Giggles - Bard's Hall Contest - 3/26

Being different is hard, especially if you don't have your Green.

Giggles

         In the hills of Emerald Vale lived a baby leprechaun named Kiya. Though she was already 177 years old, Kiya was still a giggly bundle of mischief, bouncing from one tiny adventure to the next. She loved to hide a dust ball in the noses of unsuspecting squirrels and whisper jokes to the wind.

         What she didn't have, however, was the famous leprechaun green that sparkled on every adult's coat, hat, and even their eyes.

         The leprechaun "green" was not just a color; it was the legendary Inner Light, a magical glow that each leprechaun received on their fiftieth birthday. It turned their hair color a shimmering emerald and filled the world with a pleasant, peppermint‑scented breeze whenever they laughed.

         Kiya's first idea was obvious: clovers. She had heard from the furry chipmunk that rubbing a leaf of clover on your skin could "tickle the green inside." So, she gathered a whole basket of four‑leaf clovers, each one glimmering like a tiny emerald lantern. She rubbed them over her arms and legs. At first, she felt a tingling fizz, as if a hundred tiny fireworks were marching across her skin. Then, ouch, the clover leaves left a red, itchy rash.

         "Eep!" Kiya cried, hopping onto a toadstool and looking for a cure. She waddled to the Wisest Willow, whose branches were rumored to know the answer to every dilemma, but the willow only swayed and chuckled, "Patience." Kiya decided that perhaps clovers were too direct.

         Her second plan was inspired by the ancient Leprechaun legend of the Peapod Bath. According to the story, a leprechaun who plunged into a tub of freshly‑picked peapods would be "wrapped in a coat of green."

         Kiya ran to the Green Garden, picked a massive sack of plump, green pea‑pods, and filled a leaf‑shaped basin with spring water and all the pea-pods. She hopped in, splashing and giggling as the peas popped against her skin. At first, she felt a cool, fresh sensation, the kind you get when you slide down a hill of ice cream. But then, the peas began to shrivel! Within moments, Kiya's arms and legs wrinkled like old wet peaches.

         "Oh, my!!" she squealed, now half‑peach and half‑leprechaun. While the bath made her look greener, it turned her into a walking, talking, wrinkly pea‑pod.

         Feeling a little greener, Kiya's third attempt was to stand under a rainbow. Legend said that the green band of a rainbow was the purest strand of leprechaun magic, and any creature who bathed in its light would be kissed by the Emerald Fairy herself. She waited for a storm, perched on her favorite toadstool, and when the sky cracked open with a thunderous "brrrr‑boom," a brilliant rainbow unfurled across the sky. Its colors were vivid, its arcs bold, and the green band seemed to hum a merry tune. She stepped right into the green stripe, expecting an instant transformation.

         Instead, the green light was cool, like the breath of a mint leaf, and it tickled her nose. She sneezed—ACHOO!—and a spray of glittering dust puffed out, covering the nearby mushrooms in tiny specks of silver, leaving Kiya unchanged, though now she smelled faintly of fresh mint.

         After three silly experiments, Kiya plopped onto a soft patch of moss, feeling a little weary but still full of sparkles. Suddenly, a soft, lilting voice drifted down from the highest leaf of the ancient oak that sheltered the leprechaun village.

         "Why so glum, little Kiya?" asked Grandma Lurleen, the oldest leprechaun in the vale, whose eyes twinkled like dewdrops and whose beard was as white as fresh snow on a winter's day.

         "Grandma Lurleen, I've tried clovers, peas, and rainbows, but I still don't have my green!"

         Grandma Lurleen chuckled, a sound that sounded like a hundred tiny bells. "Oh, dear child, you've been looking outside for your green when it lives inside you. To earn your Inner Light, you must perform two selfless deeds of true leprechaun kindness. The green will come from the sparkle you create in others' hearts."

         Kiya's eyes widened. "Kindness? Like sharing my giggles?"

         "Exactly!" Grandma Lurleen nodded. "First, you must bring a smile to the grumpiest creature in the vale."

         Kiya zipped off, her tiny feet barely making a sound on the mossy ground. She found Grumpy Badger, a stout, huff‑filled beast who liked to nap beneath a clump of wild thyme and never cracked a smile. Kiya tiptoed over and whispered a silly joke she'd heard from the wind: "Why do leprechauns never get lost? Because they always follow their green instincts!" The Badger snorted, then, to Kiya's astonishment, let out a tiny chuckle that sounded like a rustling leaf. His eyes twinkled, and a faint emerald puffed from his fur, dust that drifted onto Kiya's cheek.

         Grandma Lurleen had told Kiya must share her laughter with the whole valley. So Kiya climbed to the highest hill and began to giggle; it rolled down the slopes like a wave of bubbles. Children of the leprechaun village gathered, their eyes wide with wonder, and soon a chorus of giggles filled the air, echoing off the valleys and making the clouds blush pink.

         As the last giggle faded, a gentle wind swirled around Kiya. It lifted a swirl of shimmering dust settled inside her skin, spreading like sunrise over a meadow. Kiya felt a bright, emerald light blossom in her heart, then traveled outward, coloring her hair, her cheeks, and even her tiny shoes. The light was warm, not blinding, and it made her feel as if she were wrapped in a hug from the entire world.

         Grandma Lurleen clapped delightedly, "Well done, Kiya! You've earned your Inner Light not by forcing it, but by sharing the things that make leprechauns truly magical: kindness, helping friends, and laughter."

Word Count: 966
Prompts: Write a children's story about a Baby Leprechaun named "Kiya."
-Kiya has a problem! She hasn't got her green color, yet.
-What must be done to help Kiya turn green before St. Patrick's Day?
-Help Kiya, the baby leprechaun "go green" with your own magical ideas!