Karen's Leprechaun

by Ann M. Martin

  “Of course,” said Seth. “I will make sure Midgie and Rocky do not get out again.”

  Andrew and I went out to the yard with Lucky. While we played fetch with him, we thought of a plan.

  “Here is what we will do,” I said. “Tomorrow after school we will take Lucky around the neighborhood. Once people see him, someone will want him for sure.”

  “We should give him a bath first. He is dirty,” said Andrew.

  “You are right. We will give Lucky a bath. We will make him look extra beautiful,” I said. “Then we will find the perfect home for him. I just know we will.”

  Would You Like This Dog?

  “Be careful. We do not want to get any soap in his eyes,” I said.

  It was Monday afternoon. Andrew and I were giving Lucky his bath. He was such a good dog. He did not try to jump out of the tub or anything.

  We rinsed him off carefully. Mommy said it is important to get all the soap out. If you leave any in, dogs get itchy. We did not want Lucky going around scratching. People would think he had fleas. No one wants a dog with fleas.

  We dried him off with a towel. Then we used the hair dryer. We did not want him going out wet and catching a cold. No one wants a dog with a drippy nose.

  “Let’s put a ribbon in his hair,” I said.

  “No way,” said Andrew. “He is a boy dog. Boys do not wear ribbons.”

  He was probably right.

  “How about hanging a four-leaf clover from his neck?” I said. “Lots of people will want him if they think he really is a lucky dog.”

  That sounded okay to Andrew. I cut a four-leaf clover out of green construction paper. I hung it on a piece of string and put it around Lucky’s neck.

  He looked so handsome. I wished we did not have to give him away. But we had no choice. We clipped on his leash and set out to find a new home for Lucky.

  It was a bright, warm day. March was finally turning into a lamb just like Ms. Colman said it would. I was glad it was not snowy and sloppy. No one wants a sloppy dog.

  We walked up the street and knocked on the doors of the families we know. We are not allowed to go to any house unless we know the family who lives there. (We skipped Nancy’s house. I knew she could not take Lucky.)

  First we tried Bobby Gianelli’s house. Since he is not a bully anymore we could let him have Lucky.

  “Would you like to adopt Lucky?” I asked. “He is our dog. But we cannot keep him.”

  “He looks like a neat dog,” said Bobby. “But my dad is allergic to dogs. That is why we cannot have one.”

  “Too bad,” I said.

  We tried Mrs. Harris’s house. This time Andrew asked if she would like to adopt Lucky.

  “No, thank you,” she said. “You see, I am a cat person. I have six cats.”

  “Can’t a cat person be a dog person, too?” asked Andrew when we left.

  “Why not?” I replied. “Both our families have cats and dogs in the same house.”

  We tried Kathryn’s and Willie’s house next. They were out with their mom. But their dad was home.

  “I am really sorry we cannot take him. Mrs. Barnes is afraid of dogs,” he said.

  “No one could be scared of Lucky. He is the sweetest dog in the world,” I said.

  “I can see that,” replied Mr. Barnes. “But I know it would not work out.”

  “Maybe you should take him for the afternoon. Maybe Mrs. Barnes would like him,” I said.

  “Thank you anyway,” said Mr. Barnes. “But we cannot take Lucky.”

  We went from house to house to house. Everyone said that Lucky was a sweet and beautiful dog. But no one wanted to adopt him.

  Could it be that Lucky was not so lucky after all?

  The Rainbow

  There was one more meeting of the Green Thumbs on Wednesday afternoon. We tried on our costumes again. They were all fixed. So we got to take them home.

  Thursday passed quickly. Friday passed quickly. When I woke up on Saturday, it was St. Patrick’s Day!

  I looked out the window. Darn. It was raining. Ms. Colman had not said anything about March being like a fish. Oh, well. Mr. O’Casey said the parade was going to be held rain or shine.

  I got up and got dressed. This is what I wore: green shirt, new green leggings, green socks, and a green ribbon in my hair. (I wished I had green underwear, too.)

