Chapter 1
The Little Leprechaun
There aren't many folks who believe in creatures of the forest such as elves, gnomes, pixies, sprites, fairies and leprechauns. The ones that do believe is because they had actually seen these elusive little creatures from time to time in the deep forest, dancing about and singing, happy and gay and carefree. Some people even believed that these little folk were immortal and would live on endlessly, each with their own mission. Such a person was Jasper McCoy.
Our story begins with a little red haired leprechaun named Timothy J. McGee. Timothy, like many other Irish folk who lived back in that time, spoke both the Gaelic and the English languages. Gaelic was the ancient Irish language originally spoken by natives of Ireland. Although it is still spoken by some Irish people even today, most natives to Ireland today speak English with an Irish ‘accent’ or ‘brogue.’
Now it's said that all leprechauns owned a pot of gold which they kept buried in secret places in the forest. It was said that the more gold a leprechaun owned, the more magic power he had. It is also said that if a mortal lays hands on a leprechaun, that leprechaun must surrender his pot of gold in order to gain his freedom. Timothy, like all other leprechauns, also had such a pot of gold. In fact, Timothy's pot was bigger and heavier than any of the others. It was so big that he would only leave it buried in one place for a short time until the "Squammies," got wind of where it was and would try to steal it to take away his power. Then Timothy would take it to some other secret place and bury it.
Now because Timothy was such a little leprechaun, and because his pot of gold was so very heavy, he'd have to take frequent rests when carrying it to a new burying spot. Although other creatures of the forest would offer to help, it wasn't Timothy's way to burden others. And that's what got Timothy into trouble in the first place!
Jasper McCoy and his wife, Mary, lived in a little thatched hut on the edge of the giant forest. It was Jasper's habit to take long walks into the deep forest in search of mushrooms and wildflowers. He loved mushroom soup and no one could make it as good as his wife, Mary. He also knew that Mary loved fresh wildflowers on the table. One day Jasper was on his way home carrying a full basket of mushrooms and wildflowers. Because he'd been working hard all day and because his load was so heavy he sat down to take a short rest. Suddenly he heard a voice. Now everyone told Jasper what a fanciful imagination he had, so he tried not to pay any attention to the voice at first. But when it persisted, he decided to investigate. Leaving his basket of mushrooms and wildflowers, he tip toed quietly down the woodland path and hid behind a big tree. Very carefully, he peered around it to see where the voice was coming from. Lo and behold, it was a little red-haired leprechaun struggling to carry a very big pot of gold! He was dressed all in green except for the golden buckles on his black shoes, the golden buckle on his black belt and the golden buckle and red band around his caved-in stove-pipe hat. Dangling from one side of his mouth was a long-stemmed, home-made pipe. On his wizened-up little face he sported sideburns and long bristly whiskers, tinged with red and speckled here and there with grey. Jasper knew that if he showed himself or made any noise, the leprechaun would get frightened and disappear, as leprechauns do. Now Jasper didn't want to frighten the leprechaun, but he did want to help the little fellow, so he hit upon a plan. He would wait until the leprechaun passed by his tree and he would jump out and quickly take hold of him. After the leprechaun stopped struggling, he would explain that he just wanted to help him.
So Jasper remained behind the tree until the leprechaun was rested. Mumbling and complaining under his breath, the leprechaun picked up the pot of gold and continued on his way. When he passed the tree Jasper was hiding behind, Jasper leaped out and caught hold of him. Well, the leprechaun struggled and struggled to get free, but it was useless for Jasper held on tightly. Since the leprechaun knew he didn't have any secret powers as long as a mortal was holding him, he finally stopped struggling and gave up.
"So ye caught me, did ye?" he said to Jasper. "And now I s'pose ye'll be wantin' me gold, right?" The little leprechaun was very upset and indignant.
"No," said Jasper, "I don't want your gold, nor do I need it. My wife and I are quite content as we are."
"Then why in the name of Leprechaun Heaven did ye grab hold of me? Are ye daft or somethin'?"
"No, I ain't daft," Jasper answered. "I heard ye complainin' that your gold was heavy, so I thought I might help ye carry it."
Hearing that, the leprechaun began laughing. He clapped his hands in glee and laughed until his face got as red as his little scarf. Jasper just stood there holding him until he lost his patience. "You're carryin' on like it's you're the one what's daft!" he told the leprechaun.
The leprechaun continued laughing. "It's because I can't believe it's not me gold yer after," he answered between guffaws of laughter. "Ye bein' a mortal n'all, ain't it only natural that ye'd be wantin' me gold? Don't all mortals crave gold?" He started laughing again from deep within his belly.
