S1 PURPLE
The Stranger
A man stood alone on the north shore of Strathnaver. This was almost the world’s end, but not quite. To the north-east two blue hills reared out of the sea – the island of Hoy in Orkney. Further north, well under the horizon, were the Shetland Islands. “And all these lands,” said the man, “belong rightly to the kingdom of Scotland.”
The others stopped their work to listen. They looked at the stranger with curiosity and some hostility. These were dangerous times in Scotland; the countryside had its quota of spies. To say a word could cost a man his life.
“I have business in the Orkneys,” said the man. “You would do me a great favour to sail me there in your boat.”
The fisherman said that a very dangerous stretch of water, the Pentland Firth, lay between Scotland and Orkney. He doubted if his boat could endure those torn and whirling waters. Besides, he had six children at home, and a wife, and he must see to their hungers.
The stranger took a coin out of his purse and held it up. The sun flashed from it. It was a gold coin, the first that the fisherman had ever seen.
“Here is the fare,” said the stranger. “It is yours as soon as you set me down on an Orkney shore.”
The stranger helped the fisherman to push the boat down into the sea.
They were just clearing the headland when a woman appeared on the shore and shouted to them. She had a fierce shrill voice. “What’s this I hear?” she yelled. “Taking a passenger to Orkney, are you? Come back here, man, or I’ll warm your lugs with my fists. A widow and six orphans – that’s what we’ll be if you go among those waters! Turn the boat round.”
“That’s my wife,” said the fisherman, and he kept the bow pointed north. “She has opinions of her own.”
“I would be frightened,” said the stranger, “if I was tied to a formidable woman like her.”
“I am frightened,” said the fisherman. “I’m as frightened of her as I am of the Pentland Firth. But I’m hoping that when she sees that golden mark her anger will turn to kisses.”
It turned out that the stranger’s estimate of the fisherman was correct – he was a careful reliable boatman. Once out at sea he hoisted a sail and held west.
Soon they were in the grip of the eastering tide-race. The boat rocked to a new dangerous rhythm. The sea was whorled and dimpled like the bottoms of immense bottles. The fisherman sat in the stern, his strong fist on the tiller. The bow reared north, then north-east, with great plungings and showers of spindrift. The stranger gazed, with sorrow and pride, at the receding coast of Scotland.
* * * * *
Soon they were in calmer water, and the face of the fisherman relaxed. He looked with open curiosity at his passenger. What was the man wanting in these distant parts? He was too well-dressed to be a wandering holy man. He was too honest-looking to be a merchant. It was – the fisherman could see – a face that had suffered; but the fires it had been in had only served to harden an innate authority and resolution.
The man continued to gaze back at the faint bluish coast of Scotland, and the diminishing mountains. “When I come back to you, dear lad,” he said, “there will be a different story to tell.”
The fisherman, now that the danger was finally past, tried by subtle questionings to find out who the stranger was, and what his business was in these Norwegian-governed islands. Had he friends there? Would he be staying there for the rest of the summer? His wife, now, she would be missing him, in their house in Stirling, or Perth, or Edinburgh. (And he hoped she had a sweeter tongue than his own bread-baker.) Ah, business led a man into many a remote place. All the same, he did not think his passenger could be a merchant – he would guess, if he was asked, that he must be a scrivener, he had the kind of hands on him that turned pages and wielded quill pens. One thing was certain – hands like those had never gripped the stilts of a plough or sunk creels in the cold ocean. The man said nothing.
The keel grated on the stones of the island shore. The stranger opened his purse again and gave the gold coin to his ferryman, and thanked him. Then he put his hand on the bow and vaulted lightly ashore.
Once on the sand he turned again and said to the fisherman, “I think you were making inquiries much of the time, in a discreet but devious way, as to my occupation. Fisherman, I am your king.”
The man who claimed to be the king of Scotland walked slowly through the island. He met no one, but was aware of eyes watching him from corners and croft doors.
Section A
Underline the correct answer to the following questions.
