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March 16th, 11:59, is the time when you’ll see him strike. The tiny but devious man who clothes himself in green apparel complete with two small, sharp black boots and a long orange beard.
Lubberkin, Lurdigadawne, Luricawne, and Cluricahun—all these names may seem unfamiliar, but they all point to the same person. You may know him as the leprechaun.
St. Patrick's Day started all the way back in 1631, which was the first year of the leprechauns' rise. Every night, before Saint Patrick's Day, he would venture out of his rural home in Ireland to wreak havoc.
He took great joy in the toys of little kids around their house, leaving sparkles on leather furniture, and putting paint all over the windows in homes. He did all this because, to him, Saint Patrick's Day was his own holiday.
After many years of this chaos, people grew tired of the messes being left by the leprechaun without him taking any accountability.
So, it was decided:the best bet would be to try to capture the leprechaun.
The first trap created wasn’t much of a success. It consisted of a metal bucket with a small ladder leaning up against it. Next to the ladder was a sign saying “gold inside!”
Now, something the leprechaun enjoyed more than wreaking havoc himself was gold, so, spotting the sign, he willingly climbed into the bucket and jumped down.
Pretty quickly, the leprechaun realized there was no gold inside, and with ease, he was able to jump up and grab hold of the side of the pail and pull himself out. He took hold of the sign, writing on the back, "Can't fool me!” And knocked over the ladder, proceeding to disappear in time for Saint Patrick's Day the next day.
The next year, the trap provided a bit more effort for the leprechaun to escape. This new contraption was shaped like a shoebox, with tissue paper covering a small entrance. Inside was a gold glow, immediately attracting the attention of the leprechaun.
As he neared the entrance, he ripped off the tissue paper to see a pit inside the box, with what looked to be a small flashlight imitating the faint color of gold in the bottom of the hole. With a harsh shake of his head, the leprechaun stepped outside of the dark box, pushing it with all his strength until the box revealed the hole.
He took out his magical paintbrush, scribbling on the side of the box, “Maybe next year," before leaving once again before the morning came.
Almost as if he’d jinxed himself, the next year came around, and this time, the leprechaun wasn't able to escape his own doom. The trap this year didn’t look like a trap at all. It appeared to be just one shiny gold coin resting on a podium.
There was a small piece of paper folded up next to the coin saying, "We give up." The leprechaun laughed a jolly, deep laugh, stashed the paper in his pocket, and picked up the coin.
But as he did, a string that he didn’t notice that was attached to the coin was pulled, triggering a tall cylinder to fall on top of him.
The leprechaun, with great panic on his face as darkness filled his view, started banging on the sides of the cylinder trap, calling for help. It wasn’t till another hour that a group of kids came, hearing the leprechauns' pleas.
"We will only free you if you promise to stop creating messes in our homes and classrooms!” A small girl offered.
The leprechaun, desperate, agreed quickly, but the cylinder wasn’t lifted up. “What now?” The leprechaun snapped, growing impatient.
“Well, I’m tired of this 'holiday' being more of a pain rather than fun! Can’t you do something special for us?” A boy asked in a curious tone.
The leprechaun grumbled but complied, promising if the small children left their shoes out every night before St. Patrick's Day, he would leave a small present for them.
From then on, the leprechaun came every year, wreaking havoc as usual, but leaving small goodies like chocolate coins, stickers, beads, and more for the small children who had put up with his antics.
