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Long ago there was once an Irish lass named Noemi who wandered into the gardens along the countryside. Although she was told never to enter this grassy area (due to sighting of leprechauns), Noemi decided to see for herself and ventured out alone.

Once she was deep enough into the forest, she came across a tiny little man drinking some moonshine. Giggling to herself, Noemi reached out and grabbed the leprechaun with her hands, watching the little green man squirm and curse under his breath. He wiggled briefly before giving her a quaint smile, which left Noemi feeling a bit vulnerable. However, the leprechaun broke the ice.

"Hello there lass. Me name's Naill, nice to meet ya". Noemi blushed but didn't take her eyes off the little man (everyone knows that if you look away, the leprechaun will disappear).
"Hello Naill, my name's Noemi. I was hoping I'd meet you one of these days."
"Well, here I am" said Naill. "I'm sure you want me to offer the deal then, huh?"

Noemi nodded excitedly as the leprechaun tilted his hat and knocked his little shoes together. "Let's see, do you want the lucky coin or a wish lass?" (Irish folklore states that a leprechaun will either offer you gold, or three wishes, but you must choose wisely). Noemi jumped in glee. "Three wishes please! I already know what I want though, Mr. Leprechaun. My first wish is to be beautiful!” The leprechaun giggled as he waved his hands in the air and pointed towards the girl. “Your wish is my command, lass”. Suddenly, Noemi began to change. Her arms and legs turned odd shades of blue and red. Her torso was now violet and green. Her face was a bright shade of sunshine yellow. She looked at herself in disgust. “That’s not beauty! I look hideous!”

Naill smiled brightly as if he was proud of his work. “I think you’re a beaut lass. You’re all my favorite colors.” Noemi felt the tears well up in her eyes. “No no, change me back. Now Naill. Change me now!” She shook him in her hands, hoping to scare him, but the leprechaun just smiled. “Can’t lass. You must use your second wish for that”.

“Fine” she growled. “I want to look like a princess”. Quick as a wink, Noemi watched her hair turn into beautiful locks of curly gold and felt a pair of wings sprout from her back. She reached around and tugged at her new wings in dismay. “When’s the last time you saw a princess with wings!” she yelled, painfully trying to rip them away. The little man just giggled at her fear. “You look just like the fairy princess from these woods” he said slyly. “You even got the wings to match lass.”

By this time Noemi was furious. She squeezed the little man between her two fingers and looked into his eyes menacingly. “I know my third wish, and you better get this one right. I want to be high and mighty, and control everything!" Before she even finished her last sentence, the girl watched as the leprechaun clicked his heels and she slowly began to float towards the sky. A feeling of dread overwhelmed her mind. "You said you wanted to be high!" yelled Naill.

Legend has it that Noemi is now the princess of rain. She controls the rainfall from up above in the clouds, and when enough rain has fallen, you can see her rainbow shine through. Yet the rainbows in Ireland are especially beautiful, since a piece of Noemi is locked inside each one. Haven't you wondered why rainbows look so sad?