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 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 XXXXX the other sledges that was fastened behind , for it was market-day at the nearest town , and the man had much to sell .
So after among as beside of than that though while