughter. Sure tis the
• 56:40
  Speaker 7: beautiful child. Entirely, he said, tis the little pig the
• 56:45
  Speaker 7: tinkers had cried Ellen. It broke the rope and ran
• 56:49
  Speaker 7: away with itself, shouted Larry. However will we get it out,
• 56:54
  Speaker 7: said Eileen. The hole is too deep entirely, the poor
• 57:00
  Speaker 7: little thing is nearly destroyed with hunger. Larry said, I'll
• 57:04
  Speaker 7: go down in the hole and lift her out. However,
• 57:07
  Speaker 7: will you get out yourself? Then, Larry Darling, cried Eileen.
• 57:12
  Speaker 7: The two of you can give me your hands, said Larry,
• 57:15
  Speaker 7: and I'll be up in no time. Then Larry jumped
• 57:20
  Speaker 7: down into the hole. He caught the little pig in
• 57:23
  Speaker 7: his arms. The little pig squealed harder than ever and
• 57:27
  Speaker 7: tried to get away, but Larry held it up as
• 57:31
  Speaker 7: high as he could. I Leen and Dennis reached down
• 57:35
  Speaker 7: and each got hold of one of the pig's front feet.
• 57:39
  Speaker 7: Now then, for you, cried Larry. He gave the pig
• 57:43
  Speaker 7: a great shove. He shoved it so hard that I
• 57:47
  Speaker 7: Leen and Dennis both fell over backwards into a puddle.
• 57:51
  Speaker 7: But they held tight to the pig. And there the
• 57:54
  Speaker 7: three of them were together, rolling in the bog with
• 57:57
  Speaker 7: the pig on top of them. Hold her, hold her,
• 58:02
  Speaker 7: shrieked Larry. By standing on tiptoe, his nose was just
• 58:06
  Speaker 7: above the edge of the bog hole so he could
• 58:09
  Speaker 7: see them. I've got her, Eileen cried, run back for
• 58:14
  Speaker 7: the bit of rope. The tinkers left Dennis and tie
• 58:18
  Speaker 7: her hard and fast. Dennis ran for the rope while
• 58:22
  Speaker 7: Eileen sat on the ground and held the little pig
• 58:25
  Speaker 7: in her arms. The little pig squealed and kicked and
• 58:30
  Speaker 7: tried every minute to get away. She kicked even after
• 58:34
  Speaker 7: her hind legs were tied together. But I Leen held on.
• 58:39
  Speaker 7: You'll have to get Larry out alone, Dennis. While I
• 58:43
  Speaker 7: never let go of this pig, I Leen breathlessly. She's
• 58:48
  Speaker 7: that wild, she'll be running away with herself on two
• 58:51
  Speaker 7: front legs alone. Dennis reached down and took both of
• 58:56
  Speaker 7: Larry's hands and pulled and pulled until he got him out.
• 59:01
  Speaker 7: Larry was covered with mud from the bog hole, and
• 59:04
  Speaker 7: Eileen and Denis were wet and muddy from falling into
• 59:08
  Speaker 7: the puddle, but they had the pig. Sure, she is
• 59:12
  Speaker 7: a beautiful little pig, and we'll call her Deirdre because
• 59:16
  Speaker 7: we found her in the bog just the same way
• 59:19
  Speaker 7: as Conchobar himself, said Larry. Indeed, Deirdre was too beautiful
• 59:26
  Speaker 7: altogether to be naming a pig. After Eileen said isn't
• 59:31
  Speaker 7: she a beautiful little pig? Then Larry answered, well, maybe
• 59:36
  Speaker 7: we might be calling her Diddy for short, and no
• 59:39
  Speaker 7: offense to herself at all. Eileen agreed. The poor little
• 59:44
  Speaker 7: pig was so tired out with struggling and so hungry
• 59:49
  Speaker 7: that she was fairly quiet while Dennis carried her on
• 59:52
  Speaker 7: his shoulder to the road. Eileen walked behind Dennis and
• 59:57
  Speaker 7: fed her with green leaves. She he was so quiet
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 7: that Larry said, we'll tie the rope to one of
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 7: Ditty's hind legs, and she'll run home herself in front
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 7: of us. So when they reached the road, he and
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 7: Dennis tied the rope securely to Ditty's left hind leg
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 7: and set her down. They found Colleen asleep. Standing up,
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 7: Larry woke her. Then he said, Eileen, come now, you
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 7: take the jug and get on Colleen's back. Dennis can
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 7: lead her and I'll drive the pig myself. But Ditty
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 7: was feeling better after her rest. She made up her mind.
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 7: She did not like the plan. She squealed and tried
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 7: to get away once she turned quickly and ran between
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 7: Larry's legs and tripped him up. But she was a
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 7: tired little pig, and so it was not long before
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 7: somehow they got her back to where mister mc queen
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 7: was working. He hadn't heard them coming, though, what with
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 7: the pig squealing and the children all speaking at once,
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 7: they made noise enough, But mister mc queen had his
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 7: head down digging, and he was in a bog hole besides,
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 7: so when they came up right beside him with the pig,
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 7: he almost fell over in astonishment. He stopped his work
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 7: and leaned on his cleat while they told him all
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 7: about the pig and how they found it and got
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 7: it out of the hole, and how the tinkers must
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 7: have lost it. And when they were all done, he
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 7: only said, the Saints preserve us. We'll take it home
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 7: to herself and let her cosset it up a bit.
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 7: So the children hurried off to take the pig to
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 7: their mother, without even stopping to eat their bit of lunch.
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 7: Mister mc queen came too. When they got home, they
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 7: found Missus mc queen leaning on the farmyard fence. When
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 7: she saw them coming with the pig, she ran out
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 7: to meet them. Wherever did you find the fine little pig?
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 7: She cried? Then she threw up her hands. Look at
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 7: the mud on you, she said. Then the twins and
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 7: Denis told the story all over again, and Missus mc
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 7: queen took the little pig in her apron. Poor little thing,
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 7: she said, Its heart is beating that hard you'd think
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 7: it's ribs would burst themselves. I'll get it some milk
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 7: right away this minute. When once you've looked in the yard,
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 7: mister mc queen and Denis and the twins went to
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 7: the fence. There in the yard were the two geese
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 7: with the black feathers in their wings. Faith and the
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 7: luck is all with us this day, said mister mc queen.
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 7: How did you get them back at all? Twas this way,
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 7: if you'll believe me, said missus mc queen. She scraped
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 7: the little pigs back with one hand as she talked.
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 7: I was just after churning my butter. When what should
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 7: I see looking in the door, but that thief of
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 7: a tinker with a beard like a rick of hay.
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 7: Thinks I to myself, sure my butter will be bewitched
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 7: and never come at all with the bad luck of
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 7: a stranger. And he a tinker comin in the house.
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 7: But he comes in and gives one plunge to the
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 7: dasher for luck and to break the spell. And he says,
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 7: very civil, would you be wantin to buy any fine
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 7: geese to day? My heart was going thumpity thump. But
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 7: I says to him, I might look at them maybe,
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 7: And with that I go to the door for the
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 7: sake of getting him out of it. And if there
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 7: weren't our own two geese with the legs of em
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 7: tied together, the impudence of that, cried mister mc queen,
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 7: get along with your tail. Woman. Surely you never paid
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 7: the old thief for your own two geese, trust me,
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 7: replied missus mc queen. I am comin round to the
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 7: point of my tail gradual, like an old goat grazing
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 7: around its tethering stump. I says to him, They look
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 7: well enough, but I'm wishful to see them standin up
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 7: on their own two legs. That one looks as if
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 7: it might be a bit lame, and the cord so
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 7: tight on it. And meanwhile, will you be havin a
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 7: bit of a drink on this hot day? Then I
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 7: gave him a sup of milk in a mug, and
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 7: with that he thanks me very kindly, looses the cord
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 7: and sets the geese up on their legs for me
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 7: to see. In a minute of time, I stood between
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 7: him and the geese, and shoe says I to them,
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 7: and to him, I says, get along with you before
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 7: I call the man working behind the house to put
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 7: an end to your thievin entirely. And upon that he
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 7: went in great haste, taking the mug along with him.
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 7: But it was cracked anyway, woman woman, But you've got
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 7: the clever tongue in your head, said mister mc queen,
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 7: with admiration. Tis mighty lucky we have said missus mc queen,
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 7: for it's little else women havin this world to help
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 7: themselves with. Then she put the little pig down in
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 7: the empty pig pen in the farm yard and went
• 1:05:28
  Speaker 7: to fetch it some milk. End of chapter eight, Chapter
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 7: nine of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:05:43
  Speaker 7: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 7: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 7: by Louise Jeshki. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins,
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 7: Chapter nine The Secret. Mister mc queen was a good farmer,
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 7: but at the time he lived in Ireland, farmers could
• 1:06:11
  Speaker 7: not own their farms. The land was all owned by
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 7: rich landlords who did not do any work themselves. These
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 7: landlords very often lived away in England or France and
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 7: did not know much about how the poor people lived
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 7: at home, or how hard they had to work to
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 7: get the money for the rent of their farms. Sometimes,
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 7: when they did know, they didn't care. What they wanted
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 7: was all the money they could get so they could
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 7: live in fine houses and wear beautiful clothes and go
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 7: where they pleased without doing any work. When the landlords
• 1:06:52
  Speaker 7: were away, they had agents to collect the rents for them.
• 1:06:57
  Speaker 7: The business of these agents was to get all the
• 1:07:00
  Speaker 7: rent money they could, and they made life very hard
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 7: for the farmers. Sometimes, when the farmers couldn't pay all
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 7: the rent, the agent would turn them out of their houses.
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 7: This was called evicting them. The farm that mister mc
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 7: queen lived on, as well as the village and all
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 7: the country round about, was owned by the Earl of Elsmore,
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 7: who lived most of the year in great style. In England,
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 7: the agent who collected rents was mister Conroy. Nobody liked
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 7: mister Conroy very much, but everyone was afraid of him
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 7: because he could do so much to injure them. So
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 7: one morning, when mister mc queen came back very early
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 7: from his potato field, he was not glad to see
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 7: mister Conroy's horse standing near his door, and mister Conroy
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 7: himself leaning on the farm yard looking at the fowls.
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 7: How are you, mc queen, said mister Conroy. When mister
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 7: mc queen came up, well enough, mister Conroy said mister
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 7: mc queen. And you're doing well with the farm too,
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 7: it seems, said mister conroy. Those are good looking fowls
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 7: you have there, and the pig is fine and fat.
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 7: How many cows have you now?
• 1:08:26
  Speaker 3: Two and a.
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 7: Heifer, said mister mc queen. You drained that field over
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 7: by the bog this year, didn't you, and have it
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 7: planted to turnips, went on mister conroy. I'm glad to
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 7: see you so prosperous. Mc queen. Of course, now the
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 7: farm is worth more than it was when you first
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 7: took it, so you'll not be surprised that I'm raising
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 7: the rent on you. If the farm is worth more,
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 7: tis my work that has made it so, said mister
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 7: mc queen. And I shouldn't be punished for that. The
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 7: house is unto good at all, and the place is
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 7: not worth more. Last year was the drought and all
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 7: manner of bad luck, and next year may be no better, truly,
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 7: mister conroy. If you press me, I don't know how
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 7: I can scrape together more than i'm paying now. Well, then,
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 7: said mister Conroy, you must find a way, for this
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 7: is one of the best farms about here, and you
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 7: should pay as much as any one. You can't get
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 7: money by shaking a man with empty pockets, said mister
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 7: mc queen. But mister Conroy only laughed and said, you'll
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 7: have five pounds in yours when the next rent day
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 7: comes around, or twill be the worse for you. You
• 1:09:45
  Speaker 7: wouldn't like to be evicted, I'm sure. Then he mounted
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 7: his horse and rode away. Mister mc queen went into
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 7: the house with a heavy heart and told his wife
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 7: the bad news. Faith, said missus mc queen. I'd not
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 7: be in that man's shoes for all you could offer.
