Andrew’s eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open. “Like the tooth fairy?” he asked.
“Why, yes, I suppose so,” said Mr. O’Casey.
He told us that he came from a long line of leprechauns who fixed the shoes of dancing fairies.
“Leprechauns keep pots of gold hidden away in special places. To find the gold, you have to travel all the way to the end of a rainbow,” he whispered.
Then he asked us to close our eyes and count to ten. When we opened them again, he was gone!
That day Andrew could not stop talking about Mr. O’Casey. He truly believed that Mr. O’Casey was a leprechaun. All the little kids did.
I wanted to believe it, too. I believe in elves and fairies and things. And here was a grown-up who said he was leprechaun. So it had to be true.
This was very exciting. I wanted to know everything about leprechauns. I could hardly wait to see Mr. O’Casey again. But first I had to tell Nancy the news.
Fetch
I went to Nancy’s house right after the meeting.
“You will never guess who I met!” I said. “The parade director’s name is Mr. O’Casey. He says he is a real and true leprechaun.”
I told Nancy everything I could remember. I told her what he wore and how he talked. I told her about the pots of gold.
“He said they are hidden at the end of a rainbow. I wonder how you get to the end of a rainbow.”
“This is amazing,” said Nancy. “Could Mr. O’Casey really be a leprechaun?”
“I do not know,” I replied. “But I do know he is not like any other grown-up I have ever met.”
“I am not so sure a real leprechaun would live in Stoneybrook,” said Nancy.
“I have an idea,” I said. “There is going to be another parade meeting next weekend. You could come with Andrew and me. You could meet Mr. O’Casey yourself.”
“We can decide together if he is telling the truth,” Nancy replied. “And I just remembered I have a book we could look at. It is all about fairies and elves. Maybe there will be a picture of a leprechaun in it.”
Nancy found the book buried under a pile on her bookcase. We turned every page. But we did not find a picture of a leprechaun.
“Boo,” I said. “That would have solved our mystery for sure. Oh, well. We will wait for next weekend. We will find out more then. Do you want to come over now and play with the dog?”
“Sure,” replied Nancy.
Nancy loves dogs. She wishes she could get one. But she already has a kitten, Pokey. And her parents do not want another pet.
The dog was sitting on his bed in the garage. I found a stick and threw it across the yard.
“Fetch!” I said.
The dog leaped up and ran after the stick. He brought it to me. I threw it again. The dog ran after it again. This time he brought it to Nancy. Nancy threw it and the dog fetched it again.
“Can I play, too?” asked Andrew.
The dog dropped the stick at Andrew’s feet. We all laughed.
“I guess that means yes!” said Andrew.
“Has anyone called to ask about the dog?” asked Nancy.
“Yes, a few people called. But none of them turned out to be his owner,” I replied.
I was kind of glad. I knew it would be nice for him to be with his owner again. But I was not ready to say good-bye to him. I liked having him around.
Can We Keep Him?
No one called about the dog on Monday. No one called on Tuesday. No one called on Wednesday.
I started to feel sorry for the dog. He was sleeping in the garage all by himself. He probably missed the people he used to live with. Even though we were being very nice to him.
At dinner on Thursday I said, “I am surprised no one is calling anymore about the dog. He is so sweet. And our posters are all over town.”
“He might have wandered away from another town,” said Seth. “Then his owners would not have seen the posters.”
Just then the phone rang. Mommy answered it. I thought it was going to be my friend, Hannie. But it was not.
“Yes, we did find a dog,” Mommy said into the phone.
She listened for a minute then said, “Yes, the dog’s coat is kind of curly. And, yes, all four paws are white.”
Oh no! This was it. The dog’s owner was calling to claim him. I had told Andrew not to get too attached to the dog. I had told myself, too. But I do not think I listened to myself. I felt like crying.
Then I heard Mommy say, “Your dog’s name is Bessie? Oh, I am very sorry. This cannot be your dog then. The dog is a male.”
