You set store by your mother 's blessing , therefore you have been blest . You gave food to the raven when it hungered , you were true to the promise you had made to me , and did not suffer yourself to be turned aside by vain shows . You were skilled to perceive that the boy who tempted you to leave the temple was a teller of false tales , and took with a grateful heart what the poor had to offer you . Last of all , difficulties gave you courage , instead of lending you despair . And now , as to your reward , you shall in truth take your sister home with you , and your brothers I will restore to life ; but idle and unfaithful as they are their lot is to wander for ever . And so farewell , and may wisdom be with you . ' ` First tell me your name ? ' asked Covan softly . ' I am the Spirit of Age , ' said the old man . The Princess Bella-Flor -LSB- Taken from a Celtic Story . Translated by Doctor Macleod Clarke . -RSB- Once upon a time there lived a man who had two sons . When they grew up the elder went to seek his fortune in a far country , and for many years no one heard anything about him . Meanwhile the younger son stayed at home with his father , who died at last in a good old age , leaving great riches behind him . For some time the son who stayed at home spent his father 's wealth freely , believing that he alone remained to enjoy it . But , one day , as he was coming down stairs , he was surprised to see a stranger enter the hall , looking about as if the house belonged to him . ` Have you forgotten me ? ' asked the man . ' I ca n't forget a person I have never known , ' was the rude answer . ' I am your brother , ' replied the stranger , ` and I have returned home without the money I hoped to have made .
And , what is worse , they tell me XXXXX the village that my father is dead .
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