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.