‘First tell me your name?’ asked Covan softly.
‘I am the Spirit of Age,’ said the old man.
(Taken from a Celtic Story. Translated by Norman Macleod.)
THE PRINCESS BELLA-FLOR
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 can’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 in the village that my father is dead. I would have counted my lost gold as nothing if I could have seen him once more.’