Wearying of his laughter and his antics, Jasper let him go and just sat down on a rock and waited. "If ye've a mind to stop yer foolish shenanigans, me laughin' little friend, I'll help ye carry yer burden. But I'll not be made a fool of, not by the likes of you, leprechaun or no leprechaun!"
The first thing the leprechaun did when he realized he was free was to make himself invisible. But in doing so, he forgot to pick up his pot of gold. Jasper just sat there watching, not making any moves to take the gold. After a few minutes, Jasper got up and walked back to where his basket of mushrooms and wildflowers were. He picked them up and began walking away. "Hmmph!" he grumbled to himself. "Ye try and help a body out and what happens? He disappears on ye!" He began walking down the path towards the edge of the forest, leaving the leprechaun's gold sitting there on the forest path.
After walking a bit, Jasper heard the leprechaun's voice again. "Now, just hold on a bit, mortal! Don't be in such a big hurry!"
The little leprechaun had made himself visible again and was standing there on the path with his little hands on his hips and the gold sitting between his wide-spread legs on the forest path.
"I've no time for the likes of ye, me little friend," Jasper said, looking back over his shoulder. "Me wife waits at home to make me favorite mushroom soup. Since ye refused me offer of help, I dasn't tarry here any longer." Jasper turned away and kept walking.
"Mary'll wait for ye, Jasper. I've somethin' to say to ye so why don't ye hear me out?"
Jasper stopped and turned around, a frown appearing on his face. "And just how is it you're knowin' me name?" he asked, "and the name of me wife Mary too?"
"That ain't important," the leprechaun replied. "What is important is that yer not actin' like other mortals I've come across in me time. Ye have no greed in ye. Others would have grabbed me gold and been off. Might even have refused me offer of a free wish in order to keep me gold. But you...the very likes of ye... you don't even want me gold." He crossed his arms, turned his back on Jasper and tossed his head. "I've a right good mind to be insulted!"
Jasper turned again and started walking away. "As I told ye, leprechaun, I've no need of yer gold."
"Just ye hold on a minute or three," the leprechaun said. He ran over to where Jasper was and looked him right in the eye. "Now ye'll just have to be patient with me a bit, Jasper. I never laid eyes on the likes of a mortal like you and ye got me a bit confused, ye have."
"And how might that be?" Jasper asked. "All I wanted was to help ye carry your pot o' gold. Is that so confusin' to ye?"
"Let me be explainin' somethin' to ye, Jasper. Although I thank ye for the kind thought, I could never let a mortal carry me gold, even to do me a favor."
"Begorra! And why not?" Jasper asked.
"Because for one thing it's against Rule Number Four
Hundred and Three of the Royal Order of Leprechauns for any mortal to know the buryin' place of a leprechaun's gold. And for another thing ye'd be puttin' a mortal curse on me gold forever if ye laid yer grimy mortal hands on it. Now I hope ye understand and won't be takin' any offense at me words."
"Well, since ye put it that way," said Jasper, "no offense taken."
"So," the leprechaun said as he placed his hands on his hips and continued starin' into Jasper's eyes. "Won't ye be tellin' me what I can do for ye? Surely there must be somethin' you're wantin' or needin'? How about Mary? Don't ye think maybe she'd be havin' a wish for somethin?"
Jasper put his basket of mushrooms and wildflowers down as he bent over to return the leprechaun's stare. "First, me little friend, ye might be tellin' me your name so Mary won't think I been fantasizin'. She'll think I've been down at the pub again and it's much too early in the day for her to be smellin' ale on me breath."
"Me name is Timothy J. McGee," said the leprechaun. "But ye can call me Timothy if ye've a mind to. Now come," he patted the flat rock next to him. "Won't ye tarry with me a spell? I've an obligation to ye, Jasper, and accordin' to Rule Number Seven Hundred and Seventy Seven of the Royal Order of Leprechauns, I can't leave till I grant you a wish. Surely there must be somethin' you're wantin'."
Jasper sat down on the rock opposite Timothy and stroked his chin as he gazed off into the forest to ponder Timothy's words. "Well, now that ye got my brain thinkin' a bit, I suppose I could think up a fanciful wish after all."
"Ah, at last we're gettin' someplace," Timothy said, smiling and rubbing his tiny hands in glee. "Now take your time and make it a real good wish, 'cause ye only get one, ye know."
"That's good," Jasper answered, "because there's only one thing Mary and I ever really wanted. It just seems that fate hasn't been very kind to us in that department."
"Go on... go on... and what might that be?" Timothy asked.
