“Can I Tell You Something?”

Hi, can I tell you something? I’m Polly and I am seven years old. In the summer, at our cottage on the lake, my sister Lilly, my baby sister Bess, my cousins Jill and Ivy and I go on adventures. This is where the magic begins!

I hope you’re ready. It’s incredible! I’m going to tell you about my mischievous leprechaun friend, Paddy. He drives me crazy with his magic tricks.

I am coloring and minding my own business in the playroom. All at once, green sparkling fairy dust swirls around me. I hear Paddy laughing, but I can’t find him. I grab my bag of crayons and dump them on the floor. I know you are wondering why. If I catch Paddy and put him in my bag, he will give me three wishes. I can do a lot with three wishes. I’ve been trying to catch him my whole life, but he escapes all the time.

Lilly, Jill, and I surprised him one summer morning. We snuck up on him in our garden and put him in a bag and tied it up.
Don’t worry. We were careful.

“Caught me, so you did, Polly.” Paddy yelled from inside the bag. “Now I know ye be wantin’ your wishes, so you do.”

He was singing something in Gaelic, his Irish language. I should have known he was up to something and was going to trick me. He deliberately did not tell me I could only have three wishes.

Yes, you guessed it! I wished for four wishes and in a snap, I lost all my wishes. I heard Paddy laughing. I untied the bag, but he was gone! I made up my mind to catch him again.

Today is the day. I’m not going to let him trick me again. He knows a lot of magic, so if you ever get the chance to catch him, remember that he’ll try to trick you, too. I have a plan to catch him, so get ready for the adventure.

Sure enough, I see him through our playroom window dancing a jig. Leef, his little leprechaun friend, is sitting in a nearby tree and smiling. Paddy’s sparkling green suit shines brightly in the sun and it hurts my eyes. Gold fairy dust shoots from his pointy green hat at the top of his head. I clutch my bag and run out the door as fast as I can.

“Try to catch me, Polly!” Paddy laughs. He flies up to a tree branch and plops down next to Leef, who is humming an Irish tune.

“Come down here,” I shout.

“Polly, you’ll not be catchin’ me today, lassie,” Paddy says.

Fairy stars swirl all around me in a circle.

“Stop it!” I bat the stars away. “You’re so irritating.”

“Aye, so you say.” Paddy opens a gold bag attached to his belt. All at once, five colorful cowgirl hats zip out of the bag and fly straight at me.

“Stop it!” I say again. If I take one more step, my red cowgirl boots will crush the hats as they land on the ground in front of me. He drives me crazy with his tricks.

He snaps his fingers. A red cowgirl hat flies up from the ground and lands on my head.

You aren’t funny.” I tug on the hat, but it’s stuck on my head. “Get this off.” I yank and yank on it, but it won’t come off.

Paddy snaps his fingers again and an envelope zips into my hand.

“What’s this?” I try to tear it open, but it is sealed shut. It won’t open no matter how hard I try.

“When you go horseback riding today, stop on the dirt road for a minute before you get to Chicken Annie’s farm.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. “You’re speaking in riddles.”

“When you stop, you can open the envelope.” His gold fairy wings flap faster and faster as rainbow fairy dust swirls around him and Leef. “Read the note to the girls.”

“Who told you I’m going riding today?” I’m surprised he knows.

“Tis not a secret.” Paddy smiles. “I’m seein’ the snazzy red riding boots ye be wearin’ today.”

“Who cares,” I say.

“I’ll be sayin’ I do,” Paddy says. “Don’t forget to give Lilly, Jill, Bess, and Ivy their hats.”

“We don’t want them!” I shout.

“You’ll be liking those hats, lassie, so you will.” Paddy stood up on the branch. “They’re of the highest magic. You can fly on your horses to Annie’s farm, so you will.”

“I don’t believe you.” I know he is trying to trick me. He is showing off calling me “lassie” and I do not like it one bit.”

Green and gold sparkles shoot out of the top of his green pointed hat. When I look up, the word “magic” is shining in the sky.

I don’t tell him, but I kind of like it.

“Lassie, if you’ll be learnin’ to fly, maybe ye be catchin’ me one day. Slan!” He and Leef spread their wings and fly off over the trees.

“I am going to catch you, Paddy,” I yell.
“You wait and see.”
He’s not fooling me. I know slan means “goodbye” in Gaelic. A hat can’t make me fly. I stuff the envelope in my skirt pocket.

I run to the kitchen. Lilly and Jill are already there. Our grandmother, GaGa, is feeding baby Bess and baby Ivy. Bess is throwing her food all over. Ivy is throwing her toast bites up into the air and laughing. I toss the hats on an empty chair.

“They sure are messy,” I say.

“Babies are.” GaGa wipes the babies’ faces and hands.

“Eek, eek, eek!” Bess shouts and her tiny teeth form a smile.

“Eek, eek, eek!” Ivy’s one little tooth shows when she squeaks out the words.

“They sound like dolphins,” I say.