One sunny day - it was not just a day, but a holiday, the most beloved spring holiday in Ireland - the Annunciation - a young boy was walking along a sunny path along a hedge. His name was Tom. Walking across the field, he suddenly heard a soft knock-knock, knock-knock, somewhere near the ground behind the fence.
“Is the heatear really clicking?” thought Tom. It seems like it’s too early for it.”
And Tom wanted to look at the early bird to see with his own eyes whether he guessed correctly or not. So he crept on tiptoe to the hedge, parted the bushes and... And he saw, but not a bird, but a huge brown clay jug, as big as a bucket.
However, the most surprising thing was something else: next to the jug sat a very small, very tiny old man. He was wearing a dirty, threadbare leather apron, and on his head was a small cocked hat.
Before Tom's eyes, the old man pulled out a wooden stool from under him, stood on it and scooped a small jug into a large jug, then put the full jug next to the stool, and he sat down on the ground next to the large jug and began to nail the heel to a shoe made of rough brown leather - knock-knock, knock-knock.
This was the same “knock-knock” that Tom heard.
“Heavenly powers!” Tom exclaimed to himself. “Leprechaun! Hey, leprechaun! I’ve heard about them, but I didn’t think that they actually met!”
You probably guessed that Tom meant the cheerful elf-shoemaker, who in Ireland is called a leprechaun. But the most interesting thing is that leprechauns can sew a shoe for only one foot - either the right or the left - or so, in any case, they say about them.
“I’m lucky!” thought Tom. “But now you can’t take your eyes off him, otherwise he’ll disappear as if he never existed.”
And Tom crept closer to the leprechaun, quietly, like a cat to a mouse, and did not take his eyes off him.
“God help you, neighbor,” he said, and he himself extended his hand to the little shoemaker.
“Thank you for your kind words,” answered the leprechaun, looking at Tom.
“I’m just wondering why you’re working on a holiday!” - says Tom.
“That’s my business,” the old man replies. “Would you be so kind as to tell me what you have in this big jug?”
“Why not say so,” says the little old man. - It has the most beautiful beer. - Beer? - Tom was surprised. - Thunder and lightning! Where did you get it?
-Where did I get it? I did it myself! And from what, guess!
“Well, it’s clear from what,” says Tom. -From hops and from malt, from what else. - But I missed! - says the old man with marigolds. - From the heather!
- From heather? - Tom was even more surprised, and burst out laughing. “You obviously take me for a fool, so I believed that I was made of heather!”
“If you don’t want to, don’t believe it,” says the old man. “But I told you the truth.” Haven't you heard the story about the Danes?
- Well, I’ve heard, but what exactly do you hear about them? - asked Tom.
“When the Danes lived on our island in the old days, they taught us how to brew beer from heather, and since then my family has kept this secret.
- Well, you are a smart people! - Tom exclaimed. “Can I try your beer?” he asked.
But the little old man looked at him angrily and, frowning, answered:
“It’s better for you, young man, to take care of your father’s property than to pester honest people with stupid questions!” Look around! Don’t you see, the cows got into your oats and trampled all over it.” And with these words the old man pointed his finger at something behind Tom’s back.
Tom almost turned around in surprise. Yes, well, I caught myself in time, reached out my hand and grabbed the baby leprechaun.
But here’s the problem: in his haste, he knocked over a jug of heather beer, which means he’ll never taste it in his life! Tom was terribly angry with the old leprechaun and threatened that he would take revenge on him for such jokes if the leprechaun did not show where he was hiding his treasures.
Tom was sure that every leprechaun, as well as all elves - in Ireland they are also called deenies - shi - buried somewhere in a secluded place a jug of gold.
- Well, where is your gold? - Tom asked very menacingly.
The little shoemaker pretended to be frightened and said:
- Two fields from here. Let's go, I'll take you there, since this is how it all turned out.
And Tom walked across the field, not letting go of the leprechaun and not taking his eyes off him for a second, although he had to climb over hedges, and jump over ditches, and go around swamps.
Phew, he finally reached a wide daisy field, and the leprechaun, pointing to a tall daisy, said with a sigh:
- Swarm here and you will find a large jug. It's full of golden guineas.
But it’s a shame that in his haste, Tom forgot to take a shovel with him. What to do now?
After thinking, he decided that there was nothing else to do but run home for a shovel. And in order not to be mistaken about where to dig later, he took a red ribbon from his pocket and wrapped it around the stem of the daisy that the leprechaun pointed out. But then some doubts arose in him, and he said to the leprechaun:
- Swear that you won’t take my ribbon off this daisy!
The leprechaun swore faithfully that he would not lay a finger on her, and asked very politely:
“I hope you don’t need me anymore?”
- No. It's done, you can go now. Good riddance, good luck.
- Be healthy. “Tom,” said the leprechaun, “may my gold benefit you when you dig it up.”
Tom lowered the little shoemaker to the ground, and he recovered himself.
And Tom, as you can imagine, rushed home as fast as he could, found a shovel and immediately returned to the chamomile field.
But what is it? What did he see when he returned to the field? The leprechaun kept his word: he didn’t touch Tom’s red ribbon, which is true, that’s true. But he tied exactly the same red ribbon around the stem of every chamomile in the field!
Poor Tom! What could he do now - dig up the entire field? But this was impossible. There were at least forty Irish acres in the field!
Tom had to return home empty-handed and with a shovel on his shoulder.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru