Day 94- Leprechauns!

Beware the Ides of March!! Happy Ides, guys. In my senior year of high school, I took a Mythology class. I actually took a Mythology class in 6th grade too, but it was dangerous thanks to the 8th grade boys throwing --literally throwing-- hard back books across the room. But that's another blog for another time and I digress. In my 12th grade Mythology class one assignment was to choose a mythological creature and do a report on them. I chose... LEPRECHAUNS! Although... are we SURE they are just myth? Let's discuss.

Growing up, I was even more apt than most to believe in the magical. Not religion... definitely not gods and angels and devils or anything. I'm talking about MAGIC! Faeries and gnomes and mermaids and Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny and, hell, I'm still waiting on my letter from Hogwarts. Whole magical universes like Tolkien's "Middle Earth" and Christopher Paolini's "Alagaesia"... years later I discovered George R.R. Martin's "Westeros" and Sarah J. Maas' "Erilea". 

I came to link magic with reading and writing. That changed me as a person. An invaluable lesson. 

Just the idea of magical creatures running amok is just... awesome to imagine, ESPECIALLY little leprechauns wreaking havoc and being obnoxious. And their gold that they hoard! When I was in 2nd grade, my classmate came to school one day bragging about how she and her mother had followed the end of the rainbow and found the pot of gold! Ohhhhh, the jealousy! Not just for the gold, but for tangible proof that leprechauns exist!

I know this is not very original, but I imagine leprechauns in a very specific way. They can range in size from a, say, five year old child to a two-inch tall little being. Their hair ranges from a white blonde to a shiny, coppery red, to a ink-black swirl around their pale faces. I imagine the girl leprechauns tucking strands of their hair behind pointy ears. When they laugh, it's magical. They look at you with pretty green eyes, but you can never tell what they're thinking. They favor green clothing with shiny black buttons and worn, brown boots. 

Over ten years ago now I dressed up as one with just what was in my closet, my sister's, and my mom's.

I think leprechauns and the Borrowers are closely related; the Borrowers just aren't magical. They're the muggles to the leprechauns' wizards. And I DO believe in Borrowers! For sure. 

I always thought it would be fun to write a story from the perspective of a magical being, like a leprechaun or a fairy godmother! In fact, I have several ideas... *insert picture of me rubbing my hands together maniacally*

So no, I have never seen one. But I like thinking they're out there. That magic is out there. Different kinds of magic, too. Yes I'm mostly talking about sparks shooting from wands and disappearing and reappearing and being in multiple places at once and all that stuff, but I also like remembering magic is out there and we see it every day. Magic of dogs! Magic of people being kind to one another. I think that's the best magic of all!

.... leprechauns are a close second though ;)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

Sarah