"IRISH FAIRY" CAUGHT.

Waipukurau Press, Issue 314, 29 September 1908, Page 2

"IRISH FAIRY" CAUGHT.

Great excitement has been caused in Mullingar, in the West of Ireland, by the report that the supposed “ leprechaun,” which several terrified children stated they had seen at Killough, near Delvin, during the past two months, was captured. Two policemen sent out to search for the “fairy” found a curious dwarft in a wood near the town, and brought the little man to Mullingar Workhouse, where he is now an inmate. He eats greedily, but all attempts to interview him have failed, his only reply being a peculiar sound between a growl and a squeal. The leprechaun is fondly believed in by the superstitious Irish peasantry as a still existing fairy. He is supposed to be a shoemaker, but never engaged in the making of more than one shoe, and always doing his work in the neighbourhood of a hidden crock of gold, of which he is the appointed guardian. The tradition is that if you capture the leprechaun and keep him —a difficult business, as he is a very slippery little gentleman—he will conduct you to his guarded pot of gold, and make it yours to regain his liberty. The leprechaun has been caught several times, but. each time he has escaped with a mocking laugh. This time, however, the au-

thorities have him safe, but they are cynical as to the likelihood of finding any hidden treasure by his instrumentality. They fear, on the contrary, that he may prove an additional burden to the rates. _