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The Voyage of the wee Red Cap
by Ruth Sawyer Durrant. It was the

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knight of Saint Stephen, and tig
sat alone by his fire, with naught

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in his cupboard but a pinch of
tea and a bare mixing of meal,

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and a heart inside of him as
soft and warm as the ice on the

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water bucket outside the door. The
tuft was near burnt on the hearth a

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handful of golden cinders left just and
tig took to counting them greedily on his

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fingers. There's one, two,
three, and four and five, he

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laughed, faith there be more bits
of real gold hit under the loose clay

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in the corner. It was the
truth, and it was the scraping and

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scrooching for the last piece that had
left Tigu's copboard bare of a Christmas dinner.

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Gold is better nor eaten and drinking. And if ye have naught to

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give, there'll be nought as stuggy, and he laughed again. He was

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thinking of the neighbors, and the
doles of food and piggins of milk that

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would pass over their thresholds that night, to the vagabonds and paupers who were

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sure to come begging, And on
the heels of that thought followed another who

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would be giving Old Barney his dinner. Barney lived a stone's throw from take

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alone in a wee tumbled in cabin, and for a score of years past

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Tige had stood on the doorstep every
Christmas Eve, and, making a hollow

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of his two hands, had called
across the road, Hey there, Barney,

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wi ye come over for us up? And Barney had reached for his

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crutches, there being but one leg
to him, and had come. Faith,

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said Tige, trying another laugh barneck
and fast for the once twill be

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all the same in a month's time, and he fell to thinking of the

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gold again. A knock came at
the door. Tig pulled himself down in

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his chair where the shadow would cover
him, and held his tongue. Tig,

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Tig, it was the widow o'
donnolly's voice, if ye are there,

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open your door. I have not
got the pay for the springing this

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month, and the childer are needing
food. But Tig put the leash on

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his tongue and never stirred till he
saw the tramp of her feet going on

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to the next cabin. Then he
saw to it that the door was tight

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barred. Another knock came, and
it was a stranger's voice. This time

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the other cabins are filled, not
one but has its hearth crowded. Will

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ye take us in? The two
of us, the wind bites mortal sharp.

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Not a morsel of food have na
tasted this day? Master, Will

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ye take us in? But tig
set on a holding his tongue, and

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the tramp of the stranger's feet passed
down the road. Others took their place,

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small feet running. It was the
miller's wee Cassie, and she called

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out as she ran by, Oh, Barney's watching for ye, ye'll not

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be forgetting him? Will ye take
And then the child broke into a song,

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sweet and clear as she passed down
the road. Listen, no,

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ye tis the feast of Saint Stephen. Mind that you keep it this holly,

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even open your door and greet ye
this stranger. For ye mind that

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the wee Lord had nought but a
manger. Mere artra feed ye the hungry

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and resty, the weary, This
ye must do for his sake of our

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marry. Tis Will that ye mind, ye who sit by the fire,

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that the Lord he was born in
a darkened colbaire Miro asked trow Tig put

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his fingers deep in his ears,
a million murthering curses on them that won't

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let me be. Can't a man
tried to keep what it sees without being

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pestered by them that has only idled
and wasted in their days. And then

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the strange thing happened. Hundreds and
hundreds of wee lights began dancing outside the

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window, making the room bright.
The hands of the clock began chasing each

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other round the dial, and the
bolt of the door drew itself out slowly,

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without a creak or a cringe.
The door opened, and in there

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trooped a crowd of the good people, their weak green cloak folded close about

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them, and each carried a rush
candle. Tige was filled with great wonderment

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entirely when he saw the fairies.
But when they saw him, they laughed,

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we are taking the loan of your
cabin this night, Tea said they,

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ye art the only man hereabout with
an empty hearth, and where neatn

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one. Without saying more, they
bustled about the room, making ready.

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They lengthened out the table and spread
and set it more of the good people

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trooped in, bringing stools and food
and drink. The pipers came last,

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and they set themselves around the chimney
piece a blowing their chanters and trying the

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drones. The feasting began, and
the pipers played, and never had Tea

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seen such a sight in his life. Suddenly a wee man sang out,

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clip pop, clip pop, I
wish I had my wee red cap,

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and out of the air there tumbled
the neatest cap. Tea ever laid his

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two eyes on the wee man clapt
it on his head, crying, I

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wish I was in Spain, and
whisked up the chimney he went, and

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away out of sight. It happened
just as I'm telling it. Another wee

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man called for his cap, and
away he went after the first, and

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then another and another, until the
room was empty, and Tek sat alone

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again. Buy my soul, said
Tig, I'd like to travel that way

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myself. It's a grand saving of
tickets and baggage, and ye get to

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a place before ye've had time to
change yer mind. Faith, there is

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no harm done if I'd thry it. So he sang the fairies rhyme,

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and out of the air dropped a
wee cap for him. For a moment

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the wonder had him, but the
next he was clapping the cap on his

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head and crying Spain. Then weist
up the chimney. He went after the

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fairies, and before he had time
to let out his breath, he was

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standing in the middle of spain and
strangeness all about him. He was in

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a great city. The doorways of
the houses were hung with flowers, and

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the air was warm and sweet with
the smell of them. Torches burned along

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the streets. Sweetmeat cellars went about
crying their wares, and on the steps

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of the cathedral crouched a crowd of
beggars. What's the meaning all that,

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asked he of one of the fairies. They are waiting for those that are

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hearing mass. When they come out, they give half of what they have

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to those that have nothing. So
on this night, all of the year,

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there shall be no hunger and cold. And then far down the street

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came the sound of a child's voice, singing, Listen, all ye tis

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the fiesta, saints, devon,
mind that you keep it this holy even

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carrosit said teg can a song fly
after? Are he and then he heard

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the fairies cry Holland, and cried
Holland too. In one leap he was

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over Frantz, and another over Belgium, and with the third he was standing

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by long ditches of water frozen fast, and over them glided hundreds upon hundreds

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of lads and maids. Outside each
door stood a wee wooden shoe, empty

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tikesaw, scores of them. As
he looked down the ditch of a street.

