Scotland's Storybook: stories in English (1.1 - Education Scotland

drowned, and they would not harm them, but the selkie hunter just laughed at
these ‘old wives tales’, and ignored the warnings of his neighbours.
One fine morning the selkie hunter went down to the rocks where the selkies
liked to lie and bask in the sunshine. He saw a few selkies lying there, including a
big bull selkie with a lovely silvery grey coloured coat. The selkie hunter thought
that this skin would bring him a lot of money, so he decided that he would use
all his skill to kill him. He lay down on his belly and slowly crawled along the
rocks. The selkies were quietly dozing in the warmth of the morning sun and
they never saw him coming. The man got closer and closer to the big bull selkie,
and he slipped his big knife from the sheath that was fastened to his belt. He
was almost right up at the animal when it heard him coming, and it turned its
huge body to jump back into the water. The hunter thrust his knife into the
selkie as hard as he could, and it cried out as the blade ripped into its side. Then,
with a loud splash, the selkie escaped into the sea; the water was dyed red with
its blood as it slowly swam away from the shore.
The selkie hunter returned home with a heavy heart, for not only had he lost
the big selkie but he had lost his knife too. It was still sticking in the great wound
that he had inflicted in the side of the beast. But he thought that maybe he
would see his knife again, as the wound was so deep that it would surely cost
the animal its life. Then the sea might be kind for once and cast the body of the
selkie ashore with the knife still in it, and he would get that fine, silvery grey skin
after all.
Later that day, as the evening was closing in and the sun hung low in the sky,
there was a loud knock at the selkie hunter’s door. He opened it to find a
stranger standing before him. He was tall, and well dressed, and had large
brown eyes whose expression betrayed a great sadness.
‘I hear that you are a selkie hunter?’ said the stranger.
‘Yes, I am, and what of it?’
‘I have a business proposition for you,’ said the stranger. ‘I have a customer
who is interested in buying your selkie skins, but he is in a great hurry for them,
so you must come with me if you are interested. He insists that the deal must be
struck this very evening.’
The selkie hunter stared at the stranger, but eventually said, ‘Alright then; I’ll
just get my coat and I’ll come with you.’
When the selkie hunter left his house he saw that the man had a large horse
that he had ridden on. The stranger told the selkie hunter to get up on the horse
and to sit behind him and they would soon be there. The man did as he was
told, and the stranger shook the reigns and the horse set off at a gallop. They
ran past the houses that clung to the edge of the coast and away at a terrific
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