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 7: It's grinding down the faces of the poor he is,
• 1:10:09
  Speaker 7: and that at the telling of some one else. Not
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 7: even his badness is his own. He does as he's bid.
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 7: He gets fat on it, said mister mc queen. Faith,
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 7: we'll get along somehow, said missus mc queen. We always have,
• 1:10:27
  Speaker 7: though it's true it's been scant fair we've had now
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 7: and again. Mister mc queen didn't answer. He went back
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 7: to his work in the fields. Missus mc queen got
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 7: the twins, started off to school with their lunch in
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 7: a little tin bucket, and began her washing. But she
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 7: did not sing at her work that day, as she
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 7: sometimes did. Larry and Eileen knew that something was wrong,
• 1:10:54
  Speaker 7: though their father and mother had not said anything to
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 7: them about it. They had seen mister talking with their
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 7: father in the yard. And it's never a sign of
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 7: anything good to see mister Conroy, Eileen said. Larry was
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 7: thinking the same thing, for he said, when I'm a man,
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 7: I'm going to be rich, and then I'll give you
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 7: and Mother and Data a fine house and fine clothes
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 7: and things in plenty. How will you get the money,
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 7: asked Eileen, Oh, giants or something, Larry answered, or maybe
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 7: being an alderman blathers, said Eileen, I've a better plan
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 7: in my head.
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 8: You know.
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 7: Dada and Mother said we could have Ditty for our
• 1:11:40
  Speaker 7: very own because we found her ourselves. I do, said Larry. Well,
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 7: then said Eileen, I know it's about the rent there, bothered,
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 7: for it's always the rent that bothers them. Now, when
• 1:11:55
  Speaker 7: the fair time comes, we'll coax Data to let us
• 1:11:58
  Speaker 7: take Ditty to the fa. She'll be nice and fat
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 7: by that time and we'll sell her and give the
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 7: money to Data for the rent. Sure, it will be
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 7: hard parting with Ditty. That's been like one of our
• 1:12:12
  Speaker 7: own family since the day we found her crying in
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 7: the bog, said Larry. Indeed, and it will, said Eileen.
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 7: But we think more of our parents than a pig, surely.
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 7: But how will we get her to the fair and
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 7: sell her, said Larry. We'll get Dada to take her
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 7: for us, but we'll never tell him we mean the
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 7: money to go for the rent until we put it
• 1:12:36
  Speaker 7: in his hands. Eileen answered, And we won't tell any
• 1:12:41
  Speaker 7: one else at all. It's a secret I'd like to
• 1:12:46
  Speaker 7: be telling Dennis, maybe, said Larry. We can tell Dennis
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 7: and Granniem alone, but no one else at all, Eileen agreed.
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 7: End of chapter nine.
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 9: Chapter ten of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:13:10
  Speaker 9: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 9: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 1:13:18
  Speaker 9: by Dorian Marcott. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins School.
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 9: By this time they had reached the schoolhouse. The schoolmaster
• 1:13:28
  Speaker 9: was standing in the door, calling the children to come in.
• 1:13:31
  Speaker 9: He was a tall man, dressed in a worn suit
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 9: of black. He wore glasses on his nose and carried
• 1:13:38
  Speaker 9: a stick in his hand. The schoolhouse had only one
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 9: room with four small windows, and Larry hung his cap
• 1:13:46
  Speaker 9: and a lean her shawl on nails driven into the wall.
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 9: The schoolroom had benches for the children to sit on
• 1:13:54
  Speaker 9: with long dusts in front of them. On the wall
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 9: hung a printed copy of the Ten Commandments. At one
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 9: side there was a fireplace, but as it was summer,
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 9: there was no fire in it. The master rapped on
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 9: his desk, which was in the front of the room,
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 9: and the children all hurried to their seats. Larry sat
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 9: on one side of the room with the boys, Eileen
• 1:14:17
  Speaker 9: said on the other with the girls. The master called
• 1:14:20
  Speaker 9: the roll. There were fifteen boys and thirteen girls. When
• 1:14:25
  Speaker 9: the roll was called, and the number marked down on
• 1:14:27
  Speaker 9: a slate in front of the school, The master said,
• 1:14:31
  Speaker 9: first class in reading. All the little boys and girls
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 9: of the size of Larry and Eileen came forward and
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 9: stood in a row. There were just three of them,
• 1:14:41
  Speaker 9: Larry and Eileen and Dennis. Larry. You may begin, said
• 1:14:47
  Speaker 9: the master. Larry read the first lines of the lesson.
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 9: They were to do ill is a sin? Can you
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 9: run far? Larry wondered who it was that had done
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 9: ill and if he were running away because of it?
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 9: And who stopped him to ask can you run far?
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 9: He was thinking about it when ii Leen read the
• 1:15:06
  Speaker 9: next two sentences. They were is he friend or foe?
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 9: Did you hurt your toe? This did not seem to
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 9: larry to clear the mystery. Next called the master. Dennis
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 9: stood next. He read he was born in a house
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 9: on the hill? Is rice a kind of corn? Get
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 9: me your cork for the ink jar. Just at this
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 9: point the Master went to the open door to drive
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 9: away some chickens that wanted to come in, And as
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 9: Dennis had not been told to stop, he went right on.
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 9: Dennis was eight, and he could read quite fast if
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 9: he kept his finger on the place. This is what
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 9: he read. The morn is the first part of the day.
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 9: This is my son. I hope you will like him?
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 9: Sin not for God hate sin? Can a worm walk?
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 1: No?
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 9: It has no feet, but it can creep? Did you
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 9: meet Fred in the street? Weep no more. By this
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 9: time the chickens were frightened away, and Dennis was nearly
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 9: out of breath. The Master came back. Then Eileen had
• 1:16:20
  Speaker 9: a turn. They could almost say the lessons by heart,
• 1:16:24
  Speaker 9: they knew them so well. After the reading lesson, they
• 1:16:28
  Speaker 9: went back to their benches and stead it in loud whispers.
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 9: But Larry was thinking of something else. He drew a
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 9: pig with a curly tail on his slate like this.
• 1:16:40
  Speaker 9: He held it up for Denis to see. He wanted
• 1:16:44
  Speaker 9: to tell him about Ditty and the fair, but the
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 9: mastress saw what he had done. Come here, Larry mc queen,
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 9: and bring your slate, he said, sure, I'll teach you
• 1:16:55
  Speaker 9: better manners. Get up on the stool now and show yourself.
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 9: He put a large paper dunch cap on Larry's head
• 1:17:04
  Speaker 9: and made him sit up on a stool before the
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 9: whole school. The other children laughed, all but Eileen. She
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 9: hit her face on the desk and two little tears
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 9: squeezed out between her fingers. But Larry didn't cry. He
• 1:17:20
  Speaker 9: pretended he didn't care at all. He sat there for
• 1:17:23
  Speaker 9: what seemed a very long time while other children recited
• 1:17:27
  Speaker 9: other lessons in reading and grammar and arithmetic. The master
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 9: gave him this poem to learn by heart. I thanked
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 9: the goodness and the grace that on my birth half
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 9: smiled and made me, in these Christian days, a happy
• 1:17:42
  Speaker 9: English child. Larry wondered why he was being called an
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 9: English child when he knew he was Irish, and he
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 9: wasn't so sure either about the Christian days, but he
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 9: learned it and set it to the teacher before he
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 9: got down off the stool. It seemed to him that
• 1:18:01
  Speaker 9: it was about three days before noontime came. At last,
• 1:18:05
  Speaker 9: they were dismissed, and the twins went out with the
• 1:18:08
  Speaker 9: other children into the schoolyard to eat their luncheon. Dennis
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 9: ate his with them, and Larry told him the secret.
• 1:18:16
  Speaker 9: After lunch they went back into the dark, smoky little
• 1:18:19
  Speaker 9: schoolroom for more lessons. And when three o'clock came, how
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 9: glad they were to go dancing out into the sunshine
• 1:18:26
  Speaker 9: again and walk home along the familiar road, with the
• 1:18:30
  Speaker 9: air sweet about them, and the little birds singing in
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 9: the fields and of chapter ten Chapter eleven of The
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 9: Irish Twins. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 1:18:48
  Speaker 9: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 9: please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Dorian Marcott, The
• 1:18:56
  Speaker 9: Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins the Fai. For many weeks,
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 9: Eileen and Larry kept the secret. They told no one
• 1:19:04
  Speaker 9: but Denis and Granniem alone, and they both promised they
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 9: would never never tell. Mister mc queen worked hard early
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 9: and late over his turnips and cabbages and potatoes, and
• 1:19:16
  Speaker 9: Larry and Eileen helped by feeding the pig and chickens
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 9: and driving the cows along the roadsides where they could
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 9: get fresh sweet grass to eat. One evening, mister mc
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 9: queen said to his wife, rent day comes soon, and
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 9: next week will be the fair. Larry and Eileen heard
• 1:19:32
  Speaker 9: him say it. They looked at each other, and then
• 1:19:35
  Speaker 9: Eileen went to her father and said, dadda, will you
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 9: take Larry and meet to the fair with you. We
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 9: want to sell our pig. You sell your pig, cried
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 9: mister mc queen. You mean you want to sell it yourselves.
• 1:19:49
  Speaker 9: You can help us, Eileen answered, but it's our pig,
• 1:19:53
  Speaker 9: and we want to sell it, don't we, Larry. Larry
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 9: nodded his head up and down very hard, with his
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 9: mouth tight shut. He was so afraid the secret would
• 1:20:02
  Speaker 9: jump out of it. Well, I never heard the likes
• 1:20:06
  Speaker 9: of that, said mc queen. He slapped his knee and laughed.
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 9: We've got it all planned, said Eileen. She was almost
• 1:20:13
  Speaker 9: ready to cry because her father laughed at her. We've
• 1:20:16
  Speaker 9: fed the pig and ftter until she's so fat she
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 9: can hardly walk. And we are going to wash her clean,
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 9: and I have a ribbon to tie on her ear.
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 9: Diddy will look so fine and stylish. I am sure
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 9: someone will want to buy her. Missus mc queen was
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 9: just setting away a pan of milk. She stopped with
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 9: the pan in her hand. Leave them go, she said.
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 9: Mister mc queen smoked a while in silence. At last
• 1:20:42
  Speaker 9: he said, it's your own pig, and I suppose you
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 9: can go, but you'll have a long day of it.
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 9: The longer, the better, said the twins. All that week
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 9: they carried acorns and turnip tops and everything they could
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 9: find that was good for pigs to eat, and fed
• 1:20:58
  Speaker 9: them to Ditty, and she got fatter than ever. The
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 9: day before the fair, they took the scrubbing pail and
• 1:21:05
  Speaker 9: the broom and some water and scrubbed her until she
• 1:21:08
  Speaker 9: was all pink and clean. Then they put her in
• 1:21:12
  Speaker 9: a clean place for the night and went to bed
• 1:21:14
  Speaker 9: early so they would be ready to get up in
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 9: the morning. When the first cock crowed before daylight the
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 9: next morning, Eileen's eyes popped wide, open in the dark.
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 9: The cock crowed again, cock goodoo 'll do wake up,
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 9: Larry Darling, cried Eileen from her bed. The morn is
• 1:21:31
  Speaker 9: upon us, and we are not ready for the fair.
• 1:21:34
  Speaker 9: Larry bounded out of bed, and such a scurrying around
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 9: as there was to get ready missus. Mc queen was
• 1:21:40
  Speaker 9: already blowing the fire on the hearth in the kitchen
• 1:21:42
  Speaker 9: into a blaze, and the kettle was on to boil.
• 1:21:45
  Speaker 9: The twins wet their hair, and their mother parted it,
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 9: and then they combed it down tight on the sides
• 1:21:50
  Speaker 9: of their heads. But no matter how much they wet
• 1:21:53
  Speaker 9: their hair, the wind always blew it about their ears again.
