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

Although the fisherman was sorry for her, his own heart was filled with joy
that such a woman would be willing to spend her life with him. And as a result
he never went near the pelt, he had placed in its hiding place above the lintel.
Her judgement had been correct: Ruairidh was a fine loving husband to his
young wife and she never wanted for love or affection, this seal-woman. And
they had a good few children with beautiful golden brown hair and wonderfully
musical singing voices. And she was indeed a good-natured wife and loyal to her
spouse, and she looked after the children properly, and she greeted each
neighbour with a genuine smile. But, not surprisingly, she felt a terrible homesickness
too, from time to time, as she combed the shores. She would
occasionally see other seals out there in the sea and was sure they must be her
brothers and sisters and her heart ached at the thought of never seeing them
again.
One particular day, Ruairidh was on his way out fishing as usual, when what
should cut across his path but a hare – a very bad sign for a fisherman. And he
didn’t know whether he should keep going or turn home. He looked at the sky
and sea and there was nothing very calm about what they forecast. ‘’N dà’ he
said ‘‘S ioma uair a ghabh na siantan fearg rium − many’s the time the elements
got angry with me, but they never sunk me yet.’
He hadn’t long set sail when he felt the force of the wind blasting against him
and his little boat – a short while after that it had grown into a wild tempest
without pity or mercy. And the very same gale blew against the house, where his
wife was inside with the children – all of them except the oldest who couldn’t be
kept from the shore, being as keen on sea-life as his father. When his mother
realised how dreadful the weather was becoming she went out to the end of the
path and shouted as loudly as she could, ‘A Ruairidh, a Ruairidh thig dhachaigh,
dean cabhag a Ruairidh! Ruairidh come home, hurry!’ Fortunately on her third
cry, her son heard her voice and ran towards her as best he could. And when she
saw him coming, she went back indoors in case any of the other children should
be afraid, because, the wind was now bellowing in a way she had never
experienced before. But she left the door open for Ruairidh and when he
reached the house, you would have thought he had been hurled inside by the
might of the storm. And, as the door slammed behind him with a huge bang, the
whole house and those within were violently shaken, and what should fall from
the lintel but the golden-brown pelt belonging to their mother – the sealwoman.
She said only one word to them: ‘soraidh’ ‘farewell’, and holding her
beautiful skin in her hand she made her way down to the shore. And there, she
took off her human clothes and slipped her stunning golden brown pelt on and
moved off into the ocean under its turbulent white horses. She turned to see
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