Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain
and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate
ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed
to his First Mate, "Bring me my red shirt!" The First
Mate quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt, which
the captain put on and lead the crew to battle the pirate
boarding party. Although some casualties occurred among
the crew, the pirates were repelled.
The men sat around on deck that night recounting the
day's events when an ensign looked to the Captain and
asked, "Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before
the battle?" The Captain, giving the ensign a look that
only a captain can give, exhorted, "If I am wounded
in battle, the red shirt does not show the blood, and
thus you men will continue to fight unafraid." The men
sat in silence, marveling at the courage of such a man.
The next morning, the lookout screamed that there were
two pirate vessels sending boarding parties. The crew
cowered in fear, but the captain, calm as ever, bellowed,
"Bring me my red shirt!" Once again, the battle was
on, and the Captain and his crew repelled both boarding
parties, though this time more casualties occurred.
Later that day, however, the lookout screamed that there
were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties
on their way. The men became silent and looked to the
Captain, their leader, for his usual command.
The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, "Bring me my brown
pants!"