` The river is not deep at all , ' he said ; ` why , you will never be off your feet . Come , pluck up your courage and follow me . ' The stag was afraid of the river ; still , he was much more afraid of being laughed at , and he plunged in after the puma ; but in an instant the current had swept him away , and if it had not borne him by accident to a shallow place on the opposite side , where he managed to scramble up the bank , he would certainly have been drowned . As it was , he scrambled out , shaking with terror , and found the puma waiting for him . ` You had a narrow escape that time , ' said the puma . After resting for a few minutes , to let the stag recover from his fright , they went on their way till they came to a grove of bananas . ` They look very good , ' observed the puma with a longing glance , ` and I am sure you must be hungry , friend stag ? Suppose you were to climb the tree and get some . You shall eat the green ones , they are the best and sweetest ; and you can throw the yellow ones down to me . I dare say they will do quite well ! ' The stag did as he was bid , though , not being used to climbing , it gave him a deal of trouble and sore knees , and besides , his horns were continually getting entangled in the creepers . What was worse , when once he had tasted the bananas , he found them not at all to his liking , so he threw them all down , green and yellow alike , and let the puma take his choice . And what a dinner he made ! When he had QUITE done , they set forth once more . The path lay through a field of maize , where several men were working . As they came up to them , the puma whispered : ` Go on in front , friend stag , and just say `` Bad luck to all workers ! '' ' The stag obeyed , but the men were hot and tired , and did not think this a good joke . So they set their dogs at him , and he was obliged to run away as fast as he could . ' I hope your industry will be rewarded as it deserves , ' said the puma as he passed along ; and the men were pleased , and offered him some of their maize to eat . By-and-by the puma saw a small snake with a beautiful shining skin , lying coiled up at the foot of a tree .
` What a lovely bracelet that would make XXXXX your daughter , friend stag !
So as at besides for in of through to with