“I see,” said Murray, “You’d better tell me the rest of it.”

“She came back to Ireland from some other great large country over the distant seas, because all she could think of was hunting you down, so that she could finally fulfil her every waking desire to eat you all up. I couldn’t face being eaten by her myself, and she was emphatic about much preferring to get you back in her clutches instead. We came to an agreement, and here we are...” said Rinkella, and turned her head forward to look out at Trudi.

“You’re free to go,” said Trudi, “And I’m eventually heading back to the United States. As I said when we sealed our bargain, you’ve helped me to recapture Murray. In so doing you’ve bought this one time escape from me for yourself. Now that I know that the existence of your people is not merely a legend nor a rumour, I may well return to Ireland in the hopes of catching more of you, especially male leprechauns, at some time in the future. There will be nothing that any of them could offer to do for me, that would enduce me to spare them from being eaten. You just need to understand that I’m not promising any leniency for your people in the future.”

“That word ‘leniency’ automatically implies that one of them being eaten would be a punishment for something,” said Murray.

“Forgive my poor choice of words then,” said Trudi, “Just rephrasing it, I’m not promising any kind of mercy or escape clause for any leprechaun I manage to find and catch in the future.”

“I understand,” said Rinkella, “And thank you for letting me go. Sorry again, Murray. I just couldn’t help it.”

“I know,” said Murray, “And with no form of immodesty intended, I guess I can see that eating me would be a far more appealing outcome for Trudi than settling for you.”

“Thank you,” said Rinkella, with a sympathetic look, “I’ll be going then.”

Trudi sat up, folding her legs and sitting on them, and rested Murray in the lap of her dress. Together they watched Rinkella walk off and out of sight.

“I heard everything you said to her about the longevity and persistence of your feelings for me,” said Trudi.

“I got to watch every episode of ‘Mountains Family’ in the syndicated reruns while you were away. It was like dating you in my thoughts five days a week, until the end of the last episode was like breaking up with you again,” said Murray.

“I was doing a guest role on ‘Romance Hotel’, but you’ll be in my stomach by the time it goes to air in America, let alone the later programming of it over here,” said Trudi.

“Where are you staying?” asked Murray.

“I sold the house in the other village, and bought a place in the States. I made an extendable booking at the village hotel, and managed to arrange your capture with Rinkella not long after I’d arrived here,” said Trudi.