St. Patrick’s Day Is March 17 Looking for a Leprechaun. Patrick’s Day, The Mini Page found out...

© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

release dates: March 14-20 11-1 (09)

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Go dot to dot and colorthis symbol of Ireland.

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St. Patrick’s Day is a national holidayin Ireland. It celebrates one of thatcountry’s special saints.

It is not a national holiday in theUnited States, but many Americanscelebrate anyway. Even people who haveno Irish ancestors like to pretend they’reIrish for a day!St. Patrick

St. Patrick was amissionary inIreland during thefifth century. Hewas taken there asa slave when hewas a teenager.After he returnedto his home inBritain, he believedhe was called to goback to Ireland and spread Christianity.Irish folklore

Ireland is famous forits folklore, ortraditional stories thatare passed down fromgeneration to generation.

A favorite symbol ofIreland is theleprechaun. To celebrateSt. Patrick’s Day, TheMini Page found outmore about this craftylittle fairy.

Meet a leprechaunA leprechaun is a mysterious or

magical being. According to Irish legend,leprechauns live in the countryside withhumans. But they’re rarelyseen by people.

Most pictures ofleprechauns showjolly little elveswith pink cheeks andsmiles. You might seethese on items for salearound St. Patrick’s Day,or on cereal boxes.Folklore experts sayleprechauns are indeed small, but theirclothing is usually untidy and old. Theymight wear an old blue or green coat,short pants, woolen stockings and a wide-brimmed hat or stocking cap.

Instead of being happy, leprechaunsare more likely to play tricks on humans.In fact, Irish people used to leave milk,cheese, bread or other foods on theirdoorsteps at night to keep the localleprechaun frommaking mischief, ortrouble, at the home.

Leprechauns are alsothought to be miserly,or greedy for money.They make their homesin abandoned barns orchurches, or in thewoods or in caves.

Leprechauns at workLeprechauns are thought to be

shoemakers. They make and repair shoesfor other fairies, who wear out their shoesquickly with all the dancing they do.They make only one shoe at a time.

Some peoplebelieve that you cantell when you’reclose to aleprechaun’s homebecause you canhear the tapping ofhis little hammer

as he works on shoes.Other legends tell of leprechauns being

builders and stonemasons, metalworkersand even bankers.

Leprechauns also love music and canremember old tunes that have beenforgotten by humans. They like to playthe harp, fiddle and Irish pipes.Humans and leprechauns

Parents may tell their children not tospeak to leprechauns; otherwise thechildren might be caught in the fairy’smagical power.

But leprechauns aren’t naturallymean. Legend says that when theVikings left Ireland, they left some oftheir buried treasure behind. Theleprechauns decided to keep it so humanswouldn’t fight over it. With their tricks,leprechauns try to teach valuable lessons.

St. Patrick’s Day Is March 17

Looking for a Leprechaun

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

The Republic of Ireland is an islandcountry in Europe. It shares the islandwith Northern Ireland. NorthernIreland is part of the United Kingdom.

Ireland is also known as the EmeraldIsle because of its lush green hills andfields.A long history

Experts believe Ireland has beeninhabited by people for more than 8,000years. Many of the traditions that arestill honored in Ireland began withsome of these early people.

The Irish flagIreland’s flag is known as the tricolor.

The three colors are symbols of CatholicIreland (the green), Protestant Ireland(the orange), and the peace to existbetween them (the white).

Some people think this flagrepresents the whole island. It might beseen flying in Northern Ireland as wellas in the Republic of Ireland.Natural features of Ireland

Ireland hasmountains,lowlands, orvalleys, andcoastlines. Alongthe west coastlie steep, highrock faces called the Cliffs of Moher.

The River Shannon is the longestriver in Ireland.

The Blarney StoneHave you ever heard someone say

“Oh, that’s just a lot of blarney”?The Blarney Stone is an actual stone

built into a castle tower near Cork,Ireland. The legend says that if you kissthe stone, you’ll become a cleverspeaker, maybe convincing yourlisteners that whatever you say is true.The Celtic harp

In the 1500s, King Henry VIII addedthe image of a harp tothe currency, ormoney, of Ireland.Since then, theCeltic harp hasbeen a symbol ofthat country.

Today, all Irishcurrency has theCeltic harp on it. “Eire” (AIR-uh) is theIrish word for “Ireland.”“Erin go bragh!”

You may see this sentence on postersor T-shirts near St. Patrick’s Day. It is inthe Gaelic language, and it means“Ireland forever!”

It is pronouced AIR-in guh BRAH.

Other Irish Symbols

Mini Spy . . .from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Mini Spy and Basset Brown are trying to catch a leprechaun!See if you can find: • Loch Ness monster • word MINI

• number 6• fox • frog• acorn • knife• letter Z• exclamation

mark • spoon• bowl • carrot• letter Y• dolphin• ice cream cone• tin can

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Words that remind us of leprechauns and Ireland are hidden in the blockbelow. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters areused twice. See if you can find: SAINT, PATRICK, IRELAND, HARP, FAIRY,FOLKLORE, MISSIONARY, SHAMROCK, LEPRECHAUN, MISCHIEF, IRISH,SHOEMAKER, MUSIC, GOLD, COINS, EUROPE, BLARNEY, CLIFFS,LESSONS, SHANNON.

