Hamish was a leprechaun

born on the Isle Of Sky,

he knew he should be Irish

and he couldn't tell you why,

he was born so many miles from where

a leprechaun should be,

so he packed his croc of gold

and went to find his family.

He knew the quest that he began

was dangerous and long

and to succeed then he would need,

to be both bright and strong,

though it could have been so easy,

if the wishes he could grant

could be used for his own desires,

but unfortunately they can't,

they can only be bestowed upon

the less fortunate than himself,

much as the rules of Fairy Queens,

Pixies, Gnomes and Elves.

Of course there are exceptions,

as so many tales have told,

three wishes could be granted to

anyone that finds his gold,

but Hamish was a leprechaun,

as canny as they come,

and hid his gold so carefully

it was safe from anyone.

Now to get back to the story,

as I think we aught to do,

his quest lead him to Ireland

and the giant, Fin Mccool,

who tried to find his croc of gold,

alas to no avail,

and promised to help Hamish

find his family 'cause he failed.

The giant lead him through the woods

to an Owl of high renown,

who told Hamish he should travel south,

towards old Dublin town,

where the leprechauns are gathering

in their thousands so they say,

for a week of fun and laughter

to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Well Hamish thanked them kindly,

and set off at such a pace,

St Patrick's Day was drawing near,

he had no time to waste,

so stopping just occasionally,

to hide his croc of gold,

he finally found their meeting place

along the Dublin road.

the family he sort was there

and recognized him straight away,

I don't know how they knew him,

but they did, so legend says,

they shook his hand and hugged him,

their relief was very plain,

and through tear filled eyes and quivering lips

they quietly explained,

That way back in the mist of time,

when Hamish had been born,

the length and breadth of Ireland,

had been ravaged by a storm,

in which many creatures perished,

but the stork that carried him,

was blinded by the lightning,

and blown off course by the wind.

Well that explained so many things

that Hamish hadn't known,

they talked until the sun came up,

how fast the time had flown,

St Patrick's day was with them,

and the festivities began,

with a speech from the King Leprechaun,

a rotund little man,

who said to all and sundry,

"A grand St Patrick's day to you"

and Hamish was the only voice

that replied, "Och aye the noo".

Well the place was in an uproar,

with whistles, cheers and laughter,

and as in all good fairy tales,

they lived happily every after.

By S.E.Ralph

15-3-2013