The Leprechaun of Ireland Comes Again

Leprechauns may be the stuff of Irish mythology, but in my house, the myth becomes reality … sort of.

Hello! As I said on my about page, when I was little, I wrote a short story based off a St. Patrick’s day experience my family had, and recently, I rewrote the story. In this first blog post, I would like to share this with you. I hope you enjoy it!

St. Patricks Day

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    In Salisbury, there once lived a family named Fears. They lived in a townhouse, just off of Woodview Square. Their names were (in order of age, parents first): Jeff, Jill, Gena, Tori, Jeremiah, Zach, and Katie Jo. Jeff was fifty-nine, Jill was forty- six, Gena was twenty-five, Tori was twenty- four, Jerry was twenty, Zach was eighteen, and Katie Jo was twelve. The Fears were very Irish, and liked celebrating St. Patricks Day a lot. They took in a full swing. 

St. Patricks Day was on a Saturday that year, so everybody had off work.  Everybody was sound asleep, except Gena and Tori. They had decided ahead of time to surprise the family and make everything in the dining room and kitchen look like St. Patricks Day. So, when the rest of the family came down that morning, there were green streamers up above the dining room table, green milk and juice, and fresh mint pancakes waiting for them! 

 Jerry and Zach came down first, wearing matching leprechaun shirts. Katie Jo came down soon after that, wearing a shirt that had a design of Minnie Mouse holding a clover on it. Their parents came down a while after, wearing matching green and white shirts. 

Once everyone was there, the family settled down to their feast of pancakes and green drinks. They all loved the mint mixed with the pancake dough. While they were eating, the girls made a remark about wanting to watch Irish dancers on TV. “They’re always so graceful, so beautiful to watch,” they said. 

So after they finished eating they watched the Irish dancers. They were just as thrilling to watch as the girls had remembered. Gena especially loved the way they tapped and twirled. Jerry and Zach were getting bored of all the dancers. They rolled their eyes at all of the “graceful dancers.” They really wanted to get out Jerry’s computer game. They called it a Raspberry Pie. So finally, they got that out. They enjoyed doing St. Patricks day races. 

 The Leprechaun of Ireland

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     The family was enjoying St. Patricks day, playing races and watching dancers, when suddenly, there came a knock on the door. Jeff went to go get it, saying, “I wonder who that could be.” When he opened the door, he stared out, awestruck. The rest of the family went to the door, wondering why Jeff was acting so strangely. They all gasped when they saw what was out front. 

Finally, Gena said something, in a strangled sort of voice. “A leprechaun, at our front door?!?!” Then, Jeff found his voice. “Who are you? Where are you from?” The leprechaun answered in a deep but sort of gentle voice, “I am the Leprechaun of Ireland. I have come a long way. Starting last night, I ventured all the way here to visit people who appear to be Irish. That way they can be with the real Irish spirt.” Then Jeff, like a normal person that is startled and awestruck, said, “Let us ask you some questions and you answer them all honestly. What is your real name?” The leprechaun scrunched up his face and said, “Do you not believe me, a real Irish leprechaun? I told you, I am the leprechaun of Ireland.” 

All of the family stared at the leprechaun, and said basically the same thing, one by one. “Leprechauns aren’t real. They’re fun to imagine, and play games about, but they’re not real.” Then, “I know that you are a man, so please tell us who you really are, and maybe we could let you in to have something Irish to eat or drink.” This was said by Jill. 

There was a pause of silence, with the Leprechaun of Ireland looking very bewildered and crushed. Then, he took off his face mask and hat and said, “How did you figure it out?”

Finding out the truth

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        It turned out that The Leprechaun of Ireland was really a close family friend who was from Ireland. This was the reason that he was able to pull off a very good Irish accent. His name was Micheal Patrick, but everybody called him Pat. Pat came in and had a big brunch. He was hungry from pulling of the act of a leprechaun. “Thanks for coming to visit, Pat,” Jill said. “Its a lot of fun. Do you think you could stay the night? I know that it's a long way to your house from here.” Pat accepted, and when he had to leave the next morning, the whole family was sad. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” Katie Jo said. “We had a lot of fun with you. I hope you’ll come again soon. Maybe even surprise us with another leprechaun joke next St. Patricks Day.” Pat gave a big loud chuckle, sending everyone laughing really hard. “Maybe, Katie Jo, maybe,” he said. Then he said farewell and walked out the door, leaving the family waving out the door. “Wow, that was by far the best St. Patrick’s Day we’ve ever had.” Jerry said. Everybody echoed their agreement, and then Katie Jo suggested that they call their Irish grandmother and tell her about their experience the day before. Jill nodded her agreement, and Zach got out his iPhone and FaceTimed her. The call ended an hour later with everybody red faced from laughing. All in all, it had been the best St. Patrick’s day ever, just like Jerry had said. And just like Katie Jo had joked, Pat came back the next year, dressed up like a leprechaun to share the holiday with them. St. Patricks Day

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