Leprechauns TRY ’NFIND

KICK UP YOUR HEELS ON ST. PATTY’S DAY!

F E I H C S I M X C L I F F SO K C I R T A P T D L O G H JL Y E N R A L B Q N W B A A IK C O R M A H S C O I N S R ZL E S S O N S V G K N A I P CO F A I R Y R A N O I S S I MR X H I R E L A N D H Q S V JE K M L E P R E C H A U N G WE P O R U E R E K A M E O H S

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Basset Brown

The News

Hound’s

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Rookie Cookie’s RecipeEasy Tomato Salsa

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Meet Emily OsmentEmily Osment stars as Melissa Hamilton in

the Disney Channel movie “Dadnapped.” She isbest known for her role as Lilly Truscott in theDisney Channel series “Hannah Montana.”

Emily began acting in commercials whenshe was 5 years old. She has appeared inseveral movies, including “Spy Kids 2: Island ofLost Dreams” and “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over,”

and the television movie “Sarah Plain and Tall: Winter’s End.”She has also been the voice for characters in animated

features such as “Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch.”Emily, 17, was born in Los Angeles. Her father, Eugene, and

her brother, Haley Joel, are also actors. She loves to sing, read,snowboard, play guitar, write songs and hang out with friends.She has two golden retrievers, Tor and Nado; a teacup poodle,Luna; a lizard, Pete; and a box turtle, Tuck.

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

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You’ll need:• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes• 2 cups roughly chopped cilantro• Juice from 1 lime• 1/2 medium onion, chopped (optional)• 1 medium jalapeño pepper, chopped and seeds removed

(optional)• Tortilla chipsWhat to do:1. Place all ingredients (except chips) in a blender.2. Blend until well-mixed.3. Chill and serve with tortilla chips.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.

Barney: What did the scissors say to thebarber?

Bob: “It won’t be long now!”

Bill: What did the conductor say to the barber?Barb: “Take it from the top!”

Ben: How do you find the missingbarber?

Beverly: Comb the city!

All the following jokes have something in common.Can you guess the common theme or category?

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

The pot of goldLeprechauns are experts at hiding their treasure. But to their

dismay, rainbows sometimes give away their hiding places.Human beings can tell where a leprechaun’s treasure ishidden by following a rainbow to its end.

A lesson of generosityA poor boy

was headed tomarket oneday. He saw aleprechaunand caught it.The boy madethe fairy takehim to hisfort, whichwas filledwith silverand gold coins. The leprechaun saw that the boy waskind, so he let the boy take as much treasure as hewanted.

The boy took the treasure to a bank, where withinterest it grew into a fortune.

The boy’s family are still very rich today, but theyare generous and kind, always giving to the poor.

Magical coinsA leprechaun will promise great wealth to a person who

catches him if he’s allowed to go free. He carries twoleather pouches. One contains a silver shilling. This coinreappears in his pouch each time it is paid out. The otherpouch holds a gold coin, which the leprechaun uses to tryand bribehis wayout ofdifficultsituations.This coinmay turnto leavesor ashesas soon ashe gives itaway.

Leprechaun Legends

Keep an eye on him!If you are able to catch a leprechaun, you must not take your

eyes off him for even a second, or he will disappear. You musthang on tight to him and keep focused on him.

One legend tells of a man who caught a leprechaun anddemanded to know where the fairy had buried his gold. Theleprechaun took the man to a small group of trees and pointedout one tree, where he said the treasure was buried. The mantied a piece of cloth around a branch of the tree so that he couldrememberwhich one itwas. Then heran to get histools. Whenhe returned,theleprechaunhad tiedidenticalcloths arounda branch ofeach tree inthe grove!

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Press Syndicate

Supersport: James HarrisonHeight: 6-0 Born: 5-4-78Weight: 242 Hometown: Akron, OhioTouchdown runs aren’t James Harrison’s specialty.He’s the Pittsburgh Steelers’ hard-hitting linebacker and The Associated Press

NFL Defensive Player of the Year who stops opponents from scoring touchdowns.Yet Harrison might be remembered most for his record-breaking 100-yard TD

run in this year’s Super Bowl. After intercepting a pass on his own goal line, heturned into an offensive star, rumbling all the way down the field to give the

Steelers an edge over Arizona.The play, regarded as the game-changer, helped propel Pittsburgh toward its sixth Super

Bowl title. It will be shown on highlight tapes for decades.There was a time when achieving something super in a Super Bowl appeared to be the last

thing Harrison would do. Despite a standout career at Kent State University, he didn’t getdrafted but did sign as a free agent. He spent his first four seasons as a reserve, finallygetting a chance to start in 2008.Harrison made the most of his opportunity. He recorded a team-high 16 sacks in the regular

season and led the NFL in forced fumbles with seven.That’s what a defensive player of the year does. But every now and then, he also might run

for a game-swinging touchdown.

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One of the legendsabout St. Patrick is thathe used the shamrock,or a clover-like plant, toexplain the holy trinityto people.

Illustration by Jean-noël Lafargue

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The Mini Page thanks Brian McFadden,associate professor of English, Texas TechUniversity, for help with this issue.

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Next week, The Mini Page celebrates Women’s History Month.

photo by MichaelF. Fabus, courtesyPittsburgh Steelers