  I kept Midgie and Rocky out of the kitchen while I fed Lucky his breakfast. Then I ate mine. When I had finished, I went back upstairs to try on my costume again.

  I looked out the window to see if it was still raining. I saw that it had stopped. That was not all I saw.

  “Mommy! Seth! Andrew! Hurry!” I called.

  “What is it?” cried Mommy. “Are you all right?”

  “I am fine,” I said. “Just look. There is a rainbow!” I pointed to it as if I had put it there myself.

  “Let’s go outside,” said Seth. “We will be able to see it better.”

  The four of us stood in the middle of the yard looking up. (Lucky was living in the garage again. He came out to look at the rainbow, too.)

  “Ooh,” said Andrew.

  “Ahh,” said Seth.

  “I will be right back,” said Mommy. She ran inside and came back with her camera. Mommy pointed her camera at the sky.

  “Hey, rainbow! Smile!” I said.

  While Mommy was taking pictures, I started thinking. Today was St. Patrick’s Day. And there was a rainbow in the sky. I decided this had to be a sign. This must be the leprechaun’s rainbow. That meant there was gold hidden at the end of it. I had to go there. I just had to. I was sure to find a pot of gold if I did.

  “I am going to Nancy’s house,” I said. “I will be right back.”

  I ran next door and rang Nancy’s bell. I wanted to tell her about the rainbow. I wanted to ask her to come with me to look for the gold. But no one was home.

  When I got back to my house, everyone was inside again. I did not think it would take too long to get to the end of the rainbow and back. So I decided not to tell anyone that I was going. They might think that looking for a leprechaun’s gold was foolish.

  I wheeled my bike out of the garage and pointed it toward the rainbow.

  Follow That Rainbow

  I rode down my street. I rode and rode and rode. I could not understand why the rainbow did not seem to be getting any closer. I pedaled faster. I had to reach the rainbow before it disappeared.

  I was so busy thinking about finding the end of the rainbow that I did not realize how far I had ridden. I was way past where I am allowed to be. I am not allowed to go more than five blocks in any direction. I know every house on those five blocks. I had passed those houses a long time ago.

  I decided it was too late to turn around. So I kept on pedaling. I saw houses and blocks I had never seen before. Not even driving in the car. I wondered if I had pedaled right out of Stoneybrook. I felt a little scared so far from home.

  Then the strangest thing happened. I started seeing houses I knew again. Only they were not houses from my little-house neighborhood. They were houses from my big-house neighborhood. Wow. I had ridden awfully far.

  I pedaled into Stoneybrook Playground. I saw our swings and our slides and our hopscotch boxes. I had helped build the playground. Nearly everyone in Stoneybrook had helped. We had raised the money and built it ourselves. I was very glad to see it now.

  I was tired from all that pedaling. I thought about sitting down and taking a rest. But I knew I could not stop. The rainbow was still ahead of me. The end seemed to be just past a wooded area.

  I leaned my bike against the playground fence and headed into woods. I walked a little way. Then I started to run. I had come so far. I did not want to miss the rainbow now.

  I ran farther and farther into the woods. The farther I went, the darker it got. When I looked up I could not see the rainbow anymore. I turned around and around and around.

  Uh-oh. I still could not find the end of the rainbow. And now
I had no idea which way was home. I was lost.

  The Ride Home

  I remembered what Ms. Colman had said to do in an emergency. She had said to keep calm. I took a deep breath. Then I looked around me. I could see my footprints pretty clearly. I had followed a path through the woods. All I had to do was follow it back the way I had come.

  Okay, footprints, I thought. Lead me home. I followed my footprints a little way. Then they disappeared. The ground was still muddy from the rain. But I could tell I was on a path. And I knew I was heading in the right direction. So I kept on going.

  I ran and ran. Finally I saw the swings and slides again. Hurray! I was out of breath. But I had made it.

  I looked at my watch. Yikes. It was late. I was so, so tired. All I wanted to do was sit down and rest. But I had been gone so long. I knew my family would probably be worried. There was no time to lose. I jumped on my bike and began the ride home.