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 9: In a very little while they put on their best clothes,
• 1:22:00
  Speaker 9: and then they were ready for breakfast. Mister mc queen
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 9: was up long before the twins. He had harnessed Colleen
• 1:22:06
  Speaker 9: and had loaded the pig into the cart somehow and
• 1:22:09
  Speaker 9: tied her securely. This must have been hard work, for
• 1:22:12
  Speaker 9: Diddy had made up her mind she wasn't going to
• 1:22:14
  Speaker 9: the fair. Mister mc queen had found room too, for
• 1:22:18
  Speaker 9: some crocks of butter and several dozen eggs, carefully packed
• 1:22:22
  Speaker 9: in straw. When breakfast was over, Missus mc queen brought
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 9: a stick with notches cut in it and gave it
• 1:22:28
  Speaker 9: to mister mc queen. She explained what each notch meant.
• 1:22:32
  Speaker 9: There is one notch and a big one for selling
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 9: the pig, she said, And mind you see that the
• 1:22:37
  Speaker 9: twins did a good price for the creature. And here's
• 1:22:40
  Speaker 9: another for selling the butter and eggs. And this is
• 1:22:42
  Speaker 9: a pound of tea for Granny malone. She's been out
• 1:22:45
  Speaker 9: of tea this week past, and she with no one
• 1:22:48
  Speaker 9: to send. And this notch is for Missus McGuire's side
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 9: of bacon that you are to be after bringing her
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 9: with her egg money, which is wrapped in a piece
• 1:22:55
  Speaker 9: of paper in your inside pocket, and by the same token,
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 9: don't you let me losing it. And for myself, there's
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 9: so many things I'm needing that I've put all these
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 9: small notches close together. There's urn for stockings for the twins,
• 1:23:10
  Speaker 9: and some thread for myself to make crochet that might
• 1:23:13
  Speaker 9: turn me a penny in my odd moments, and a
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 9: bit of flour and some yellow meal. Now remember that
• 1:23:18
  Speaker 9: you forget nothing of it all. Mister mc queen shook
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 9: his head sadly. Faith there's little pleasure in going to
• 1:23:25
  Speaker 9: the fair with so many things on my mind, he said.
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 9: The sun was just peeping over the distant hills when
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 9: Colling started up the road, pulling the car with Ditty
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 9: in it, squealing like a dozen of herself, Missus mc
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 9: queen said. Mister mc queen led the donkey, and Larry
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 9: and i Leen followed on foot. They had on shoes
• 1:23:43
  Speaker 9: and stockings, and i Leen had on a clean apron
• 1:23:46
  Speaker 9: and a bright little shawl, so they looked quite gay.
• 1:23:49
  Speaker 9: They walked miles and miles beside bogs and over hills,
• 1:23:53
  Speaker 9: along country roads bordered by hedgerows or by stone walls.
• 1:23:57
  Speaker 9: At last they saw the towers of the castle which
• 1:24:00
  Speaker 9: belonged to the Earl of Ellesmore. It was on top
• 1:24:03
  Speaker 9: of a high hill. The tower stood up strong and
• 1:24:06
  Speaker 9: proud against the sky. Smoke was coming out of the chimneys.
• 1:24:10
  Speaker 9: Do you suppose the Earl himself is at home? Eileen
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 9: asked her father. Tis not unlikely, mister mc queen answered,
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 9: he comes home sometimes with parties of gentlemen and ladies
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 9: for a bit of shooting or fishing. Maybe he'll come
• 1:24:24
  Speaker 9: to the fair. Aileen said to Larry, sure he'd never
• 1:24:28
  Speaker 9: miss anything so grand as the fair, And he being
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 9: in this part of the world, said Larry. Some distance
• 1:24:34
  Speaker 9: from the castle they could see a church spire and
• 1:24:37
  Speaker 9: the roofs of the town, and nearer they saw a
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 9: little village of stalls standing in the green field, like
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 9: mushrooms that had sprung up overnight.
• 1:24:46
  Speaker 2: The fair.
• 1:24:47
  Speaker 9: The fair, cried the Twins end of chapter eleven.
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 10: Chapter twelve of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:25:03
  Speaker 10: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:25:07
  Speaker 10: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 10: by Metamorphous. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins, Chapter twelve,
• 1:25:20
  Speaker 10: How they sold the pig. Although they had come so far,
• 1:25:24
  Speaker 10: they were among the earliest at the fair. People were
• 1:25:27
  Speaker 10: hurrying to and fro, carrying all sorts of goods and
• 1:25:30
  Speaker 10: arranging them for sale on counters in little stalls round
• 1:25:33
  Speaker 10: an open square in the center of the grounds. Cattle
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 10: were being driven to their pens, Horses were being brushed
• 1:25:40
  Speaker 10: and curried. Sheep were bleeding, cows were lowing, and even
• 1:25:43
  Speaker 10: the hens and ducks added their noise to the concert.
• 1:25:47
  Speaker 10: Diddy herself squealed with all her might. Larry and Eileen
• 1:25:51
  Speaker 10: had never seen so many people together before in all
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 10: their lives. They had to think very hard about the
• 1:25:57
  Speaker 10: secret in order not to forget everything, but the beauty
• 1:26:00
  Speaker 10: things they saw in the different stalls. There were vegetables
• 1:26:04
  Speaker 10: and meats, and butter and eggs. There were hats and caps.
• 1:26:08
  Speaker 10: There were crochet work and bed quilts and shawls with
• 1:26:11
  Speaker 10: bright borders spread out for people to see. There were
• 1:26:15
  Speaker 10: hawkers going about with trays of things to eat, pies
• 1:26:18
  Speaker 10: and sweets, toffee and sugar sticks. This made the twins
• 1:26:22
  Speaker 10: remember that they were dreadfully hungry after their long walk,
• 1:26:25
  Speaker 10: but they didn't have anything to eat until quite a
• 1:26:27
  Speaker 10: while after that. Because they had so much else to do,
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 10: they followed their father to the corner where the pigs were.
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 10: A man came to tell them where to put Ditty.
• 1:26:38
  Speaker 10: You can talk with these two farmers, said mister mc queen.
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 10: He brought the twins forward. It's their pig. Then Larry
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 10: and Eileen told the man about finding Ditty in the bog,
• 1:26:49
  Speaker 10: and that their father had said they could have her
• 1:26:51
  Speaker 10: for their own, and so they had come to the
• 1:26:53
  Speaker 10: fair to sell her and whatever will you do with
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 10: all the money, asked the man. The twins almost told
• 1:27:01
  Speaker 10: the secret was right on the tip end of their tongues,
• 1:27:04
  Speaker 10: but they clapped their hands over their mouths quickly so
• 1:27:06
  Speaker 10: he didn't get out. The man laughed anyway. It's a
• 1:27:11
  Speaker 10: fine pig, and you've a right to get a good
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 10: price for her, he said, and he gave them the
• 1:27:15
  Speaker 10: very best pen of all for Diddy. When she was
• 1:27:19
  Speaker 10: safely in the pen, Eileen and Larry tied the red
• 1:27:21
  Speaker 10: ribbon which Aileen had brought in her pocket, to Ditty's
• 1:27:25
  Speaker 10: ear and another to her tail. Diddy looked very gay.
• 1:27:29
  Speaker 10: When the twins had had a bite to eat, they
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 10: stood up before Dee Dee's pen, where the man told
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 10: them to, and Dede stood up on her hind legs
• 1:27:37
  Speaker 10: with her front feet on the rail and squealed. Larry
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 10: and Eileen fed her with turnip tops. There were a
• 1:27:44
  Speaker 10: great many people in the fair grounds by that time.
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 10: They were laughing and talking and looking at the things
• 1:27:49
  Speaker 10: in the different booths. Every single one of them stopped
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 10: to look at Ditty and the twins. Because the twins
• 1:27:55
  Speaker 10: were the very youngest farmers in the whole fair. Everybody
• 1:27:59
  Speaker 10: was interested, but nobody offered to buy, and the twins
• 1:28:02
  Speaker 10: were getting discouraged when along came some farmers with ribbons
• 1:28:05
  Speaker 10: in their hands. They were the judges. The twins almost
• 1:28:09
  Speaker 10: held their breath while the judges looked Ditty over. Then
• 1:28:13
  Speaker 10: the headman said, that's a very fine pig, and young,
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 10: she's a thoroughbred. Wherever did you get her, mister mc queen.
• 1:28:21
  Speaker 10: Mister mc queen just said, ask them, pointing to the twins.
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 10: The twins were very much scared to be talking to
• 1:28:27
  Speaker 10: the judges, but they told about the tinkers and how
• 1:28:30
  Speaker 10: they found Ditty in the bog, and the judges nodded
• 1:28:32
  Speaker 10: their heads and looked very wise, And finally the chief
• 1:28:35
  Speaker 10: one said, faith, there's not her equal in the whole
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 10: fare she gets the blue ribbon or I am no judge.
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 10: All the other men said the same. Then they gave
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 10: the blue ribbon to the twins, and Eileen tied it
• 1:28:48
  Speaker 10: on Ditty's other ear. Diddy did not seem to like
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 10: being dressed up. She wriggled her ears and squealed. Just
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 10: then there was the gay sound of a horn tarah
• 1:29:00
  Speaker 10: to rah to rah, it sang, and right into the
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 10: middle of the fair ground drove a great tally ho
• 1:29:04
  Speaker 10: coach with pretty young ladies and fine young gentlemen riding
• 1:29:08
  Speaker 10: on top of it. Everybody turned away from Ditty and
• 1:29:11
  Speaker 10: the twins to see this grand sight. The footmen jumped
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 10: down and helped down the ladies, while the driver in
• 1:29:17
  Speaker 10: livery stood beside the horses heads with his hand on
• 1:29:21
  Speaker 10: their bridles. Then all the young gentlemen and ladies went
• 1:29:24
  Speaker 10: about the fair to see the sights. Tis a grand
• 1:29:27
  Speaker 10: party from the castle, said mister mc queen to the twins.
• 1:29:31
  Speaker 10: And sure that's the Earl's daughter, the Lady Kathleen herself,
• 1:29:35
  Speaker 10: with the pink roses on her hat. I haven't seen
• 1:29:38
  Speaker 10: a sight of her since she was a slip of
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 10: a girl the size of yourselves. Lady Kathleen and her
• 1:29:44
  Speaker 10: party came by just at that moment, and when she
• 1:29:46
  Speaker 10: saw Ditty with her ribbons and the twins beside her,
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 10: the Lady Kathleen stopped. The twins could hardly take their
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 10: eyes off her sweet face and her pretty dress and
• 1:29:55
  Speaker 10: the flowered hat, but she asked them all sorts of questions,
• 1:29:58
  Speaker 10: and finally they found themse telling her the story of
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 10: how they found the pig And what is your pig's name,
• 1:30:05
  Speaker 10: said Lady Kathleene. Sure, ma'am, it's Deirdre, but we call
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 10: her Diddy for short, Eileen answered. All the young gentlemen
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 10: and ladies laughed. The twins didn't like to be laughed at.
• 1:30:16
  Speaker 10: They were almost ready to cry. And why did you
• 1:30:19
  Speaker 10: call her Deirdre, asked Lady Kathleen. It was because of
• 1:30:23
  Speaker 10: finding her in the bog all alone with herself, the
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 10: same as Deirdre when she was a baby, and found
• 1:30:27
  Speaker 10: by the High King of Aymon. Eileen explained a very
• 1:30:31
  Speaker 10: good reason. And it's the finest story in Ireland, said
• 1:30:34
  Speaker 10: Lady Kathleen. I'm glad you know it so well. And
• 1:30:37
  Speaker 10: she is such a fine pig that I am going
• 1:30:39
  Speaker 10: to buy her from you myself. All the young ladies
• 1:30:43
  Speaker 10: seemed to think this very funny indeed, but Lady Kathleen
• 1:30:46
  Speaker 10: didn't laugh. She called one of the footmen. He came running.
