Excerpt

Were all sitting in Mass now and the priest is giving his usual boring sermon. As he drones on, some people are nodding off. Their heads move slowly down so that their chins are resting on their chests and in just about five seconds their heads jerk back up again and they pretend they were awake the whole time. Im staring at the fox the lady in front of me is wearing. Its head is hanging over the back of the pew, and its wee beady eyes are looking right at me. Suddenly its mouth opens and it begins to speak.

All I did was kill one plump chicken to feed my babies and that bleedin' farmer had to put out a trap and kill me. All that, so this rich lady could throw me over her shoulder. Theres not even enough of me to do a decent job of keeping her warm and now my babies are orphans.

Im so sorry, Mrs. Fox. I wish you werent dead. Id bring you back to life if I could!

I feel an elbow in my side and Mammy is looking down at me in exasperation. The lady wearing the fox is looking around in a huff and her nose is a mile in the air. Mammy looks embarrassed and Im relieved when the priest says, Please stand for the creed. I believe in One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

The drone goes on, and Im looking across the middle aisle now at an old woman whos starting to sway back and forth. Before you can say Tir Na Nog; The Land of Youth shes pitched sideways and landed on the kneeler in front of the people next to her. Theres a noisy scramble to get her up, and the ushers drag her out into the fresh air. I suppose shes sitting on that wee wall outside right now, with her head between her knees. It happened to Irene once and she told me all about it.

Wintertime is definitely the most interesting time to go to Mass because all the windows are closed and the crush of people makes the place real stuffy, so it does. Im looking around to see who will be next, and the ushers open all the doors to let in the fresh air. You can hear the cows mooing in the field behind St. Theresas School. I suppose theyre wondering what we are all doing in here.

The lady wearing the fox is feeling the chill now and is starting to jerk her shoulders. She pulls the fur closer to her throat. This makes the poor wee fox sway back and forth. Im just putting my hand out to steady it when Mammy clears her throat again and gives me a sharp look. I pull my arm back and concentrate on how to get rid of the watery discharge that the breeze has caused to run out of my nose. Daddy and his hanky are all the way down at the other end of the pew. I try sniffing it back up, but theres just too much. Im starting to raise my sleeve towards my leaking nose, when Mammy looks over and digs me in the side again. The word finally gets to Daddy and his hanky is passed down the line to my great relief.

When its time for Communion, Mammy, Daddy and Pauline go up to receive Jesus. Irene and I kneel down as we havent made our First Communion yet. The lady with the fox must have forgotten to go to confession, because shes still sitting in the pew while the Pure of Heart are receiving Jesus. Im kneeling so close now, that I can actually feel the wee foxs soft fur. I touch her nose with my finger, and its dry and hard. I wish she could be running up the mountain loney, smelling the bluebells and primroses and licking her babies clean.

After communion and the closing prayer we all file out of the church. I try to keep up with the wee fox as she sways back and forth on the ladys back. But too many big people get in the way and I cant see her any more. Maybe next week shell come to the nine oclock Mass. I hope she does. I know one thing for sure, so I do. When I grow up, even if I become rich and important, Ill never wear a dead fox over my shoulder!