He stood there looking after the crocodile , and rejoicing that he was free , when he was startled by a wild duck which flew past them , seeking shelter among the rushes that bordered the edge of the stream . In another instant his dog dashed by in hot pursuit , and knocked heavily against his master 's legs . The prince staggered , lost his balance and fell backwards into the river , where the mud and the rushes caught him and held him fast . He shrieked for help to his wife , who came running ; and luckily brought her rope with her . The poor old dog was drowned , but the prince was pulled to shore . ` My wife , ' he said , ` has been stronger than my fate . ' -LSB- Adapted from Les Contes Populaires de l'Egypte Ancienne . -RSB- The Fox and the Lapp Once upon a time a fox lay peeping out of his hole , watching the road that ran by at a little distance , and hoping to see something that might amuse him , for he was feeling very dull and rather cross . For a long while he watched in vain ; everything seemed asleep , and not even a bird stirred overhead . The fox grew crosser than ever , and he was just turning away in disgust from his place when he heard the sound of feet coming over the snow . He crouched eagerly down at the edge of the road and said to himself : ' I wonder what would happen if I were to pretend to be dead ! This is a man driving a reindeer sledge , I know the tinkling of the harness . And at any rate I shall have an adventure , and that is always something ! ' So he stretched himself out by the side of the road , carefully choosing a spot where the driver could not help seeing him , yet where the reindeer would not tread on him ; and all fell out just as he had expected . The sledge-driver pulled up sharply , as his eyes lighted on the beautiful animal lying stiffly beside him , and jumping out he threw the fox into the bottom of the sledge , where the goods he was carrying were bound tightly together by ropes . The fox did not move a muscle though his bones were sore from the fall , and the driver got back to his seat again and drove on merrily . But before they had gone very far , the fox , who was near the edge , contrived to slip over , and when the Laplander saw him stretched out on the snow he pulled up his reindeer and put the fox into one of the other sledges that was fastened behind , for it was market-day at the nearest town , and the man had much to sell . They drove on a little further , when some noise in the forest made the man turn his head , just in time to see the fox fall with a heavy thump on to the frozen snow . ` That beast is bewitched ! ' he said to himself , and then he threw the fox into the last sledge of all , which had a cargo of fishes .
This was exactly what the cunning creature wanted , and he wriggled gently to the front and bit the cord which tied the sledge to the one before it so that it remained standing XXXXX the middle of the road .
among at for in near on past that though upon