I left the stone at home the next day, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Neither could Karyn, apparently - at the end of the school day, she met me at my locker and insisted that we head straight back to my place and talk about what sorts of wishes we could make.
When we came into my room, though, we were met with the most amazing sight. A small child was digging around under my bed. I couldn't see them very well, because their head and shoulders were underneath the blankets hanging off the bed, but I could see that they were wearing green trousers and black leather shoes. I could hear them muttering to themselves in a squeaky voice, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
Karyn and I looked at each other in shock, and then I blurted, "The stone is under there!"
Karyn and I each grabbed one of the child's legs and pulled them out from under the bed. But it wasn't a child at all - it was a very small man, with a green coat, a green top hat, and a red beard. He was holding the wishing stone in his hand, and he had a surprised look on his face. Karyn and I were momentarily shocked, but the little man recovered faster than we did.
He held up the stone and quickly said, in an Irish-sounding accent, "I wish that I was transported back to me secret treasure vault with this stone!"
The strange feeling of something being stuck in my eye hit me, and the world went dark.
Next thing I knew, Karyn and I were standing in a room that looked like it could have been in a Harry Potter film - it was a large, wood-paneled room, filled with piles of gold and silver coins. The walls were lined with shelves that were absolutely creaking under the weight of various pieces of jewelry, golden cups, silver candlesticks, gemstones, and all sorts of other fantastical-looking treasures. Karyn and I were still holding on to the little man's legs, but he quickly twisted away.
"Begorrah!" he shouted, "I didn't mean to bring you big folk back here with me! I wish that only I can use this wishing stone!"
There followed a stunned silence, and finally Karyn broke it, saying, "Are you a...."
"Yes," the little man said brusquely, "I'm a leprechaun, and you big folk caught me. What of it?"
I opened and closed my mouth several times, before I said, "Give me back that stone!"
A slow smile spread across the leprechaun's face. "Well," he said, grinning, "I could do that, but perhaps you should know the rules, first."
"Huh?" said Karyn and I, simultaneously.
"Well," the leprechaun said, standing up, "since ye caught me fair and square, the laws that govern my kind state that I must grant each of ye a boon."
"What's that?" Karyn asked.
"A gift," he replied, putting his thumbs under his suspenders, and rocking back and forth on his heels. "You may each ask for one item from my hoard, and I must give it to you."
"I want my stone back," I said quickly.
"Alright," he replied, smugly, "but ye should know that I wished that only I can use this stone, so it will be useless to ye!"
I felt a flush of anger rush through me, and I started to raise my fist to punch the little man.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, "for anyone who strikes me here will be subject to me curse. I think it would be wiser for ye to pick a different boon."
"What if we asked for a pot of gold?" Karyn asked.
"Then I'd have to give ye a pot of gold," the leprechaun replied, "but that wouldn't be too imaginative of ye. First of all, it would be tricky for ye to turn me gold into money in your world - the big folks tend to ask questions when strange gold coins show up. And second of all, I could give you something much more interesting..."
"And how will we get home?" I asked.
"After I grant ye your boons, I'll send ye back to your room with me magic," he said. "Ye'll never find me again, but your boons will be yours to keep."
"Okay," Karyn said, "what sorts of things do you have to give?"
