ITALIAN LEPRECHAUNS.

ITALIAN LEPRECHAUNS. On Saint Patrick’s Day, during an exchange about leprechauns, Mary Jane sent the following to a friend: “In Southern Italian lore, there is a creature similar to a leprechaun. I don’t know how to spell it, but it’s something like ‘mozzamadile.’ Though my maternal grandmother lived in the United States for over fifty years, she stayed a Neapolitan peasant in her mind and heart. One day, my Aunt Gertrude saw her leaving out little crackers and snacks around the kitchen. She asked her what she was doing. Ma replied that she knew there was a mozzamadile around the house, and she was going to catch him and make him give her his gold. (It turns out there was a mouse leaving little nibble marks on things. Alas, the mouse had no gold.)”