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 10: Do you see that this pig is sent to the
• 1:30:53
  Speaker 10: castle when the fair is over? She said, I will,
• 1:30:56
  Speaker 10: your ladyship, said the footman. Then Lady Kathleen out her purse.
• 1:31:01
  Speaker 10: What is the price of your pig? She said to
• 1:31:03
  Speaker 10: the twins, They didn't know what to say, but the judge,
• 1:31:06
  Speaker 10: who was standing near, said, she's a high bred pig,
• 1:31:09
  Speaker 10: your ladyship, and worth all of three pounds. Three pounds
• 1:31:14
  Speaker 10: it is, then, said the lady Kathleen. She opened her
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 10: purse and took out three golden sovereigns. She gave them
• 1:31:21
  Speaker 10: to the twins, and then, almost before they found breath
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 10: to say thank you, ma'am, she and her gay company
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 10: had gone on to another part of the fair. The
• 1:31:28
  Speaker 10: judge made a mark and did he's back to show
• 1:31:30
  Speaker 10: that she had been sold. The twins gave the three
• 1:31:33
  Speaker 10: golden sovereigns to their father to carry for them, and
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 10: he put them in the most inside pocket he had
• 1:31:39
  Speaker 10: for safe keeping. Then, while he stayed to sell his
• 1:31:42
  Speaker 10: butter and eggs and to do his buying, the twins
• 1:31:45
  Speaker 10: started out to see the fair by themselves. End of
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 10: chapter twelve.
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 3: Chapter thirteen of The Irish Twins. This is the LibriVox recording.
• 1:32:01
  Speaker 3: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:32:05
  Speaker 3: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The
• 1:32:10
  Speaker 3: Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins. What they saw the
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 3: first person they stopped to watch was a juggler doing tricks.
• 1:32:20
  Speaker 3: It was quite wonderful to see him keep three balls
• 1:32:22
  Speaker 3: in the air all at the same time, or balance
• 1:32:25
  Speaker 3: a pole on the end of his nose. But when
• 1:32:27
  Speaker 3: he took out a frying pan from behind his stall
• 1:32:30
  Speaker 3: and said of the twins who were standing right in
• 1:32:33
  Speaker 3: front of him, now, I'll be after making you a
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 3: bit of an omelet without any cooking, their eyes were
• 1:32:39
  Speaker 3: fairly popping out of their heads with surprise. The juggler
• 1:32:43
  Speaker 3: broke an egg into the frying pan. Then he clapped
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 3: on the cover, waved the pan in the air, and
• 1:32:48
  Speaker 3: lifted the cover again. Instead of an omelet, there in
• 1:32:52
  Speaker 3: the frying pan was a little black chicken, crying peep peep,
• 1:32:56
  Speaker 3: as if it wanted its mother. The juggler looked very
• 1:33:00
  Speaker 3: much surprised himself, and the twins were simply astonished. Will
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 3: you see that now, Larry whispered to Aileen. Sure if
• 1:33:08
  Speaker 3: only old Speckle could be learning that trick, who had
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 3: saved her a deal of sitting, indeed, then tis magic,
• 1:33:15
  Speaker 3: Aileen answered back, And there's no luck in that scene.
• 1:33:19
  Speaker 3: Do you come away now, Larry mc queen, or he
• 1:33:22
  Speaker 3: might be casting a spell on yourself and turning you
• 1:33:24
  Speaker 3: into something else entirely, a goat maybe, or a leprechaun.
• 1:33:30
  Speaker 3: This seemed quite likely to larry too, so they slipped
• 1:33:33
  Speaker 3: hurriedly out under the elbows of the crowd, just as
• 1:33:36
  Speaker 3: a juggler was in the very act of finding a
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 3: white rabbit in the crown of his hat. They never
• 1:33:41
  Speaker 3: stopped running until they found themselves in the middle of
• 1:33:44
  Speaker 3: a group of people in a distant part of the
• 1:33:46
  Speaker 3: fair grounds. This crowd had gathered around a rough looking
• 1:33:50
  Speaker 3: man with a bundle of papers under his arm. He
• 1:33:53
  Speaker 3: was waving a leaflet in the air and shouting, ladies
• 1:33:56
  Speaker 3: and gentlemen, whilst now tall, I sing you a song
• 1:33:59
  Speaker 3: of old Arland, Tis the Ballad of the Senses Taker.
• 1:34:04
  Speaker 3: Then he began to sing, in a voice as loud
• 1:34:06
  Speaker 3: as a clap of thunder. This was the first verse
• 1:34:09
  Speaker 3: of the song. Oh, they're taking of the senses in
• 1:34:13
  Speaker 3: the country and the town. Have your children got the measles?
• 1:34:17
  Speaker 3: Are your chimneys tumbling down? Everyone seemed to think is
• 1:34:21
  Speaker 3: a very funny song, And at the end of the
• 1:34:24
  Speaker 3: second verse they all joined in the chorus. The ballad
• 1:34:27
  Speaker 3: singer sang louder than all the rest of the people
• 1:34:29
  Speaker 3: put together Musha. The roars of him were like the
• 1:34:33
  Speaker 3: roars of a giant. Aileen said to Larry. Indeed, I'm
• 1:34:37
  Speaker 3: fearing he'll burst himself with a noise that's in him.
• 1:34:41
  Speaker 3: The moment the song ended, the ballad singer passed the hat,
• 1:34:44
  Speaker 3: and the crowd began to melt away. There he go, now,
• 1:34:48
  Speaker 3: cried the singer, leaping away on your two hind legs
• 1:34:51
  Speaker 3: like scared rabbits. Come on back now and buy the
• 1:34:55
  Speaker 3: ballad of the Peeler and the Goat. Sure tis a
• 1:34:58
  Speaker 3: fine song entirely, and one you'll all be wanting to
• 1:35:01
  Speaker 3: sing yourselves when one you heard it, He seized a
• 1:35:05
  Speaker 3: young man by the arm. Walk up and buy a
• 1:35:07
  Speaker 3: ballad now, he said to him. Troth, you've the look
• 1:35:11
  Speaker 3: of a fine singer yourself, and dear knows what many
• 1:35:14
  Speaker 3: you may be needing one and none handy, Come now
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 3: buy before tis too late. The young man turned very red.
• 1:35:21
  Speaker 3: I don't think I'll be wanting any ballads, he said,
• 1:35:24
  Speaker 3: and tried to pull away. You don't think, shouted the
• 1:35:28
  Speaker 3: ballad singer. Of course, you don't think you've nothing whatever
• 1:35:32
  Speaker 3: to do it with the crowd laughed. The poor young
• 1:35:36
  Speaker 3: man bought a ballad there, Now, cried the singer. You're
• 1:35:40
  Speaker 3: the broth of a boy, after all, we'll be after
• 1:35:43
  Speaker 3: buying the next one off of me. His eyes lighted
• 1:35:46
  Speaker 3: on the twins. They shook in their shoes. He'll be
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 3: clapping one of them on us next, Larry said to Aileen,
• 1:35:53
  Speaker 3: we'd best be goin along, and they crept out of
• 1:35:56
  Speaker 3: the crowd just as he began to roar out a
• 1:35:58
  Speaker 3: new song. An old woman with a white cap and
• 1:36:02
  Speaker 3: a shawl over her head and a basket on her
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 3: arm smile at them as they slipped by. She jerked
• 1:36:08
  Speaker 3: her thumb over her shoulder at the ballad singer. Melodious
• 1:36:11
  Speaker 3: is a closed mouth, she said, indeed, ma'am, I've often
• 1:36:15
  Speaker 3: heard my mother say so, I mean, answered politely. She
• 1:36:19
  Speaker 3: curtsied to the old woman. The old woman looked, please,
• 1:36:24
  Speaker 3: will you come along with me out of the sound
• 1:36:25
  Speaker 3: of this, the both of you, she said, And I'll
• 1:36:29
  Speaker 3: take you to hear things that will keep the memory
• 1:36:31
  Speaker 3: of Ireland green while there's an Irishman left in the world.
• 1:36:35
  Speaker 3: She led them to erase platform some distance away. Over
• 1:36:39
  Speaker 3: the platform there floated a white flag with a green
• 1:36:41
  Speaker 3: harp on it. The old woman pointed to it. Do
• 1:36:45
  Speaker 3: you remember the old harp of Tara, She said to
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 3: the twins. Tis nowhere else at all now but on
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 3: the flag. But time was long, long years ago when
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 3: the harp itself was played on Tara's hill. And in
• 1:36:59
  Speaker 3: those there were poets to praise Ireland, and singers to
• 1:37:03
  Speaker 3: sing our songs. And here they would be tellin of
• 1:37:07
  Speaker 3: those days and singin' those songs. Come and listen. 'tis
• 1:37:12
  Speaker 3: eface there havin and prizes given for the best tale
• 1:37:15
  Speaker 3: told or the best song sung. The old woman and
• 1:37:18
  Speaker 3: the twins made their way to the platform and sat
• 1:37:21
  Speaker 3: down on a bench near the edge of it. Many
• 1:37:24
  Speaker 3: other people were sitting or standing about. An old man
• 1:37:27
  Speaker 3: stood up on the platform. He told the story of Kohulin,
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 3: the hound of Culin, and how we fought all the
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 3: greatest warriors of the world on the day he first
• 1:37:36
  Speaker 3: took arms. When he had finished, another man took his
• 1:37:40
  Speaker 3: place and told the story of Deirdre and Naisi, and
• 1:37:43
  Speaker 3: another told the fate of the four children of Leer
• 1:37:46
  Speaker 3: that were turned into four beautiful swans by their cruel stepmother.
• 1:37:51
  Speaker 3: And when the stories were finished, the prize was given
• 1:37:53
  Speaker 3: for the best one, and the twins were glad that
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 3: it was for the story of Deidra, for that tale
• 1:37:59
  Speaker 3: was like an old friend of them. After that there
• 1:38:02
  Speaker 3: was music and the dances of old Ireland, the real
• 1:38:05
  Speaker 3: and the lilt, And when last of all came the
• 1:38:08
  Speaker 3: Irish jig, the old woman put her basket down on
• 1:38:11
  Speaker 3: the ground. Sure the music is like the springtime in
• 1:38:15
  Speaker 3: my bones, she said to the twins be dead. I'd
• 1:38:19
  Speaker 3: the foot of the world on me when I was
• 1:38:21
  Speaker 3: a girl, and I can still shake one with the
• 1:38:23
  Speaker 3: best of them, if I do say it myself. She
• 1:38:26
  Speaker 3: put her hands on her hips and began to dance.
• 1:38:29
  Speaker 3: The music got into everybody else's bones too, and soon
• 1:38:33
  Speaker 3: everybody around the platform and on it, too, old and young,
• 1:38:37
  Speaker 3: large and small, was dancing gayly to the sound of it.
• 1:38:42
  Speaker 3: The twins danced with the rest, and they were having
• 1:38:44
  Speaker 3: such a good time that they might have forgotten to
• 1:38:47
  Speaker 3: go home at all, if all of a sudden Larry
• 1:38:50
  Speaker 3: hadn't shaken Eileen's arm and said, look there where Eileen said, there,
• 1:38:56
  Speaker 3: said Larry, the rough men with a brown horse. The
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 3: moment Iland saw the man with the brown horse, she
• 1:39:03
  Speaker 3: took Larry's hand and they both ran as fast as
• 1:39:05
  Speaker 3: they could back to their father. We saw the tinker,
• 1:39:09
  Speaker 3: they cried, the moment they saw mister mc queen. Then
• 1:39:12
  Speaker 3: we'd as well be starting home, said mister mc queen.
