L is for Leprechauns!.

L is for: 

Leprechauns!

So this one I am doing for my other daughter.  This one was her idea.  Mainly because she is shorter than some of the other kids in her class and one of the other students in particular likes to call her a Leprechaun.  So at the moment they are the first thing she thought of when I said the letter L.  

Maybe there's a pot of gold there?

Leprechauns originated in Ireland, and are actually some of the better known fairies of Ireland.  They are shoe makers and they hide any and all gold they find in secret hideaways, which are said to be found at the end of rainbows. The description  of the leprechaun appearance varies.  Some say they are smaller than a cat to some who say they can be up to 3 ft tall. (still not very big, but bigger than a cat!)  They are  seen in many pictures carrying a  Shillelagh. (an Irish walking stick)     Also originally the leprechaun wore predominantly red NOT GREEN!(I was actually surprised to read that)

Red?

While they aren't terribly mean-spirited, they are extremely sneaky and crafty when it comes to humans.  After all the average human is only after their pot of gold! They have been known to offer 3 wishes in exchange for their freedom if caught. (always more tempting than a pot of gold right?)  But they usually grant those wishes in a negative way.  So that their captor is forced to use his or her wishes to get them out of the trouble brought on by the first wish.  I guess that means if you ever catch a leprechaun you should just forgo the wishes and just ask for the gold?  However they would probably find a way to finagle you out of that too.

This Post is part of The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2012