"A tiny baby. A real, live, tiny flesh and blood baby... that's what we'd like. As you know, Timothy, us mortals don't hang around on earth forever. And when I finally leave here, I'd like to leave my good name with the likes of a real offspring. I've no brothers or sisters, ye see, and I'd like the McCoy name to carry on when I'm gone. Do ye think ye might grant me such a wish?"
Timothy was silent, his forehead creased into a deep frown as he thought and thought and thought. "I just don't know, Jasper. That's about the toughest wish anyone's ever laid on me!"
"Hmmph! I thought so!" Jasper said, starting to get up from the rock. "You're just a phony!"
Suddenly the leprechaun's little face brightened and his eyes lit up. "Now just hold on a minute, Jasper. Wait right there and I'll be right back!"
Timothy disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving his pot of gold there on the ground in front of Jasper, whom he knew would take good care of it. After a few minutes Timothy reappeared again. "Sorry, I had to check on somethin', Jasper. Now, I'll tell ye what I can do for ye."
Jasper sat down again while the leprechaun settled himself comfortably on a rock near his pot of gold and crossed his legs. "Bringin' ye a newborn baby of your own flesh and blood is beyond me powers, Jasper, but I can do this. I happen to know the whereabouts of a little mortal boy baby ye can adopt. He was abandoned awhile ago and me little friends of the forest have been doin' for him ever since. We know we can't keep him for he's a mortal and it's against our code to mingle with mortals."
Jasper's face brightened and he smiled a big smile. "Well, Timothy, me'n Mary's so desperate fer a little baby of our own fer so long we'll even accept one that ain't our own flesh and blood. How soon can we have 'im?"
"Ye'll find 'im on yer doorstep in the mornin'," Timothy replied, standing up. "I'm happy that ye let me grant ye a wish, Jasper, or I'd be ostracized from the Order. Now, if ye'll allow, I'd like to do one more thing for ye."
"But you said just one wish, Timothy."
"This ain't a wish, Jasper. I'd like to give you a token of me appreciation for not takin' me gold."
Jasper stood up and picked up his basket. "I told ye, Timothy, there's nothin' else I'll be needin'."
"Oh, you're a stubborn one, ye are, Jasper. Very well... since ye won't accept me gift of gratitude, I'll have to follow Rule Number Sixty Three of the Royal Order of Leprechauns and pass it on through to yer tenth generation grandson."
"Oh, so now you're givin' me grandchildren somethin' to remember you by, are ye?" Jasper slapped his knees and laughed. "And just what might that be?"
Timothy reached into his pocket and pulled out a little green box with a glass lid. Inside the box Jasper could see a little golden acorn glowing and pulsating like a heartbeat. "Take this magic acorn as me gift to ye, Jasper."
Jasper took the little green box with the golden acorn in it. "Surely it's the prettiest acorn I've ever seen, Timothy, but what makes it so special?"
"When it's planted by the light of a full, silvery moon, it'll grow into a mighty golden oak tree with golden leaves on it and it'll bear a special kind of fruit."
"I ain't much for fruit, meself," Jasper said, "but maybe me grandsons'll be likin' it. What kind of fruit might it be?" Jasper asked, mystified by what he was hearing.
"T'aint the kind of fruit ye'll be eatin', Jasper."
Jasper looked at the leprechaun and his eye brows raised up. "Begorra, and just what kind of fruit would it be?"
"The kind that'll provide the tenth generation grandson and all his mortal descendants that follow with all of his mortal needs for all time to come."
Jasper's eyebrows raised even higher as he looked the leprechaun straight in the eye. "And there ain't no fancy strings attached?" he asked, suspiciously.
The leprechaun stood toe to toe with Jasper and looked him right back, straight in the eye. "No strings a'tall..."
Jasper recoiled in surprise. "No strings a'tall, ye're tellin' me?"
"Except..."
"Ah, hah!" said Jasper. "I mighta known there'd be a catch somewhere. I s'pose ye'll be writin' another book of rules, will ye?"
"No book of rules, Jasper, just three conditions is all I ask."
"And what, pray tell, did ye have in mind?"
"That he shares 'is secret with no other mortal except his wife or virgin girlfriend. "
"That seems fair enough, me short friend...else it wouldn't be much of a secret, now would it?"
"Secondly, he must always share the fruit of this tree with others."
"Well, now, that ain't no problem for us McCoys 'cause we're known far and wide fer always bein' humble and generous, we are."
"But that ain't all, me braggin' friend," added the little leprechaun.
"And what else might ye be layin' on me poor mortal grandson?" Jasper asked, his finger askance his nose and tapping his foot impatiently.
"He must be pure of heart and believe in leprechauns," Timothy answered.
Jasper was indignant. "Are ye daft, man? An' what kind've Irish grandson do ye think I'd be havin' that wouldn't believe in leprechauns?"