• 1:39:16
  Speaker 3: I'd rather not be meeting the gentleman on the road
• 1:39:18
  Speaker 3: after dark. He got Colleen and put her into the
• 1:39:21
  Speaker 3: cart once more. Then he and the twins had something
• 1:39:25
  Speaker 3: to eat. They bought a ginger cake shaped like a
• 1:39:28
  Speaker 3: rabbit and another like a man from one of the hawkers,
• 1:39:31
  Speaker 3: and they bought some sugar sticks too, and these with
• 1:39:34
  Speaker 3: what they had brought from home, made their supper. Then
• 1:39:38
  Speaker 3: mister mc queen brought out his notched stick. We sold
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 3: the pig, he said, with his finger on the first notch,
• 1:39:44
  Speaker 3: and the butter and eggs was the second notch. Then
• 1:39:48
  Speaker 3: he went over all the other notches, and besides all else,
• 1:39:52
  Speaker 3: I've bought herself a shawl, he said to the twins.
• 1:39:56
  Speaker 3: The twins wanted to get home because the secret was
• 1:39:58
  Speaker 3: getting so big inside of them. They knew they couldn't
• 1:40:01
  Speaker 3: possibly hold it in much longer, and they didn't want
• 1:40:04
  Speaker 3: to let it out until they were at home and
• 1:40:06
  Speaker 3: could tell their father and mother both at the same time.
• 1:40:10
  Speaker 3: So they said good bye to Ditty and udding took
• 1:40:12
  Speaker 3: off the ribbons and kept them to remember her by.
• 1:40:15
  Speaker 3: Then they hurried away. It was after dark when at
• 1:40:19
  Speaker 3: last they drove into the yard. Missus mc queen came
• 1:40:23
  Speaker 3: running to the door to greet them and hear all
• 1:40:25
  Speaker 3: about the fair. Aileen and Larry told her all about
• 1:40:28
  Speaker 3: the prize, and about Lady Kathleen buying the pig, and
• 1:40:32
  Speaker 3: about seeing the tinker while their father was putting up Colleen.
• 1:40:37
  Speaker 3: Then when he came in with all his bundles and
• 1:40:40
  Speaker 3: took the three golden sovereigns out of his pocket to
• 1:40:43
  Speaker 3: show to the mother, the twins couldn't keep still another minute.
• 1:40:47
  Speaker 3: It's for you to pay the rent, they cried. The
• 1:40:51
  Speaker 3: father and mother looked at each other. Now what are
• 1:40:54
  Speaker 3: they at all? Said missus mc queen. But the best
• 1:40:57
  Speaker 3: children in the width of the world was after telling
• 1:41:00
  Speaker 3: you that we'd make it out somehow, and to think
• 1:41:03
  Speaker 3: of her being a thoroughbred like that, and we never
• 1:41:06
  Speaker 3: knowing it at all. She meant the pig, but miss
• 1:41:11
  Speaker 3: mc queen never said a word. He just gave Larry
• 1:41:13
  Speaker 3: and Eileen a great hug then mister mc queen went
• 1:41:17
  Speaker 3: over all the errands with his wife, and last of
• 1:41:20
  Speaker 3: all he brought out the shawl there, old woman, he said,
• 1:41:25
  Speaker 3: is a faring for you. The Saints be praised for
• 1:41:29
  Speaker 3: this day, cried missus mc queen. The MP paid and
• 1:41:33
  Speaker 3: me with a fine new shawl, the equal of any
• 1:41:35
  Speaker 3: in the parish. It was a happy family that went
• 1:41:39
  Speaker 3: to bed in the little farmhouse that night. Only missus
• 1:41:42
  Speaker 3: mc queen didn't sleep well. She got up a number
• 1:41:45
  Speaker 3: of times in the night to be sure there were
• 1:41:47
  Speaker 3: no tinkers prowling about. For one can't be too careful
• 1:41:51
  Speaker 3: with so much money in the house, she said to herself.
• 1:41:55
  Speaker 3: End of chapter thirteen. Read by Nancy Cochran Gergan, Gilbert, Arizona,
• 1:42:01
  Speaker 3: October seven, twenty twenty five.
• 1:42:09
  Speaker 8: Chapter fourteen of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:42:15
  Speaker 8: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:42:19
  Speaker 8: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 1:42:24
  Speaker 8: by Zach Martin. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Sunday.
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 8: The next Sunday, all the McQueen family went to Mass,
• 1:42:37
  Speaker 8: and Missus McQueen wore her new shawl. The chapel was
• 1:42:42
  Speaker 8: quite a distance away. And as they walked, and all
• 1:42:44
  Speaker 8: the neighbors walked too, they had a pleasant time talking together.
• 1:42:49
  Speaker 8: Along the way. Dennis and the twins walked together, and
• 1:42:54
  Speaker 8: Larry and Eileen told Dennis all about the fair and
• 1:42:58
  Speaker 8: about selling the pig to the late Kathleen. And but Gore,
• 1:43:03
  Speaker 8: said Dennis, But the little pig was after bringing you
• 1:43:06
  Speaker 8: all the luck in the world, wasn't she. All the
• 1:43:10
  Speaker 8: other boys and girls wanted to hear about it. Most
• 1:43:14
  Speaker 8: of them had never been to affair. So Eileen and
• 1:43:18
  Speaker 8: Larry talked all the way to church, and that was
• 1:43:21
  Speaker 8: two miles and a half of talk, the shortest way
• 1:43:24
  Speaker 8: you could go. Just as they neared the church, what
• 1:43:29
  Speaker 8: should they see but Granny Malone coming in grandeur, writing
• 1:43:33
  Speaker 8: on a jaunting car. Beside her was a big man
• 1:43:36
  Speaker 8: with a tall hat on his head. Tis her son, Michael,
• 1:43:41
  Speaker 8: back from the States, cried the twins. He said in
• 1:43:44
  Speaker 8: a letter he was coming. They ran as fast as
• 1:43:48
  Speaker 8: they could to reach the church door in time to
• 1:43:50
  Speaker 8: see them go in. Everybody else stopped too. They were
• 1:43:55
  Speaker 8: so surprised, and everybody said to everybody else, well, for
• 1:44:00
  Speaker 8: dear sake, if that's not Michael Malone come back to
• 1:44:03
  Speaker 8: see his old mother. And then they whispered among themselves.
• 1:44:09
  Speaker 8: Look at the grand clothes on him, and the scarf pin,
• 1:44:12
  Speaker 8: the bigness of a happenning piece, and the hat. Sure
• 1:44:17
  Speaker 8: America must be the rich place entirely. And when Michael
• 1:44:22
  Speaker 8: got out of the car and helped out his old mother,
• 1:44:26
  Speaker 8: there were many hands held out for him to shake,
• 1:44:29
  Speaker 8: and many old neighbors for him to greet. This is
• 1:44:32
  Speaker 8: a proud day for you, Grannie Malone, said missus mc queen.
• 1:44:37
  Speaker 8: Here it is, said Granny. And a sad day too,
• 1:44:41
  Speaker 8: for he's after taking me back to America. And tis
• 1:44:46
  Speaker 8: likely I'll never set my two eyes on old Ireland
• 1:44:49
  Speaker 8: again when once the width of the sea comes between us.
• 1:44:55
  Speaker 8: She wiped her eyes as she spoke. Then the bell
• 1:44:58
  Speaker 8: rang to call the people pull into the chapel. It
• 1:45:02
  Speaker 8: was little the congregation heard of the service that day,
• 1:45:06
  Speaker 8: for however much they tried, they couldn't help looking at
• 1:45:09
  Speaker 8: the back of Michael's head and at Grannie's bonnet. And afterwards,
• 1:45:14
  Speaker 8: when all the people were outside the church door, Granny
• 1:45:17
  Speaker 8: Malone said to different old friends of Michael, come along
• 1:45:21
  Speaker 8: to my house this afternoon and listen to himself telling
• 1:45:25
  Speaker 8: about the states. That afternoon, when the mc queens had
• 1:45:29
  Speaker 8: finished their noon meal, the whole family walked up the
• 1:45:33
  Speaker 8: road to Grannie's house. There were a good many people
• 1:45:36
  Speaker 8: there standing before them. Grannie's little house was full to
• 1:45:40
  Speaker 8: the door. Michael stood by the fireplace, and as the
• 1:45:43
  Speaker 8: mc queens came in, he was saying, is the truth
• 1:45:47
  Speaker 8: I'm telling you. There are over forty states in the Union,
• 1:45:51
  Speaker 8: and many of them bigger than the whole of Ireland itself.
• 1:45:55
  Speaker 8: There are places in it where you could travel as
• 1:45:57
  Speaker 8: far as from Dublin to Belfast without ever seeing a
• 1:46:01
  Speaker 8: town at all, just fields without stones or trees lying there,
• 1:46:06
  Speaker 8: begging for the plow and sorrow a person to give
• 1:46:10
  Speaker 8: it them. Will you listen to that now, said Granny.
• 1:46:16
  Speaker 8: And more than that, if you'll believe me, Michael went on,
• 1:46:20
  Speaker 8: there do be places in America where they give away land,
• 1:46:25
  Speaker 8: let alone buying it. Just by going and living on
• 1:46:28
  Speaker 8: it for a time and doing a little work on it,
• 1:46:31
  Speaker 8: you can get one hundred and sixty acres of land
• 1:46:34
  Speaker 8: for your own.
• 1:46:35
  Speaker 2: Mind, you.
• 1:46:38
  Speaker 8: The saints preserve us, But that might be like heaven itself.
• 1:46:42
  Speaker 8: If I may make bold to say so, said missus McGuire,
• 1:46:48
  Speaker 8: you may well say that, missus McGuire. Michael answered, for
• 1:46:52
  Speaker 8: there when a man has bent his back and put
• 1:46:56
  Speaker 8: in sweat and labor to enrich the land, it is
• 1:46:59
  Speaker 8: not for someone else he does it, but for himself
• 1:47:03
  Speaker 8: and his children. Of course, the land that is given
• 1:47:06
  Speaker 8: away is far from big cities, and it's queer and lonely,
• 1:47:10
  Speaker 8: sometimes on the distant farms. For they do not live
• 1:47:13
  Speaker 8: in villages as we do. But each farmhouse is by
• 1:47:16
  Speaker 8: itself on its own land, and no neighbor's handy. So
• 1:47:21
  Speaker 8: for myself I stayed in the big city. You seem
• 1:47:25
  Speaker 8: to have prospered, Michael, said, mister mc queen. I have so.
• 1:47:30
  Speaker 8: Michael answered. There are jobs in plenty for the willing hands. Sure,
• 1:47:34
  Speaker 8: no irishman would give up at all when there's something
• 1:47:38
  Speaker 8: new to try, and there's always somebody from the old
• 1:47:42
  Speaker 8: sod there to help you if the luck turns on you.
• 1:47:45
  Speaker 8: Do you remember Patrick Dorin now he lived friends to
• 1:47:49
  Speaker 8: the blacksmith shop years ago. Well, Patrick is a great man.
• 1:47:54
  Speaker 8: He's a man of fortune and a good friend to myself.
• 1:47:58
  Speaker 8: One year when tyne were hard and work not so plenty.
• 1:48:02
  Speaker 8: I lost my job and didn't Patrick help me to
• 1:48:05
  Speaker 8: another the very next week. Not long after that, Patrick
• 1:48:10
  Speaker 8: ran for Alderman, and myself and many another like me
• 1:48:13
  Speaker 8: worked hard for to get him elected. And since then
• 1:48:17
  Speaker 8: I've been in politics myself. First Patrick got me a
• 1:48:21
  Speaker 8: job on the police force, and then I was captain,
• 1:48:24
  Speaker 8: and since then, by one change and another. If I
• 1:48:27
  Speaker 8: do say it, I'm an Aldernanman myself. It's wonderful, sure,
• 1:48:35
  Speaker 8: mister McGuire said when Michael had finished. But I'm not
• 1:48:39
  Speaker 8: wishful for to change. Sure, Old Ireland is good enough
• 1:48:44
  Speaker 8: for me, and I'd not be missing the larks singing
• 1:48:47
  Speaker 8: in the spring in the green fields Varren, and the
• 1:48:50
  Speaker 8: smell of the peat on the hearth in winter. It's
• 1:48:54
  Speaker 8: queer and lonesome. I'd be without these things, and that's
• 1:48:58
  Speaker 8: the truth. He threw his head back and began to sing.
