Storytelling Week 12: How to Catch a Leprechaun

"And now may I present to you all your Class President, Michael Myers!" announced the school principal. 

The entire auditorium cheered, mainly due to the excitement of graduating, but also because Michael was the most inspiring Class President the Class of 1989 had had all four years. 

"Thank you, Principal Hawkins. Congratulations graduating Class of 1989!" 

The students nearly jumped out of their seats, screaming with excitement. 

"We've worked hard these past 4 years and now we've made it! So now, I'd like to tell you all a story. No one knows this about me, but I hope you all can take away from it a valuable lesson and apply it as we take the next big step into our futures."

The auditorium grew solemn and eerily quiet as the students and the audience anticipated the story. 

"As many of you know, my family is originally from Ireland, and I fly there every other summer to visit. When I went last summer, though, I experienced something that changed my life. My grandfather owns a lot of land up there, and I was playing with my littler cousins in the back yard. I was teaching them how to throw a football. One of them threw it, and boy did he have an arm! He threw it clear into the woods behind me. At about this time, the boys were called inside for dinner, so I went to get the ball as they ran inside. Then the most amazing thing happened... 

I went looking for the ball and hidden in the bushes was a little man. I'm not talking midget little, I mean he could not have been more than 6 inches tall!

Yes, now I realize you all think I'm crazy, but keep listening. 

He was wearing a little green hat and was shining shoes with... beer. Yes, beer. Then it hit me... He was a leprechaun!"

Students in the crowd began to snicker at how far fetched his story was sounding.

"I know, I thought they weren't real either, but I stared and stared and sure enough, it was a leprechaun! Being from Ireland, I know the tricks of those little devils, and one rule of thumb when you catch a leprechaun is to never take your eyes off them, or they will disappear. So I stared at him as I moved toward him, and yanked him up! We had a nice little conversation about shining shoes, but then I got to the real point of the conversation. I told him to show me where his gold was. I had a firm grip on him so he really had no choice! He told me the directions to a field and off we went. I had to keep my eye on him, though, or else he'd disappear, so I kept tripping and stumbling; sometimes I'd even smack into a tree or two."

A roar of giggles grew from the crowd. 

"But! I never took my eye off that little guy; I was determined. When we got to the field, there were poles stuck in the ground, a couple for each acre for about 40 acres. I had a red ribbon with me, and tied it around the pole where he told me the gold was hidden. Then I let him go so I could run home and get a shovel to dig up the gold. But when I returned, the little devil had tied a red ribbon (identical to the one I'd had) to every single one of those dang poles..."

The crowd burst into a fit of laughter. 

"With that said! I just want to say good luck to your futures, and if you ever find a leprechaun, never take your eyes off of it, and just try not to let it trick you." 

Learn How to Catch a Leprechaun!
Click HERE

Author's Note: This story originated from "The Field of Boliauns" from Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1892). The original story is told in 3rd person, mainly from the boy's perspective. I rewrote it in more modern times as a graduation speech from a Class President, who is supposed to be the little boy in the original story. I tried to build it up like he was going to make some big, important life lesson from the story, but make it ironically turn out to be just a plain old, ridiculous story about a leprechaun that all the audience think is fake.