The Leprechaun's Journey

-I-

It was the night before the Leprechaun's Journey, and our young friend Bounty could not have been more nervous. She had attended all the classes, completed all her homework, and watched attentively as the Elders perform their daily tasks, eagerly awaiting her chance to become a true Elemental. In just a few short hours, it would be time for her to put her knowledge into practice, but suddenly Bounty did not know if she truly had what it took to make the grade.

On Journey Day, youngsters throughout the natural world set off into unknown parts of their environments, where they are tasked with establishing a healthy and vibrant habitat for all to enjoy. Sufficient progress must be made before sunset, however, or else the student is required to return to the classroom until the next testing period in the following season. When they are ultimately successful in the process, the Elder Leprechauns say they will be granted their most cherished desire: their very own pot of gold!

Finding one's pot of gold is how a young Leprechaun is initiated into The Elementals. This group of Sprites and Fairies, among others, are the trusted caretakers for the spirit of nature. They are responsible for building the networks that ensure the care and growth of nature all around the world. How one becomes an Elemental, however, is a closely guarded secret, and even a young Leprechaun with over 100 years of training does not fully know what lies ahead of them on Journey Day. Bounty, along with a handful of other youngsters, was about to get her first chance at discovering the secret.

She looked up to see the North Star sitting above the black pine in the grand courtyard. Wisdom, the owl, began her usual call of “who-who-who… are you?”. Bounty understood that the time had come, and her Journey was about to commence.

-II-

The ceremonies had ended, and the aspirant Elementals were on their way to their predetermined locations. Each nervous candidate was led by their own animal guide, an entity only they could see. Bounty was paired with Wisdom, her long-trusted “imaginary” friend from the time the Leprechaun was but a twinkle of sunlight in a falling raindrop. But to Bounty, nothing could be more real than her beloved Wisdom.

The owl’s distinctive hooting call was always a puzzle for Bounty, however. As a child, she would become frustrated with the owl and respond “I’m Bounty! You know who I am!”, but Wisdom persisted with her apparent questioning. Eventually Bounty began to tell herself that the hooting was simply hearing things in her beloved partner’s unique call, and she left it at that. Today, however, she noticed that Wisdom had been much more vocal than usual. Chalking it up to the excitement of the day, the pair traveled on swiftly until Wisdom perched upon the branch of an old oak tree. A stream coursed aggressively through the area, and the area showed very little greenery. Few animals were seen nearby, and those they did see quickly scurried off to other parts of the woods.

The area she had been assigned felt grim. Bounty could see and sense right away that this location was well out of balance. But what could she do? She knew her task would be to coordinate all these diverse elements to form a more harmonious woodland. What she did not know, however, was where to start. A sense of panic arose within her. From above she heard the familiar call: “who-who-who… are you?”

-III-

Already discouraged, just as the sun began to rise over the horizon, Bounty sat upon a rock and leaned back against the oak tree, observing her surroundings but unable to fully focus. What had she gotten herself into? Sprinting stream, scurrying squirrels, cackling crows, whooshing wind… overwhelmed, she began to cry.

“There, there”, boomed a voice from above. And below. And all around. Bounty was suddenly laser-focused, eyes darting in all directions, unsure of who was speaking. “It is alright. It is me, Oak. I am happy to have you sit with me as long as you wish, but I would be so much happier to see you succeed on your journey. And for that, you can not be rooted in the ground, like me. No, you must keep moving forward, like a gentle stream.”

“But, but where should I go?”, asked Bounty.

“Look up, beloved, and let my branches show you the way!”, Oak exclaimed.

“How does that help me, Oak? Your branches point in every direction. I could go this way, or that. I could go virtually anywhere!”, Bounty said, frustrated.

“Precisely, my dear friend!”, Oak responded.

Bounty took a moment, regained her composure, and reviewed the conversation she just had. “Move forward, like a gentle stream”, Oak had said. Perhaps she should start by wandering over towards the stream, in that case. Seemed like as good an idea as any, at this point.  

