Read Leprechaun in Late Winter for Free Online Page A

glade. In the middle of the glade was a large grassy mound. At the foot of the mound was a small doorway framed by stones.
    “That must be it—the hollow hill,” said Jack, “the secret home of the Shee.”
    “And
that
must be someone from an old story,” whispered Annie. She pointed to a woman floating above the green mound.
    The woman wore a wreath of flowers on her head and carried a branch with silver apples. She vanished in the sunny haze.
    “Whoa,” whispered Jack.
    A small sailing ship then appeared in the air. It had white sails and flags flying. The ship, too, vanished. Then an old woman spinning at a spinning wheel appeared … then a wispy dragon … then a knight with a sword. The parade of images faded into the sunshine like wisps of smoke.
    “Whew,” said Jack.
    “Listen,” said Annie.
    The sound of drumming was coming from the doorway of the grassy mound. “Come on, let’s look inside,” said Annie.
    Jack and Annie snuck close to the smalldoorway. It was no higher than Jack’s waist. He and Annie knelt down and peeked inside.
    The hollow hill was filled with a pale-green light. Very small dancers, none more than eight inches tall, were bathed in the light. As drummers pounded tiny drums, the dancers danced together in rows. They held their arms straight by their sides and kicked their legs and turned around and around to the rhythm of the drums.
    A small shining couple sat on high golden chairs watching the dancers. They wore golden crowns.
    “They must be the High King and the High Queen,” whispered Annie.
    Jack and Annie watched until the rows of dancers parted. Then they could see a third person watching the dance. She was no taller than the dancers. Draped around her shoulders was a red cape.
    “It’s Augusta!”
said Annie.

“A ugusta!” whispered Jack. “She’s—she’s tiny!”
    “They must have shrunk her!” whispered Annie.
    “Hide!” whispered Jack. He crawled away from the door. Annie crawled after him. They pressed their backs against the grassy mound.
    “Why are we hiding?” asked Annie.
    “We can’t let them see us!” said Jack. “They might shrink us, too!”
    “But how are we going to save Augusta?” asked Annie.
    “I don’t know,” said Jack.
    “Hey, I just remembered something,” said Annie. “Didn’t Mary say the girl in her story would have become small
if she’d gone inside the hollow hill
?”
    “Yeah, she did,” said Jack. “So maybe that means you can only get shrunk if you go inside.”
    “Right,” said Annie. “So let’s go back to the doorway and call from outside. We’ll be simple, direct, honest, and very polite, like Willy said. We’ll tell the king and queen we’ve come to take our friend back to her family.”
    “But wait a minute,” said Jack. “How can she go back to normal life with her family if she’s only eight inches tall?”
    “Good point,” said Annie.
    “This is so weird,” said Jack.
    “Let’s worry about her size later,” said Annie. “For now, we just have to help her escape.”
    “Right,” said Jack. “Let’s try it.”
    Jack and Annie crawled back to the entranceof the hollow hill and peeked inside.
    In the pale-green light, a very small Augusta stood watching the dancers.
    “Excuse us, please!” Annie called.
    The drumming stopped. The dancers froze. All eyes turned to Jack and Annie. The High King and High Queen looked startled.
    “Who are you?” the king called. “How did you find us?”
    “That’s not important!” said Annie. “We are
very
sorry to bother you! But we’ve come to get our
very
dear friend Augusta! We have to take her home to her
very
loving family!”
    “Please! Thank you!” added Jack, trying to sound polite.
    Before the king or queen could speak, Augusta rushed forward. “No! I don’t want to go home!” she screamed in a high little voice. “I don’t want to leave the Shee!”
    “Whoa,” said Jack. That was a surprise. Maybe Augusta was under a