When the man got home the old woman inquired what had become of the son . ` Ah ! Heaven only knows what has become of him ! ' said the man . ` They went up aloft . ' And then he told her what had happened . But when the woman heard that , and found that the man did not at all know either when their son would be out of his apprentice-ship , or where he had gone , she packed him off again to find out , and gave him a bag of food and a roll of tobacco to take away with him . When he had walked for some time he came to a great wood , and it stretched before him all day long as he went on , and when night began to fall he saw a great light , and went towards it . After a long , long time he came to a small hut at the foot of a rock , outside which an old woman was standing drawing water up from a well with her nose , it was so long . ` Good-evening , mother , ' said the man . ` Good-evening to you too , ' said the old woman . ` No one has called me mother this hundred years . ' ` Can I lodge here to-night ? ' said the man . ` No , ' said the old woman . But the man took out his roll of tobacco , lighted a little of it , and then gave her a whiff . Then she was so delighted that she began to dance , and thus the man got leave to stay the night there . It was not long before he asked about Farmer Weatherbeard . She said that she knew nothing about him , but that she ruled over all the four-footed beasts , and some of them might know him . So she gathered them all together by blowing a whistle which she had , and questioned them , but there was not one of them which knew anything about Farmer Weatherbeard .
` Well , ' said the old woman , ` there are three of us sisters ; it may be XXXXX one of the other two knows where he is to be found .
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