The Captain:
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 led the crew to battle the pirate boarding party. Although some
casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates were repelled.
Later that day, 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!"
And once again the battle was on. The Captain and his crew repelled both
boarding parties, however this time more casualties occurred. Weary from the
battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day's
occurrences 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 wound
and thus, you men will continue to fight unafraid...
The men sat in silence marveling at the courage of such a man. As dawn came
the next morning, 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!"
