The Origin of Leprechauns 

By: Olivia Rosenberger

There once lived a tall man who had red hair, blue eyes, and a beard. His name was Chaun, and Chaun enjoyed painting. He loved to mix the colors he had to create a beautiful painting filled with all the colors of a rainbow. He found a sense of peace and calmness when he would paint. He loved it. It was his escape from everything he had going on, his happy place. While he would paint, he would sip on strong wines, which helped to get his brain thinking. Chaun lived deep in the rural area of Ireland and often wore his Irish cap that his father gave to him. 

One day, he was at the market buying his weekly fruits and veggies, when a young girl came up to him and asked him to help her reach the mini golden potatoes off of a shelf. After he nicely helped her grab the potatoes, she said, “Thanks mister, and just so you know, you have some green on your face.” Turns out he had gotten some of his cupcake icing from lunch on his face. Chaun thanked her, smiled, and they went their separate ways. As he was walking home with bags of groceries in each hand, he thought of something unusual about the child. 

When the little girl thanked him, her sleeve came up a little bit, and he noticed she had a small tattoo on her wrist; it looked to be a four-leaf clover with a saying below that said, “love spreads luck.” He had never seen a little girl with a tattoo before. As he was pondering all the possible ways the girl would’ve gotten a tattoo, he began to worry about the girl. After all, tattoos are pretty painful, and for a little girl to have one, crazy! He was going to say something in the store but he didn’t want to intrude on her privacy, so he continued on his way home. 

Without even noticing, he stepped on a coin. When he looked down, bam! That’s when it happened! His feet and body shrunk to half his size; voice turned squeaky; whole outfit turned green, just like his hat; and a huge pot of gold appeared before him. Chaun didn’t know what happened. He was struck with this change in his appearance because of some coin. He soon found out that the coin must’ve had some magic in it! Shortly after this dramatic transformation, the girl from the store came out from behind the humongous pot of gold. She looked different from how she originally looked. She was dressed in green like Chaun and had a lot of the same characteristics he had obtained. Her tattoo was even glowing green!

Chaun didn’t know what was going on, but he knew he had to follow her. She led him past the market and into the forest. After nearly half an hour of walking, she stopped. “My name is Lepre,” she said. “I am a magical being from a place, which I do not know. I have these abilities that I myself am still trying to understand. When I was younger, I remember living in a cottage with my family in a beautiful oasis. I was probably around 4 years old when I lived there. It’s my earliest memory. My parents told me that one day I would have to grant someone the same abilities as mine. At the time, I had no idea what they meant. They said I was special.”

“I have gifted you the ability to run super fast, shrink your body, drink and eat as much as you want, form and ride a rainbow, and create gold out of thin air. The only thing is you can’t use your powers for self-fulfillment, which means the gift I have given you is to give. You should use your powers for good; that is, if you accept them.” Chaun didn’t know what to do. He would have to give up his life, but did he really have much to give up? He was bored of the life he had; he wanted something new. With a nervous grin, he agreed. She was overjoyed. She would finally have someone understand her. They became good friends very quickly, she claimed that the age you officially get your powers on is the age you stay unless you choose to “move on.” 

The two of them became good friends in a matter of seconds. They decided that their species would be called Leprechauns, and something new boiled within the world, the gift of giving. 

Suddenly Chaun woke up! He was in a hospital bed. Somehow, on his walk home, he had slipped on something and hit his head. Then, someone must’ve driven him to the doctor’s. Luckily, there were only minor injuries to his body, as well as a tattoo the doctors didn’t recognize he had. He went home, and that’s the last that anyone has seen of him. Nobody has any resolution to where he went. They only know of the tale he told his cousin before disappearing. 

People have spotted a small creature in their wine cellars in Ireland, but nobody has captured it. It is said that he will give money to the needy, those he takes wine from, and those who put others before themselves. Legend has it, you can find the whole pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but nobody can seem to catch it before it disappears. They have only ever found a painting that remains. We can only wonder who will be the first to catch a leprechaun if they’re out there. How can we be sure they don’t live among humans?