How to Set a Trap for a Leprechaun

First, it must be the night before St. Patrick’s Day…and you absolutely must believe…believe in what?  Believe that you can and will trap that small, green bugger.

Next you need to set a trap, just like any regular animal trap with a box and a stick propping up the box and a string attached to the stick, or a way for the box to fall when the feisty, greedy little creature goes inside.

But instead of putting in cheese for a mouse, or bait for a fox, you put in jewels and gold and maybe even sprinkle on some Lucky Charms.

Ok, I must admit I am new to this, in fact it wasn’t even my idea, it was my seven year olds idea, and she set it all up and explained how these little leprechauns are so greedy, and how we need to attract them by putting in gold and jewels.

Now, a little girl may not have enough of the real gold, and as she told me, so she went on to explain that you can use the fake stuff, just so it looks like gold, just as long as it is all glittery and shiny.

So we set the trap, and believed in leprechauns, and believed it would come, and believed that the trap would work…and that in the morning, there, under the box, trying so desperately to get out…would be our prize.

And I asked, “What do you do when you catch one?”  And she went on to explain, you have to be very careful getting him out, as they really like to bite and are pretty mean, like raccoons or something.

And I also asked, “Why do we want to catch a leprechaun anyway?” 

And she smiled, and said, “To get all their gold silly.”

Well the trap was set, and I listened pretty late into the night as long as I could, waiting for the clamor and the sound of the box to fall so I might be able to run in there and grab him, and hopefully then find a way to get his pot of gold.

But, instead I fell asleep and so did little girl.

And sad and sorry to say, the trap was tripped the next morning and somehow the leprechaun got away, left all the fool’s gold and fake glass jewels, but ate all the Lucky Charms.

Of course I told the disappointed little girl, “There is always next year.”

She smiled, because little seven year olds never give, are relentless and have a ton of other dreams and creatures to trap.

Moral of the story may be: Stay fast with our childhood dreams.  Set a trap for those dreams.  Believe you can capture them.  And believe your dreams will come up to meet you like the Irish Blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you…

especially the little children!