Chapter 2

When Danny finally awoke, the sun was shining in through a window in the cottage and he was surrounded by the anxious faces of his brothers and sisters.

“What happened?” Danny asked, his eyes blinking against the bright sunlight. “How long have I been out . . . where is mother?”

“You’ve been unconscious for a week,” 13-year-old Sean said. “Mother chased your ass across the fields and we haven't seen her since.”

“And the barn burned down,” 10-year-old Maggie added. “We’re so glad you’re all right, Danny, but what shall we do?”

“Bad luck, bad luck, never-ending bad luck,” Danny moaned. “But don’t worry, I’ll think of something.” And with that, Danny stumbled out of bed and began walking to clear his head.

As afternoon turned to evening and evening to night, Danny wandered over hill and dale. Now I’ve no money and I’ve lost me mother and me work boots and me barn and me ass, thought Danny.

A cloud passed over the moon and Danny glanced up. It must be a lucky cloud, he thought, because it was shaped like a four-leaf clover. A four-leaf clover—that would change his luck! He dropped to his hands and knees and began to hunt.

Hours later, just as he was beginning to despair, Danny spotted the glimmer of rainbow residue near the gnarled trunk of a giant elm. And there, tucked in-between two ancient, moss-carpeted roots, was a large hole spiraling down into the ground. This must be a leprechaun lair, Danny thought, and leprechauns love four-leaf clovers! With that, he sat at the entrance to the hole, pinched his nose, and down, down, down the hole he slid.

To see what happened next, join Danny down the leprechaun hole