Sometimes you meet the most interesting people.
One day, a friend of Noggin's mummy, named Glenda, came to visit. Glenda lives in Texas, which is a very big place in America, where they have real-life cowboys, not just the kind on television. While she was visiting, Glenda wanted to take a trip to Ireland, so she asked Noggin and Izzy if they'd like to come along, and of course, being adventurers, they did.
Ireland is a magical country, with many places to explore, so at the first chance they got, Noggin and Izzy set off on their own. They hadn't gone far when they came to a lovely green meadow full of flowers. On the other side of the meadow, there were trees, and Noggin naturally headed for the woods, because that is always one of his favorite places to play. As he got near to the edge of the woods, he heard a very tiny voice, which sounded like it was crying.
"Hello," said Noggin, "is someone there? Do you need help?"
The tiny, sad voice said, "Aye, here I be and I need help, so I do."
Noggin still couldn't see anybody there. "I'm terribly sorry, but I can't seem to see you," he said.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Izzy, who had just caught up.
"Arg! That'll be me!" came the voice, which seemed to be coming from underneath Izzy's left shoe.
Izzy jumped back, to find a tiny little person, about four inches tall, dressed all in green, including a tall green hat, picking himself up and dusting off his tiny trousers.
"Pardon me," said Izzy. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there."
"Ah, don't worry yourself, me darlin'," said the tiny person. "I'm just a wee leprechaun. It happens all the time."
"I've never met a leprechaun before," said Izzy.
"Then you're new to Ireland, are ye?" said the leprechaun.
"Yes, we're just visiting," said Noggin. "Excuse me, but before Izzy stepped on you, you said you you needed help. Is something wrong?"
"Aye," said the leprechaun, hanging his head in sadness. "I've failed in my noble task to escort the wee Princess Madison to safety. I dozed off for just a minute, and when I woke up, she had vanished."
"You were escorting a princess?" asked Izzy.
"Aye. Little Madison, the faerie princess. She's in grave danger from a very bad ogre, and she needs to find a new place to live far away from these woods. But I've lost her, and I fear the worst."
"Noggin's very good at finding lost things," said Izzy. "Do you have anything of Princess Madison's that he can smell?"
"Just this handkerchief," said the leprechaun, handing it over to Noggin.
Noggin took one good sniff, then began sniffing about in circles until he picked up a scent and ran off into the trees, with his nose close to the ground. In no time at all, he was back, but not alone. With him was the most beautiful little girl, with long flowing hair and a tiny crown.
"May I introduce Her Royal Highness, Princess Madison?" said Noggin. Izzy made a proper curtsy, as you do when you meet a princess.
"You're a hero, so you are," said the leprechaun. "But we've no time to lose, she's still in danger, and she must go far from here."
"I can think of a place that is very far from here," said Noggin, "and we know someone who would take you there and take care of you. Princess Madison, have you ever met a cowboy?"
So Noggin and Izzy said goodbye to the leprechaun, and took Princess Madison with them back to meet Glenda. And Glenda loved the little princess so much, that she took her home with her, and Princess Madison lived happily ever after in Texas.
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