UNTIL RECENTLY, I didn’t realize trapping mischievous leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day was a thing. But apparently it has been and this grandma needs to catch up with that trend.
On Saturday, my eldest daughter texted a photo of the leprechaun trap my grandchildren, Izzy and Isaac, created from Magna-Tiles, an empty tissue box, a plastic pot and something else I may have missed. They drew fake coins on paper to decorate the tiles, put fake coins in the pot and were good to go. Isaac is expecting the leprechaun to give them gold. Good luck with that one, grandson.
All of this leprechaun talk got me thinking about Lucky Charms cereal. So I hit the cereal aisle of a local grocery store. There it was. On sale. Lucky me. Buy three 26.1-ounce General Mills Lucky Charms Giant Size boxes for $14.97, a savings of $2. All I could think was, “I’m sure glad I don’t have to buy cereal for kids.”
I looked at the boxes and, to my surprise, found all the trappings of constructing a leprechaun trap on the back of the large size box. I also found information about the magic held within each mini marshmallow shape. I noted that the shapes have changed since I was a kid. No unicorns back in the 1960s. Shapes have been updated, too. I wonder if the marshmallows taste the same. Chalky. Not all that good in my opinion, but none-the-less magical.
Leprechauns are, after all, magical, sans the name “Lucky” for the Lucky Charms cereal rep. I learned more about these two-foot tall men from the book, Leprechauns in the “Curious About” series by Mankato, Minnesota-based publisher Amicus Publishing. It was a quick read with charming illustrations and photos.
The book confirmed that leprechauns are, indeed, shoemakers, mischief makers and introverts who prefer to avoid human contact. And, yes, they are wealthy, preferring gold to 401Ks; wear green, including their signature hats; and hail from Ireland.
So my suggestion to any would-be leprechaun trappers: Book a flight to the Emerald Isle. Or buy some Lucky Charms cereal to bait your traps.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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