It was less than two years later that I quickened once more. This time Tûk and I were blessed with twins: two healthy lads, Kali and Ban...

I thought having three young ones already, two more would be simple. But it was quite different having two lads who were the exact same age! They were hungry at the same time, needed their nappies changed at the same time, teethed at the same time. Yet they were different as well.

Kali talked first, but Ban crawled and walked first. I learned that Ban was the quieter; he thought carefully before he spoke. Most thought he was the more clever of the two, but they were wrong. Kali was as clever, and often came up with plots and plans. Most of the time, his twin was perfectly happy to go along with him, but if Ban thought it was a bad idea, he said so. And Kali could not move him. After a few occasions when Kali went ahead with a scheme which Ban said was a bad idea, and it was a disaster, he learned to listen to his brother.

They adored Raz, and followed everywhere. Many of Kali's plans involved following Raz when he preferred not to be encumbered with younger brothers. But it was hard to stay angry with them when they so clearly adored him.

I learned that younger brothers could drive their sisters to distraction. Briar Rose was firm and she knew how to distract them from their mischief. But I soon learned to dread it when Addie would call "Mother!" in a certain tone of voice-- I knew that meant the twins had done something else to vex her.

But they also loved their sisters, and often begged Briar Rose for stories or Addie for songs.