This was a Christmas episode. In reality it aired one month to the day after the assassination of President Kennedy. It was a comedy, which was fortuitous because America desperately needed a laugh. It arguably became the most popular episode of Bonanza ever shown.
The costumes are reused from another Paramount production, "The Court Jester" starring Danny Kaye and featuring a group of little people who teamed up to help the hero, the Black Fox". Hats were added to make them appear somewhat different.
The fast-paced soundtrack music used when the leprechauns are running around is an adaptation of German composer Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, composed in 1826.