• 1:49:03
  Speaker 8: Everybody joined in and sang too. This is the song,
• 1:49:08
  Speaker 8: they say, Old Ireland, you're my jewel. Sure my heart's
• 1:49:14
  Speaker 8: delight and glory. Till time shall pass his empty glass.
• 1:49:19
  Speaker 8: Your name shall live in story, and this shall be
• 1:49:23
  Speaker 8: the song for me, the first my heart was learning
• 1:49:27
  Speaker 8: when first my tongue its accents flung Old Ireland. You're
• 1:49:31
  Speaker 8: my darling, from Dublin Bay to Cork's Sweet Cove, Old Ireland.
• 1:49:37
  Speaker 8: You are my darling, My darling, my darling, from Dublin
• 1:49:41
  Speaker 8: Bay to Cork's Sweet Cove, Old Ireland. You're my darling.
• 1:49:46
  Speaker 8: End of chapter fourteen.
• 1:49:54
  Speaker 7: Chapter fifteen of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:50:00
  Speaker 7: All librivoc's recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:50:04
  Speaker 7: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
• 1:50:11
  Speaker 7: by Louise Jeshki. The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins,
• 1:50:19
  Speaker 7: Chapter fifteen, mister mc queen makes up his mind. Michael
• 1:50:27
  Speaker 7: sang with the others, and when the song was ended,
• 1:50:30
  Speaker 7: he said, tis a true word, mister mc guire, that
• 1:50:34
  Speaker 7: there's no place like Old Ireland, and you'll not find
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 7: an irishman anywhere in America that wouldn't put the man
• 1:50:42
  Speaker 7: down that said a word against her. But with what
• 1:50:46
  Speaker 7: the landlord's taking, every shilling you can scrape together and
• 1:50:50
  Speaker 7: charging you higher rent whenever you make a bit of
• 1:50:53
  Speaker 7: an improvement on your farm, there's no chance at all
• 1:50:57
  Speaker 7: to get on in the world. And with the children,
• 1:51:00
  Speaker 7: God bless them, coming along by sixes and dozens, and
• 1:51:05
  Speaker 7: little for them to do at home, and no place
• 1:51:08
  Speaker 7: to put them when they grow up. Sure it's well
• 1:51:12
  Speaker 7: to go where they've a better chance. Look at the
• 1:51:15
  Speaker 7: schools now, If you could see the school that my
• 1:51:19
  Speaker 7: Patrick goes to, you'd never rest at all until your
• 1:51:23
  Speaker 7: children had the same. Sure the schoolhouses are like palaces
• 1:51:27
  Speaker 7: over there. And as for learning, the children pick it
• 1:51:32
  Speaker 7: up as a hen does corn. And there are no
• 1:51:36
  Speaker 7: faults with America. Whatever mister mc queen said to Michael,
• 1:51:41
  Speaker 7: there do be false with her, Michael answered, and I'll
• 1:51:45
  Speaker 7: never be the man to say otherwise. There's plenty of
• 1:51:48
  Speaker 7: things to be said about America that would leave you
• 1:51:51
  Speaker 7: thinking tis a long way this side of heaven. But
• 1:51:55
  Speaker 7: whatever it is that's wrong, tis the people themselves that
• 1:51:59
  Speaker 7: make it so. And by the same token, it is
• 1:52:03
  Speaker 7: themselves that can cure the trouble. When they're so minded.
• 1:52:08
  Speaker 7: It's not like having your troubles put down on you
• 1:52:11
  Speaker 7: by the people that's above you, and that you can't
• 1:52:13
  Speaker 7: reach it all for to be correcting them. All I
• 1:52:17
  Speaker 7: say is there's a better chance over there. For yourself
• 1:52:21
  Speaker 7: and the children, the twins and Dennis and the other
• 1:52:25
  Speaker 7: young people were getting tired of sitting still by this time,
• 1:52:29
  Speaker 7: and when Michael stopped talking about America, they jumped up.
• 1:52:34
  Speaker 7: The children ran outdoors and played tag around Grannie's house,
• 1:52:38
  Speaker 7: and the older people stayed inside. By and by, Grannie
• 1:52:44
  Speaker 7: came to the door and called them, come in, every
• 1:52:47
  Speaker 7: one of you, she cried, and have a fine bit
• 1:52:49
  Speaker 7: of cake with currants in it. Sure Michael brought the
• 1:52:53
  Speaker 7: currans and all the things to make it yesterday, thinking
• 1:52:57
  Speaker 7: maybe there'd be neighbors in. And Baby, tis the last
• 1:53:01
  Speaker 7: bit of cake I'll be making for you at all.
• 1:53:04
  Speaker 7: For tis but two weeks now till we start across
• 1:53:07
  Speaker 7: the water. She wiped her eyes on her apron. Mister
• 1:53:13
  Speaker 7: mc queen was very quiet as he walked home with
• 1:53:15
  Speaker 7: Missus mc queen and the twins, and that evening, after
• 1:53:20
  Speaker 7: the children were in bed, he sat for a long time, silent,
• 1:53:25
  Speaker 7: with his pipe in his mouth. His pipe went out,
• 1:53:29
  Speaker 7: and he did not notice it. By and by he
• 1:53:32
  Speaker 7: said to Missus mc queen, I've made up my mind.
• 1:53:37
  Speaker 7: The Lord save us to what said Missus mc queen,
• 1:53:42
  Speaker 7: to go to America, said mister mc queen. Missus mc
• 1:53:46
  Speaker 7: queen hid her face in her hands and rocked back
• 1:53:49
  Speaker 7: and forth, and cried to be leaving the place I
• 1:53:53
  Speaker 7: was born, and where my father and mother were born
• 1:53:56
  Speaker 7: before me, and all the neighbors, and this old house
• 1:54:01
  Speaker 7: that's been home since ever I married you. Twill break
• 1:54:05
  Speaker 7: the heart in my body, she said. I like that
• 1:54:09
  Speaker 7: part of it, no better than yourself, said mister mc queen.
• 1:54:13
  Speaker 7: But when I think of the years to come, and
• 1:54:16
  Speaker 7: Larry and I lean growing up to work as hard
• 1:54:19
  Speaker 7: as we have worked without getting much at all, and
• 1:54:23
  Speaker 7: think of the better chance altogether they'll have over there. Sure,
• 1:54:27
  Speaker 7: I can't be thinkin of the pain, but only of
• 1:54:30
  Speaker 7: the hope there is in it for them. I've seen
• 1:54:34
  Speaker 7: this coming ever since the children told us about Granny
• 1:54:37
  Speaker 7: Malone's letter, said missus mc queen. Tis Michael has put
• 1:54:42
  Speaker 7: this in your head. Tis not Michael alone, said mister
• 1:54:46
  Speaker 7: mc queen, tis also other things. Tomorrow I pay Conroy
• 1:54:51
  Speaker 7: the rent money, and it will take all that the
• 1:54:54
  Speaker 7: pig brought, and all I've been able to rake and
• 1:54:58
  Speaker 7: scrape myself, and nothing left over at all. And there's
• 1:55:03
  Speaker 7: but ourselves and the twins and the year has not
• 1:55:06
  Speaker 7: been a bad one. We have had the pig, which
• 1:55:10
  Speaker 7: we wouldn't be having another year. And what would it
• 1:55:13
  Speaker 7: be like if there were more of us to feed
• 1:55:16
  Speaker 7: and no more pigs to be found in the bog
• 1:55:19
  Speaker 7: like man of from heaven to be helping us out. Sure,
• 1:55:23
  Speaker 7: if it's for the children, sobbed missus mc queen. I'd
• 1:55:27
  Speaker 7: go anywhere in the world, and that you know well,
• 1:55:31
  Speaker 7: I do know it, said mister mc queen. And since
• 1:55:35
  Speaker 7: we're going at all, let it be soon. We'll go
• 1:55:38
  Speaker 7: with Grannie and Michael in two weeks time, cried missus
• 1:55:43
  Speaker 7: mc queen. We will, so, said mister mc queen. I've
• 1:55:48
  Speaker 7: no debts behind me, and we can sell the cows
• 1:55:51
  Speaker 7: and hens and take with us whatever we need from
• 1:55:54
  Speaker 7: the house. Michael Malone will lend me the money and
• 1:55:58
  Speaker 7: find me a job when we get there. The likes
• 1:56:02
  Speaker 7: of this chance will never befall us again, and faith
• 1:56:06
  Speaker 7: we'll take it. Did he tell you so, asked missus
• 1:56:10
  Speaker 7: mc queen. He did, indeed. Well, then I've no other
• 1:56:16
  Speaker 7: word to say. And if it must be done, the
• 1:56:19
  Speaker 7: sooner the better, said missus mc queen. That night, she
• 1:56:24
  Speaker 7: lay awake a long time She was planning just what
• 1:56:28
  Speaker 7: they should take with them to their new home, and
• 1:56:31
  Speaker 7: trying to think what the new home would be like.
• 1:56:36
  Speaker 7: End of chapter fifteen. Chapter sixteen of The Irish Twins.
• 1:56:48
  Speaker 7: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 1:56:51
  Speaker 7: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
• 1:56:57
  Speaker 7: visits LibriVox dot org. Read by Louise Jeshke The Irish
• 1:57:04
  Speaker 7: Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Chapter sixteen, Mister mc queen
• 1:57:12
  Speaker 7: pays the rent. The next morning, mister mc queen went
• 1:57:16
  Speaker 7: to mister Conroy and paid the rent. Then he said,
• 1:57:21
  Speaker 7: this is the last rent I'll be paying you, mister Conroy.
• 1:57:25
  Speaker 7: Mister Conroy was surprised. What do you mean by that?
• 1:57:29
  Speaker 7: He said, I mean that I'm going to leave old Ireland,
• 1:57:34
  Speaker 7: said mister mc queen. Well, now, cried mister Conroy, to
• 1:57:39
  Speaker 7: think of a sensible man like yourself leaving a good
• 1:57:43
  Speaker 7: farm to go off dear knows where, and you're not
• 1:57:47
  Speaker 7: knowing what you'll do when you get there. As like
• 1:57:50
  Speaker 7: as anyway, I thought you had better sense, mc queen.
• 1:57:54
  Speaker 7: It's because of my better sense that I'm going, said
• 1:57:57
  Speaker 7: mister mc queen. Faith do you think I'd be showing
• 1:58:01
  Speaker 7: the judgment of an old goat to stay where every
• 1:58:04
  Speaker 7: penny I can get out of the land I have
• 1:58:06
  Speaker 7: to pay back in rent. I'm going to America, where
• 1:58:10
  Speaker 7: there'll be a chance for myself. I thought Michael Malone
• 1:58:15
  Speaker 7: would be sowing the seeds of discontent in this parish
• 1:58:18
  Speaker 7: with his silk hats and grand talk, said mister Conroy angrily.
