e 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.

[Illustration: THE POOL IN THE SAND]

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 escaped 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.'

[Adapted from _Les Contes Populaires de l'Egypte Ancienne_.]

_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 roa