Shams Rawi, or Red James, woke up one night to a great noise coming from the kitchen. He crept quietly and stuck his head through the door. He saw six old women gathered around the stove fire, joking and laughing. He saw his elderly housekeeper, Midj, distributing cups of drink with the help of her sister, Krunz, and she was in extreme joy and cheerfulness!
The Housekeeper and Her Witch Companions: He was surprised by his servant’s boldness in inviting those elderly women, especially after she left beside his bed hot milky drink mixed with alcohol as a treatment for the cold attack he had suffered from, which he drank before falling asleep. It seemed she had pinned her hopes on the effect of that drink in making her master a forgiving, mute, deaf person about the noise of her witch companions and their fun, thinking he would soon teach them a lesson in manners with the end of the broom, which he wanted to do, but he controlled his nerves with difficulty.
Preventing the Housekeeper from Joining the Witches: One of them shouted when the jug was empty: It’s time for us to leave. Then she put on a red hat and said: In the name of the millennium and rue and my red hat, I will head to England… Then she rode on a branch that was on her hand as if it were a horse, and launched with all dignity inside the chimney. The others joined her after doing like her. When the housekeeper’s turn came, Shams blocked her way, saying: As he snatched the red hat and the branch from her hand, With your permission, my lady! Then he added: Oh, you ugly crocodile, if you return and find you in my house, I will wipe the floor with you!
Shams Joins the Witches: The same magical words had hardly come out of his lips: In the name of the millennium and rue and my red hat, I head to England… until he found himself gliding over mountain peaks, careful not to utter a single letter so as not to fall and his journey end immediately, according to his knowledge of the witches’ rules. Within a short time, they crossed the Wicklow Mountains, the Irish Sea, and the Welsh Mountains, until they reached with the speed of wind to the door of one of the castles. Shams realized that were it not for his accompanying the witches, he would be a lifeless corpse at that moment.
Shams Is Affected by the Witches’ Nature: After entering the oak door wood and exiting from the other side, then crossing the opposite door hole, and descending several steps, he then crossed a wine cellar door hole, all of this before he could clearly understand what was happening to him. When he fully regained consciousness, he found himself sitting with the witches, surrounded by much radiant light, holding like them a glass of drink in his hand. When they began dancing and having fun, he did exactly like them. He attributed that to the influence of the red hat, which turned him into a person with a nature similar to the witches’ imperfect nature.
Death Sentence in the Castle: After they all, including Shams, indulged in dancing and drinking and lost consciousness, Shams woke up after a period feeling he was being pursued. He saw himself besieged and dragged down the steps, then forced to stand before the lord of the castle. Since this was happening in the Middle Ages, he was sentenced to death by hanging as soon as the gallows were set up.
The Red Hat and Death: Shams found himself in a carriage being pulled toward his final journey. They had placed a piece of cloth on his back and chest, on which words were written describing him as a dangerous criminal who dared to steal wine from the castle lord’s cellar every night for a whole month. What surprised him most was that a woman from the crowd addressed him by his name and original language, saying: You will die, poor Shams, because you are in a strange place without your red hat!
Salvation: Her words gave him some hope and courage. He turned to the castle lord and asked him politely to allow him to die while wearing his red hat, assuming it had fallen from his head in the alcohol cellar. He sent a servant to bring the hat. As soon as Shams brought it, his eyes sparkled with happiness. He allowed him to deliver a word to defend himself. He began to say: Oh, good company of jinn, beware of me… Then he added in haste: In the name of the millennium and rue, and my red hat, I head to England…!
Return to Home: Disappointment filled the hearts of those present who followed him with their eyes as he glided with supernatural speed then disappeared in the heart of the sky. As for the castle lord, he was overcome with deep sadness and was unable to execute any man for a full twenty-four hours!