He had come in response to our invitation to talk
with us about things in general, but particularly about John o' Groat,
and we were glad to see him, and we now give--
THE SHEPHERD'S STORY
John o' Groat was a fisherman belonging to Holland who was caught
when at sea in a great storm which damaged his sails so that his boat
drifted almost helplessly across the sea. When he came in sight of
the Scottish coast he was carried with the current into the Pentland
Firth, and as he could not repair the sails in the boat and could not
get back to Holland with them in their damaged condition, he decided
to land on one of the islands and repair them on shore. His wife was
very much opposed to his landing on Stroma, as she thought it was a
desert island, so he got his boat across from there to the Scottish
coast; but when he attempted to land at Huna, the natives opposed his
landing, for they thought he was a pirate. Fortunately for him he
had a few kegs of gin in his boat, and when the canny Scots saw these
they became more friendly, especially as they had a great respect for
Holland's gin, and so they allowed him to land, and even helped him
to mend his sails.
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