The Case of the Leprechaun's Luck (Magical Mystery Series)

by Brenda Elser

  She shoved them toward a long table where several volunteers in standard hunter green garb efficiently handled paperwork. Each contestant filled in his or her registration sheet and handed it to a volunteer who whisked it away. They were then directed to a large scale that read “Luck-O-Meter.” Eva and Robert watched as a contestant stood on the scale and the arrow twanged to 25%. When the volunteer had registered the contestant’s Luck Weight, the next contestant moved forward to be weighed.

  “What’s that?” Eva whispered.

  “We measure how much Luck a contestant has at the beginning of the race and then compare it to the amount at the end. Only one contestant can win, and sometimes more than one makes it across the finish line, so the one who has the most Luck left is the winner.”

  Eva and Robert nodded gravely. Only one person could win a Coin and they were competing against all of these contestants?

  They moved forward in the registration line anxiously. The line moved quickly through the almost-endless line of contestants but came to a screeching halt once Eva and Robert made it to the front.

  “Wh… where… wh…” the green-clad man fumbled, staring at Robert’s head and ears.

  Robert grinned broadly and said, “Hiya. I’m Robert.” He stuck his hand out as if to introduce himself formally. The man tapped his co-worker vigorously and Robert smiled at him, pretending not to notice. “I’m kinda new here, so I’m not ‘zackly sure what to do, but I can follow directions like a pro.”

  Now both volunteers stared at them silently.

  Finally Robert said, “Uh… Cannn yooou heeear meee?”

  By now the other volunteers had begun to talk amongst themselves about the two spectacles that claimed to be “new in town.” Quiet whispers and serious nods made Robert and Eva feel very self-conscious until Reese stepped in front of the children and said loudly, “Yes, that’s right. Their ears are… well, funny…” The men hushed. She turned to the children and whispered, “No offense…”

  “None taken,” Robert held up his hand and Eva nodded again, slightly dazed.

  Reese took the pen from the volunteer’s hand and said, “Here, let me help you.”

  She handed the pen to Robert, who signed the registration form and passed the pen to Eva.

  After Eva signed her form, Reese took their papers and moved them to the drop box where all the others had been collected. She reviewed the billboard where contestants had been assigned numbers, and after punching a few bits of information into the system, she grabbed the two tickets that spit out of a gigantic clunky contraption.

  She handed each child a number and said, “Since you’re not wearing hats, we’ll have to pin this on your shirts.” The volunteers had quieted altogether now, simply staring as both Robert and Eva removed their jackets and awkwardly tied them around their waists. Then Reese pushed them toward the Luck-O-Meter and told Robert to stand on the scale.

  As Robert’s weight settled, lights and alarms began to scream and blink and whirl. Sirens sounded as the arrow bounced on “100% Luck! 100% Luck!” again and again. Now everyone in the crowd became silent and stared at the newcomers.

  “Why is everyone staring at us?” Eva gulped, looking around at all the angry expressions.

  “Well…” Reese said matter-of-factly, pinning the numbers to their shirts. “We’ve never, ever seen this much Luck on a contestant before. And since there’s a shortage, people are probably a bit suspicious. But mainly I suppose it’s because you’re, uh… Well… you’re human.”

  “So?” Robert snorted.

  “Well, we’re Leprechauns, silly!” Reese grinned.

  6. No Humans

  It was Eva and Robert’s turn to stare at Reese and the rest of the Leprechauns in the crowd. “Land of Luck! Duh!” Robert smacked his head and grinned at Eva. “Of course they’re Leprechauns! And they’re not green! And they’re our size!”

  “Yeah, and you’re almost as tall as some of them,” Eva snickered.

  The clatter of a single pen dropping echoed across the vast stone courtyard. The volunteers had even stopped shuffling their papers as they continued to stare.

  “Uh, stop talking Robert…” She cautioned, looking at all the angry eyes focused on them. “We are human. So?”

  The collective buzz grew louder, and the children spun around sizing up the gathering mob. But instead of an attack, a paper airplane soared over the heads of the crowd and with perfect ‘Luck’ it landed on Robert’s head and stuck in his spiky hair, looking almost like a ladies’ small hat.

