A Study Skills and Test Preparation Story for School Counselor Guidance Lessons

I read this story to my students before a benchmark test, or a state test. You can also review this story again for your study skill groups.

"Lucky" the Warm Fuzzy Feeling Friend teaches students to prepare in advance in order to do well on tests.

Lucky and the Lazy Leprechauns

Character Words of the Month: Study Skills and Test Preparation

 

Lucky and the Land of the Leprechauns

By: Dr. Michelle Stangline

Copyright (c) 2014 by Creative Counseling 101.com

 

Once, a long time ago, there was a place called The Land of the Leprechauns. In this land no one ever had to get up in the morning and go to work. They just played and played all day long.

The reason they played all day was because the leprechauns had found gold at the end of the rainbow years ago. They used this gold to buy food, clothes, and any supplies they needed. They also bought a lot of toys and candy with the gold they found at the end of the rainbow.

All day long the leprechauns danced and played. They sang songs, danced, ate candy, and played with their new toys. Life was very joyful for the leprechauns.  No one ever had to do any work and they got to goof off and play all day!

Lucky was a Warm Fuzzy Feeling Friend who happened to live in The Land of the Leprechauns. The Leprechauns were kind to him and always invited him to play games, dance, or eat candy.

Lucky would always say that he could play after he got his work done. He explained that he had to work in his garden to grow healthy vegetables. He also worked in his orchard to grow fresh fruit.  He also had to chop fire wood in the forest to warm his home.

Lucky owned a cow and he had to milk her each day to get milk. His chickens laid eggs that needed to be collected.

The leprechauns never understood why Lucky worked so hard.  Every morning they stopped by Lucky’s garden and try to convince him to stop his work.

“Come play with us”, they would shout while Lucky worked in his garden.

“Let’s dance and have fun”, they would request while Lucky milked his cow.

“We have candy to eat”, they would offer while Lucky picked fruit from his orchard.

“Join us and stop working”, they would demand while Lucky collected his chicken’s eggs.

But Lucky always smiled and just said, “After I finish my work I can play.”

“Never mind”, said the Leprechauns. “We are tired of asking you to play. All you ever do is work, work, and work! You are no fun to be around” they taunted.

Lucky felt sad after he heard what the Leprechauns said. He knew that the smart thing to do would to get his work completed and then he could play. But the Leprechauns were always too tired at the end of the day. So Lucky never got to play with them, or eat their candy.  

The years passed by and Lucky found that his hard work had paid off. He had a beautiful vegetable garden, fruit orchard, and lots of cows and chickens. Lucky had plenty of food and sold some of it in the villages nearby.

One day, Lucky saw a Leprechaun coming up the path to his cozy cottage. The Leprechaun was sad and hungry. “Help us,” he cried. “We have run out of gold and have no money to buy any food or clothes with. Our children are hungry and cold."

We have no wood for the fire. But, worst of all our teeth are rotting from all the candy we have eaten and we have no money to see the dentist!”

Lucky thought about what the leprechaun said for a moment and then answered, “But why should I help you when you and your friends played, danced, and ate candy all day long?”

The Leprechaun replied, “Because you are lucky and you have this beautiful garden and fruit orchard to share. You have cows that can give us milk; you have chickens that can give us eggs. You have fire wood from the forest to build fires. And best of all you have money to spend on the dentist to fix our rotten teeth.”

“Just because my name is "Lucky" does not mean that I am lucky”, Lucky answered back. “I have worked hard over the years in my vegetable garden, fruit orchard, and taking care of my farm animals. I chopped wood from the forest so I can build fires to keep my house warm. I have saved my money for a rainy day, instead of spending it all on toys and candy."

But, because Lucky was a Warm Fuzzy Feeling he could not stand by and let the leprechauns starve or freeze to death. However, he did not want to just hand everything over to them either.

Lucky thought of a plan to help the leprechauns, but they would have to work. He told the leprechaun that he needed help around his farm.

He told the leprechaun that his friends would need to come help him on the farm. Then, he would pay them in fresh vegetables and fruit, firewood, eggs, and milk. He even said he would pay for them to go to the dentist if they promised to work hard.

The next morning all the leprechauns showed up at Lucky’s place. He explained that they had to work first and then they could make time to play.

The leprechauns learned to change their ways and started to work hard. What surprised the leprechauns was that they actually enjoyed working hard and earning their keep.

They even found they had plenty of time to play and dance after they got all their work finished. This made play time even more fun for the leprechauns because they began to appreciate it.

Oh, and about the candy and their rotten teeth? Well, the dentist set his food down and declared there would be no more candy allowed in the Land of the Leprechauns. To this day the leprechauns only eat fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, and milk. They no longer have rotten teeth and are much healthier!

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See More School Counselor Warm Fuzzy Guidance Lessons with Character Words of the Month

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