The Leprechaun-Artist

"The Leprechaun-Artist" (also known as "Three Irish Wishes") is the first segment of the nineteenth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Opening narration

Plot

A leprechaun who has gone on vacation to the United States is captured by three boys who take him to their clubhouse. The leprechaun, annoyed to have his vacation disturbed, tells them that they may have one wish each. They flip a coin to see who goes first. Buddy wins the coin toss and makes a wish for X-ray vision. The next morning, Buddy tries his new power, begins to see beneath the local girls' clothing but then finds out that he is unable to control the intensity of his powers. He sees internal organs and skulls instead of being merely able to see under clothing. Seeing that Buddy has learned his lesson, the leprechaun reverses the wish.

J.P. makes his wish next. He wishes that his parents, as well as those of his two friends, would do "exactly what they tell them to do". However, J.P.'s wish is too literal. The boys find that they must tell their parents to make every single step in exact detail, shown when J.P. tells his mother to cook them a frozen pizza, only to have to guide his mom step by step on every aspect of preparation. His wish is also reversed. After seeing what happened to his friends, Richie, who has said for two days that he wants to sleep on his wish, makes the third and final wish, and he says his will not have the same literal mistakes of Buddy and J.P.'s wishing. He asks for a fancy, fast car, a "really hot" car, unlimited gasoline and a driver with a mind of his own. They find a limo and driver waiting (and a vanity license plate: "Third Wish").

While riding in the limo, the driver never slows down and ignores street signs and crosswalks. Soon the police try to stop them for speeding. The boys yell at the driver to pull over; however, the driver shows that he has "a mind of his own" and tries to outrace the police. The limo is finally forced to stop by road construction and a vehicle coming the other direction. However, when the policeman approaches the driver, he is surprised to see an empty seat, and the boys learn the limo was indeed "hot"...as in "stolen". The boys are taken into custody for auto theft. At the station, they see the leprechaun, who tells them that he likes the looks of them and to take care of themselves, and the third wish is also reversed; the police now have no knowledge of a stolen car or a car chase. When the arresting officer asks what are the boys doing here, they happily say they "just wanted to say hi" and that their local police are doing a fine job, and happily depart the police station.

Themes

This episode is similar to the original series episode "The Man in the Bottle", where a shopkeeper and his wife are given wishes by a genie, but the wishes all end up bringing disappointment instead of delight.

External links

• "The Leprechaun-Artist" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Leprechaun-Artist" at TV.com
• Postcards from the Zone episode 1.47 The Leprechaun-Artist