I wanted silver and I wanted gold,
And riches beyond my place,
And castles all in clover,
And love and a beautious face.
"So what it be, your wish number one?"
Asked the Leprechaun all in green.
"I wish I might have beauty,
The most bewitching ever seen,"
"Done" said the little green Leprechaun,
All with the wave of his hand.
"And I wish," I said, "to have riches,
The greatest in this land."
With a flourish and a flutter they did appear,
Great beauty and my gold,
And then I wished for a lover fair,
All that my heart could hold.
Bedazzeled I was when I saw him there,
My knight in armored bob.
"Thank you Leprechaun," I gushed with glee,
"You've done a most splendid job."
But the Leprechaun stood near me,
Seeming unanxious to leave.
I'm glad you know your mind lass,
So many waste wishes you see."
So enraptured I was with my bounty
That I hardly noticed when
That wee little, green little Leprechaun
Began chattering away again.
"Tis a bonnie day, is it not, my lass?
Don't you wish, lass, it would bid
To stay like this all year long?"
And I replied ... I did.
The little Trickster laughed with mirth,
And then my face did fall.
"The rules be, lass, if a fourth wish you make,
Then you lose them all!"
- Mark Shapiro -