They can find a loophole in any deal they make with you, and they can twist your dearest wishes into a nightmare.Īlthough they are certainly shrewd, Leprechauns don’t sit around brooding and plotting all day. If you do happen to catch one of these elusive little men above ground, you must be careful how you talk to him. They know how greedy men can be, so they hide themselves and their treasure in underground burrows, with the entrances concealed so that they look like a rabbit’s hole or a hollow tree. Instead, they save their pranks for people who have tried to trap them or take advantage of them.Ībove all else, Leprechauns are intelligent. While they are notorious tricksters, they rarely lash out at innocent people. Leprechauns aren’t overly friendly creatures, but they aren’t mean-hearted either. In the twentieth century, the wee folk began to appear in green, probably because that color was strongly associated with their homeland. In early accounts, the Leprechaun is said to dress in red, a color which symbolizes lone fairies.
Every Leprechaun wears a hat, although the styles range from top hats to jockey caps to little cones without a brim, and they all have exquisite shoes with tiny shining buckles. The cut of the coat can vary from region to region, as well as the embellishments, which range from golden military trim to seven rows of seven buttons. They wear old-fashioned coats, each one perfectly tailored to the little person who wears it. Leprechauns love to look dapper when they go outside. His eyes have a roguish twinkle, and he is perfectly nimble, no matter how ancient his wrinkles might make him seem. He is a small man, two to three feet tall, with a wrinkled face and a fluffy beard. The Leprechaun’s sense of style has been tweaked here and there during centuries of fame, but his overall appearance has remained remarkably true to tradition. When they leave their secret, underground cobbler benches for a jaunt through the human world, they leave a trail of mischief-and sometimes enchanted gold-behind them. They are delicate craftsmen, with nimble fingers ideal for shoe-making, and many of them have amassed a fortune from this art. These little creatures work hard and play even harder. A Leprechaun is a small fairy or elf, hailing from the green shores of Ireland.