  Reese reached out and plucked the plane from his hair and unfolded it. She read the note and grimaced. “Okay, 94-O’Sweeney,” she grumbled the contestant’s entry code. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  Someone shouted from the crowd, “No humans!”

  Soon the others began to chant, “No humans! No humans! No humans!”

  Eva assumed a karate pose and Robert clenched his fists as Reese aimed a grim look toward the volunteer’s table. “Well?” she demanded. “Aren’t you going to do anything about this?”

  They looked at each other, dumbfounded. One of them turned and mumbled, “I’ll go get the manual to see what should be done.”

  But the crowd looked like it was growing quickly, and if it didn’t stop soon there may be a complete riot. More Leprechauns began chanting “No humans!” Soon they had formed a circle around the three friends. A few contestants even jumped forward and gave Eva and Robert a small push before running back into the safety of the crowd.

  Finally Reese had had enough. She leapt up onto one of the long tables and shouted, “Leprechauns! My fellow Leprechauns! Listen to me!”

  It took some yelling but when she finally had their attention, Reese stood on the table with her hands on her hips and glared. Her pointed ears glowed bright red with anger. “You are all simply upset because of the amount of Luck they have. Maybe you’re worried it gives them an unfair advantage, but if you knew why they’re here, perhaps you’d choose to work together and help them as a team! Their goal is honorable – to help a friend – and we can learn from them!”

  The crowd was completely silent until someone yelled, “That’s not the Leprechaun way! We have our Luck and our wits to pull us through and we don’t need to change! Or help any outsiders!”

  Reese fumed as the Leprechauns moved toward Eva and Robert. The children heard her whisper something before she raised her hand to her lips and breathed lightly as if blowing a kiss to the crowd. A gentle mist of Golden Dust settled across the mob, and in an instant everyone calmed and seemed to be in better spirits. Robert tapped Eva and pointed at Reese to make sure she’d seen it too.

  “She got some of that Luck stuff off by blowing on it!”

  “Yeah! She used it to calm everyone down.”

  The crowd began to murmur again, but now they seemed to be talking about plans to make it through the obstacles instead of how to eliminate Eva and Robert, and the group that had gathered around them began to wander back toward the rainbow balloons as if all was forgotten.

  “Don’t mind them,” Reese said, stepping down from the table. “This will all blow over once the competition starts.”

  Robert slapped his knee. “Blow over!” he shouted. “Get it? Blow over? As in Reese blew some of that Lucky Dust on the crowd? Anyone? Anyone?” He held his hand up for a high five.

  Eva rolled her eyes at him and turned to Reese. “Thanks,” she said, touching their new friend on the shoulder.

  “Not a wise decision, young lass,” a stout Leprechaun interrupted them, shaking his head at Reese. “Wasting precious magic on that stunt to quiet the crowd is careless of ye. Simply careless. Ye should have let them throw the humans out of town. They can’t win the Tournament anyway. Humans cannot be leaders of the land and ye know it.”

  The lone Leprechaun, O’Sweeney, growled at Reese as he swaggered toward them. O’Sweeney was thick and tall for a Leprechaun. He was covered up to his neck in Golden Dust but his hair and bea
rd were a flaming bright red, and he stood out in the crowd.

  “You’re awfully confident for a little guy,” Robert snorted.

  O’Sweeney’s chest swelled out and his eyes were defiant as he wheeled around to face Robert. “Ye dare to make fun of yer elders?” he said. “And yeee!” he pointed at Reese, “Ye waste yer magic on these… these humans?” He spat the words at her. “I’d say this is a perfect example of why ye should never be a leader! Yer too young to know that humans aren’t worth the bother! They find a penny and they call it ‘good Luck!’ They break a mirror and they call it ‘bad Luck!’ They don’t know that Luck is earned through hard work! The only human who ever understood was ‘The Great Kathleen.’”

  A few people in the crowd stopped to listen again when he mentioned the name ‘The Great Kathleen’.

  “Hey,” Robert nudged Eva and whispered. “Isn’t Kathleen your mom’s name?”

  Eva nodded and continued to listen.

