Lubdan the Leprechaun is a mischievous sprite who hides sacred pots of gold at the end of rainbows in Ireland.
If you catch him or find his gold, he may grant you three wishes (if you play your cards right).
A rainbow is a mysterious natural phenomenon, exhibiting a perfect geometric semi-circle of light separated into its band of colors. Lubdan sees that human beings perceive the splendor of the ethereal rainbow but are tempted to reach out and touch it, which is why he chooses to hide his gold at the end of the rainbow.
A young wanderer named Alas decides to quest for Lubdan's pot of gold and travels across Ireland to find the right rainbow. He decides he has found the correct double-rainbow near an Irish castle and seeks Lubdan's pot of gold and walks towards the end of one of the ends of one of the double-rainbow beams.
Alas discovers he has chosen the right end of the right beam and finds the pot of gold, a black metal cauldron with shiny gold round coins in it, filled to the brim. He picks up the pot and starts walking away with it when Lubdan suddenly appears and says, "I see you've found my gold, young man!"
Alas replies, "I found it fair-and-square or if you prefer fare-and-squared, so I'm taking it and telling the people I found your gold near this Irish castle."
Lubdan replies, "Alright, alright, but I tell you this --- if you leave with my gold, you will not receive three wishes which I can grant you. So, you decide --- do you want that pot of gold or do you want three wishes?"
Alas replies, "I don't believe in wishes or that you can grant them, but I do believe in what I can see, and I can see this pot of gold, so I choose the gold," to which Lubdan replies, "Fair (or fare) enough, but if you were daring enough to seek my gold, how come you're not brave enough to see if I can grant you three wishes?"
Alas is tempted and confused and says, "Alright, alright Lubdan. You win. You keep your gold, and I won't tell anyone I found it, but here are my three wishes --- I wish for a beautiful wife, a beautiful cottage in the Irish hills, and a loyal dog."
Lubdan is pleased and says, "Here is enough gold from the pot to buy land, a cottage, and pay a handsome dowry to find a nice bride from the nearby Irish village where they will also gift you with a nice Irish sheep-dog as a pet. Remember, do not tell anyone where you got the gold!"
Alas goes to the village and uses Lubdan's gold to get everything he desires --- a wife (named Megan), a cottage, and a dog.
Alas retires and in his old age, his wife Megan (they now have two beautiful children) asks him, "Where did you get all that gold?" Alas tells her, "I found it near an Irish castle near your old village," but does not tell her it was Lubdan the Leprechaun's. Megan says, "Oh, as long as it did not belong to Lubdan the Leprechaun, that is great, because Lubdan used to haunt that old castle and apparently cursed an old man in our village for betraying him."
Alas keeps his secret but feels strange keeping it from Megan. He decides that it is alright, since they are very happy.
Nearby Lubdan wryly smiles and says to himself, "The daring Alas received all he sought in exchange for a vow of secrecy, which his wife will never know, and I will keep my vendetta against the old man who betrayed me in that village of Megan's, so in a way, I still win!"
Near the end of his life, Alas writes in his journal, "While I am happy with the life afforded me by that gold, I regret never telling Megan where it was from, which leads me to conclude that Lubdan is pure evil."
Lubdan the Leprechaun (Villains Wikia)
Leprechaun #1 - Limited Collector's Edition (Comic Vine)
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