  All of a sudden, I heard someone calling my name.

  “Karen! Hey, Karen! What are you doing here?”

  It was Kristy. She was taking Emily for a ride on the back of her bike.

  I usually tell Kristy everything. But I did not feel like telling her how I ended up all the way at the playground. I did not want her to know that I had been looking for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

  So all I said was, “I was riding my bike. I guess I rode too far.”

  “You sure did. You know you are not supposed to go more than five blocks from either house,” replied Kristy. “Come on. I will ride back with you to the little house.”

  “It is okay,” I said. “I can get back by myself.”

  I only said that because I did not want to look like a big baby. But I really was not so sure I could find my way home again. I hoped Kristy would insist on coming with me. She did. What a relief.

  It took a long time to get home. I could hardly believe I had ridden so far by myself. I saw the houses that were five blocks away from the little house. Then four blocks. Then two blocks. Finally I saw the little house.

  “Thank you, Kristy!” I said cheerfully. “You can go home now.”

  “No way,” said Kristy. “I am taking you right to your door.”

  Tricked

  “Karen, where have you been?” cried Mommy. “We were worried sick about you.”

  Mommy was upset. I was not too surprised.

  “We were about to call the police,” said Seth. “You told us you were going to Nancy’s house. Then Nancy called. We found out she had not seen you all morning.”

  “Where did you go?” asked Andrew. Even he sounded worried.

  “I went for a ride,” I said. “I got a little lost.”

  “I found Karen all the way over near Stoneybrook Playground,” said Kristy.

  “Thank you for riding home with her,” said Mommy. “Would you or Emily like a drink? Can we drive you back to your house?”

  “No, thank you,” said Kristy. “We are fine. But we really should get back. ‘Bye, Karen. I will wave to you at the parade.”

  (I had called my big-house family and told them to look for me on the Green Thumbs float.)

  “ ‘Bye,” I said. “Oh, I almost forgot. Happy St. Patrick’s Day.”

  “You cannot just ride off without telling anyone you are leaving,” said Mommy after Kristy and Emily had left. “And you know very well you are not supposed to ride more than five blocks from the house. We will have to discuss your punishment. But we will do it later. If we do not leave soon, we will be late for the parade.”

  I put my bike back in the garage. Then I went upstairs and put on my four-leaf clover costume. It was not bringing me much luck. It was not lucky that I had gotten lost. And it was not lucky that I was going to be punished.

  On the way to the high school, Seth said, “I am curious, Karen. Will you please tell me where on earth you thought you were going?”

  I decided I owed everyone an explanation. After all, I had really worried them. So I said, “I was going to look for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

  “Oh, Karen, honey. What made you think you could find gold at the end of the rainbow?” asked Mommy.

  “Mr. O’Casey told us they are hidden there. He is the parade director. And he is a leprechaun. He knows these things,” I replied.

  “But leprechauns are not real people. They are made up. Mr. O’Casey was just telling you a story,” said Mommy.

  “No!” said Andrew. “He is a lepicon. He told us so.”

  Maybe Andrew still believed Mr. O’Casey. But I did not. I was sure Mommy was telling us the truth. There are no such things as leprechauns. I had known it all along. But he had tricked me.

  I was gigundoly mad at Mr. O’Casey.

  The Parade

  By the time we reached the high school, a huge crowd was there. I had never seen so much green in my life.

  “Karen, take my hand. Andrew, hold onto Seth,” said Mommy. “We have to hurry. And we do not want anyone getting lost.”

  We started weaving in and out of the crowd looking for the Green Thumbs float. On the way we ran into Mr. O’Casey. He was wearing a leprechaun costume. But now I knew the truth. He was not a leprechaun. He was just a short grown-up dressed in green.

  “Oh, for the love of St. Paddy! Don’t you kids look grand,” he said.

  I refused to look at Mr. O’Casey. I looked down at my feet instead.

