The Yellow Duck searches for a Pot of Gold

"St. Patrick's Day is coming up," Ms. Fish said as she worked on her green hat. "Is your hat ready?"

"Why do I need to wear a hat?" Toad asked, as he ate some raisins.

"Everyone needs a green hat for St. Patrick's Day," Miss Fish said as she glued more glittery four leaf clovers to the edge. "Otherwise, you'll get pinched."

"No, you just wear green," Toad argued.

"A green hat!" Ms. Fish said, sticking her nose in the air.

"I think you can just wear green and not get pinched," the Yellow Duck said gently, as Toad pumped his fist in the air victoriously. "I don't think it has to be a hat."

"Fine," Ms. Fish sniffed. "I'll be the only one with a cool hat."

The Yellow Duck got up from his perch on his log to get some grapes for his backpack. One his way over, he tripped over something small and hard.

"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his throbbing foot. "What is that?"

"It's a pot!" Toad exclaimed, rushing over to look at it.

"A pot of gold!" Ms. Fish dropped her hat to rush over to the pot. "It's mine!"

"It's not yours, he tripped over it," Toad said, glaring at her. "Don't be greedy."

"It's mine because I called it first!" Ms. Fish argued. She really wanted the golden pot.

"Greedy."

"Selfish."

"We'll share it," the Yellow Duck said, sighing at their behavior. He picked up the pot to look at it. It was the size of a small cooking pot and had a lid. Someone had polished it so it was a bright gold.

"I wonder what's inside," the Yellow Duck said. He was nervous to open the lid.

"I don't know," Toad breathed, looking at the lid eagerly. "Open it."

"Yes, open it!" Ms. Fish cried. "I want my share of the coins."

"I don't think you're supposed to open it," the Yellow Duck said. "I don't know if we should. I'm sure it would belong to someone. Maybe we should turn it into someone."

"Who?" Toad asked. "Finders, keepers. It's ours now. Besides, who's going to come looking for it?"

"I am!" a shrill voice cried. The friends whirled around to see a small little man with a red bushy beard and green jacket and pants. He was glaring at them intently and carrying a wooden walking stick.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ms. Fish gasped.

"Are you a leprechaun?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"You bet I am!" the Leprechaun said. "That's my gold! Give it back!"

"We don't have too!" Toad said, grabbing the pot. "If we find it, it's ours! Legend says so."

"Keep your eyes on him!" Ms. Fish cried, glaring at him. "If you watch him, he can't move."

"That could be true," the leprechaun said, glaring back.

"What's your name?" the Yellow Duck asked.

"Julius," the leprechaun said.

"Julius!" Ms. Fish cried. "That's not your real name! That's not Irish! Tell us your real name!"

"How do you know that's not my real name?" the leprechaun asked.

"Because it's not Irish!" Ms. Fish snorted.

The leprechaun ignored her. "How did you get my gold?" he asked.

"I tripped over it," the Yellow Duck said.

"You didn't even follow the rainbow?" the leprechaun said, disappointed. "That's annoying."

"Nope, just tripped," the Yellow Duck said cheerfully.

"Can I have my gold back now?" the leprechaun asked.

"That's not how this works," Toad said. "It's our gold now."

"Well, if you don't give it to me now, I'll just come back for it," the leprechaun said.

"I'm not scared of you!" Toad cried, ready to fight.

The Yellow Duck rolled his eyes. "Here," he said, handing the leprechaun his pot.

"Why'd you do that?" Toad cried.

"There went my dream bowl," Ms. Fish sighed, clearly annoyed.

"Thanks!" the leprechaun grinned. "Since you were such good sports, I'm going to give you all a token." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three golden four-leaf clovers. "They're real," he said. "For you to remember me by."

The three friends looked down at their clovers. When they looked back up, the leprechaun was gone.

"That was nice of him," the Yellow Duck said.

"I wonder what was in the pot," Toad asked.

"I guess we'll never know," Ms. Fish said. Clutching their clovers, the three friends headed home. Happy St. Patrick's Day!