Brian reached out and ruffled Liam's dark hair. "If Sean won't have a story, then I'll tell it to you."

Liam grinned. "I love this story."

Sean cursed beneath his breath and slouched on the bed, determined not to listen to another ridiculous tale of imaginary ancestors.

"The king had put a bounty on the head of every wolf in Ireland," Brian continued, "and the bounty was enough to feed Ronan and his family for many years. But hunting wolves was a dangerous sport, especially for one so young. And with only a wooden club and a small dagger, Ronan would have to come face-to-face with a wolf in order to kill it-close enough to be killed himself."

"Wolves have really sharp teeth," Liam commented. "My teacher showed us a picture of one. They can kill a man."

"Now, Ronan had never gone to the dark forest and wasn't sure how to find the wolves. But he vowed to stay ink the woods until he found his prey and killed it-or was killed himself. Hunger and thirst tormented him from the start. Then he came upon a small quail with colorful green and yellow feathers and thought, Here is my dinner. But just as he was about to kill the quail with his dagger, the bird turned to him and spoke."

Liam spoke up in a high, wavering voice, "'Please,' she begged Ronan, 'spare my life and if you do, I will give you a magic acorn. The acorn will give you one wish, and I will give you a piece of advice.'"

Brian nodded. "That's right. And Ronan, always tenderhearted, couldn't bring himself to kill the quail. So he took the acorn and bent closer for the bird's advice. And what was it?"

"'These woods are full of magic,'" Liam said.