The young leprechaun was so focused on what had just transpired, that she only barely heard Wisdom hooting from halfway up the oak tree. She gathered her courage, and slowly rose up from her seat upon the ground.

-IV-

Bounty approached the stream and could barely hear herself think over the sound of the roaring water. “This is odd,” Bounty thought aloud. “There is no steep decline, there are no particularly large rocks to speak of, there hasn’t been a hard rain in a few days. For all intents and purposes, this should be a gentle rippling creek on a day like today.”

“Hello to you, my friend.” Bounty shouted so the stream could hear her.

“I can’t talk right now, can’t you see I am in such a rush!”, the stream replied, breathlessly.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you about, actually,” she yelled back. “What’s all the fuss?”

“Don’t you see! There are so many plants and animals that I must provide for! If I don’t supply them with water, who will? I need to push through as much water as I can, post haste! Now, leave me to my work please!”

The stream was in no mood to be interrupted, but Bounty felt she should point out a few observations she made while she was sitting with Oak earlier on.

“I understand, you must have such important responsibilities,” she began. “But, if you don’t mind, look towards your banks, and see how the rush of water has eaten away at the earth, exposing roots and preventing new plants from taking hold. And I’ve noticed that the fish and beavers and other animals can barely keep pace and wind up being swept downstream as a result of the water’s force. As a result, they cannot stay and make this area their home, where they could provide nutrients and habitat for other plants and animals nearby. I wonder, had you ever checked in with your surroundings to ask them what they need from you?”

“I… I had not thought of that,” said the stream. “I always assumed that the one thing I do best is provide a flow of water, so if I do that with great energy, that would be even better!”

“It’s been hard for us to hang on, but we did not realize we could speak up!”, said the creekside plants.

“And we just assumed you never wanted us around, since we were being pushed downstream so forcefully… we didn’t want to be a bother,” said the animals in unison.

As they spoke, the stream’s flow naturally began to slow. The nearby plants and animals could hear each other speak, perhaps for the first time ever, and an important conversation about planning and resources ensued. Those involved, including the stream, all thanked Bounty for what she had done.

“But I have done nothing,” said the Leprechaun, “you’re the ones doing all the work here. I wish you all good luck!” And Bounty walked back to the Oak tree, spotted a new branch, and walked off in that direction.

Wisdom, seeing all of this transpire below, hooted excitedly “who-who-who… are you!”. Bounty did not understand the excitement, but still looked up and smiled at her dear friend.

-V-

Looking up at the midday sun, Bounty once again felt the shudder of concern, knowing that she had spent a lot of her precious time by the rushing stream. She was grateful to have been able to witness the changes that transpired but knew that she now only had half a day left to earn her pot of gold. She needed to do something big, she assumed, to catch the attention of the mysterious Elementals who were surely observing her every move.

Walking along a path in the woods, Bounty was so distracted that nearly stepped on a slow-moving slug. “I’m so sorry!” she gasped. “Where are you headed?”

“That’s fine,” the slug shrugged. “I’m just heading over to my feeding grounds. It’s time for lunch, don’t you know.”

“Oh indeed, I noticed. I don’t have much time left before I need to make my way back home. Say, how much longer is your walk… er, crawl?”, Bounty inquired.

“I’ve moved along this path many a time,” said the slug. “I know that my own journey takes whatever time it takes. I know I’ll just keep crawling forward and trust the decisions that I make.”

Those wise words struck the Leprechaun to her core. She could feel the truth in them, and suddenly her own rushing and worrying seemed diminished. “Well, what say if today, I give you a bit of a boost? Did you want to hop… er, crawl into my hand, and we can walk together?” Bounty held out her hand, inviting the slug to take her up on the offer.

The slug slid onto Bounty’s fingers, and they made their way forward about twenty paces until they came upon a clearing, lush with greenery. Up above, Wisdom hooted some more, encouragingly.

