Their oldest is a lanky, freckle-faced lad who wears the cast-off trousers of his father. No more do tall boys wear the petticoats of girls. They are not afraid of the leprechaun when they reach the age of ten or twelve years.
But their mothers still keep them dressed as girls when they are small. And that is why we find John, the second son of Shaun O'Day, in a red petticoat. He looks very much the way Shaun himself had looked at that age.
John had been christened Shaun. But they call him John, because it is to-day in Ireland. Young Shaun was called John O'Day.
John had the ruddy complexion given most of these village lads by the wind and rain. But he was not as tough and strong as his father had been. He did not have to work. He could come home from school and do as he pleased. Sometimes, of course, he ran errands for his mother or helped her with household chores. But usually he would go to the shores of the lake and think.
Shaun once found his son thus. He went up to John quietly. He put his hand on the lad's shoulder. John jumped and stood erect, his face white.
"Och, why do you jump with such a great fear, my lad?" asked the father.
John sat down again. He was ashamed. He did not speak.
"Tell me, lad: What is it you fear?" asked the father.
