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, marvelling 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!"
