Gather round all boys and girls and listen to this tale I tell
Of little creatures in the bush Dancing prancing laughing, hushed.
Listen closely listen true for what I say may strike upon you
Never let the devil blind, With golden glint, that greedy shine.
Many a century long ago, When time itself ran just quite slow,
Where men were kind, and women sweet, And children always had bounties to eat.
T’was a small town, with simple demands, Where dreams were built on simple lands,
Where families never knew much wealth, Yet were always blessed with perfect health.
But the children, you see, they were terrorized so, By a magic man they knew as their foe,
One by one he lured them away And made them lost the entire day
“It’s Billy!” they screamed, “He’s lost, he’s lost!” “Where’s he gone?” his mother said, quite cross.
“The magic man, the Leprechaun! He led Billy away at the break of dawn!”
The townsfolk searched, explored, pursued, Turned every rock, every bush reviewed,
Days gone by, with no sight, no clue, “Poor Billy, poor Billy, what can we do?”
Three days passed before Billy returned, Shaking and starving and red with sunburn.
“Where have you been?” his mother cried. “The leprechaun, Mother, the Leprechaun lied!”
“He promised me a thousand coins, But kicked me here right in the groin!
And ran away, leaving me alone I wandered and wandered till I found home.”
On that eve the children made a plan, In the barn around Old Afric’s land
“This can’t keep happening,” the children mused. “First Suzy, then Lanah, now Billy too!”
So the children talked, plotted, and schemed, Till late in the evening, till their mothers screamed
And by the morning of the very next day, Their plan was set and underway.
Kian, the boy with the dark brown hair, With dirt on his clothes and no shoes to wear,
Was chosen to sit by the eldest tree, And wait until the leprechaun could see.
And see he did, and fast he came. The leprechaun, so greedy with his game
[Leprechaun] “Oh, look, Aha! Another one to confuse! This stupid boy will be mine to ruse!”
[Leprechaun] “Oh boy, hello, how do you do? Oh child, what happened to your shoe?
[Leprechaun] "Never mind that night just follow me and I'll grant you more gold than the eye can see"
And from the bush the children came, Running and shouting and hurtling like flame.
With ropes and nets and cages and chains, They bound the leprechaun, completely restrained.
[Children] “You’re ours now, you little evil man! You fell for our quick and childish plan!
[Children] "We’ll keep you bound all day, all night! Till you learn your lesson and fear our might!”
Tied and bound, cuffed and caged, The little man was sorely outraged,
[Leprechaun] “Let me out, you brats, let me out right now! Or I’ll curse you till you’re old, I vow!”
When the children failed to budge all day, Guarding his cage to make sure he would stay
The leprechaun tired, and grew quite sad. And surprisingly stopped being very mad.
[Leprechaun] “Please, sweet darlings, little girls and boys. T’was just a prank, just stupid noise"
[Leprechaun] "Please, take my coins, see, one for each of you. Pure magic, pure fortune, gold through and through.”
When they touched the gold, Something changed in their eyes
The dark power of greed, the source of all men’s lies
It was money, real money, the first they’d ever held, Just that single touch and their hearts were compelled.
“Let’s keep him!” they whispered, Gold tight in their hands
“Until we become the richest children in the land!”
And keep him they did, day in and day out, Milking him, hoping his gold never runs out.
After three or four days, all tied and unfed, The leprechaun lay quiet in his mismatched chain bed.
They would never let him free, these lying little thieves, The onus was on him to take his own leave.
So he waited until it was Kian who stood guard, The dirty poor boy, with clothes filthy and marred
[Leprechaun] “Child, sweet child, would you please let me free? I’ll give you enough gold to fill the great blue sea!”
Kian thought and replied,
“How can I trust you, little man? When you’d just as soon leave me lost on your land?”
The leprechaun reached deep in his trousers so green, And pulled out a golden scroll, fit for a queen.
[Leprechaun] “Set me free, I’ll give you this, it’s a map, I swear! To the end of the rainbow, witness a sight so rare.
[Leprechaun] A thousand gold cauldrons with ten thousand coins each, More pieces than the individual sand on the beach.”
With the glint of greed in his eye, Kian snatched up the scroll, and laughed as he said,
[Kian] “You stupid little troll! Now I have your map to find all of your gold, and I’ll leave you and everyone here to rot in the cold!”
So Kian went off, and followed the map. While the leprechaun laughed; the child fell for his trap!
And again the townsfolk searched and pursued, For a child lost in the woods without any food.
Children cried, mothers pleaded, fathers threatened with clenched fists, but the leprechaun just laughed and laughed, he was taking the piss!
[Leprechaun] “Set me free and I’ll show you where the stupid boy has gone."
So they untied his binds and let him stand tall as a prawn.
The leprechaun laughed, and vanished from sight. And his laughter was heard, all through the night.
Kian never returned, but the children sometimes still see, A poor little boy, gold where his eyes should be.
Happy St. Patricks Day! From all of us here at MinuteVideos!