• 1:58:24
  Speaker 7: But I didn't think you were the fish to be
• 1:58:26
  Speaker 7: caught with fine words. If the seeds of discontent have
• 1:58:31
  Speaker 7: been sown in this parish, Terence Conroy said, mister mc queen,
• 1:58:35
  Speaker 7: tis you and the likes of you that have plowed
• 1:58:39
  Speaker 7: and harrowed the ground ready for them? Do you think
• 1:58:42
  Speaker 7: we're wishful to be leaving our old homes and all
• 1:58:46
  Speaker 7: our friends? But tis you that makes it too hard
• 1:58:50
  Speaker 7: entirely for people to stay. And I can tell you
• 1:58:53
  Speaker 7: that if you keep on with others as you have
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 7: with me, raising the rent, when any work is done
• 1:59:00
  Speaker 7: to improve the farm, you'll be left in time with
• 1:59:04
  Speaker 7: no tenants at all, And then where will you be yourself,
• 1:59:09
  Speaker 7: Terence Conroy. Mister Conroy's face was red with anger, but
• 1:59:14
  Speaker 7: he said, while I'm not needing you to teach me
• 1:59:18
  Speaker 7: my duty. I will say this, mc queen. You're a
• 1:59:21
  Speaker 7: good farmer, and I hate to see you do a
• 1:59:24
  Speaker 7: foolish thing for yourself. If you stay on the farm,
• 1:59:28
  Speaker 7: I'll not raise the rent on you. You're too late altogether,
• 1:59:32
  Speaker 7: said mister mc queen. And as you said yourself, I'm
• 1:59:37
  Speaker 7: not the fish to be caught with fine words. I
• 1:59:40
  Speaker 7: know better than to believe you. I'll be sailing from
• 1:59:44
  Speaker 7: Queenstown in two weeks time. And with that he stopped
• 1:59:49
  Speaker 7: out of the room and slammed the door, leaving mister
• 1:59:53
  Speaker 7: Conroy in a very bad state of mind. All that
• 1:59:57
  Speaker 7: Larry and Ellen could remember of the next two weeks
• 2:00:01
  Speaker 7: was a queer jumble of tears and good byes, of
• 2:00:04
  Speaker 7: good wishes and blessings and strange, strange feelings they had
• 2:00:10
  Speaker 7: never had before. Their mother went about with a white
• 2:00:14
  Speaker 7: face and red eyes, and their father was very silent
• 2:00:19
  Speaker 7: as he packed the few household belongings they were to
• 2:00:23
  Speaker 7: take with them to their new home. At last, the
• 2:00:27
  Speaker 7: great day came. The mc queens got up very early
• 2:00:31
  Speaker 7: that morning, ate their potatoes and drank their tea from
• 2:00:35
  Speaker 7: a few cracked and broken dishes, which were to be
• 2:00:38
  Speaker 7: left behind. Then, when they had tidied up the hearth
• 2:00:43
  Speaker 7: and put on their wraps, ready to go, Missus mc
• 2:00:46
  Speaker 7: queen brought some water to quench the fire on the hearth.
• 2:00:51
  Speaker 7: She might almost have quenched it with her tears, And
• 2:00:55
  Speaker 7: as she poured the water upon the ashes, she crooned
• 2:00:59
  Speaker 7: this little song sadly to herself, vein of my heart
• 2:01:07
  Speaker 7: from the lone mountain, the smoke of the turf will die,
• 2:01:16
  Speaker 7: and the stream that sang to the young children run
• 2:01:23
  Speaker 7: down alone from.
• 2:01:25
  Speaker 11: The sky on the door stone grass, and the clouds
• 2:01:33
  Speaker 11: lie where they lie in the old cotre. Mister McQueen
• 2:01:46
  Speaker 11: and the twins stood still, with their bundles in their hands,
• 2:01:51
  Speaker 11: until she had finished, and risen from her knees. Then
• 2:01:55
  Speaker 11: they went quickly out the door, all four together, and
• 2:01:59
  Speaker 11: closed it after them. Missus mc queen stooped to gather
• 2:02:03
  Speaker 11: a little bunch of shamrock leaves which grew by the
• 2:02:07
  Speaker 11: door stone. And then the mc queen family was quite
• 2:02:11
  Speaker 11: quite ready for the long journey. Mister mc guire had
• 2:02:15
  Speaker 11: bought Colleen and the cows, and he was to have
• 2:02:19
  Speaker 11: the few hands that were left for taking the mc
• 2:02:22
  Speaker 11: queen family to the train. Larry and Eileen saw him
• 2:02:26
  Speaker 11: coming up the road. Here comes mister mc guire with
• 2:02:30
  Speaker 11: the cart, they cried, and Denis's driving the jaunting car
• 2:02:35
  Speaker 11: with Michael and Granny on it. They soon reached the
• 2:02:39
  Speaker 11: little group by the roadside, and then the luggage was
• 2:02:42
  Speaker 11: loaded into the cart. Missus mc queen got up with
• 2:02:46
  Speaker 11: Grannie on one side of the jaunting car and Eileen
• 2:02:50
  Speaker 11: sat between them. Michael and mister mc queen were on
• 2:02:54
  Speaker 11: the other side with Larry. The small bags and bundles
• 2:02:58
  Speaker 11: were put in the well of.
• 2:02:59
  Speaker 7: The jaunting car. Get up, cried Denis, and they started off.
• 2:03:05
  Speaker 7: Missus mc queen looked back at the old house and
• 2:03:08
  Speaker 7: cried into her new shawl. Grannie was crying too, but
• 2:03:14
  Speaker 7: Michael said, wait until you see your new home, and
• 2:03:18
  Speaker 7: sure you'll be crying to think you weren't in it before,
• 2:03:22
  Speaker 7: And that cheered them up again, and soon a turn
• 2:03:26
  Speaker 7: in the road hid the old house from their sight forever.
• 2:03:31
  Speaker 7: The luggage was heavy and Colleen was slow, so it
• 2:03:35
  Speaker 7: took several hours to reach the railroad. It took longer too,
• 2:03:40
  Speaker 7: because all the people in the village ran out of
• 2:03:42
  Speaker 7: their houses to say good bye. When they passed the schoolhouse.
• 2:03:47
  Speaker 7: The master gave the children leave to say good bye
• 2:03:50
  Speaker 7: to the twins. He even came out to the road
• 2:03:53
  Speaker 7: himself and shook hands with everybody. But for all that,
• 2:03:58
  Speaker 7: when the train came around, rattling into the station, there
• 2:04:02
  Speaker 7: they all were on the platform in a row, ready
• 2:04:05
  Speaker 7: to get on board. When it stopped, the guard jumped
• 2:04:09
  Speaker 7: down and opened the door of a compartment. He put
• 2:04:13
  Speaker 7: Grannie in first, then Missus mc queen and the twins.
• 2:04:17
  Speaker 7: They were dreadfully afraid the train would start before mister
• 2:04:21
  Speaker 7: mc queen and Michael and all the luggage were on board.
• 2:04:25
  Speaker 7: It was the first time Grannie had ever seen a train,
• 2:04:28
  Speaker 7: or the twins either. But at last they were all
• 2:04:32
  Speaker 7: in and the guard locked the door. Larry and Eileen
• 2:04:36
  Speaker 7: looked out of the window and waved their hands to
• 2:04:39
  Speaker 7: mister mc guire and Denis. The engine whistled, the wheels
• 2:04:43
  Speaker 7: began to turn, and above the noise, the twins heard
• 2:04:47
  Speaker 7: Denis call out to them. Sure, I'll be comin along
• 2:04:51
  Speaker 7: to America myself.
• 2:04:53
  Speaker 11: Some day.
• 2:04:55
  Speaker 7: We'll be watching for you, ii Leen called back. Then
• 2:04:59
  Speaker 7: they past the station and were soon racing along over
• 2:05:03
  Speaker 7: the open fields at what seemed to poor Grannie a
• 2:05:07
  Speaker 7: fearful rate of speed.
• 2:05:10
  Speaker 2: Murder, murder.
• 2:05:11
  Speaker 7: She screamed, Is it for this? I've left my cabin
• 2:05:15
  Speaker 7: to be broken in bits on the track like a
• 2:05:18
  Speaker 7: piece of old crockery. We' a, we'a. Why did I
• 2:05:22
  Speaker 7: ever let myself be persuaded at all? Oh, honey, but
• 2:05:27
  Speaker 7: it is himself has the soothing tongue in his mouth
• 2:05:31
  Speaker 7: to coax his old mother away, for to destroy her entirely.
• 2:05:37
  Speaker 7: Michael laughed and patted her arm and whist now. He said, sure,
• 2:05:42
  Speaker 7: I'd never bring you where harm would come to you,
• 2:05:45
  Speaker 7: and that you know well, look out of the window,
• 2:05:49
  Speaker 7: for tis the last you'll be seeing of old Ireland.
• 2:05:53
  Speaker 7: Grannie dried her eyes, but she still clung to Michael's arm,
• 2:05:57
  Speaker 7: and when the train went around a she crossed herself
• 2:06:01
  Speaker 7: and told her beads as fast as she could. The
• 2:06:05
  Speaker 7: twins were not frightened. They were busy seeing things, and besides,
• 2:06:11
  Speaker 7: Larry had Grannie's piece of coal in his pocket. From
• 2:06:15
  Speaker 7: the window they caught glimpses of distant blue hills and
• 2:06:19
  Speaker 7: of lakes still more blue. They passed by many a
• 2:06:23
  Speaker 7: brown bog and many a green field with farmers and
• 2:06:27
  Speaker 7: farmers wives working in them. The hillsides were blue with
• 2:06:32
  Speaker 7: blossoming flax, and once they passed a field all spread
• 2:06:36
  Speaker 7: with white linen bleaching in the sun. They flew by
• 2:06:40
  Speaker 7: little towns with queer names like bally Grady and bally Low,
• 2:06:46
  Speaker 7: and once they were quite near Cork they saw the
• 2:06:49
  Speaker 7: towers of Blarney Castle. At last, the train rattled into
• 2:06:54
  Speaker 7: a great station. There was so much noise from puffing
• 2:06:58
  Speaker 7: engines and rumbling trucks and shouting men that the twins
• 2:07:02
  Speaker 7: could only take hold of their mother's hands and keep
• 2:07:05
  Speaker 7: close behind their father as he followed Michael, with Granny
• 2:07:09
  Speaker 7: clinging to him to another train. Then there were many
• 2:07:14
  Speaker 7: more flying fields, and a city, and more fields still
• 2:07:19
  Speaker 7: until they reached Queenstown. The next thing they knew they
• 2:07:24
  Speaker 7: were walking across a gangplank and on to a boat.
• 2:07:28
  Speaker 7: The twins had never seen anything larger than a rowboat before,
• 2:07:32
  Speaker 7: and this one looked very big to them, though it
• 2:07:35
  Speaker 7: was only a lighter. This lighter was to carry luggage
• 2:07:40
  Speaker 7: and passengers from the dock to the great steamer lying
• 2:07:44
  Speaker 7: outside the harbor in the deep water of the main Channel.
• 2:07:48
  Speaker 7: When they were all safely on board the lighter, and
• 2:07:52
  Speaker 7: Michael had counted their bundles to be sure they had
• 2:07:55
  Speaker 7: not lost anything. The twins and their father and mother,
• 2:07:59
  Speaker 7: with Michael and Grannie, stood by the deck rail and
• 2:08:03
  Speaker 7: looked back at the dock. It was crowded with people
• 2:08:07
  Speaker 7: running to and fro. There were groups of other emigrants
• 2:08:12
  Speaker 7: like themselves, surrounded by great piles of luggage, waiting for
• 2:08:17
  Speaker 7: the next lighter. For one boat would not carry all
• 2:08:20
  Speaker 7: who wanted to go. There were many good byes being said,
• 2:08:25
  Speaker 7: and many tears falling, And in the midst of all
• 2:08:29
  Speaker 7: the noise and confusion, the sailors were loading tons of
• 2:08:33
  Speaker 7: barrels and bags and boxes and trunks on board the ship.