"Now don't go gettin' uppity on me, Jasper. Accordin' to Rule Number..."
"Blast yer bloody rules, Timothy," Jasper said, stamping his foot in anger. "Ye'd be doin' me a big favor, ye would, if ye'd just tell me right out how me lucky grandson might get this fruit."
Timothy drew himself up to his full stature and glared back at Jasper. "Now don't be firin' off yer English temper at me!" he said.
"English?"
"Begorra, Jasper, don't you think I knew ye came over from England when ye were just a wee boy?"
"Okay, Timothy. Ye got me there."
"Well, as I began to say, he must sit under the tree,
close his eyes and repeat my name three times to himself and whatever is needed most in his life will come to him."
Jasper put his tongue in his cheek and looked at Timothy suspiciously. "Hmm-mm. Sure n' it sounds like a tale right from fairyland to me. How do I know if ye're tellin' me the truth?"
Immediately the little leprechaun flew into a rage. Balling his fist, he hit his open palm a good swat and bared his teeth in anger while his face got fiery red. "Them's fightin' words, Jasper. If ye wasn't an ignorant mortal, them words'd bring ye a duel. How dare ye question me integrity by callin' me a liar?"
"I'm sorry if I offended ye, Timothy. I was just testin' ye."
"I belong to the Royal Order of Leprechauns, Jasper, and I don't know any tales from fairyland." He thought a minute. "I s'pose, now that ye mention it though, we do have a blood relationship to fairies...maybe as second cousins. But no more, mind ye!"
Jasper looked at the golden acorn and then at Timothy. "Just so's I got it straight, Timothy. Would ye mind tellin' me yer full name one more time?"
"Timothy J. McGee, it tis."
With that, Timothy grabbed his gold and disappeared into thin air in a big puff of smoke. Just before leaving, Jasper could hear Timothy's grunts and groans as he struggled to carry off his pot of gold.
Just to you can know where my story goes from here, please read
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Finding The Mysterious Tree
It was either the warm June sun shining on my face or the smell of dirty socks that woke me up on Saturday. So, cussing my super-sensitive sense of smell, I opened one eye and squinted at the clock. It was only eight thirty. I looked over at Lester's bed and wasn't surprised to find him up and gone already. I had told my nuisance kid brother last night not to wake me this morning or I'd pour hot lead up his nose. Mrs Davis, two doors down, would begin `kid-sitting' with him starting Monday, now that school was out.
I closed my eye again and turned towards the open window, enjoying the smell of fresh air and feeling the cool morning breeze tickle my face. It was a welcome relief from the stale odor of my bedroom. Right outside the window a family of hungry baby Blue Jays squawked for their breakfast. Across the room I could still hear drops of rainwater from last night's rain going plink, plink, plink into the half filled pan on the floor. Some day Mom was going to get the stupid roof fixed if it didn't cave in on us first.
I wondered if there was any reason for me to get up. Then I remembered that Evanston High School had closed its doors yesterday for another long summer vacation. Sighing a deep sigh, I started to turn over to go back to sleep when Mother Blue Jay showed up with breakfast for her brood. Between their noisy reception and the Chinese water torture going on in my room, there was no way I could sleep. Making a mental note to either shoot the Blue Jays or chop down the tree, I reached over to close the window when the phone rang. After another mental note to disconnect the phone every night, I stumbled sleepily out of bed to grab it before it rang again and woke the people in the local cemetery. "Hello," I mumbled through half-opened eyes.
"Kevin?"
"Who's this?" I asked stupidly, the sleep cobwebs still clogging up my brain like a heavy steel curtain.
"It's Jessica. Don't tell me you're not even up yet!"
"Up? I'm not even awake yet...I don't think."
"Kevin, you're not funny!"
Sleepily, I snickered at my dumb joke. I knew better than to try and be clever first thing in the morning. It never works. Her next question took me by surprise.
"Did you forget your promise?"
"Promise?"
"The golden oak, Kevin, remember? You said you'd show me where it was after school ended. You didn't forget, did you?"
For a minute I was, like...blank. Suddenly it hit me. I had a date with Jessica this morning. A couple of months ago we'd signed up for an elective class in mythology and folklore. Walking home after class one day we got to talking about fairies, gnomes, leprechauns and other mythological creatures. It was then that I opened my big mouth and mentioned the leprechaun my ancestral grandfather, Jasper McCoy, met in an Irish forest. Jessica just laughed. Then when I got to the part about the magic acorn the leprechaun had given him, she laughed even harder. I mean, like, who believes in leprechauns, right? Then she did a flip and kept prodding me about the magic acorn...wanting to know if anyone ever planted it and what happened. Figuring no harm could come of it, I told her about the golden oak tree that grew in the forest and about the leprechaun's legend. I said it kinda casual like, thinking maybe she'd get another laugh. She fooled me by asking if she could see it sometime. To get her off my case I said, yeah...I'd show it to her someday when school got out for the summer. Naturally I was hoping she'd forget. But, here she was, like a bill collector at the door to collect on my promise. I shook my head to bring myself back to the present.
