She looked round till she saw a small stone above her which seemed rather stronger than the rest , and by only poising her foot lightly on those that lay between , she managed by a great effort to reach it . In this way , with torn and bleeding hands , she gained the top ; but here such a violent wind was blowing that she was almost blinded with dust , and was obliged to throw herself on the ground , and feel about after the precious herb . For a few terrible moments she thought that the rock was bare , and that her journey had been to no purpose . Feel where she would , there was nothing but grit and stones , when , suddenly , her fingers touched something soft in a crevice . It was a plant , that was clear ; but was it the right one ? See she could not , for the wind was blowing more fiercely than ever , so she lay where she was and counted the leaves . One , two , three -- yes ! yes ! there were four ! And plucking a leaf she held it safe in her hand while she turned , almost stunned by the wind , to go down the rock . When once she was safely over the side all became still in a moment , and she slid down the rock so fast that it was only a wonder that she did not land in the chasm . However , by good luck , she stopped quite close to her rope bridge and was soon across it . The donkey brayed joyfully at the sight of her , and set off home at his best speed , never seeming to know that the earth under his feet was nearly as hot as the sun above him . On the bank of the great river he halted , and the princess rushed up to where the prince was standing by the pit he had digged in the dry sand , with a huge water pot beside it . A little way off the crocodile lay blinking in the sun , with his sharp teeth and whity-yellow jaws wide open . At a signal from the princess the prince poured the water in the hole , and the moment it reached the brim the princess flung in the four-leaved plant . Would the charm work , or would the water trickle away slowly through the sand , and the prince fall a victim to that horrible monster ? For half an hour they stood with their eyes rooted to the spot , but the hole remained as full as at the beginning , with the little green leaf floating on the top . Then the prince turned with a shout of triumph , and the crocodile sulkily plunged into the river . The prince had escape for ever the second of his three fates !
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 XXXXX bordered the edge of the stream .
after as by in of on so that while with