Leprechaun in Late Winter (6 page)

For a moment, the whistle music was so powerful that Jack couldn’t sing. He felt like crying and laughing at the same time. Finally he looked down at his notes and began to sing:

Jack surprised himself. He thought his words for the song sounded pretty good.

A long, fluttering high note burst from Annie’s whistle. Bright, dancing light flowed across the river. The light arched through the fog toward Jack, Annie, and Augusta.

Augusta gasped. Jack looked back down at his notes and sang:

The wind began to blow. Jack looked up. Leaves and grass and twigs were flying everywhere.

The whistle music grew wilder.

Thundering and rumbling sounds came from the old forest. A herd of very small white horses galloped out of the mist. On their backs were proud and lovely riders—men in gold helmets, women with long hair floating on the wind. Their capes and gowns were the colors of nature—the pale rose of a spring dawn, the green of summer hummingbirds, the blue of winter twilight, and the gold of autumn oak leaves.

“The Shee!” cried Augusta.

H
undreds of Shee swarmed over the bright bridge. Behind the galloping riders more Shee came fluttering on wings like butterflies.

Augusta stood up as if in a trance, her hands clasped over her heart.

“Oh, wow!” breathed Annie.

“Keep playing!” shouted Jack.

Annie blew into the whistle again.

The Shee flew and galloped along the wide, grassy bank. Their horses, fleet as the wind, had arched necks and flaming eyes. They moved faster
and faster, swirling into a blinding circle of light and color.

The soaring sounds of the music inspired Jack to soar with his words, too. He looked at his notebook and sang:

“Jack, no!” shouted Annie.

A mighty blast of wind nearly blew Jack and Annie off their rock. They crouched down and covered their heads. When the wind grew calm, they stood up—just in time to see the swirling cloud of light vanish back into the old forest.

The Shee were gone. Once again, sky blended with water and earth in a veil of silver mist.

“Whew,” Jack said breathlessly. “That was amazing!”

“Jack! Do you know what you just did?”

“Yeah, I made the Shee appear and disappear,” Jack said. “I used my notes from Mary’s story, just like we planned.”

“Yes, you did that,” said Annie. “And you made
Augusta
disappear, too!”

“What?” said Jack.

“The Shee took Augusta!” said Annie. “I tried to stop you, but it was too late! You’d already sung those words—”

“What words?” said Jack.

“You sang:
In a swirl they leave, so wild, so free, with a lonely girl to the hill of the Shee!”
said Annie.

“I was just reading from my notes!” said Jack. “They took Augusta? Are you sure?”

“Yes! She’s gone!” said Annie.

“Oh, no!” said Jack. He and Annie ran to the ridge above the river. “Augusta!” he shouted.

There was no sign of Augusta’s red cape anywhere.

“See? She’s gone,” said Annie.

“It’s all my fault!” said Jack.

“You couldn’t help yourself,” said Annie.

“But I’m responsible!” said Jack. “We have to get her back!”

“Maybe Mary can help us,” said Annie. “She—”

“Wait, listen,” said Jack. “What’s that sound?”

Squeaky noises were coming from behind the pile of small boulders. It sounded as if someone was trying to play the magic whistle. But the sound was definitely not magical.

“The whistle! I must’ve dropped it!” said Annie.

“Maybe it’s Augusta!” said Jack.

Jack and Annie ran back and looked over the rocks.

A man no higher than Jack’s knee was blowing into the whistle. The man wore a green jacket and a three-cornered red cap with a white feather. He had big ears, a bushy red beard, skinny little legs, and silver buckles on his shoes.

“Oh, man,” said Jack.

“A leprechaun!”
whispered Annie.

Jack and Annie just stared at the leprechaun as he blew into the whistle. His small, bony fingers danced over its six holes. But only squeaks, chirps, and hollow tweeting sounds came out.

The leprechaun blew harder and harder. Then he stopped. He turned the whistle over and looked at it closely. He shook his head and frowned.

“Hello!” said Annie.

The leprechaun jumped and looked up. “Well, hello yourself!” he said, grinning. “You startled me! Here, take this back. It’s no use to me, as you can plainly hear.”

The little man held up the whistle. Jack reached over the rock and took it. He slipped it back into the pocket of his coat.

“Listen, we need your help,” said Jack. “Our friend—”

“Oh, you humans! Always in such a hurry!” the leprechaun said.

