Summary

The short story “The Lamb” by Andrea Carter begins with the narrator returning to her home town in Ireland for a school reunion. Her adult son, Robert, calls to check up on her. The narrator is fond of her son, even if he was conceived as a drunken mistake. 

The narrator goes to visit the noe empty school and remembers her childhood in those classrooms. She also remembers her best friend, Ruth. She walks to several landmarks as she continues to remember.

The narrator remembers an event which happened during St. Patrick’s Day, 32 years before, when she was invited to a party by the most popular girl in her class, Dee. The narrator was disappointed to see Ruth at the party because Ruth was not popular. She did not wear make-up or dress fashionably, and unlike the narrator she was happy with the person she was.

The people at the party began to harass Ruth. Eventually, they started to beat Ruth and kick her while she was down. When a boy...