"Who, me? Forget? How could you think that?" I tried to sound convincing but I knew it was a lost cause. I kicked myself and made another mental note that I'd never again promise anything to anyone as long as I lived on planet earth, even if they tortured me or killed me.
"Well?" she asked.
"Well, what?" I asked back, hoping she'd forgotten already.
"Kevin McCoy, you are totally exasperating! Are we going or not?"
She was beginning to sound a bit impatient. I could almost visualize her standing there tapping her foot, waiting for my answer. I really felt like saying "Not," but instead I tried another approach.
"You're really serious about me showing you that golden oak tree, aren't you, Jessica?" I crossed my fingers, hoping she'd say no so I could go back to sleep.
"I could shoot you, Kevin McCoy! Of course I'm serious!"
This was a no-win situation. "Okay, Jessica. I'll be over in a little while."
"Twenty minutes?"
"If I come as I am?"
"Okay, thirty...no more!"
As I hung up I moaned. It was beginning to get miserably hot already and the day'd just started. The one broken down window air conditioner that me and Lester shared with Mom from week to week was still broke and there wasn't any money to fix it. Every day I prayed that Mom'd win the lottery or something and buy us a new house, but things didn't look too promising. Maybe I should get a summer job and save up for one? I shuddered at the thought of working. Knowing me, it'd take all summer just to buy a welcome mat.
Yawning again, I fumbled my way to the door, almost knocking my eyeball out trying to rub the grit from my eyes. I made it past the pan full of rainwater without taking a foot bath. A few feet further and I was in the shower. Ah, to be Zestfully clean! I thought, as I stepped into the shower stall. Then I got another shock. Ah, I thought...nothing like a cold water shower on a hot day. Mom was conserving on hot water again. Later, shivering in spite of the outside temperature, I wrapped a towel around me and headed back to my room. When I opened it, Lester was sitting there on my bed. "Hi, Dude!" he said. I hated the nickname he'd given me. "C'mon...out, out, out!" I ordered. "I need some privacy."
He gave me the most evil grin in his repertoire. "Make you a deal, Dude."
"Deal?" I smelled a dead rat. He didn't make deals unless it was to his advantage. For an eight year old he sure had a pocket full of tricks." What kinda deal?"
"Let me use your bike three days a week and I won't tell Mom you're going to that oak tree."
"You creep...you were eavesdropping again weren't you?" With my free hand I reached out to grab him while my favorite fist held the towel around my nude body.
"Hey," he replied. "You take 'em where you can find 'em, right?"
Was he a self-made monster or what? "Okay," I reluctantly agreed, "but half days only, okay?"
"Okay."
"And I get to decide which half."
"Sounds fair," he answered.
"And if you break it I get the right to fracture one of your kneecaps."
"Deal!" he said. "Starting today?"
"Okay...when I get back."
"Ya-hoo!" he yelled as he slammed the door behind him.
Little creep, I thought. Where'd he learn all those dirty tricks anyway?
I flew into action. A clean pair of jeans and a glass of orange juice took up the remaining time of the thirty minutes Jessica had given me and I wasn't even out the door yet.
When I finally got there she was standing on the sidewalk in front of her house tapping her foot and checking her watch. Her bicycle was parked nearby. As I came near, I noticed the look on her face. It was like a clap of thunder!
"Made it just in time!" I joked, skidding to a halt two inches from her bike. I pretended to ignore her icy stare.
"The heck you did!" she corrected. Pushing up her kickstand, she climbed on her bike. I could tell her Irish temper was boiling over...again.
"Okay, so I'll do better next time." I tried to sound disgusted, but she had the upper hand and she knew it.
Actually, she was the prettiest girl in school, even when she was mad. And this morning she was dressed so sexy in blue shorts and a white blouse with her brown hair all tied up in a pony tail. She made me feel warm all over. But she got upset when people weren't punctual, so I had to listen to her stony silence all the way over to Evanston State Park. Ever listen to stony silence? Ever hear a rock talk? Yeah, you got it, man.
We shouted "Hi" and waved to Everett Thomson as we coasted through the park's open gate. Mr Thomson is hard of hearing and doesn't always wear his hearing aid, so kids usually yell to make sure he sees us. Because admission to the park for bikes and pedestrians were free, he just smiled and waved us through.
