Text Leveling System

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story

RDQ:	706	Max Word/Sent	25	Total Words	785		Diff Words	341
Lex	680	Ave Word/.Sent	11	Hi Freq occurs	500	63.7%	Hi freq	139	40.8%
AR	3.1	Long Sentences	1.5	Low Freq occurs	50	6.4%	Low freq	37	10.9%

One fine day, on Lady-day in the harvest, Tom Fitzpatrick took a ramble down the lane. Click-clack, click-clack, he heard through the hedge. So Tom tiptoed closer to take a look. The clacking sound stopped when Tom peeped through the bushes, and in the shadow, what did he see? Why, a big gallon pitcher and a teeny tiny man with a brown leather apron and a three-cornered hat. Up the small man climbed on his wee wooden stool and dipped his little piggin into the crock. then he settled down, with his full mug beside him, to hammer at the heel of fairy-sized shoe. ""By the powers!"" thought Tom. ""It's a leprechaun! If I catch him and scare him, he'll give me his gold. Since I'm a clever fellow, that should be simple. Before the sun sets, I'll have my fortune made! Tom stared at the leprechaun and tried not to blink. He knew that if he looked away, the old man would escape. Then he crept up quite near and tipped his hat politely, saying, ""Good day to you, neighbor. Blessings on your work."" ""Thank you kindly,"" said the small one, but he never looked up. He just kept on tapping at the heelpiece of the brogue.Tom moved his hand closer while he smiled very sweetly and said, ""Today's a holiday. You shouldn't have to work."" The leprechaun frowned and answered Tom sharply, ""If I do, that's my business and none of your own! Instead of pestering me, young man, you ought to be watching your father's fields. Look there! The cows have broke into the oats! See? They're knocking the corn all about!"" Cows in the cornfield? Tom's head started turning ... But he wasn't fooled by the leprechaun's trick. Quickly he grabbed the sly fellow and cried, ""Now you're my prisoner! Tell me, where is your gold?"" The leprechaun wiggled and twisted and whined, ""I'm just a poor man,"" but Tom held him fast. ""You and I both know you're lying,"" said Tom, and he made a fierce, frightening face. Finally, the leprechaun quit squirming and said, ""Tom Fitzpatrick, you're too clever for me. I see you are after my buried treasure,  I'll have to show you where it is hid."" With an eye on the bitty man locked in his fist, Tom followed where the leprechaun led him. He traipsed over a hill and under some hedges and through a ditch and across the peat bog. At last, just when Tom feared he'd been hoodwinked, he found himself in a great field of weeds. ""Dig there,"" said the leprechaun, pointing to a bush. ""Deep under that boliaun is where I put my gold."" ""Thunderation!"" said Tom. ""I need to fetch my spade, but when I return I'll be lost. There are forty acres of boliauns here, and each plant looks like the other."" Still watching the leprechaun, Tom figured out a plan. He tied his bright red garter on the bush. ""Swear, you old rascal, that you won't take this off while I run back and get my spade."" ""That I will promise you,"" the little man said. (Tom grinned, knowing leprechauns always keep their word.) ""Now, since I have shown you where my treasure is, I don't suppose you'll need me anymore."" ""No,"" said Tom. ""My fortune's made. You may go, and good luck go with you."" ""Then good-bye, Tom Fitzpatrick,"" said the leprechaun. ""May you do much good with what you find."" Away Tom ran, as fast as he could run, figuring how he'd spend the gold. Then back he came, with his shovel in his hand, back to the field of boliauns. But when he got there, lo and behold! a garter, just like his own, was tied to each and every bush as far as he could see. Tom dug under the boliaun where he thought he'd tied his garter. But nothing was buried under that bush, and so he dug under another. He dug to the east and he dug to the west, and still he found no treasure. The harvest moon rose as he dug to the north, and it set as he dug southward. When the sun came up, Tom saw he'd dug a hundred holes. And tired Tom Fitzpatrick knew he couldn't find that gold, so he gave up and headed for home. From then on, Tom always carried his spade, and he never stopped listening for a tapping in the field. Every chance he got, he'd tell how he nearly found the gold. ""And since I'm a clever fellow,"" Tom would end his tale, ""the next time I catch that leprechaun, I'll have my fortune made!""

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Two speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: Some difficult words

Language: Colorful, figurative

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Concept: Fanciful

Features

Character traits

Simple Plot

Retelling of story/fable/legend

Dialect/Accents

Unusual use of vocabulary

Topic

Tricking

Fairies

Fantasy

*Fictional Ideas/Charac

Low Frequency Words

acres	boliaun	boliauns	brogue	fellow
figuring	fitzpatrick	fortune	fortune's	frightening
harvest	hedge	hedges	heelpiece	hoodwinked
kindly	knocking	knowing	leprechaun	leprechaun's
leprechauns	neighbor	ought	peat	pestering
piggin	prisoner	ramble	rascal	shovel
shown	southward	squirming	swear	thunderation
traipsed	whined