  “See?” Reese quietly replied shaking her head at O’Sweeney. “You said it yourself. Not all humans are worthless Luck scavengers. Why don’t you give these two a chance? All they want is to bring their friend back…”

  “Do share…” O’Sweeney said sarcastically. “We’re all ears!”

  The Leprechauns hooted with laughter and Robert leaned in close to Eva. “Get it? Get it?” he said. “All ears! As in pointed ears!” He pointed to his ears and then to O’Sweeney’s sharp ear lobes. Eva scowled at him, but Robert just grinned wider and slapped his knee.

  “Oy! Listen up!” Reese shouted again and the crowd stopped laughing.

  As she wove the tale of her two new friends, Robert and Eva noted Reese embellished a few points (which was fine with both of them, as it moved the crowd to tearful sympathy for their human competitors), and left out others (which was also fine with the children, as the Leprechauns did not need to know anything about Robert’s misadventures with the Tooth Fairy’s white furnishings).

  O’Sweeney took a deep breath. “Well, well…” He appeared to be quite interested in his shoes, and he did not look up to meet their eyes.

  “See,” said Reese, “not everything is as it appears. Maybe you could even help us.”

  O’Sweeney cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. “That’s not the Leprechaun way,” he gruffed. Then he straightened up and shook a finger at them, “I’m not just going to hand over my chance to win the Gold Coin. I’ve worked too hard for this!”

  “We’re not looking for a free ride,” Eva said, quickly squeezing Robert’s hand before he could complain. (Because, of course, if it was free, Robert wanted it.) “We just want to do our best and bring our friend home – where she belongs.”

  O’Sweeney raised his eyes and took a close look at Eva, searching her face for a moment before his features softened. He took Eva’s hand and said, “Ye know, ye do remind me of The Great Kathleen just a wee bit. I see it in yer eyes.” He smiled so that only the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

  “By any chance,” Eva began and stopped. It was almost too strange to ask him the question she was thinking. It would be a long-shot, and she didn’t want O’Sweeney to think she was crazy.

  “Come, come, what is it?” he asked. “Ye’d best make it fast. The race is going to begin in a blink.”

  Eva began again, “By any chance… Is The Great Kathleen’s last name… is it O’Hare?”

  O’Sweeney’s eyes lit up. “Nope!” he laughed. “It was Warfield.”

  Suddenly a bell clanged and the band began to play, signaling that the race had begun. O’Sweeney abruptly dropped Eva’s hand, gave them a salute and a wink and raced off into the crowd.

  Eva gave a shaky laugh. How silly to think he might have been talking about her mother. There was no way her mother could have been this Great Kathleen… Right?

  7. Not Nice

  “Miss?” A volunteer grabbed Eva’s sleeve before they could join the mass of contestants at the starting line. “The bell has sounded and your Luck must be weighed if you’re going to join the contest.”

  “Of course, of course,” Reese agreed, hurrying Eva toward the Luck-O-Meter. Maybe it was because of the Golden Dust Reese had blown over the crowd or maybe it was because the race had already started, but this time no one stopped or seemed to care that the sirens and whistles sounded again when Eva measured ‘100% Luck!’

  Instead, the crowd of contestants jostled each other and pushed the children forward as they joined the mass of Leprechauns on a course that would be long and treacherous, testing each one’s abilities to rely on their skills and wit. The single winner would be leader of The Land of Luck for the next decade, so every Leprechaun took the contest very seriously and had trained rigorously for the event.

  Reese, Eva and Robert trotted shoulder to shoulder with their competitors, following the red flags that marked the obstacle course. “So!” Robert shouted to Eva above the noisy crowd and music, even though they were just six inches from each other. “Our backpacks are full of useful items that should help us win this thing in a jiffy.”

  Eva looked doubtful. “Should!” she shouted back. “If by ‘win’ you mean ‘not die in a river of acid!’ And if by ‘jiffy’ you mean ‘be home by dark’ – like my mom said!”

  Robert hooted and punched Eva’s arm. “That’s the spirit,” he shouted. “Besides! You said the river was soda!” Eva rolled her eyes at him.

