Hellihowe, also written Helliehow, was a farm on Sanday and the mound was known as Hellihowe or Cot Brae. The mound has since been levelled and is no longer visible, and the farm is in ruins, so the tale is what keeps the memory of the site.
While the family looked after the hogboon, the farm did well. The trouble came with a new wife who would not honour the old custom. Things went so wrong that the family saw no choice but to leave. Loading up their goods on a cart, they looked round and found the hogboon sitting on it, cheerfully remarking that it was a fine day for a flitting. The word flitting means moving house.
A version of the story is also known from Norway. The pin is placed within Sanday parish because the farm could not be located precisely.
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