Short Story: The Search for Redcap

The Search for Redcap

By Raquel Lynne
QuailBellMagazine.com

Once upon a time in a tiny town surrounded by a lake of koi fish, two little girls ventured out in search of fairies. One wore a pink jacket, the other a yellow one, in what would be considered the best adventure of their lives.

Earlier that day the girls had stumbled upon a very colorful and curious book that listed all the fairies in the world. They found at the back of the book a map which listed where the fairies lived. So out they went, in their tiny colorful jackets—the pink jacket girl carried the map and book, the yellow jacket girl carried a backpack full of treats and some sticks and stones for their protection. Their mission: to find and destroy Redcap.  

You see, Redcap was a horrible fairy, the worst in the land. He killed anyone who found him.  Redcap used the blood of those he killed to dye his hat (from which he gets his name). He was a tiny old man with snarly teeth that, despite his choice of footwear (spiked iron boots), could run very fast. No one could outrun Redcap.  

The story of Redcap, or his scary description, did not frighten the two little girls, and as they got deeper into the forest they picked up their pace.  

“When we find him, I am going to poke him with those sticks you are carrying,” proclaimed the pink jacket girl.  

“I am going to throw all these rocks at him and laugh,” giggled the yellow jacket girl.

An hour, or so it seemed, had gone by when the girls decided to rest and snack on their treats.  They both agreed that they needed nourishment and strength to continue the mission. As they snacked and snacked, their bellies got fuller and fuller, and their eyes got heavier and heavier.   It happened so quickly that the two little girls drifted off into a very long and deep sleep with their tiny bodies nestled against a tall, moss-covered oak tree. 

“Wake up you two sillies! You are going to get sunburned laying out in the sun like that!!” someone yelled and startled the tiny girls awake.  

When the tiny girls opened their eyes, they found themselves laying in a field of wild flowers in their Aunt Maggie’s yard. They sat up and stared at each other in disbelief, for it seemed that just moments ago they had been in the forest looking for Redcap. They bolted up and out of the garden and headed inside to greet their Aunt Maggie, who had just yelled for them.  

“Girls, how many times have I told you about lying in the sun like that? You are going to make yourself sick,” exclaimed Aunt Maggie.  

As they got closer to greet Aunt Maggie, they noticed something odd she was wearing.  

“Girls, don’t you just love my freshly dyed red cap? Isn’t it just lovely on me”? Aunt Maggie asked with a grin on her face.

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