  The crowd had formed a well-organized line in the street and was quickly winding out of the village into the meadow beyond the castle. Strolling bands played music around them as they walked, and friends and family members waved from the sidewalks, threw flowers, and yelled encouragement to each of the contestants as they passed. Scattered confetti fell like rain, and the arch of balloons, which had been severed when the starting bell sounded, now floated in the breeze. It was so festive the excitement vibrated in the air.

  Once they had passed the cobbled stone streets into the countryside, Reese scouted the landscape they walked, making sure they steered clear of the better known tricksters in the pack. There were a few who were famous for wasting others’ precious time convincing them to exhaust their hard-earned Luck.

  “I’ve told you it’s unheard of…” Reese said thoughtfully, “this ‘sticking together’ strategy. If we make it, this could really change the Leprechaun way…”

  “You worry too much,” Robert laughed, turning away from them and trotting toward a Leprechaun a few paces ahead. “Hello, fellow competitor!” he grinned.

  The Leprechaun had snatched a blue balloon and was holding the string tightly. He waved Robert away with his free hand.

  “Ahem! I said ‘Hellooo!’” Robert repeated.

  Without slowing, the Leprechaun said, “Hello yerself. Now be gone with ye.”

  Robert frowned. “Not nice.”

  “Tell ye’ what,” the Leprechaun said, hustling around a fallen log. “Let’s the two of us have a lovely cup o’ tea at the old stone quarry, and we’ll get to know each other.”

  “Really?” Robert brightened.

  “No. Now be gone with ye.”

  Eva laughed as she caught up with them. A good detective would know how to handle a situation like this. She’d just have to use her ‘good cop’ interrogation skills.

  She bumped Robert out of the way and said, “Hi! Cool balloon. Did you catch it in town?”

  The Leprechaun looked at her sideways and broke into a jog. “It’s my balloon! Ye can’t have it!”

  “I… Wait up! I don’t want your silly balloon!”

  The Leprechaun stopped suddenly, causing the children to bump right into him.

  “Oop, sorry,” Eva said, watching the Leprechaun carefully readjust his hat.

  He held his hand up to keep Eva at arm’s length. “What do ye want with an old man like me then? Come come! Make it snappy! I’ve a contest t’ win here.”

  “Oh… I just thought we could share some ideas to get through the first obstacle. We’re new i
n town. But then, I guess you knew that…” she trailed off.

  “Are ye sayin’ work together?” the Leprechaun laughed and looked at Reese with disdain. “No. And now, I bid ye farewell.”

  Turning to leave, he suddenly paused and appeared to reconsider. “Wait, I s’pose I should tell ye,” he smiled with feigned sincerity. “The path ye want t’ take is that-a-way. Most Leprechauns follow the marked flags, but if ye go yonder the other way it’ll get ye past the Troll.” He jabbed a stubby finger in the opposite direction of the marked path.

  Eva eyed him seriously. “Can we also avoid the river if we go that way?”

  “Oh, yes, yes!” the Leprechaun said. “That is definitely the way!”

  “The troll too? If we go that way, we’ll skip the whole troll thing?” Robert asked.

  “Oh, yes, yes!” he nodded, glancing sideways at Reese who had now joined them.

  She shook her head at him, but he saluted with a wink and turned on his heel, still clutching his blue balloon as if it were a life preserver.

  “Wait,” Robert said with a frown. “Why are you going that way? You told us to go this way.”

  The little man bumped his pack over his shoulder. “Ye have yer plan - I have my plan! Let me be, already!” he grimaced, tromping off toward the river.

  “Well, good Luck to you then!” Robert slung his backpack over his shoulder again. “May the best man win!”

  “The best competitor,” Eva corrected him. “May the best competitor win.” She scowled, gathering her own backpack.

  Reese watched as the man disappeared over the hill. “You do realize he’s a scammer, right?” she shook her head.

  “Scammer?” Eva wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean he lied to you,” Reese said.

  “Yes, we know what ‘scammer’ means. I just wondered why you’d think that. He seemed like a perfectly nice man,” Robert said.

  She laughed. “He is a very nice man. But I know my father and that was a lie!”

  8. Ticked Off Troll