Mommy said good-bye and hung up the phone.
“Yes!!!” cried Andrew and I at the same time.
Before I could stop him, Andrew asked the question I had told him not to ask.
“Can we keep him?” he said.
I kicked Andrew under the table. Then I heard something amazing. I heard Seth say, “Well, why not? It is not as though we went out looking for a dog. He found us.”
“He is sweet,” said Mommy. “He does need a home. And you kids have been good about taking care of him.”
“So can we keep him?” asked Andrew again.
This time I did not kick Andrew under the table. Instead I crossed my fingers and hoped Mommy and Seth would say yes. Do you know what? They did!
“We must all understand that his owner could still show up and claim him. We have to be ready to give him up,” said Mommy.
“Okay. But can we bring him inside the house now?” I asked. “He will be so happy.”
“Rocky and Midgie are upstairs. So this is a good time to let him explore his new home,” said Seth.
Yippee!! Andrew and I raced each other out to the garage. As soon as the dog saw us, his tail began to wag. It was wagging faster than usual. He must have known we had good news for him.
“Come in,” I said. “Come and see your new home.”
The dog followed us into the house. Seth had put a gate up at the bottom of the stairs so the dog would stay on the first floor. Right away, the dog started sniffing everything in sight.
Suddenly I realized something important. We did not know the dog’s name.
“What should we call him?” I said.
We tried out a whole bunch of names. Moe. Jack. Buddy. Wags. Boy.
Then Andrew said, “I want to call him Lucky!”
I wished I had thought of that name. It was perfect. We were lucky we found him on our stoop. We were lucky we were getting to keep him. And he was lucky he had a new family to love him.
I told Andrew I liked that name a lot. So did Mommy and Seth.
“Lucky, come!” I said.
He trotted right over to me. I guess he liked his new name, too.
Crash! Bam! Kaboom!
We played with Lucky until it was time for bed. When I fell asleep, I dreamed he was on the Green Thumb float with Andrew and me. Lucky was wearing a four-leaf clover costume just like ours.
CRASH! BAM! KABOOM!
I sat straight up in my bed. I was not dreaming anymore. But I wished I was. Something terrible was happening downstairs.
In a flash, Mommy was in my room. Then Seth came in with Andrew. Seth was carrying Andrew’s baseball bat.
CRASH! KABOOM!
“You three stay here,” said Seth. “We may have a burglar. I will look downstairs. I will tell you if you need to call nine-one-one.”
He walked out of my room clutching Andrew’s bat.
“You kids stay here,” said Mommy. “I do not want Seth to go downstairs alone.”
She left carrying my skateboard. Maybe she planned to skate into the burglar and trip him. Or else she would bop him on the head with it.
Then I got an idea.
“You stay here,” I said to Andrew.
I knew Mommy and Seth would be mad at me for leaving the room. But I could not let Mommy go out there alone.
I grabbed my umbrella. If that burglar knew what was good for him, he would run away. Ot
herwise I would poke him in the belly.
“Hey, wait for me!” said Andrew.
The four of us tiptoed down the stairs in a line. Watch out, burglar. Here we come!
CRASH! BAM! KABOOM!
Two bodies went speeding through the living room. Only they were not burglar bodies. They were furry bodies. One belonged to Lucky. The other belonged to Rocky.
“What a relief!” said Seth.
“But look at our living room,” said Mommy. “It is wrecked.”
Suddenly the chase stopped. Rocky was nowhere in sight. Lucky was looking around the room. He was shaking.
“Lucky must be afraid of Rocky,” I said.
“I thought cats were supposed to be scared of dogs,” said Andrew.
“Sometimes it is the other way around,” said Seth.
“Watch out!” I cried. “Rocky is back.”
Rocky sneaked out from behind the couch. Meowrr!!! He started chasing Lucky again.
“We have to help Lucky,” I said. “He is too scared!”
