One day in the late 80's -1988 to be precise- I was on my way to an appointment in London's south east area. I was traveling through Oxford Circus to get to the line which would take me to my station. In Oxford circus subway there are at least 3 levels which are hubs with various lines that run through them and I was on the second level heading to my eastbound train. I passed through the main hub of that level which had escalators going up to the street level and a series of other tunnels branching off of it.
As I approached the the main chamber I was over come by wonder and curiosity because there was a sound coming from there that I could not really comprehend. It was musical and yet at the same time it was not. The sound was very enchanting and I was becoming more and more curious by the second to see what was making it. Entering the main chamber en route to the other tunnel I looked over to the source and this is what I saw in the few seconds it took to cross that chamber:
There were two very long escalators going up and down to the street level and in the center between the two stood a little man. Upon first glance I noted that he was cherubic in stature, with stocky arms and legs and face with rosy cheeks and even at my location a few feet away I could see his eyes were extremely blue, otherworldly in color and twinkling. His lips were red and he had a white mustache and beard and his hair was blonde silver in color. These details were striking in relation to the others that were in evidence.
In his hands he held a delicate silver flute from which that sound or music (if you could call it that) was emanating from. It was enchanting in the sense that one's mind would try to resolve it to a melody or a harmony and then it would dance away to become something else. His dress was very much what you would imagine were you to see a leprechaun in real life. Drab in color with beige, earth green and khaki brown tones, with boots that looked made of felt and the like, and even a small felt khaki green hat on his head with a feather in it.
Ok, so he could have been dressed in a costume and that would have been the end of my curiosity were it not for what was happening around him. Crowds of people going up and down those escalators on both sides were reaching in their pockets and wallets and dropping money into his bag (yes he had a bag) which was a plain old plastic shopping bag. But, But! Was filled to over flow with coins! This bag was bulging on all sides with coins and paper money and it was over flowing through the handles part onto the floor! THAT was what caught my attention and the fact that the people who were tossing in the money were not even looking at him, it was like they were in a trance.
He was looking at me the whole time, watching me see what was going on and I must have registered some astonished awareness on my face because he smiled in the middle of his playing and gave me a wink and a nod. He continued to play on, that eerie music filling the hall and the ears and mind, and the people continued on like sleepers, not paying attention just digging in their pockets and dropping money into his bag.
I continued on to my connecting tunnel and not a few feet down that tunnel I encountered a young man playing an electric guitar with an amplifier and who was being completely drowned out by the eerie sounds coming from the adjoining chamber. I looked into his guitar case as I went by and saw that he had only a few coins in there. I looked at his face and he gave me a look that bespoke amazement and irritation that his music should be drowned out by that otherworldly one coming from the main hall. Feeling badly for him I dropped a pound coin into his case and continued on my way slightly befuddled by what I had just seen and experienced.
I later shared this with some friends that I had seen what I thought was a real leprechaun and told them the story. They laughed at me and thought I'd lost my marbles. Then about a week or so later one of my friends came up to me at work very excited. She said she had just seen my leprechaun in the same place in the exact same situation as I had described. Everything was the same down to the people in a trance dropping money into his bag. She said when she had seen him her mouth dropped open in amazement as she realized I had been telling it exactly as it was and he too had looked over to her during that moment of astonishment and given her a wink and a nod. We never saw or heard of him again after that so perhaps he got what he needed. Lotus
Fairies: The Myths, Legends, & Lore
The Truth About the Leprechaun
Irish Folktales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)
Fairy & Folk Tales of Ireland
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