But that tiger does not wait for the charge of the bull buffaloes. He does not want to be trampled into a mess under their hoofs, or cut up into pieces with their horns. Instead, he sneaks away, growling. He sneaks back to the stream, to wait for some other weak animal.
So, you see, the jungle folks are in many ways just like us; for a brave man always helps a lady or anybody who needs his help.
But now let us watch the stream higher up.
Wild Pigs—Careless
Here come the wild pigs. They are not exactly a herd; but still there are many dozens of them, all one large family with all their relations—cousins and uncles and aunts. Some of the wild pigs are called boars; they are the Papas among the wild pigs. You can always tell them by the two sharp tusks, or teeth, one on each side, which grow upward from their under jaw. Each tusk is as long as a knife, and so sharp that a tiger does not always care to fight with a boar.
The wild pigs drink in any fashion, and go off in any fashion—just as they like. They trust to luck or to the sharp tusks of some of the boars to guard them from danger. But they have not learned enough yet to do things in proper order.
Red Dogs—Bold, Fearing Nobody
Meanwhile other animals have also come. The moon is now quite high in the sky. A band of shadows in the moonlight seems to fall upon the water. It is a pack of red dogs; they have come boldly, as they are afraid of nothing. For if a hungry tiger attacks them, the whole pack will jump on the tiger and tear him down—that is, the tiger could kill dozens of the dogs in a few minutes, but then the rest of the wild red dogs would tear the tiger to pieces.
So the red dogs are not afraid as they come flocking to the stream. They lap up the water with their lolling tongues. Then they look up at the moon. Do you see what they are doing? Can you hear them? They are howling at the moon in a chorus. Dogs always howl at the moon. Men do not quite know just why dogs do that. But perhaps they do it because they are glad and satisfied, and are trying to sing! When you sing, and there is a dog near by, you may hear him start howling. He does that, I suppose, because he likes your singing, and wants to join in the chorus!
So the wild dogs of the jungle also howl when they are glad. Then, after the red dogs have howled as long as a song, they scamper off into the jungle again. That shows, I suppose, that their howling was really a song!