  “Could you please point us in the direction of the Green Thumbs float?” asked Seth.

  Before he had a chance to answer, Andrew interrupted.

  “Do you know what? Karen went to look for a pot of gold this morning. And she got lost. And Mommy says there are no such things as lepicons,” said Andrew.

  (Leave it to him to spill the beans.)

  “Oh, my. Did you really go looking for gold, Karen?” asked Mr. O’Casey.

  “Yes, I did,” I replied. “I tried to get to the end of the rainbow. That is where you said the gold would be. But I got lost and everyone was worried about me. And now I am going to be punished. And you are not even a leprechaun. You tricked us!”

  I was out of breath from talking so fast.

  “I feel terrible,” said Mr. O’Casey. “You are right. I am not really a leprechaun. Leprechauns do not exist. But I did not mean to trick you or the other children. I only told you those stories because I thought you would enjoy them.”

  I did not care what Mr. O’Casey said. I was still mad at him. I went back to looking at my feet.

  “Come along,” Mr. O’Casey said to Seth. “I will lead you to your float.”

  He walked with us until we could see the float. Then he said good-bye.

  “Hello, Karen! Hello, Andrew!”

  Mr. Drucker was calling to us from the float. I tried to smile. After all, it was not Mr. Drucker’s fault that we had been tricked.

  He helped us up. We stood with the other kids who were dressed as four-leaf clovers. If I had not been in such a bad mood I would have been having fun.

  I looked for Nancy and my big-house family. But I could not find them in the crowd. Maybe I would see them when the float started moving.

  “Welcome, everyone! Welcome to Stoneybrook’s St. Patrick’s Day parade! I am Mr. O’Casey, the parade director.”

  Mr. O’Casey was standing at the top of the steps in front of the school. He was talking into a microphone. I put my hands over my ears so I would not have to listen to him. The next thing I knew, our float was moving. We rode through the streets into the middle of town.

  A marching band played a song I knew called “Danny Boy.” Lots of people were wearing green hats, and buttons that said, “Kiss Me, I’m Irish.” One man had dyed his eyebrows and mustache green.

  Everyone seemed to be having a good time except me. I knew I was going to be punished as soon as I got home from the parade.

  A Present

  Mommy and Seth met Andrew and me after the parade. I was gigundoly tired from chasing rainbows and being grumpy. I d
id not say one word on the way home.

  I knew the only thing that would cheer me up was seeing Lucky. So I went to the garage to visit him.

  “Please do not stay out there too long,” said Mommy. “We need to talk.”

  “Lucky, did you hear what happened to me today?” I said.

  I told him the whole sad story. You know what he did? He listened to me. Then he licked my nose. It tickled. What a great dog!

  “I will find you the best home ever. You just leave it to me,” I said. “I wish we could visit longer. But I have to go inside now. I have to find out what my punishment is going to be. See you later.”

  Mommy and Seth came up to my room to talk with me.

  “You broke two important rules, Karen,” said Mommy. “First you went off without telling us you were leaving. Then you went too far from home.”

  “You know we do not make these rules to be mean. We make them to keep you safe,” said Seth.

  “All right. Now for your punishment,” said Mommy. “You may not ride your bicycle for two weeks starting today. Is that understood?”

  I could feel my bottom lip start to shake. I knew I could not talk. If I did I would cry. So I just nodded.

  “I am sorry this has been such a difficult day for you,” said Seth.

  After they left I did not feel like crying anymore. I felt like yelling. I felt like yelling at Mr. O’Casey. This was all his fault.

  I was mad for three whole days.

  Then a package came for me in the mail. I wondered if it was a present from one of my grandparents. But it was not my birthday. I looked at the return address. Guess who it was from. Mr. O’Casey. I thought about sending it back unopened. But I was too curious. What could it be?

  I opened the box. On top was a letter.

  There was a white box underneath some tissue paper. I opened it and found a tiny glass ball with a four-leaf clover inside it. I could not stop looking at my present. It was beautiful.

  Lucky’s New Home