"Grandma, look! A rainbow appeared while it was still raining!" Emma exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder. They were walking home from the park, and even though the sun was peeking through the clouds, raindrops were still falling, creating a magical shimmering arch in the sky.
"That is special, Emma!" Grandma said, her eyes twinkling. "It's called a sunshower, and some folks say it means leprechauns are dancing nearby."
Emma giggled. She loved leprechauns! They were always so full of fun and mischief. "Do you think they're hiding in the park, Grandma?"
"Maybe," Grandma whispered, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Why don't we go back and see if we can find them?"
Emma and Grandma turned around and skipped back to the park. The air smelled fresh and clean after the rain, and the leaves on the trees glittered like emeralds. Emma took a deep breath, feeling happy and excited.
As they walked, Emma saw a tiny flash of green behind a big oak tree. "Look, Grandma, there!" she whispered, pointing. Peeking out from behind the tree was a little leprechaun! He was no bigger than Emma's doll, with a pointy green hat and a mischievous grin.
The leprechaun looked sad. He was holding a tiny leaf boat, and it looked like it was about to fall apart. Emma wanted to help him. She knew just how he felt, because her favorite toy boat had broken last week, and it had made her very sad.
Emma knelt down next to the leprechaun. "Hello," she said softly. "My name is Emma. What's yours?"
The leprechaun looked surprised. He looked from side to side, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You... you can see me?" he stammered.
Emma smiled. "Of course, I can see you. You're right there!"
The leprechaun smiled back. "I'm Finn," he said. "And you're the first human who's ever been able to see me!" He sighed. "It's hard being a leprechaun. No one ever notices us, or our feelings."
Emma knew exactly how he felt. Sometimes, when she tried to tell grown-ups how she felt, they didn't listen either. "It's important to understand how other people feel, " Emma said. "It's called empathy."
"Empathy?" Finn tilted his head.
"It means trying to see things from someone else's point of view," Grandma explained, smiling down at them both.
"Oh!" Finn's face brightened. "Like how you understood that I was sad about my boat?" He looked up at Emma with wide, grateful eyes. "Thank you! No one has ever tried to understand me before."
Emma felt a warm feeling spread through her. It felt good to help someone and to make them feel understood. She knew that even though leprechauns were different from humans, they had feelings too, just like her. And everyone deserves to have their feelings understood.
From that day on, Emma always made an effort to understand how other people were feeling. She knew that even if someone seemed different, everyone has feelings that deserve to be acknowledged and understood. And sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of empathy to make a big difference in the world.
