His companions sped merrily on, not noticing what had befallen him, and he was left to disentangle himself as best he could.
As he was doing so he chanced to glance down the wide chimney, and in the cottage kitchen he saw a comely young woman dandling a rosy-cheeked baby.
Now, when Farquhar had been in his mortal state, he had been very fond of children, and a word of blessing rose to his lips.
"God shield thee," he said, as he looked at the mother and child, little guessing what the result of his words would be.
For scarce had the Holy Name crossed his lips than the spell which had held him so long was broken, and he became as he had been before.
Instantly his thoughts flew to his friends at home, and to the new Mistress whom he had left waiting for her sieve; for he felt sure that some weeks must have elapsed since he set out to fetch it. So he made haste to go to the farm.
When he arrived in the neighbourhood everything seemed strange. There were woods where no woods used to be, and walls where no walls used to be. To his amazement, he could not find his way to the farm, and, worst of all, in the place where he expected to find his father's house he found nothing but a crop of rank green nettles.
In great distress he looked about for someone to tell him what it all meant, and at last he found an old man thatching the roof of a cottage.