"The Red Cloak" is a story of two best friends that comes from a traditional Scottish ballad. In the story, Tam is taken away by elves and his friend Jan sets out to find him. She goes to the wise woman who gives her a red cloak and tells her to wrap Tam in it when she finds him and to not let go of him no matter what happens. When Jan finds Tam she does what the wise woman told her to do and wraps Tam in the cloak without letting go. First Tam turns to ice, then to fire, then to a lion, and to many other creatures, but Jan still held him tightly. The elves, being afraid of the magical red cloak fled by morning and Tam changed back into himself.

This is a sweet story of friendship and devotion. Although the magical red cloak turns Tam into painful and frightening things, Jan holds on to him knowing that it's the only way to save him. Her courage and determination surpasses the motif of the magical object in the story. The tale is sweet and has a good lesson in it, and I enjoyed it very much. ( )