-VI-

Bounty set her new friend down upon a tall blade of grass, so he could enjoy his meal. The Leprechaun looked around and gasped with amazement at the variety of flowers and animals in this clearing. This, she thought, is what she would have needed to show her evaluators so that she could be initiated into the Elementals and earn her pot of gold today! But she could not claim this clearing area as hers, for it was already well established before she had ever arrived. She sat down in the grass and began to daydream about how beautiful the surrounding land could be if she just knew where to start… majestic tall trees, a multitude of flowers, butterflies and bees, birds darting about, dashing deer… and then, Bounty fell asleep.

-VII-

A thunderclap from above startled the Leprechaun awake. She could tell by the position of the sun in the western sky that she only had a few short hours left to complete her mission. Head bowed, she began to trudge back to the oak tree and reassess her situation. As the rain began to pour down from above, Bounty was more and more resigned to accepting her fate. She had failed. She did not know what to do next. And she was now soaked from head to toe.

The storm intensified as she approached the oak tree. She was so focused on herself that she almost tripped upon an exposed root.

“Watch yourself, my dear friend”, Oak said with his booming voice. “You seem very sad. Would you like to discuss your troubles?”

“Don’t you see, Oak? I’ve been here for hours and I have accomplished nothing. At this rate there is no way I will be invited to join the Elementals this season.” Bounty put her head in her hands and sobbed.

“I do not understand, dear friend,” Oak responded. “How can you say you have accomplished nothing? Did you not provide assistance in the area by the stream? Did you not assist the slug?”

“Not at all,” Bounty shot back, “they did all that themselves, down by the stream. I just stood back and watched. And then when I was supposed to be planning and working on this ecosystem, I spent most of my time talking to the slug and daydreaming of a lush green woodland area. And then I feel asleep! I have failed miserably today.”

“But, Bounty… have you not looked around you since this morning?” A thin oak branch gently nudged Bounty’s head up to look at her surroundings. Wisdom hooted “who-who-who… are you?” from above, as if working in tandem with the oak tree.

All around the oak tree, in the specific areas where Bounty had walked and passed her time that day, there sprouted shoots of greenery of all kinds. Dandelions, nettles and plantain to start. And there, some jewelweed, and boneset, and long grasses. Over here was a maple sapling. Over there was sumac. Insects were puttering about, attracting birds and other wildlife.

Bounty did not understand. Noticing her confusion, oak explained the situation. “You see, my dear friend, wherever you were present today, with your keen sense of observation and kind heart, there were seeds of life constantly falling out of your pockets. You did not need to DO anything, you simply had to BE there for others, like the stream, and the fish, and the plants, and the slug. From there, nature took charge, and with a little bit of rain, and a little bit of sun, look at the results! A veritable bounty of rewards for everyone!”

“I… I… I can’t believe this,” said Bounty. “I had a role in all this?”

“That-that-that… is you!” hooted Wisdom, relieved to finally be able to proclaim the sentence which the owl had been holding onto for many, many years.

At that moment, the skies cleared, and a rainbow appeared. Only, the rainbow seemed incredibly close. It seemed as if…

At that moment, Bounty realized that the rainbow was emanating from her! “What is happening?!”, she exclaimed, confused but delighted all at the same time.

Oak happily interjected. “You see, Bounty, I am the Elemental who has been tasked with overseeing your Journey Day. I am a member of the tree family of Elementals. I have been growing in this meager grove for many years, waiting for your arrival. Imagine my joy this morning when you finally made your way here! And now that you have realized the possibilities of what you bring into this world, I have the pleasure to state the following, in honour of your graduation into the Elementals on this fine day:

Your pot of gold is not at the rainbow’s end

The gold is at the start

For every rainbow that you see

Shines out from your authentic heart.”

And from that moment on, Bounty knew that her greatest success was never tied to what she might accomplish in her lifetime, but rather it was simply to be her fullest and most complete self, come rain or shine. And she trusted that wherever she went, she would have Wisdom there by her side, hooting her on with an encouraging “that-that-that… is you!”