Celtic Leprechaun Coloring Pages
The leprechaun of the old Irish stories is a quieter fellow than the one on the St Patrick's Day cards. He works alone, he keeps to himself, and he'd really rather you didn't find him.
The Fairy Shoemaker
Leprechaun work is cobbling. He makes and mends shoes for the fairy folk, who wear theirs out from all that dancing, and the stories say you'll often hear him before you see him: the little tap-tap-tap of a hammer coming from under a hedge.
His famous pot of gold is said to be his pay for all that work.
He Wore Red, Not Green
Here's the surprise: in the older stories the leprechaun dresses in red, not green, and he's usually an old man rather than a cheerful young one. The green suit came much later, along with the parades and the greeting cards, so if you color one of these in red you're closer to the original.
Where He Lives
A leprechaun likes a quiet spot well away from people, and the stories put his little house under a hedge, in a hollow or at the end of a lane nobody walks down. If you ever find a tiny cottage with the washing out, best to leave it be.
Catching One
If you catch a leprechaun, he has to tell you where his gold is hidden. The trouble is that he only has to do it while you're watching him, and he's very good at getting you to look away. In the stories people fall for it every time, which is rather the point: the tales are a gentle warning about being too greedy.
Fairy Relatives
The leprechaun isn't on his own. He's one of the Aos Sí, the fairy folk who live under the hills of Ireland, and the shoes he makes are for them. Later stories say the fairy folk were once the Tuatha Dé Danann, Ireland's magical old rulers, which would make the leprechaun a very distant cousin of a god or two.
The Leprechaun Everybody Knows
Somewhere along the way the old cobbler in red turned into the grinning fellow in the green suit and buckled hat, the one on every St Patrick's Day card...
St Patrick's Day leprechaun coloring pages