It wasn't until we entered the maze of bike trails inside the park that Jessica finally cooled down and broke the ice.
"The weather station said it's gonna be cloudy and cool today, Kevin, followed by possible thunderstorms."
I took a quick look at the sun peeking through the thickening foliage overhead and wiped the perspiration from my forehead. The overhead sun contradicted my nose, which could smell a summer rain ten miles away. Feeling contrary I just said, "That means it'll probably be sunny and hot, right?"
"Oh, Kevin, why're you so skeptical all the time?"
Her mood was starting to give me a mood. "Remind me to tell you some time," I replied, thinking of the dumb legend handed down in the McCoy family. I mean, okay, maybe leprechauns were real, but the other part of the legend was hokus if you asked me.
Her response was a loud, "Hmmph!" She raced ahead up a slight slope then took a fork to the right leading to a narrower trail, hardly ever used by anyone. I caught up to her and passed her.
"Maybe you'd better take the lead now, Kevin," she said, after it occurred to her she couldn't possibly beat me in a bicycle race, especially uphill. Besides, like...who was taking who to see this golden oak, right?
A cool breeze began to pick up as we maneuvered our way down the long, winding, pine-covered bike trail. Soon it began to slope gradually upwards again and finally we were pedaling so slow we had to get off and push our bikes so we wouldn't overshoot the hidden entrance to where the big oak tree was.
"Are you sure you know where this place is, Kevin?"
"Sure, Jessica. I've been here a thousand times." I didn't tell her that I hadn't been here in, like, five years.
"Gee, Jessica, it looks like somebody moved the entrance on me," I said, sarcastically.
"Maybe they moved the tree too?" she answered, even more sarcastically. I was going to have to watch this girl close. I always thought I had the edge on sarcasm.
All of a sudden the wind began blowing real hard and the bushes off to our right parted like some giant hand was pushing them aside. Suddenly I was looking at the path I'd been searching for. "See? I knew it was here somewhere."
Covered with thick foliage, the path looked like a long, narrow tunnel leading to a large clearing at the end. I could hear her sigh of relief as we pushed our bikes through the opening. When we got through, the foliage seemed to fall back into place, covering the entrance behind us.
"Well, I'll be!" Jessica said. "That was neat. Kinda reminds me of Moses and the Red Sea."
"Alice in Wonderland's got nothing on me," I answered. I wasn't about to compete with Moses.
"After what I just saw, Kevin, how could you ever worry that some one is going to find this place?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I keep thinking this tree and this park is still the exclusive property of the McCoy family."
"You mean your family once owned this land?"
"Every bit of it, according to Mom. Right after Dad died, Mom had to sell it to pay the medical bills."
"Why? Didn't he have health insurance?"
"Sure, as long as he had a job. But he lost it when he got real sick. That's when the bills started piling up and we had to move to that dumpy old shack I live in."
"It really must've hurt to lose everything, Kevin."
"I was just a little kid at the time, but still I miss our old house and the woods and all." I pointed to a spot about a hundred yards away as I added, "Our house used to be right over there. When the state bought our land and made a park out of it, they leveled the house to the ground. I cried when I found out. So did Mom."
To change the subject, Jessica said, "I'll bet this is a great place to come when you're feeling kinda romantic."
I looked over my shoulder and dead-panned her as we rode our bikes slowly down the long, foliage-covered path to the clearing. As we entered the large clearing, Jessica's mouth gaped open and her eyes bugged out like a bullfrog watching a fly. Towering high above us and stretching it's limbs out like a giant's umbrella was a gigantic golden oak tree. It stood there like the head of some royal family, held by strong, deep roots that seemed as if they were buried in concrete. Dad always said it had the bearing of a proud king and the grace of a queen. It was surrounded by a forested kingdom of tall, stately-looking pine trees that hovered nearby in protective loyalty. Smaller trees filled the inner circle immediately surrounding the golden oak as if they were the king's subjects ready to bow down in humble service. It's many strong branches were adorned with a growth of golden-leaved foliage so thick as to obscure the branches from which they grew. It sat there as if posing for an artist to come along and immortalize it.
"Oh, Kevin. This place is absolutely incredible!" She continued to gaze around her. "It's like a mystical fairyland...like nothing I've ever seen before, even in books."
I had the feeling she was impressed. "Yeah," I said, dropping my kickstand. "You could say that."
"It has a totally peaceful feeling to it, doesn't it?" She parked her bike and came over and stood close to me. "Thanks for sharing this beautiful place with me, Kevin. It's really awesome! It was worth the long wait to see it." Then she kissed me. I responded and a warm feeling came over me as I hugged her tighter. Suddenly she pushed away, breathless, her face beginning to redden. "Don't get the wrong idea, Kevin. I was only showing my gratitude."
