This is one of several stories which appeared in the This Week supplement to a number of North American newspapers, but does not seem to have been published in Britain.
Joe Barker, a ship's cook, falls overboard and lands up on a Pacific Island. Six girls have rescued him, and he must choose one of them as a bride. But one has been designated by the local God, and if Joe chooses wrong he will be torn limb from limb. He is warned to choose the one wearing a red skirt, but alas Joe is colour-blind.
Canning also uses the theme of colour-blindness in the story "Star stuff".
This Week Magazine, 24 March, 1957.
Reprinted in Australian Women's Weekly, 24 July 1957.
Included in the now discontinued collection Comedies and Whimsies, edited by John Higgins, Lulu.com, 2007.
Included in the collection The Aberdyll Onion and other mysteries, Farrago Books, 2020.