once upon a time there was a man who lived not very far from john of groat 's house , which , as everyone knows , is in the very north of scotland . he lived in a little cottage by the sea - shore , and made his living by catching seals and selling their fur , which is very valuable . he earned a good deal of money in this way . these creatures used to come out of the sea in large numbers , and lie on the rocks near his house basking in the sunshine . it was not difficult to creep up behind them and kill them . some of those seals were larger than others , and the country people used to call them " roane . " they used to whisper that they were not seals at all , but mermen and merwomen . they came from a country of their own , far down under the ocean , who assumed this strange disguise in order that they might pass through the water , and come up to breathe the air of this earth of ours .
roane .
what did the country people call larger seals ?
what did the country people call larger seals ?