"Okay, okay," I said, as I stood there with my heart doing a flip.
I remembered the first time I tried to kiss Jessica when she'd first moved into town six months ago. I was then I first came in touch with her quick Irish temper. It happened one night about four months ago. We'd been cramming for finals at her dining room table most of the evening. After her mother had gone to bed and we finished studying, she invited me into the living room and offered me a Coke. Then she turned on the TV and asked if I'd like to watch a movie. It was one of those love movies that bored me and excited me all at the same time. I don’t know what got into me, but all of a sudden I reached over and kissed her. Her reaction was spontaneous. Wham! She almost knocked me off the couch. I was so stunned I got up to leave but she blocked the door and said, "Look, I'm sorry, Kevin. Maybe I over-reacted. No hard feelings?" I rubbed my jaw and looked at her, speechless.
"I'm a virgin, Kevin. And until I get married I intend to stay that way, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan,” I said, disappointment showing in my voice. I was still a virgin myself, but I wasn’t about to admit it to her. Anyhow, after that episode I never tried to kiss her again. From that day on I treated her just as a friend...good company for a walk or an afternoon movie or maybe to take an occasional bike ride with. I could still feel the sting from the slap she gave me that night!
I looked at the big wicker basket she always kept tied on her rear bike carrier. "Hey, Jessica, why two baskets?"
"What do you mean?"
I pointed to her bike. "You've got a big wire basket fastened to your handlebars, why do you need that big wicker basket that's tied on your carrier? What's in it anyhow?"
"Let's see...my lipstick, a nail file, a small mirror, a pocket knife, some Kleenex and a lot of other personal things."
"Whoops! Sorry I asked."
"Oh, yes, and I brought along a picnic lunch, too." She smiled and looked at her watch. "But it's kinda early to eat. Are you hungry?"
"Hey, Jessica, because you were in such a big hurry this morning, all I had time for was some OJ. I'm hungrier than an Eskimo on a run-a-way ice floe!"
She laughed. "Okay," she said, still smiling. She opened the basket, spread a plastic tablecloth on the pine-needled ground and began unloading the food. I sat down cross-legged opposite her. "Made it all yourself, I s'pose?"
"Sure did."
Seeing me sitting there salivating like a hungry raccoon she finally handed me a sandwich. I bit into it like a hungry Indian with a buffalo steak. I didn't know a sandwich could taste so good. "Great sandwich!" I said.
"You must be extra hungry," she said, as she began cracking a hard-boiled egg. "After all, it's just a little ol' sandwich."
As she ate, she looked around her. "I still can't get over this place, Kevin. It has a kind of special aura about it, don't you think?"
"Yeah...you could say that."
For a girl who was so afraid of a little kiss, she sure sounded deep sometimes. Hearing her words made me think of my Dad and what he'd told me about the legend. I still missed him. I stared at the ground, silent for a moment as buried memories rushed in to claim my attention.
A look of compassion appeared on Jessica's face. "Did I ever tell you that I lost my dad, too, Kevin?"
"Really? I always thought your folks got divorced."
"Oh, no. My Dad was shot when someone tried to rob our store. He died before they got him to the hospital. I was only seven at the time."
"Man, what a bummer! They ever catch who did it?"
"They made some arrests, but without eye-witnesses they couldn't prosecute." She looked down at the tablecloth. "Mom tries to take his place, but it's not quite the same."
I took another bite of my sandwich and gulped down a swallow of milk. "Then maybe we've got some things in common."
She smiled. "Like having Irish ancestors?"
I thought a minute. "Hey, that's right...your last name's O'Neill, isn't it? I guess that's about as Irish as anybody can get."
"You're just as Irish, aren't you?"
"I s'pose." I looked away. "But McCoy isn't exactly an Irish name. My ancestral Irish grandfather, Jasper McCoy, was really born in England. But because he grew up in Ireland and married an Irish girl, it was supposed to make us Irish through and through. But I think it makes me kind of a half-breed."
"I think McCoy's a great name. Probably has a lot of history behind it." She smiled and tilted her head. "Maybe it even has a playful little leprechaun in it somewhere too, right?" She winked at me as she spooned potato salad out of a container onto paper plates. “
"Oh, yeah...the leprechaun. I nearly forgot." I laughed along with her until fresh memories came flooding back from my boyhood. "You said I was skeptical, Jessica. Do you know why?"
She smiled. "I get the feeling you're gonna tell me, right?"
"When I was little I lived in a fantasy world where leprechauns and fairies n' things were a lot more real to me."
