The Leprechaun's Gold (1)

The Leprechaun's Gold (1)

It was Lady Day and everyone who had worked on the harvest had a holiday.

Tom Fitzpatrick decided to go for a walk across the fields in the sunshine.

After a while he heard a high-pitched noise, " Clickety-click, Clickety-click, " like the sound of a small bird chirruping.

As Tom peered through some bushes, the noise stopped suddenly, and what did Tom see but a tiny old man, with a leather apron, sitting on a little wooden stool repairing a tiny little shoe the size of his foot.

Next to him was a large brown jar.

(1/7)

The Leprechaun's Gold (2)

The Leprechaun's Gold (2)

Tom thought about all the stories he had heard about the fantastic riches of the little people.
" I've got it made, " he said to himself and he remembered that you should never take your eyes away from one of the little people, otherwise they disappear.

" Good day to you, " said Tom.
" Would you mind telling me what's in your jar ? "

" Beer, the best there is, " said the little man.

" And where did you get it from ? "

" I made it myself ー guess what I made it from. "

" I suppose you made it from malt, " said Tom.

" Wrong ! " said the leprechaun.
" It made from heather ! "

" You can't make beer from heather ! " said Tom.

(2/7) 

The Leprechaun's Gold (3)

The Leprechaun's Gold (3)

" When the Viking were here in Ireland they told my ancestors how to make beer from heather, and the secret has been in my family ever since.
But don't waste time asking me questions. Look ー the cows have broken into the corn field and are trampling all over the corn. "

Tom started to turn round, but remembered that it was a trick to make him look away from the little man.
He lunged forward, knocking over the jar of beer, and grasped the little man in his hand.

" That's enough of your tricks ! shouted Tom.

(3/7) 

The Leprechaun's Gold (4)

The Leprechaun's Gold (4)

" Show me your gold, or I'll squeeze the life out of you before you can blink ! "

And Tom made such a fearsome face that the leprechaun began to quake with fright.

So he said to Tom, " You just carry me through the next couple of fields, and I'll show you the biggest crock of gold you could imagine. "

Off they went.

No matter how he wriggled and slithered, the little man could not escape Tom's grasp.

(4/7)

The Leprechaun's Gold (5)

The Leprechaun's Gold (5)

And Tom looked straight at the tiny creature so that the leprechaun had no chance to disappear.

They walked over fields, across ditches, and through hedges.

Finally they arrived at a field that was full of hundreds of turnips.

The leprechaun told Tom to walk to the middle of the field, where he pointed towards a large turnip.

" You just dig under that one, " said the leprechaun, " and you'll find a crock full to the brim with gold coins. "

Tom had nothing to dig with and realized that he would have to go home to get his spade.

(5/7)

The Leprechaun's Gold (6)

The Leprechaun's Gold (6)

But how would he found the right turnip when he returned ?
He bent down to remove one of the red ribbons holding up his gaiters, and tied the ribbon around the turnip.

" Now you swear to me, " he said to the little creature, " that you won't take the ribbon from that turnip before I return. "

The leprechaun swore that he would not remove the ribbon and Tom ran home to get his spade.

When Tom ran back to the turnip field, he was quite breathless.
He opened the gate into the field and could not believe his eyes.

A mass of red ribbons was blowing in the breeze.



(6/7)

The Leprechaun's Gold (7 完)

The Leprechaun's Gold (7 完)

The leprechaun had kept his word.

He had not taken away Tom's ribbon.
Instead he had tied an identical ribbon to every turnip in the field.

Tom knew he would never find the gold.

Tom walked sulkily back home, cursing the leprechaun as he went.
And every time he passed a turnip field, he gave one of the turnips a mighty wallop with his spade.

(7/7 完)