way for them under the horns. Some of them, like
the wild goats, jump _over_ the buffaloes' horns to get inside the
ring. Anyway, the small animals reach safety inside with the Mammas
and the children of the buffaloes.

The tiger stands outside the ring, and still roars in fury. But now
nobody is afraid. The bull buffaloes paw the ground impatiently with
their hoofs, and rattle their horns. They are going to charge!

But that tiger does not wait for the charge. He does not want to be
trampled into a mess. So he slouches away, growling and snarling.

So, as you see, the bull buffaloes guard the Mammas and the children
from danger, and they also guard all small and weak animals that come
to them for safety.

Did I not tell you that the buffaloes are the Knights of the Jungle?

[Illustration: Tame Water Buffaloes Plowing in the Rice Fields]

CHAPTER VII

Taming the Buffalo

Buffaloes do not always remain wild and wander about in the jungle.
Men need buffaloes. Farmers want to use them for plowing the ground,
in the same way that farmers in America use horses for plowing.

This kind of buffalo also lives in Italy, and because they are so fond
of water they are called _water buffaloes_ there. But in Italy they
are not wild any more, as they have been tamed and used by men for a
long time.

I shall tell you how the men catch the buffaloes from the jungle in
India, where they are still wild.

They catch the buffaloes in many ways. The easiest way is to find some
stream or pond where the buffaloes are fond of going. Then the men
take strong nets made of ropes, and spread the nets under the water.
So when the buffaloes come to bathe or roll in the mud, some of them
are caught in the nets.

Then the men rush in from their hiding place and drag out the nets. Of
course, those buffaloes which are not caught run away. But those that
are caught struggle fiercely. After a time they get tired of
struggling, as the nets are too strong for them to break.

When the buffaloes have become very weak from struggling, a lot of men
rush up and tie a stout rope around the neck of each buffalo. The rope
has two ends, one on each side of the buffalo, and each end is quite
long.

A dozen men haul at the rope, and the buffalo has to get up and march
with them. In this way the men bring the buffaloes one by one to the
village.

How do the men tame the buffaloes? That is quite easy, if they already
have a few tame buffaloes