Padraic Colum seems to have been destined from his earliest years to become a storyteller. He was born Patrick Collumb, on December 8, 1881, in Ireland's County Longford. Until age six, he lived at the Longford workhouse, where his father taught. There Colum heard the stories—both the traditional Irish folktales and the personal experiences— of the old, the sick and injured, and the poor who took refuge there. When his father lost his position at the workhouse, Colum, his brothers and sisters, and his mother went to live with his mother's family. During the next three years, he spent much time with his uncle Micky Burns, a dealer in domestic fowl and a great singer of songs and teller of tales. Colum sometimes accompanied his uncle on buying and selling trips, hearing his stories, and seeing life on the farms and in the...