1. How do we know that the Shetland Islands are further from the mainland of Scotland than Orkney is?
They are further north than Orkney.They are to the North East of Scotland.
They are off the north shore of Strathnaver.
They belong to the kingdom of Scotland.
2. How do we know that the coin was worth a lot to the fisherman?
It was shiny.It had a sun on it.
He was willing to risk his life for it.
He was frightened of his wife.
3. How did the fisherman know that the stranger was not a travelling preacher?
His clothes were too good.He did not have a Bible.
He did not have a crucifix.
He was not wearing sandals.
4. How did the fisherman know that the stranger was not a businessman?
His clothes were too good.He had gold coins.
He wanted to go to Orkney.
He looked honest.
5. How did the fisherman know that the stranger was not a farmer?
His clothes were too good.His hands looked too soft.
He looked like a king.
He was seasick.
6. How did the fisherman know that the stranger was not a fisherman?
He had gold coins.His hands looked too soft.
He did not smell of fish.
He did not have a boat.
7. What job did the fisherman think the stranger might do?
WritingBoxing
Glove-making
Spying
8. Why did the fisherman mention Stirling, Perth and Edinburgh to the stranger?
He had been to these towns on holiday.He went fishing to these places.
He had relatives in these places.
He was trying to find out where the stranger was from.
Section A: 8 Marks
Section B
Underline the correct answer to the following questions.
1. Why were the fishermen curious about the stranger?
They wanted his money.They recognized him.
They were interested in what he had said.
They wanted to know the time.
2. Why were the fishermen hostile towards the stranger?
He might endanger them.They didn’t like his accent.
He was on their land.
He was from Orkney.
3. Why were the fishermen silent?
It was bad luck to speak.They were afraid to speak.
It wasn’t their place to speak.
They were too busy to speak.
4. Why was the fisherman reluctant to take the stranger to Orkney?
He didn’t know enough about the stranger.He thought the stranger was hostile.
He didn’t want to go against his friends.
He was afraid of the Pentland Firth.
5. Why was the fisherman’s wife angry?
Her husband didn’t have a license to carry passengers.Her husband was putting his life in danger.
Her husband didn’t help look after the children.
Her husband hadn’t caught any fish.
6. Why did the fisherman eventually relax on the journey?
He knew they were out of danger.He couldn’t hear his wife.
He knew the way from now on.
He was enjoying the conversation.
7. Why did the stranger believe that he was not alone on Orkney?
He met people.He saw people in croft doors.
He felt himself being watched.
He noticed people on street corners.
.
Section B: 7 Marks
Section C
Underline the best answer.
1. / In the first paragraph, the writer refers to / The hills were made of blue rock.“two blue hills.” What does the word “blue” tell us? / The hills were far away.
The hills were covered in blue flowers.
The hills were splashed by water.
2. / In the first paragraph the writer says “two blue hills reared out of the sea.” What does the word “reared” tell us? / The hills were flat.
The hills were rocky.
The hills were grassy.
The hills were steep.
3. / The writer describes the sea as “whorled and dimpled like the bottoms of immense bottles.” What does the word “whorled” tell us? / The water was moving in straight lines.
The water was moving in waves.
The water was moving in circles.
The water was moving backwards.
4. / The writer says “The bow reached north, then north–east, with great plungings and showers of spindrift.” What does the word ‘spindrift’ describe? / Seagulls blowing in the wind.
Feathers blowing in the wind.
Water blowing in the wind.
Fish blowing in the wind.
Section C: 4 Marks
Section D
Below is a summary of the passage. Fill in the gaps with one or more words. You may use your own words or words from the passage.
A ______Strathnaver asked a fisherman to take him
1
to Orkney. The fisherman was ______because the
2
journey meant crossing ______which was
3
known to ______.
4
The fisherman knew that if he ______, then his children
5
would become ______. He also knew that his
6
______would ______
7 8
but he ______by the promise of
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a ______. When they reached Orkney, the
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stranger announced that he was ______.
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Section D: 11 Marks
Total Marks Available: 30
8
The Stranger