Walter Traill Dennison found that practically every Orkney island had its own selkie wife story. This one is told about the Goodman o' Wastness. Tom Muir of the Orkney Museum places it at Westness. The Historic Environment Scotland blog places the farmer on Westray, which is a difference between tellers. Westness is a farm area on Rousay. I have pinned Westness and flagged that.
The farmer sees selkies sunbathing on the shore with their skins on the rocks, grabs one and takes it home to hide. The selkie follows him weeping and begs for her skin, but he persuades her to become his wife. They live comfortably and have seven children, but she looks out to sea with a faraway look, and whenever he and the children are out she searches for the skin.
Finally the youngest daughter tells her where it is hidden. The selkie puts it on, jumps into the water and rejoins her sea husband. She says she liked the man well but loved her man of the sea far more.
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