Dave's Anatomy: My History as a Writer #119: Ambition, Redefinition: "The Treasure at the End of the Rainbow"

The “wee folk” fascinate us. Elves, leprechauns, nixies, pixies, fairies, sprites—the tiny creatures who were especially prominent in the folklore of the Celtic nations:  Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Britain before it went Anglo-Saxon. “The Treasure at the End of the Rainbow,” is a story about a leprechaun, though, as with most modern stories about such creatures, it is revisionist and plays with the tradition themes, descriptions, and plots found in such stories. 

The origin of it was a tale I read in fourth or fifth grade. The old legend is that if you capture a leprechaun, he (or she, though it seems like most leprechauns were male) had to tell you where he had hidden his treasure. But be careful:  they are consummate tricksters. In the story I remember, a young boy captures one of the wee folk and he takes him to a tree at the base of which the leprechaun’s gold is buried. The boy must fetcht a shovel. He ties a handkerchief around the tree so he will know it and makes the leprechaun swear he will not remove the handkerchief. Smilingly, the creature agrees. The young man goes, returns with the shovel, and finds, to his dismay, that every tree in the wood has a handkerchief tied around it. The leprechaun has triumphed through trickery. 

In my story, there is trickery on both sides.

Caffara

Caffara is a leprechaun hunter. She tracks the wee folk in the hope of capturing one and forcing him to give her his treasure. She is skillful, locates a handsome young man named Neven (I found some good Irish names), dances with him, invites him up to her room, and enjoys passionate embrace with him. He wakes up to find himself handcuffed to the bed. Caffara informs him what has happened and on his chest places a stone taken from the Lair of Morrigan. Morrigan was an evil Celtic goddess who waged war on the elves. Neven cannot breath, admits he is a leprechaun, and promises he will give her treasure if she frees him. She does so and reminds him that if he breaks his promise Morrigan will devour his soul. 

He gives her an address. She frees him. She goes to the address the next day and finds it an obstetrics clinic. She wonders if the treasure is hidden there or buried under it. A few days later, she finds she is pregnant. Neven has betrayed her. Morrigan will get his soul, and she finds satisfaction in this—but what will she do now? She gives birth to a boy and immigrates to Canada, where she finds a job and lives as a single mother. Her place in life does not allow her to date; remarriage seems too complex, so she raises her child. 

Her son, Colm, acts in a play his six-grade class puts on. Someone from a video production company offers to hire him for an advertisement campaign. He is photogenic. Soon he is in more ads and in TV commercials. He lands minor roles on television and then in films. By the time he is sixteen, he is a child star making a lot of money. Caffara finally has money and leisure. She returns to her native Ireland, where Colm is filming. She goes to where she somehow knows she will find someone she wants to see. 

Neven is where she thinks he will be. She apologizes for being a bounty hunter and a “predatory woman.” The following exchange takes place. 

“So your definition of treasure has changed?”

“Yes. Colm would like to meet you. I said I’d try to find you while I was over here.”

“I would very much like to meet him.”

“We’ll arrange it. Maybe”—and she got tears in her eyes—“we can even pick up where we left off—that is, if you’re interested in taking up with a predatory female.”

“I thought you were a beautiful woman. You are still.”

“A little deserved suffering helps out, I think. At least it did for me.” 

Grace comes. The wee folk are still tricksters. But they are also, under the layers of wiliness and scheming, good, benevolent, and forgiving. 

The story appeared in Modern Day Fairy Tales, which has closed. I have to laugh:  if I republished all the stories I printed in journals that are now defunct, I could have a second career! Maybe I will do just that. But if you want to read one of my stories about the elven folk, click on this link for Chantwood Magazine. Despite outwards appearances, elves are not the nicest or kindest beings who popular the universe.

Be sure to read my latest novella, The Court of the Sovereign King. 

Alethea is taken to the court of King and placed under a vow of chastity and service. Eventually, she comes to know the evil the that exists there. And it knows her.

For more titles, visit my Writer's Page.

Nurture your imagination.

Happy reading.