“Sorry,” said Jack, “but we really need you to help us. You see—”

“First of all, who are you?” the leprechaun asked.

“I’m Jack. She’s my sister, Annie,” said Jack. “Our friend—”

“Ah, well then, Jack and sister Annie, I’m Willy,” said the leprechaun. “Now, let’s get a few things straight right away—never call me Little Willy or Tiny Willy. I don’t like it. And never,
ever
call me Wee Willy. That’s the one I hate the most.”

“Okay, fine!” said Jack. “But—”

“Jack, let me handle this,” said Annie. She turned to the leprechaun. “Willy, why didn’t you go back over the river with the Shee?”

“Ask me why I came over the river in the first place, and I’ll tell you the answers to both questions,” said Willy.

“Okay, why did you come over the river in the first place, Willy?
And
why didn’t you go back across with the Shee?” said Annie.

“Answer number one: I was having a bit of a nap in the reeds when I heard your whistle playing,” said Willy. “Before I knew it, I was moving with the Shee across the bridge. Probably you didn’t see me. Lost in the swirl of things, I was.”

“Excuse me—” started Jack.

“I’ve heard some good whistle playing,” Willy said. “But yours, missy, was like none I’ve ever heard from a human—not in the nine hundred years of my life. So! Answer number two: I didn’t
go
back
over the river because I wanted to find out the secret of your playing. Well?”

“That’s easy,” said Annie. “The whistle played itself. It wasn’t me.”

“Ah, you’re a modest girl,” said Willy. “And you like to keep the secrets of your talents to yourself.”

“Not really—” said Annie.

“Listen, Willy!” Jack broke in. “Can you help us? We lost our friend, Augusta. It was my fault. I sang about a lonely girl. Then she was taken by the Shee—”

“Yes, I saw that,” said Willy. “Whisked away, she was. So I’m guessing now you want me to help you find her. Is that it?”

“Yes! That’s it!” said Jack.

“We were going to ask Mary Sheridan to help us,” said Annie. “But you probably know the way better. And—”

“Wait a minute,” said Willy. “Did you say Mary Sheridan?”

“You know Mary?” said Annie.

“Know her?” said Willy, grinning from ear to ear. “Why, if I were four feet taller, I’d have married Mary Sheridan years ago.”

“Really?” said Annie.

“Oh, yes, indeed, we’re very good friends,” said Willy. “You see, I live in what you might call the
In-between
. I have one foot in the magical world of the Shee. And I have one foot in the mortal world of humans, like Mary. Ah, lovely Mary …”

“Yeah, Mary’s great,” said Jack. “But now—”

“You want me to guide you to your missing friend,” said Willy.

“Right, right!” said Jack.

“I can do that, but what will you give me for it?” said Willy.

“What do you mean?” asked Jack.

“What will you give me for helping you find your friend? My time’s very valuable, you know,” said Willy.

“We don’t really have anything,” said Jack.

“We’re poor and miserable,” said Annie.

“I can see that,” said Willy. “All right then, how about this: I’ll lead you to your friend, and you’ll teach me how to play the whistle the way you play it. Fair enough?”

“Sorry, I—” said Annie.

“Deal!” Jack broke in.

“Jack?” said Annie.

“Annie, it’s a deal,” Jack said. He was ready to promise anything to save Augusta!

“Good!” said Willy. “I’d love to play like that for Mary someday. Now, the path I’m about to show you is very, very secret. You must never show another living soul.”

“Of course not,” said Jack.

“Then come with me,” said Willy, “and I’ll lead you across the water to the home of the Shee!”

T
he leprechaun scrambled down the steep bank of the river.

Jack started to follow, but Annie grabbed him. “Jack, the whistle won’t work for Willy!” she said.

“I know,” said Jack. “We’ll worry about that later. Right now, we just have to save Augusta! Come on!”

Jack and Annie hurried after Willy to the wide, rushing river.

“How do we get across?” Jack asked.

“Follow me along the river,” said Willy, “and I’ll show you. Step lightly.”

Willy skipped ahead of them along the riverbank. Jack and Annie followed. Jack tried to step lightly, but it was impossible. Slopping through the mud, his boots filled with ooze and made squishing sounds with every step.

The river grew narrower and narrower, twisting and turning like a snake. The mist grew thicker, until Jack could hardly see a thing. He bumped into Willy, almost knocking him over.

“Careful, laddie!” said the leprechaun.

“Sorry,” said Jack.