“Rocky, scat!” said Seth. He stamped his foot on the floor. Rocky turned and headed into the kitchen. Seth followed him. He put down a bowl of water for him. Then he closed the door.
“He will be okay in there for the night,” said Seth.
“Hey, where is Midgie?” asked Andrew.
“Midgie is a scaredy dog,” said Mommy. “As soon as she heard the noise, she ran under our bed to hide.”
“Speaking of bed, it is time for us to go back upstairs and get some sleep,” said Seth.
He put the gate back up. (Rocky must have knocked it down when he jumped over it.)
I went back to my room and snuggled under the covers. I hoped I would not dream about furry burglars.
I Told You So
We had another meeting of the Green Thumbs on Sunday. I decided it was time to get into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit. So I wore a bright green ribbon in my hair.
Andrew and I stopped to pick up Nancy on our way to the Druckers’ house.
“I am a little nervous,” said Nancy. “What if Mr. O’Casey turns out to be a real leprechaun? I never met a real leprechaun before. I might not know what to say.”
“Do not worry,” I replied. “Even if he is a real leprechaun, he is a friendly one.”
“He is a lepicon. He is,” said Andrew.
“We are not so sure,” I said. “Nancy and I will tell you later if we think he is a real leprechaun or not.”
When we reached the Druckers’ house, I introduced Nancy to everyone.
“Thank you for letting me come to your meeting,” said Nancy.
“We are happy to have you here,” said Mrs. Drucker. “As I always say, the more the merrier.”
“You can even join us in the parade if you want,” said Mr. Drucker.
“Thank you very much,” replied Nancy politely. “But I do not think so.”
Nancy told me later that she would rather watch a parade than be in it. That is not like me at all. I want to be in everything!
“Karen and Andrew, come try on your costumes,” said Mrs. Harris. (Mrs. Harris lives next door to the Druckers.)
She held the four-leaf clover costume up for me to see.
“Oh, it is beautiful!” I said. I ran to the bathroom to try it on.
“Ta-daa!” I said when I came out.
“Oh my,” said Mrs. Harris. “I think it needs a little work.”
When I looked down I could tell that one side was a lot longer than the other. I was a lopsided four-leaf clover. I tipped to one side to even it out.
Just then, Mr. O’Casey walked in.
“The luck of the Irish be with us!” he cried when he saw me. “I am sure it will turn out just fine.”
Nancy tugged on one of my lopsided leaves.
“Can you introduce me now?” she whispered.
“Um, Mr. O’Casey, I would like you to meet my friend, Nancy,” I said.
“I am glad to meet such a fine girl as you,” he replied. Then he whispered, “Tell me, Nancy, have you ever met a real live leprechaun before?”
Nancy was tongue-tied. She shook her head to say no.
Andrew tried on his costume next. It was lopsided, too. Mrs. Harris promised to have them both ready in time for the St. Patrick’s parade.
Mr. O’Casey checked all the costumes. Then he asked the kids to gather round him again. He wanted to tell us another story.
“Once upon a time there was a mischievous leprechaun. He liked to sneak from house to house, stealing gold coins wherever he could. And you know where he put them all, don’t you?” asked Mr. O’Casey.
I waved my hand and called out, “At the end of a rainbow?”
“That is right,” said Mr. O’Casey.
I wanted to ask exactly how a person could travel to the end of the rainbow. But it was time to go.
On the way home, Nancy said, “You know, I think Mr. O’Casey just might be a real leprechaun.”
“I think so, too,” I replied.
Andrew smiled. “I told you so. I told you so!” he said.
Hiss and Growl
As soon as we got home, Andrew and I took Lucky for a walk. We were trying our best to take good care of him. After all, he was our very own dog.
Lucky loved going for walks. Sometimes he got excited and pulled us. Then Andrew and I had to hold onto the leash together.
We walked up our street and down.
“It is time to go home, Lucky. It is time for your dinner,” I said.
When we walked into the house, Rocky was waiting by the door. Hiss!
“Rocky, scat!” I said.
