Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

A farmer called Shalvach McKelvie had been delivering goods across the other side of Loch Linnhe, when he saw a storm whipping up. Rushing back to the water's edge, he saw the usually calm loch getting choppier by the minute. His boat was the only one left, everybody else was almost halfway across and already struggling with the waves.

He started to push his way out when a little old lady approached, asking if there was space to join him across the loch. McKelvie was a kind man, happy to oblige but he warned her it would be a rough and dangerous voyage.

"If you're happy to cross then so am I" she replied.

The big farmer began to row them out into the stormy water as fast as he could. Things were getting rougher and even somebody as strong as McKelvie was struggling to handle both oars.

His passenger asked him to hand her an oar and together they would fight the storm. McKelvie took one look at the wee, old lady and chuckled. He needed all of his strength just to hold on so she would probably be dragged overboard!

Their situation was only getting worse though. Soon it was clear, if he carried on like this then they'd inevitably sink beneath the water. With nothing to lose, he passed an oar to his companion.

It turns out this old lady wasn’t what she seemed. As she heaved on her oar, the boat began to turn to the side and McKelvie had to put all his strength into matching her strokes and keeping them steady.

Now they were in sync and with every pull on the two oars, the pair began to pick up speed. They were moving so fast that they practically skimmed across the surface of Loch Linnhe. They overtook all of the other little rowing boats and landed on the other side with such force that they skidded up the banks.

McKelvie turned in awe to this powerful old lady he had underestimated. Without her help, he would have surely drowned, and he happily invited her in for dinner to show his gratitude. With a smile, she politely declined and told him she had better be on her way.

The farmer started to walk home but turned in wonder at the last moment, just catching a glimpse of his new friend diving below the surface of Loch Linnhe. McKelvie realised, he had been in the company of an incredibly powerful Glaistig.