Find more on leprechauns at LondonTownPress.com © 2006 by Martin Nelson Burton
The Five Things to Remember
When You Catch a Leprechaun
B Y
M
A RT I N
N
E L S O N
B
U RT O N
As a child, Martin Nelson Burton used to write to a leprechaun.
He is the author of the classic St. Patrick’s Day book,
Dear Mr. Leprechaun: Letters From My First Friendship.
Catching a leprechaun is easy, compared to
what you have to do to keep him. Follow
these tips to make sure he doesn’t get away
until he grants you three wishes!
11
Never take your eyes off him.
Your gaze holds him as a magical prisoner. This is
harder than it looks, for leprechauns are professional
ventriloquists, and can throw their voice to make it
seem as if a wildcat is snarling behind you, ready to
attack. Don’t turn your head!
22
Take away his bagpipes.
If a leprechaun brings out his bagpipes, you need
to grab them—quick! Once he starts playing, he’ll
put you under his spell, and then your legs will
stop listening to you and start listening to the
music. You’ll find yourself dancing all night to
the “Leprechaun’s Reel.”
33
Don’t get too greedy.
A leprechaun who is caught must grant you three
wishes. Almost everyone uses one wish to ask for the
leprechaun’s pot of gold. That is wise.
Leprechauns hold vast storehouses of gold, so why
ask for just one pot? Because every leprechaun knows
that if he is careless and gets caught, he must surrender
one pot of gold. That is punishment enough for a
miserly leprechaun. But if you ask for too much, the
whole leprechaun kingdom is likely to hear about it,
and when they do, there’s no end to the mischief they
might cause you until you give it all back. Fair is fair—
if you catch a leprechaun, you’re entitled to one pot
of gold. Use your other two wishes for a big house
and a jet plane.
44
Never make a fourth wish.
After granting your first three wishes, a leprechaun
will always ask you to make one more. Don’t! The
fourth wish destroys the other three.
55
Don’t accept new shoes from him.
A leprechaun is a cobbler, to be sure, but the shoes
he’ll make for you will be enchanted. Put them on and
they’ll move on their own, making you run and hop
and do all sorts of silly dances, until the leprechaun is
laughing so hard you’ll see tears run down his eyes.
