The leprechaun's gold

I listened, thinking I was imagining it, but no, there was a tapping.

My imagination sprang into action. Perhaps it was a leprechaun and just maybe the leprechaun was making a shoe. Maybe he was hammering a nail into a shoe.

A leprechaun is a cobbler, you know. He is mystical and magical too.

According to legend he's an Irish fairy. He looks like a small, old man about two feet tall and he wears a green suit and a green top hat. Sometimes he dresses like a shoemaker and wears a leather apron. He has pointed ears, turned up toes, and red hair. But most important of all, each leprechaun possesses a hidden pot of gold. Some people say the leprechaun buries the gold in a secret place. Others say he hides it at the end of the rainbow.

Wouldn't it be wonderful, I thought, if I could catch a leprechaun and force him to reveal the whereabouts of his gold treasure.

My imagination soared..

Just what would I buy with a pot of gold in these hard economic times.

Maybe I would buy two sacks of groceries or a pair of sturdy walking shoes.

Or perhaps I would buy a tank of gas.

Just think of the possibilities.

I could rotate the tires.

I could give myself a bonus just like AIG executives.

I could splurge on a four ounce steak.

Or I could fill one prescription.

I could buy an Easter basket.

I could buy Splenda instead of that pink stuff.

I could afford a real bottle of Red Door perfume instead of spinoffs.

I could buy a chain saw that works.

I would buy real butter and leather gloves, not imitation.

I could get my hair fixed on Fridays.

I could buy a pot of beans with my pot of gold, and Half & Half for my coffee.

I could get one tree trimmed.

And a Swiffer for my floors.

I could go to the movies on free popcorn night.

I could pay for half a tank of propane.

I could get the car washed at one of those fancy drive throughs.

I could buy a color cartridge for my printer.

I could buy school supplies for two children.

I could afford a vet when the dog gets sick.

I could buy a Gaither CD.

I could.............................................

But wait, wait! The tapping has stopped

Maybe the leprechaun has finished the shoe. I'll sneak out to the workshop and take a peek. Maybe I can catch that leprechaun in the act.

I grab a large stick that leans on the garage wall just outside the attached workshop.

I partially open the workshop door ever so stealthily and put one eye to the opening. It's dark inside.

Suddenly water splashes in my face. I open the door wider and get soaked as water spills from overhead.

I realize that the water is gushing from a plastic water pipe near the bottom of the floor. The water is shooting up and spurting down.

I scream and jump back.

Then realization comes. There's no leprechaun. Or maybe there was. Maybe that was a leprechaun tapping on the plastic pipe. It would be just like him to tap a hole in the pipe, then vanish into thin air.

Leprechauns are tricky little elves. Legend says that once you capture a leprechaun you must keep your eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the gold are lost..

Just my luck! The workshop is empty.

I must face the truth.

There's no pot of gold at the end of my rainbow.