I shooed Rocky into the den. I went back into the living room.
“Okay, Lucky. You can have your dinner now,” I said.
But Lucky was not there. I went into the kitchen. Andrew was filling a bowl with food. But Lucky was not there either.
I went upstairs. I found Lucky curled up on my bed. He was resting his chin on Goosie’s lap. I gave him a hug.
“I am sorry Rocky is picking on you,” I said.
I led Lucky back to the kitchen. Andrew put down the bowl of food. I put down a bowl of fresh water. Lucky trotted over to his dinner.
The door opened and Midgie raced in. Grrr!
“Midgie, no!” I said.
I scooted Midgie out of the kitchen. Poor Lucky. Rocky hissed whenever Lucky walked by. Midgie growled whenever he went near her food or toys or water. And it was hard to keep them apart in the same house.
Lucky took one look at his bowl and turned his head away. I guess he had lost his appetite. I would lose mine, too, if someone growled at me every time I tried to eat.
“Let’s take his dinner to the yard. Lucky can have a picnic,” I said. “You hold Midgie while we go outside.”
I grabbed Lucky’s food and headed out the door.
“Make sure Midgie stays …”
Uh-oh. Too late. There was a squirrel in the yard. Lucky raced out the door after the squirrel. Midgie got away from Andrew and raced after Lucky. I raced out the door after Midgie. Andrew raced out the door after me.
We all ran around the yard twice. Finally the squirrel dashed up a tree. That left Lucky, Midgie, Andrew, and me. We ran in circles around the yard. The squirrel was sitting on a branch watching us. (I think I heard him laughing.)
Mommy and Seth came outside. All six of us raced around the yard. Finally Seth caught Midgie. Mommy caught Lucky.
“We’ve got a problem,” Seth said.
A black and white and furry problem, I thought.
Family Talk
We put Rocky and Midgie in one room. We put Lucky in another. Then we sat down together in the living room.
“It is time for a family talk,” said Mommy. “We have to decide what to do about out pet situation.”
“We all know that Lucky is a good dog,” said Seth.
“Then why don’t Rocky and Midgie like him?” asked Andrew.
“I don’t know,” said Seth. ??
?But my guess is that Rocky and Midgie feel threatened by Lucky.”
“But Lucky is so sweet. He would never hurt them,” I said.
“Rocky and Midgie are getting old. They do not want to take any chances. Also, they do not want to share their things. They do not like Lucky being around their food, their toys, or even us,” said Seth.
“That is not very nice,” said Andrew. “In school we learn that we should share.”
“Let’s see if we can find a way to solve the problems,” said Seth. “We are going to do our best to keep Lucky.”
I did not even want to think about giving Lucky up. I needed to think of something fast.
“We can keep them apart all the time,” I said.
“It is a good plan. But we are not very good at making it work,” said Mommy.
“Can Lucky live in the garage again?” asked Andrew.
“He was too lonely there,” I said. Then I had a brainstorm. “How about this! We could build a dog house for Lucky. We could put it in my room and he could live there all the time. Then we could make a slide from my window to the yard. When Lucky wanted to go out he would bark. I would open the window. He would slide down. How about that?”
This sounded like an excellent idea to me. I felt gigundoly proud.
“How would he get back up?” asked Andrew.
“Hmm. That is a good question,” I said. “I know! We would put him in a basket and pull him back up.”
“It is a great idea,” said Mommy. “But it would be an awful lot of work for everyone. Including Lucky.”
Boo and bullfrogs. I was out of ideas. I knew what was coming next.
“I am sad to say this, but keeping Lucky is just too difficult,” said Seth. “I think the best thing for everyone would be to find him a new home.”
“It will have to be a very, very good home,” I said. “We cannot just put him anywhere.”
I could feel my bottom lip shaking a little. That happened whenever I tried not to cry.
“I promise you we will not give up Lucky until we find a good home,” said Mommy.
“Is it okay if we take Lucky out to the yard now to play?” I asked.