Who Stole the Rainbow

    "Matthew it's time for bed.  Come here and I'll tuck you in."  His mother said.  Matthew followed his mother upstairs to his bedroom. He  climbed up into his bed.  His mother tucked him in. 

    "Matthew what is this in your bed?"  His mother asked. 

    "It's my compass mom.  I need it so if I get lost in my dreams I will be able to find my way back home."  Answered Matthew. 

    "Lets put it under your pillow so you won't roll around on it while you're sleeping."  Said his mother.  Matthew's mother put the compass under his pillow.

    "Goodnight Matthew."

    "Goodnight mom."

    Matthew put his hand under his pillow and held onto his compass.  Soon he was sound asleep.  Matthew dreamed about rainbows.  The rainbows were so high that they went up into the clouds.  To Matthew they looked like colorful bridges.  Matthew wondered if there really were pots of gold at the end of the rainbows.  He stepped up to a rainbow and climbed over to the other side.  Matthew looked around for the pot of gold.  But all he saw was a little village that sparkled in the sunlight.  He looked in amazement at what he saw.  The entire village was made of gold.  Surrounding it was a forest of tall shiny emerald shamrock.

    Matthew heard whispering and giggling.  He looked around and saw three leprechauns peering from around a large shamrock.  One leprechaun said in a tiny voice, "My name is Lucky.  How did you like the rainbows?"  Lucky was grinning from ear to ear.

    "They were the prettiest things I ever saw."  Matthew said.  He turned around to look at the rainbows.  But now there was only a part of one rainbow left.  "What is happening?"  Matthew asked.

    "Every time we make rainbows the brownie makes them disappear."  All the leprechauns said at once.

    "Maybe you can help us.  "Lucky said.

    The three leprechauns took Matthew to see Wisteria, the head leprechaun.  "Wisteria, Matthew is here to help us."  Said Lucky.  "He is going to make the brownie stop stealing our rainbows."  Said Periwinkle.  "Yeah, he is going to get rid of the brownie."  Said Pickwick.

  "Did the boy say he was going to do this or are you volunteering him?"  Wisteria asked as he peered over his wire frame glasses then continued to read his rainbow recipe books.

    Matthew looked at Wisteria and then at the three leprechauns.  "Why are the rainbows so important to you?"  He asked Wisteria.

    "Without the rainbows we have no magical power; therefore we can not protect ourselves."  Wisteria answered.

    "Then I will help."  Matthew said.

    Wisteria gave Matthew a small pouch filled with sparkling colored powders.  "Keep this with you.  If the brownie tries to put a spell on you just throw a pinch of this powder above you and say, 'Gold leprechaun wishes', and the brownies spell will not work."  Wisteria said.

    "We will take you to the edge of shamrock forest and show you where the valley is."  Said Lucky.

    Lucky, Periwinkle and Pickwick walked to the edge of shamrock forest with Matthew.  "Good luck be with you Matthew."  Called Wisteria.

    "There is the valley."  Pickwick said as he looked into the distance.  "It is up to you now."  Matthew started walking to the valley.  He clutched the small pouch in his hands and held it close to his chest.  As he came to the edge of the valley he called out, "Hello?  Is anyone out there?"  There was no answer.  Matthew walked on a little further. 

    "I am out here."  A voice said.  What have you come for?"

    The voice startled Matthew.  He immediately reached inside the small pouch and threw up a pinch of the sparkling powder and said, "Gold leprechaun wishes."

    Matthew heard laughed.  A brownie fell from the tree branch he was sitting on.  He was still laughing when he hit the ground. 

    "Excuse me sir."  Said Matthew.  "I have come to find out why you keep taking the leprechauns rainbows."

    "Why should I tell you anything?"  The brownie said.  He turned and in an instant he was on Matthew's shoulder.

    "It is a long story.  Do you have some time on your hands?"  The brownie asked.  "Well of course not.  You have the time on your wrist."  Both the brownie and Matthew started laughing.  "My name is Sprat.  What's yours?"

    "My name is Matthew.  Please tell me why you keep taking the leprechauns rainbows."

    "A long time ago the brownies and leprechauns lived side by side.  One day great-grandfather leprechaun and great-grandfather brownie were in the cottage laboratory mixing the first rainbow formula.  They got into a huge argument about which colors should be in the rainbows.  They each wanted different colors."  Sprat said.  The brownies wanted the colors to come from shining silver.  The leprechauns wanted the colors to come from sparkling gold."

    "So what happened?  Everyone has disagreements.  You don't just stop being friends because you disagree on something."  Matthew said.

    "Well," said Sprat, "They started throwing things at each other and before they knew it the jars and bottles of color were broken.  Colors were all over the place.  There were no colors left for the rainbows."

    Matthew sat down on a rock next to the pathway.  "That must have been some mess."  He said.  "So what happened?"