"Didn't we all?” she answered, biting into a brownie. “Like, I still believe in them and I'm going on sixteen. How about you?"
"Well, I still believe in leprechauns, but I’m not so sure about some other things. In some ways I turned into a skeptic when I was only six."
"Explain, please," she said, swallowing a mouthful of iced tea.
I put my paper cup down. "Can I trust you to keep a secret, Jessie?"
Smiling, she put her own cup down and held up her left hand. Placing her right over her heart she said, "Cross my heart and hope to die and have to eat a dead pig's eye."
"Really, Jessica. I mean it. This is real, real secret"
"Honest to goodness, Kevin." She was more serious this time.
"Remember what I said about the leprechaun giving my ancestral grandfather a magic acorn?"
"Yeah."
"...and that me and Dad planted it when I was three and how it grew into this big golden oak?"
"Yes, and that's where you left off, Kevin. Do you know how much it's bugged me not knowing what happened next?"
I gulped down the last of my sandwich and chased it down with some milk. "I know you're gonna think I've slid off the edge, Jessica, but...what would you say if I told you that this tree was supposed to be magic?"
She gave me a deadpan look. Then she looked around the clearing and up at the tree. "Sometimes I think I can believe in magic, even though my twentieth century reason tells me otherwise."
"According to the McCoy family legend, Jessica, when the leprechaun gave my ancestral grandfather that magic acorn he told him that when it was planted it would grow into a giant golden oak and bear rich fruit for his tenth generation grandson."
"And since when were acorns considered fruit?"
"I don't mean real fruit, Jessica. I mean, like...fruit fruit. You know..."
"Oh, you mean, like, in a figurative sense?"
"Now you got it. You're gonna think this is nuts, I know, but the fruit of this tree is supposed to be, like, well...money, I guess!"
Jessica's face took on a quizzical look. "You mean, like...an honest to goodness money-tree?"
"Weird, huh? According to the legend, the tenth generation descendant of Jasper McCoy would always get everything he needed whenever he sat under this tree and repeated the leprechaun's name three times. Well, my Dad was the tenth generation descendant, right? And what else could those words mean but money?"
"But did your Dad believe all this?"
I reached for a napkin. "He sounded like he did, but sometimes he'd make jokes about a little green man that was going to make us all rich. I was only a little kid at the time so how would I know?"
"You lost me, Kevin."
"Well, when I was born, we lived in the big ol' McCoy homestead with my grandmother. I remember Dad taking me out in the woods with him when I was only three and helping me plant a pretty golden acorn. It seemed almost alive when he let me hold it. By the time I was five, it had grown into this big golden oak tree. He took me here often and repeated the leprechaun's name according to the legend. Nothing ever happened though."
"Did he follow the leprechaun's instructions exactly?"
"I thought so. He'd sit down right where I'm sitting and repeat the leprechaun's name three times and then wait."
"And nothing ever happened?"
"Nothing. Three years later he came down with cancer and died. You know the rest."
"What a sad story."
"Yeah," I said, staring off into space.
The morning breeze got a little stronger and Jessica had to put some apples on the corners of the tablecloth to weigh it down. We sat there in silence. Jessica looked at me with a blank stare, not knowing what to say.
"Now you know why I'm a little skeptical."
"After that story, how could you not be?
"Dad finally decided that the legend was just a big hoax. He called Jasper McCoy a practical joker and told us not to waste our energy even thinking about it anymore. Then Mom made me promise that I'd never come near this tree or mention it to her ever again for as long as I lived."
"That's kind of a heavy promise to lay on you at such a young age, but I guess I don't blame her. She must've endured a lot of pain."
Jessica started gathering up the sandwich wrappers and empty containers and putting them back in the wicker basket. Suddenly her forehead furrowed in a frown. "Why would a leprechaun give anyone a magic acorn in the first place? I thought leprechauns only owned pots of gold?"
"I used to wonder that, too. According to the legend, Jasper McCoy refused the leprechaun's gold."
"Refused? You sure wouldn't catch me turning down a pot full of gold."
"Me neither. Ol' Jasper must've been kinda special."
"I guess. What was the leprechaun's name anyhow?"
"I don't remember. Dad always repeated it to himself so I never heard it. I did hear him mention it to Mom once or twice, but I don’t remember what it was."
Suddenly a wisp of a breeze stole through the clearing and the leaves of the big golden oak tree fluttered ever so softly. Something came drifting down from the tree and landed on Jessica's lap.
"Oh, wow...look!" I said. I raised up on my knees and moved back as a sudden chill did a quick loop up my spine.
Jessica's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open and she sat there speechless. Laying there on her lap was a twenty dollar bill!
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