He had not gone far , when he fell in with two discharged soldiers . ` Where are you going , little brother ? ' asked one . ' I am seeking work , ' answered the prince . ` So are we , ' replied the soldier . ` We can all go together . ' The boy was glad of company and they went on , and on , and on , through seven kingdoms , without finding anything they were able to do . At length they reached a palace , and there was the king standing on the steps . ` You seem to be looking for something , ' said he . ` It is work we want , ' they all answered . So the king told the soldiers that they might become his coachmen ; but he made the boy his companion , and gave him rooms near his own . The soldiers were dreadfully angry when they heard this , for of course they did not know that the boy was really a prince ; and they soon began to lay their heads together to plot his ruin . Then they went to the king . ` Your Majesty , ' they said , ` we think it our duty to tell you that your new companion has boasted to us that if he were only your steward he would not lose a single grain of corn out of the storehouses . Now , if your Majesty would give orders that a sack of wheat should be mixed with one of barley , and would send for the youth , and command him to separate the grains one from another , in two hours ' time , you would soon see what his talk was worth . ' The king , who was weak , listened to what these wicked men had told him , and desired the prince to have the contents of the sack piled into two heaps by the time that he returned from his council . ` If you succeed , ' he added , ` you shall be my steward , but if you fail , I will put you to death on the spot . ' The unfortunate prince declared that he had never made any such boast as was reported ; but it was all in vain . The king did not believe him , and turning him into an empty room , bade his servants carry in the huge sack filled with wheat and barley , and scatter them in a heap on the floor . The prince hardly knew where to begin , and indeed if he had had a thousand people to help him , and a week to do it in , he could never have finished his task .
So he flung himself on the ground XXXXX despair , and covered his face with his hands .
If So by from in near that through with without