The Irish have their own industrious faerie, the Leprechaun or one-sjpe-maker. He is a solitary cobbler to be found merrily working on a single shoe (never a pair) beneath a dock leaf or under a hedge.
As with all faeries, it is important to see the Leprechaun before he sees you, for he then becomes more co-operative and can perhaps be persuaded to guide you to one of his hidden crocks of gold. But he is very sly and tricky and quite likely to disappear in the twinkling of an eye.
Gold is a rare prize. There is an old Irish legend of a young boy who drove a turf cart to make a living. He was quiet and moody - it was even rumoured that he was a changeling - and what he loved most in the world was books. He read as much as his poor circumstances allowed. One day he read in an old book that Leprechauns knew all the secret places where gold was hidden. With such gold he could buy all the bookds he disired. So, as the days passed, he watched and listened sharply for the click of a hammer in the hedgerow. at last one evening in the setting sun he saw a Leprechaun under a dock leaf. the boy crept up on him from behind, seized him by the scruff of his neck and refused to let go until hidden gold was revealed. 'There is no need for force', said the little fellow, 'for you and I are cousins once removed!' The boy had indeed been a changeling baby and since only those of faerie blood could possess the gold he was perfectly eligible. The gold lay in an old fort and they passed through a door in a stone wall. the ground was covered with gold pieces.
'Take what you want', said the Leprechaun, 'but quickly, for when the door shuts, it shuts forever'. So the boy gathered as much as he could and took it outside. He was just returning for more when, with a trememdous crack, the door shut firm. The Leprechaun was nowhere to be seen. The gold was banked in Dublin. the boy was indeed rich; his money was spent wisely and he grew into a man of great learning and wisdom. His descendants are rich and prosperous to this day.
One detects a somewhat moralistic flavour to this tale - the good boy rewarded. Even though the subject was a changeling. Leprechauns are seldon so benign. They are characteristically tricky, merry and mischievous. For instance, in one case, a farmer was shown the only plant in a whole field of ragworts under which gold was buried. Not having a shovel with him he tied his red garter to the plant and went home to fetch the necessary tool. On his return every single ragwort sported a red garter.
--- Faeries --- Brian Froud and Alan Lee