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What is the meaning of the shoes, he asked the fairies. Ye

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poor lad, answered the wee man
next to him. Are ye not knowing

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anything? This is the gift knight
of the year, when every man gives

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to his neighbor. A child came
to the window of one of the houses,

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and in her hand was a lighted
candle. She was singing as she

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put the light down close to the
glass, and Tige caught the words open

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your door and greet ye the stranger. For ye mind that the wee lord

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had not but a manger. Mihur
etro tis the Dedl's work, cried Tig,

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and he set the red cap more
firmly on his head. I'm for

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another country. I cannot be telling
you, Ahulf of the adventures Teag had

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that night, nor half the sights
that he saw. But he passed by

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fields that held sheaves of grain for
the birds, and door steps that held

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bowls of porridge for the wee creatures. He saw lighted trees sparkling and heavy

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with gifts, and he stood outside
the churches and watched the crowds pass in

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bearing gifts to the Holy Mother and
Child. At last, the fairies straightened

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their caps and cried now for the
Great Hall in the King of England's palace.

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Whist and away they went, and
Teague after them, And the first

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thing he knew he was in London, not an arm's length from the King's

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throne. It was a grander sight
than he had seen in any other country.

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The all was filled entirely with lords
and ladies, and the great doors

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were opened for the poor and the
homeless to come in and warm themselves by

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the King's fire and feast from the
king's table. And many a hungry soul

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did the King serve with his own
hands. Those that had anything to give

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gave it in return. It might
be a bit of music played on a

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harp or a pipe, or it
might be a dance or a song,

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but more often it was a wish, just for good luck and safe keeping.

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Tea was so taken up with the
watching that he never heard the fairies

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when they wished themselves on. Moreover, he never saw the wee girl that

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was fed and went laughing away,
but he heard a bit of her song

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as she passed through the door.
Faid ye, the hungry and rusty,

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the weary, this ye must do
for the sake of our marry. Then

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the anger had Tea, I'll stop
your pestering tongue once on the foot all

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time, and catching the cap from
his head, he threw it after her.

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No sooner was the cap gone than
every soul in the hall saw him.

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The next moment they were about him, catching at his coat and crying,

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where is he from? What does
he hear? Bring him before the

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king, and tag was dragged along
by a hundred hands to the throne where

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the king sat. He was stealing
food, cried one, he was robbing

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the king's jewels, cried another,
he looks evil, cried a third.

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Kill him, And in a moment
all the voices took it up, and

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the hall rang with aye, kill
him, kill him. Tig's legs took

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to trembling, and Fear put the
leash on his tongue. But after a

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long silence, he managed to whisper, I have done evil to no one,

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no one, maybe, said the
king. But have ye done good?

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Come? Tell us have ye given
aught to any one this night?

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If ye have, we will pardon
ye. Not a word could Tig say.

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Fear tightened the leash, for he
was knowing full well there was no

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good to him that night. Then
you must die, said the king.

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Will ye try hanging or beheading?
Hanging? Please, your majesty, said

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Tigue. The guards came rushing up
and carried him off, but as he

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was crossing the threshold of the hall, a thought sprang at him and held

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him Your majesty, he called after
him, Will ye grant me a last

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request? I will, said the
king. Thank ye. There's a wee

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red cap that I'm mortal fond of, and I've lost it a while ago.

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If I could be hung with it
on, I would hang a deal

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more comfortable. The cap was found
and brought to Tege. Clip clap,

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clip clap for my wee red cap. I wish I was home, He

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sang up and over the heads of
the dumbfounded guard. He flew and whist

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and away out of sight. When
he opened his eyes again, he was

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sitting close by his own hearth,
with a fire burnt low. The hands

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of the clock were still, the
bolt was fixed firm in the door.

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The fairy's lights were gone, and
the only bright thing was the candle burning

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in Old Barney's cabin across the road. A running of feet sounded outside,

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and then the snatch of a song. Tis will that ye mind, ye

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who sit by the fire, that
the Lord he was born in a dark

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and cold byre mere, I'll wait
ye, whoever ye are. And Tea

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was away to the corner, digging
fast at the loose clay as a terrier

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digs at a bone. He filled
his hands full of the shining gold,

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then hurried to the door, unbarring
it. The miller's wee Cassie stood there

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peering at him out of the darkness. Take these to the widow, O'Donnelly,

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do ye hear, and take the
rest to the store. Ye tell

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Jamie to bring up all that he
has that is eatable and drinkable, And

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to the neighbors, ye say,
Tig's keepin the feasts this night. Hurry

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now, Tig stopped a moment on
the threshold until the tramp of her feet

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had died away. Then he made
a hollow of his two hands, and

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called across the road, Hey there, Barney, will ye come over?

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For a sup end of the Voyage
of the wee Red Cap by Ruth Sawyer Durrant