Vinniegoestovegas

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STEPHEN WALSH & MARITA O’DONOVAN Illustrations by Diane Le Feyer

To JN (‘Nobody loves you when you’re down and out.’)

About the Authors Stephen Walsh and Marita O’Donovan are married (to each other).

Together, they spend a great deal of time following leprechaun clues in their quest for the gold at the end of the rainbow.

First published 2017 by The O’Brien Press Ltd, 12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, D06 HD27, Ireland.

Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777 E-mail: books@obrien.ie Website: www.obrien.ie The O’Brien Press is a member of Publishing Ireland.

Copyright for text © Stephen Walsh and Marita O’Donovan Copyright for illustration, layout, editing and design © The O’Brien Press Ltd ISBN: 978-1-84717-724-7 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any way or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

6 5 4 3 2 1 21 20 19 18 17 Cover and internal illustrations by Diane Le Feyer.

Produced and designed in Ireland. Printed in the EU. The paper in this book is produced using pulp from managed forests.

Published in:

Long ago, the leprechauns came to a place where a river gleamed among the rolling hills, and tall trees grew. There, hidden from the human world, on a carpet of shamrocks at the rainbow’s end, they made their home and called it Ballynadeenybeg*.

If ever you walk close by, you just might see a wisp of smoke from their turf fires or hear their music whispering in the wind. Search forever but you will never find Ballynadeenybeg – for it is well hidden by the leprechauns, who use their magic to keep it a secret. But look out!

The leprechauns may be closer than you think. * Ballynadeenybeg – from the Irish, meaning ‘town of the little people’.

Vinnie the leprechaun lived in the village of Ballynadeenybeg. He worked as a metal smith, making gleaming buckles for dancing shoes and leprechaun boots, and shiny buttons for smart green leprechaun jackets.

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Now Vinnie had a great many friends. All the leprechauns loved to come to his shop to chat and pass the time of day.

When the weather was cold, they sat by the fire, telling the old stories and singing the old songs. There were always happy voices and laughter to be heard if you passed Vinnie’s little workshop.

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Vinnie worked hard – even when the shop was full of people. He carefully hammered metal into perfect buttons and buckles, then he ground and polished them until they were beautifully smooth.

Finally, he brushed them with gold-coloured paint ’til they shone like treasure!

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However, poor old Vinnie was not a wealthy leprechaun, because he worked only with tin and copper, and not with real silver and gold.

And how Vinnie longed to be rich!

‘Musha!’ he used to sigh. ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have no patch in my trousers, and no leak in my roof, and to have more to eat than a few potatoes? And wouldn’t it be great never to have to work? I could go fishing and play golf whenever I wanted, and feast on beautiful food, and dress like a king!’

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Vinnie’s friends used to laugh at his wishing and dreaming. Then one day, Larry, the shoemaker leprechaun, said, ‘What you need, Vinnie, is a horseshoe. Surely you know that a horseshoe will bring the finder good luck?’

‘Is that so?’ asked Vinnie.

‘Yes,’ said Larry. ‘And if you do find one, be sure to keep it upright or hang it over your door, so your luck will last.’

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One fine Friday evening after a busy week of work, Vinnie turned the big key in his workshop door and set off for home. He walked through the winding lanes of Ballynadeenybeg village and out the other side.

It was unusually warm for March, and Vinnie was tired, so he sat into a ditch to rest for a moment. The warmth of the setting sun was delightful, and soon Vinnie fell fast asleep.

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Vinnie was wakened a short time later by a clattering noise. He looked up, and in a big cloud of dust he saw the retreating hooves of three donkeys, homeward bound after a day’s turf-cutting.

‘ATCHOO!’ he sneezed.

As the dust settled, Vinnie saw something glinting in the laneway. He picked up the gleaming object. What was it but a little horseshoe! He slipped it into his pocket, danced a jig, and went home.

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The next day was Saturday, and Vinnie decided to go fishing. He could not believe his luck when he caught a massive brown trout almost immediately! Then he cast his rod again and caught another, and another, and another.

By lunchtime, Vinnie had caught so many trout that he had to give them away to his friends. He still had some left over, which he sold to Fíachra, the leprechaun fishmonger, who paid him handsomely.

‘Well! Maybe it is a lucky horseshoe after all,’ Vinnie thought.

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And that was just the beginning of it. That night, Vinnie won a pig in a raffle, then he beat his friends at cards. And on Sunday, when he went to feed his new pig, he noticed that all the vegetables in his vegetable patch had grown huge overnight.

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‘I’m going to be rich!’ Vinnie shouted. ‘The richest leprechaun in Ballynadeenybeg … maybe even the whole wide world!’

Armed with his lucky horseshoe, he would be unstoppable. He would have everything he ever desired and more besides! But where would he go to make his fortune? Vinnie thought and thought, and eventually it came to him: ‘LAS VEGAS!’ But how was he going to get there?

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