• 2:08:38
  Speaker 7: There was no friend to see them off, But when
• 2:08:42
  Speaker 7: they saw people crying all about them, the twins cried
• 2:08:46
  Speaker 7: a little too for sympathy, and even mister mc queen's
• 2:08:50
  Speaker 7: eyes were red along the rims. At last, the gangplanks
• 2:08:55
  Speaker 7: were drawn in and the cables thrown off. The screws
• 2:09:00
  Speaker 7: began to churn the green water into white foam, and
• 2:09:04
  Speaker 7: the boats slowly moved out of the harbor. The twins
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 7: and their father and mother, with Granny and Michael, stood
• 2:09:12
  Speaker 7: by the rail for a long time, and watched the
• 2:09:15
  Speaker 7: crowd on the pier until it grew smaller and smaller,
• 2:09:19
  Speaker 7: and at last disappeared entirely from sight around a bend
• 2:09:24
  Speaker 7: in the channel. They stood there until the lighter reached
• 2:09:28
  Speaker 7: the great ship that was waiting to take them across
• 2:09:31
  Speaker 7: the water to a new world. And when at last
• 2:09:36
  Speaker 7: they were safely on board and the lighters had gone
• 2:09:39
  Speaker 7: back empty into the harbor, they stood on the wide
• 2:09:43
  Speaker 7: deck of the ship with their faces turned toward Ireland,
• 2:09:47
  Speaker 7: until all they could see of it in the gathering
• 2:09:50
  Speaker 7: dusk was a strip of dark blue against the eastern sky,
• 2:09:55
  Speaker 7: with little lights in the cottage windows twinkling from it
• 2:09:59
  Speaker 7: like tiny s stars. Then they turned their faces toward
• 2:10:04
  Speaker 7: the bright western sky. End of chapter sixteen. Chapter seventeen
• 2:10:17
  Speaker 7: of The Irish Twins. This is a LibriVox recording. All
• 2:10:22
  Speaker 7: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
• 2:10:27
  Speaker 7: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by
• 2:10:33
  Speaker 7: Louise Jeshki The Irish Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins, Chapter seventeen.
• 2:10:42
  Speaker 7: Twenty years after, in the middle of one of the
• 2:10:47
  Speaker 7: busiest crossings in Chicago, there stands a big man in
• 2:10:51
  Speaker 7: a blue uniform. His eyes are blue, and there are
• 2:10:55
  Speaker 7: wrinkles in the corners of them, the marks of many smiles.
• 2:11:00
  Speaker 7: On his head is a blue cap, and under the
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 7: edge of the cap you can catch a glimpse of
• 2:11:05
  Speaker 7: dark hair. There are bands of gold braids on his sleeve,
• 2:11:10
  Speaker 7: and on his breast is a large silver star. He
• 2:11:15
  Speaker 7: is King of the Crossing. When he blows his whistle,
• 2:11:19
  Speaker 7: all the street cars and automobiles and carriages, even if
• 2:11:24
  Speaker 7: it were the carriage of the mayor himself, stop stock still.
• 2:11:29
  Speaker 7: Then he waves his white gloved hands, and the stream
• 2:11:33
  Speaker 7: of people pours across the street. If there is a
• 2:11:37
  Speaker 7: very small boy among them, the King of the Crossing
• 2:11:40
  Speaker 7: sometimes lays a big hand on his shoulder and goes
• 2:11:44
  Speaker 7: with him to the curb, and he has been known
• 2:11:47
  Speaker 7: to carry a small girl across on his shoulder and
• 2:11:51
  Speaker 7: set her safely down on the other side. When the
• 2:11:55
  Speaker 7: people are all across, he goes back to the middle
• 2:11:58
  Speaker 7: of the street once more and blows twice on his
• 2:12:02
  Speaker 7: little whistle. Then all the wheels that have been standing
• 2:12:07
  Speaker 7: as still as if they had gone to sleep, suddenly
• 2:12:11
  Speaker 7: wake up and go rolling down the street. While those
• 2:12:15
  Speaker 7: that have just been turning stop and wait, while the
• 2:12:19
  Speaker 7: big man helps more people over the crossing the other way.
• 2:12:24
  Speaker 7: All day long, the King of the Crossing stands there,
• 2:12:28
  Speaker 7: blowing his whistle, waving his white gloved hands, and turning
• 2:12:33
  Speaker 7: the stream of people up, first one street, then the other.
• 2:12:38
  Speaker 7: Everybody minds him. If everybody didn't, they might get run
• 2:12:42
  Speaker 7: over and wake up in a hospital. Oh, he must
• 2:12:46
  Speaker 7: be minded, the King of the Crossing, or nobody would
• 2:12:50
  Speaker 7: be safe. When the long day is over, he looks
• 2:12:55
  Speaker 7: up the street and sees another big man coming. This
• 2:12:59
  Speaker 7: man wears a blue uniform too, and a silver star.
• 2:13:03
  Speaker 7: And when the hands on the big clock at the
• 2:13:06
  Speaker 7: corner point to five, he steps into the place of
• 2:13:09
  Speaker 7: the King of the Crossing and reins in his stead.
• 2:13:15
  Speaker 7: Then the King jumps onto the platform of a passing
• 2:13:17
  Speaker 7: street car, and by and by, when it has gone
• 2:13:21
  Speaker 7: several miles, he jumps off again and walks up the
• 2:13:24
  Speaker 7: street to a little house that's as neat as neat
• 2:13:28
  Speaker 7: can be. It stands back from the street in a
• 2:13:32
  Speaker 7: little green yard. The house is painted white and the
• 2:13:36
  Speaker 7: front door is green. But he doesn't go to the
• 2:13:40
  Speaker 7: front door. He goes round by the sidewalk to the
• 2:13:44
  Speaker 7: kitchen door, and there he doesn't even knock. He opens
• 2:13:49
  Speaker 7: the door and walks right in. Through the open door
• 2:13:53
  Speaker 7: comes the smell of something good cooking, and he sees
• 2:13:57
  Speaker 7: a plump woman with blue eyes and have smile, wrinkles
• 2:14:01
  Speaker 7: in the corners just like his own, and crinkly dark
• 2:14:05
  Speaker 7: hair just like his own too. Bending over the stove,
• 2:14:11
  Speaker 7: she is just tasting the something that smells so good
• 2:14:15
  Speaker 7: with a spoon when she sees the big Man in
• 2:14:18
  Speaker 7: the door. She tastes so quickly that she burns her tongue,
• 2:14:23
  Speaker 7: but she can use it just the same even if
• 2:14:26
  Speaker 7: it is burned. She runs to the big Man and says,
• 2:14:31
  Speaker 7: and is that yourself now, Larry Darling? Sure, I'm that
• 2:14:35
  Speaker 7: glad to see you. I've scalded myself with the soup.
• 2:14:39
  Speaker 7: The Big Man has just time to say, sure, I Lean,
• 2:14:43
  Speaker 7: you were always a great one for burning yourself. Do
• 2:14:46
  Speaker 7: you remember that day at Granny Malone's, when out into
• 2:14:50
  Speaker 7: the kitchen tumble a little Larry, and a little eye
• 2:14:53
  Speaker 7: Leen and a baby. They have heard his voice, and
• 2:14:58
  Speaker 7: they fall upon the King of the Cross, as if
• 2:15:00
  Speaker 7: he weren't a king at all, but just a plain
• 2:15:04
  Speaker 7: ordinary uncle. They take off his cap and rumple his hair.
• 2:15:09
  Speaker 7: They get into his pockets and find some peppermints there.
• 2:15:13
  Speaker 7: And the baby even tries to get the silver star
• 2:15:16
  Speaker 7: off his breast to put into her mouth. Look at
• 2:15:20
  Speaker 7: that now, cries Uncle Larry. Get along with you. Is
• 2:15:24
  Speaker 7: it trying to take me off the force? You are
• 2:15:27
  Speaker 7: sure that star was never intended by the city for
• 2:15:30
  Speaker 7: you to cut your teeth on. She'll poison herself with
• 2:15:34
  Speaker 7: the things she's always after putting in her mouth, cries
• 2:15:38
  Speaker 7: the mother. She seizes the baby and sets her in
• 2:15:41
  Speaker 7: a safe corner by herself, gives her a spoon and says, there, now,
• 2:15:47
  Speaker 7: you can be cutting your teeth on that. And when
• 2:15:50
  Speaker 7: the children have quite worn Uncle Larry out. He sits
• 2:15:54
  Speaker 7: upon the floor where they have him by this time,
• 2:15:57
  Speaker 7: and runs his fingers through his head hair, which is
• 2:16:01
  Speaker 7: standing straight up, and says to the mother, sure, I Leen,
• 2:16:05
  Speaker 7: when you and I were children on the old sod,
• 2:16:08
  Speaker 7: we were never such small pens as the likes of these.
• 2:16:13
  Speaker 7: They have destroyed me entirely, and me the biggest policeman
• 2:16:17
  Speaker 7: on the force. Is it American they are or Irish?
• 2:16:21
  Speaker 7: I want to know it's Irish American. We are, shouts
• 2:16:26
  Speaker 7: little Larry. And with the heft of both countries in
• 2:16:30
  Speaker 7: your fists, groans big Larry. And then the mother, who
• 2:16:35
  Speaker 7: has been laying the table meanwhile interferes. Come off your
• 2:16:40
  Speaker 7: poor uncle, she says, and be eating your soup like
• 2:16:44
  Speaker 7: gentlemen and ladies. It's getting cold on you, waiting for
• 2:16:48
  Speaker 7: you to finish your antics. Your poor uncle Larry won't
• 2:16:52
  Speaker 7: come near you at all, and you all the time
• 2:16:55
  Speaker 7: punishing him like that. And then the baby, still sucking
• 2:17:00
  Speaker 7: her spoon, is lifted into her high chair. A chair
• 2:17:04
  Speaker 7: is placed for Uncle Larry, and they all eat their
• 2:17:07
  Speaker 7: soup around the kitchen table, just as the very last
• 2:17:10
  Speaker 7: rays of the summer sun make long streets of light
• 2:17:14
  Speaker 7: across the kitchen floor. Where's Dennis, says Uncle Larry, while
• 2:17:19
  Speaker 7: the children are quiet for a moment. Oh, it's himself
• 2:17:23
  Speaker 7: is so late that I feed the children and put
• 2:17:26
  Speaker 7: them to bed before he gets home at all, says
• 2:17:29
  Speaker 7: the mother. It's little he sees of them, except of
• 2:17:32
  Speaker 7: a Sunday. It's likely he'll live longer for that, says
• 2:17:36
  Speaker 7: Uncle Larry. He looks reproachfully at the children and rubs
• 2:17:40
  Speaker 7: his head and then mother, tell us what kind of
• 2:17:44
  Speaker 7: a boy was Uncle Larry when you and he were
• 2:17:47
  Speaker 7: twins and lived in Ireland? Says Little Eileen. The best
• 2:17:52
  Speaker 7: in the width of the world, says her mother promptly,
• 2:17:55
  Speaker 7: weren't you, Larry? Speak up and tell them now? And
• 2:17:59
  Speaker 7: Uncle Larry laughs and says, sure, I was too good entirely,
• 2:18:05
  Speaker 7: it wouldn't be modest to tell you the truth about myself.
• 2:18:09
  Speaker 7: Tell us about mother, then, says little Eileen. Was she
• 2:18:12
  Speaker 7: the best in the width of the world too. Sure,
• 2:18:16
  Speaker 7: I'll never be telling tales on my only twin sister,
• 2:18:20
  Speaker 7: says Uncle Larry, beyond telling you that there was many
• 2:18:23
  Speaker 7: another in green old Ireland just like her, whatever kind
• 2:18:28
  Speaker 7: she was. But I can't stay here, wearin out my tongue.
• 2:18:33
  Speaker 7: Look out the window. The chickens have gone to roost,
• 2:18:36
  Speaker 7: and the sun is down. So get along with you
• 2:18:39
  Speaker 7: to your beds. When he had gone, and the children
• 2:18:43
  Speaker 7: were in bed, and the house was quiet, the mother
• 2:18:47
  Speaker 7: sat down by the light in the kitchen with a
• 2:18:49
  Speaker 7: basket of mending beside her. And while she darned and
• 2:18:54
  Speaker 7: mended and waited for himself to come home, she remembered
• 2:18:58
  Speaker 7: and remembered about what and she was little Eileen herself,
• 2:19:02
  Speaker 7: and the King of the crossing was just her twin
• 2:19:05
  Speaker 7: brother Larry. And this book is what she remembered. The end,
• 2:19:14
  Speaker 7: end of chapter seventeen, End of the Irish Twins by
• 2:19:19
  Speaker 7: Lucy Fitch Perkins