Paddy had heard the stories of an amazing family tradition where it was said that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 18th birthday.
On that special day, each of them had walked across the lake to the pub on the far side for their first legal drink.
So, when Paddy’s 18th birthday came around, he and his best friend Murphy took a boat out to the middle of the lake.
Paddy stepped out of the boat, went straight under the water and nearly drowned!
Fortunately for Paddy, Murphy just barely managed to pull him to safety.
Furious and confused, Paddy went to see his grandmother.
“Grandma”, he asked, “It’s my 18th birthday right, so why can’t I walk across the lake like my father, his father,and his father before him?”
Grandma looked deeply into Paddy’s troubled brown eyes and said, “Because your father, your grandfather and your great grandfather were all born in December, when the lake is frozen. You were born in August, you stupid boy!”
Image used under a Collective Commons License from https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcostetter/33500165584