The Pot of Gold

The Pot of Gold.

Sean Kelly lived alone, he had no wife because no girl in her right mind would marry him because he was lazy, dirty looking, and smelly. He was the sort of fella that thought hard work was meant for everyone else but not for him. His neighbours kept their land neat, well tended and fenced but his fields were full of weeds, his gates were broken and his fences and hedges untended allowing his cattle to roam the roads

Sean spent his time day dreaming, you see he had great plans believing that one day he would be rich and have everything he needed or wished for. Lady luck was definitely going to smile on Sean Kelly, or so he believed.

One Sunday morning Sean got up early which was unusual for him but as it was a feast day he had decided the night before that he would walk into the nearby town of Westport where there was going to be sports, dancing, and drinking. He put on his only suit, a bit smelly but he didn’t seem to notice as he stank anyway, then he put on his best silk tie waved a comb at the bit of hair he had left and looked in the mirror.

“Oh what a treat for the young ladies” he said and he smiled. A pity really as he had few teeth and what he had were yellow and broken. Sean opened his cottage door and headed down the road.  It was a long walk into Westport, he was passing by his own sorry looking fields and it didn’t seem to bother him that as he walked by he looked across the road to his neighbours which were full of lush green grass and healthy looking cattle. He felt sorry for his neighbours as they were always slaving away even today when he was on his way to enjoy the day’s festivities.

 As Sean walked along the road he noticed that one of his shoe laces had become undone so he bent down to tie it. Suddenly he heard a noise,

“Tic Tack Tic Tack”

It seemed to be coming from behind the hedge that ran along the side of the field he was passing but what was it? He listened again and once again he heard it,

“Tic Tack Tic Tack”

Sean was very puzzled, what on earth was it. Maybe it was a grasshopper, but no this sound was louder and sharper, could it be a thrush smashing a snails shell against a stone, no he thought this sounded very different. Sean stood up and looked through a small gap in the hedge. What he saw nearly caused him to fall into the ditch. There in the middle of the field sat the smallest man he had ever seen. He was wearing a red hat with a white feather in it, green trousers and a yellow jumper. He was also wearing a leather apron. Sean nearly swallowed his broken teeth in surprise for what he was looking at was a Leprechaun.

Sean gave a big grin, here was the bit of luck he had been waiting for. Straightening his tie he climbed through the hedge ripping his smelly suit on the briars, but it didn’t matter because he would soon have all the money he would ever need and he would be able to buy a hundred new suits if he wanted, or so he thought. The Leprechaun looked up as Sean stepped into the field.

“Good morning to you Sean, are you headed into town for the festivities” asked the little Leprechaun,

“I was but then I heard you tapping away so I thought I’d just stop to say hello” replied Sean,

“Well you’re very welcome” said the Leprechaun for he was very polite, “Why don’t you sit down and have a rest, there’s a lovely little rock there behind you”

Sean was just about to turn to look for the rock when he remembered the old stories that said if you took your eyes off a Leprechaun even for a second it would disappear never to be seen again.

“He’s a crafty little fella” thought Sean, “I’ll have to be careful otherwise I’ll lose everything” So he stood where he was.

“That’s a great little shoe you’re making” Sean said,

“It is indeed” replied the Leprechaun. “There’s going to be a great ball tonight and I’m making a pair of dancing shoes for the Queen of the Fairies”

Sean had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

“They’re absolutely gorgeous” he said, “but it isn’t a pair of dancing shoes I’m looking for, even a pair as lovely as those”

“No, I didn’t think it was” sighed the Leprechaun,

“No indeed” said Sean, “I’m after your pot of gold. Everyone knows that Leprechauns have a huge pot of gold and I want it”

“A pot of gold” laughed the Leprechaun, “You’re pulling me leg aren’t you. Why do you think I’m sat here in the middle of a field making a pair of shoes while everyone else are enjoying the festivities”

“Why you decided to work has nothing to do with me, I’ve never understood the need meself. But this is my field you’re sitting in and I demand you hand over your gold immediately” Said Sean, a little annoyed.

“This is your field is it, well you should be ashamed of yourself, look at it, its full of poisonous ragwort and all the seeds are blowing into your neighbours fields. You must be bone idle” said the leprechaun.

“How dare you” roared Sean who was now in a terrible temper. He had already heard complaints about the state of his fields from his neighbours and he didn’t want to hear any from a little shoemaker.

 “Now give me my pot of gold” and he grabbed the little leprechaun in a vicious grip.

“Let me go” squeeled the leprechaun, “You’re hurting me, You’re squeezing me that hard I’m meeting in the middle and I can’t breathe”

“I’ll let you go when you show me where my pot of gold is” roared Sean.

“All right, all right keep yoer hair on, you haven’t got much left anyway” said the leprechaun, “Just put me down and I’ll show you”

Sean threw him down onto the grass. The leprechauns little red hat was squashed sideways with his feather bent. The leprechaun scrambled across to a clump of ragwort.

“It’s under here” he said with a sulk.

Sean looked at the ragwort and let out a groan, how was he going to dig that up out of the ground. The field was dotted with ragwort, if he left to get a spade the leprechaun would disappear and he’d never find the spot again.

Now every time Sean started to think he began to sweat and this was one of those times. He reached down and began to loosen his tie when suddenly it gave him an idea. With a big grin he took off his tie, tied it around the ragwort.

“I’m going home to get a spade” he said to the leprechaun, “Will you give me your word of honour that you will not touch that tie”

“I will and you need not worry, I promise you that I will not touch your tie” said the leprechaun.

Sean may have been bone idle and lazy but he could move very quickly when he wanted to and he was back home in a few minutes, found his spade and was back at the field in a flash. However, when he reached the field he threw the spade to the ground. The leprechaun had gone and red ties waved cheerfully in the breeze from thousands of clumps of ragwort.

Sean didn’t go to Westport that day, he spent it sewing the holes in his ripped old suit. Once or twice he thought he heard someone laughing but it may have been the wind coming down his chimney. He never bought himself a new suit, but he did have hundreds of new red ties to wear on his next visit to Westport.