asked the old man , as his son opened the door . ` Have I ever done that , that you put me such a question ? ' asked the youth . ` No ; I have slain enough to feast us for many moons , but it was heavy , and I left the pack on the bank of the great river . Give me the arrows , I will finish making them , and you can go to the river and bring home the pack ! ' So the old man rose and went , and strapped the meat on his shoulder ; but as he was crossing the ford the strap broke and the pack fell into the river . He stooped to catch it , but it swirled past him . He clutched again ; but in doing so he over-balanced himself and was hurried into some rapids , where he was knocked against some rocks , and he sank and was drowned , and his body was carried down the stream into smoother water when it rose to the surface again . But by this time it had lost all likeness to a man , and was changed into a piece of wood . The wood floated on , and the river got bigger and bigger and entered a new country . There it was borne by the current close to the shore , and a woman who was down there washing her clothes caught it as it passed , and drew it out , saying to herself : ` What a nice smooth plank ! I will use it as a table to put my food upon . ' And gathering up her clothes she took the plank with her into her hut . When her supper time came she stretched the board across two strings which hung from the roof , and set upon it the pot containing a stew that smelt very good . The woman had been working hard all day and was very hungry , so she took her biggest spoon and plunged it into the pot . But what was her astonishment and disgust when both pot and food vanished instantly before her ! ` Oh , you horrid plank , you have brought me ill-luck ! ' she cried . And taking it up she flung it away from her . The woman had been surprised before at the disappearance of her food , but she was more astonished still when , instead of the plank , she beheld a baby .
However , she was fond of children and had none of her own , XXXXX she made up her mind that she would keep it and take care of it .
across as before by down for in so to with