They gave him a magnificent burial , and then the prince had to examine the new laws which had been made in his absence , and do a great deal of business besides , till he grew quite ill from fatigue , and was obliged to go away to one of his palaces on the banks of the river , in order to rest . Here he soon got better , and began to hunt , and to shoot wild duck with his bow ; and wherever he went , his dog , now grown very old , went with him . One morning the prince and his dog were out as usual , and in chasing their game they drew near the bank of the river . The prince was running at full speed after his dog when he almost fell over something that looked like a log of wood , which was lying in his path . To his surprise a voice spoke to him , and he saw that the thing which he had taken for a branch was really a crocodile . ` You can not escape from me , ' it was saying , when he had gathered his senses again . ' I am your fate , and wherever you go , and whatever you do , you will always find me before you . There is only one means of shaking off my power . If you can dig a pit in the dry sand which will remain full of water , my spell will be broken . If not death will come to you speedily . I give you this one chance . Now go . ' The young man walked sadly away , and when he reached the palace he shut himself into his room , and for the rest of the day refused to see anyone , not even his wife . At sunset , however , as no sound could be heard through the door , the princess grew quite frightened , and made such a noise that the prince was forced to draw back the bolt and let her come in . ` How pale you look , ' she cried , ` has anything hurt you ? Tell me , I pray you , what is the matter , for perhaps I can help ! ' So the prince told her the whole story , and of the impossible task given him by the crocodile . ` How can a sand hole remain full of water ? ' asked he . ` Of course , it will all run through .
The crocodile called it a `` chance '' ; but he might as well have dragged me XXXXX the river at once .
Of So as at from into near through to with