    Sprat continued.  "Well great-grandfather leprechaun banished the brownies from the village.  Each brownie went his own way.  I came here to cloud valley.  The next morning everything in the village was shiny gold and there were bright rainbows in the sky over the village.  It was the most beautiful thing."

    "Why can't you go to the leprechauns and tell them you want to be friends?  Matthew said.

    Sprat jumped down from Matthew's shoulders.  He sat next to Matthew on the rock.  "The leprechauns don't like the brownies.  They will not listen to me."  He said.

    "They seem very nice."  Said Matthew.  "Come back to the village with me."  Matthew jumped up off the rock and started walking.  He stopped a moment and turned around.  "Come on Sprat.  I'm sure Wisteria will listen to us."  Matthew was very excited.

    As Matthew and Sprat approached shamrock forest, Matthew could hear Lucky, Periwinkle and Pickwick giggling and playing.  Matthew stopped for a moment to listen.

    "Can we get this over with?"  Sprat asked.  He was nervous.  He climbed onto Matthew's shoulder.

    Matthew walked through the village to Wisteria's house.  All the leprechauns stared at him and at the little brownie on his shoulder.

    Sprat was so scared he could barely move.

    Finally Matthew reached Wisteria's house.  He knocked on the door.  Wisteria was shocked to see Matthew with the brownie on his shoulder.  "My words young man.  You were supposed to get him to stop stealing our rainbows!"  Wisteria exclaimed.

    "Excuse me sir.  Sprat has something he would like to say."  Matthew said.  "Please listen to him?"

    "I suppose so."  Wisteria said.  "But he had better not try anything."  Wisteria looked at Sprat.  "Speak your peace."

    Sprat took a deep breath and began to speak, "Mr. Wisteria, I...I...I don't think you should hold it against all of us brownies.  It was something that happened between great grandfather brownie and great grandfather leprechaun."  Sprat held on tightly to Matthew's shoulder.

    Wisteria stood and thought for a moment.  Then he sat down and thought some more.  Finally he spoke, "I suppose you are right.  What you have said is entirely true.  Maybe we should consider calling a truce."

    "Oh please Mr. Wisteria.  I will never take another rainbow.  I only took them because I have no one to play with or talk to.  I thought if I took the rainbows you leprechauns would come looking for them.  It gets kind of lonely in cloud valley all by yourself."  Sprat said.  He had climbed down off Matthew's shoulder and was now on Wisteria's work table.  He was looking at all the bottles and jars of colored liquid and  powders.  "Look at the good that came out of the disagreement.  The village turned to gold and beautiful rainbows hang over the village."  Sprat said smiling.

    Matthew had been silent while Sprat and Wisteria were talking.  He spoke now with a big grin, "You can't beat that."  He said.

    "We have to discuss this with the other leprechauns.  If they agree then you may come live here with us."  Wisteria said.

    They went outside to find Lucky, Periwinkle and Pickwick.

    Lucky, Pickwick and Periwinkle had been listening at the door.  They had already talked it over.  "We decided that we want Sprat to come here and live with us."  They looked at each other with mischievous grins.  They all had the same thought.  That thought was, 'More tricks and pranks can be played with four.'

    "Then it's settled.  Sprat can come and live with us."  Wisteria said.  "Thank you for helping us solve our problem Matthew."

    "It was nothing.  I'm glad I could help"  Matthew said with a smile.

    In the distance Matthew could hear his mother calling him.  "I have to go now."  He said.

    "Would you like us to help you get back home?"  Wisteria asked.

    Matthew reached into his pocket.  "I don't think so Wisteria, I have my compass right here."  Matthew looked around to find the rainbows.  "Wisteria, where are the rainbows?"  He asked.

    "Stay right here.  I'll have them ready for you in a jiffy."  Wisteria replied.  He went to his house.  In a moment he came out carrying two large bottles.  One was filled with colored liquid and the other with colored powder.  Wisteria wanted to make an extra special rainbow for Matthew.  He threw a handful of colored powder and colored liquid into the sky.  Before long there were the most spectacular rainbows they had ever seen.  There was a double rainbow in the sky over the village.  "There you are young man.  Have a safe journey home."  Wisteria said.

    The leprechauns and Sprat said good-bye and thank you to Matthew.

    Matthew could hear his mother calling him.  "I really have to go now.  My mother will be worried.  He waved good-bye and held on to his compass very tight.

    Matthew stepped up to the rainbow.  Soon he was in his own bed.  The sound of his mothers voice woke him up.  "Matthew wake up and come have breakfast.  We have a lot of things to do today."

    Matthew was still holding on to his compass.  He hurried and got dressed.  He ran downstairs to tell his mother all about where he had been.

    "That must have been some trip Matthew."  His mother said.  "I would have missed you terribly if you had gotten lost.  It's a good thing you had your compass with you."

    "Yeah," said Matthew, "It's a good thing I had my compass with me."