CHAPTER VI. THE BUFFALO HUNT.

 Alila's father has been on several buffalo¹ hunts, but never yet has he allowed his boy to go with him. He says it is far too dangerous; the little boy must wait until he is older. But it is so hard to wait, Alila thinks, as he longs for the time to come and looks up at the pair of horns brought home from the last hunt.

 

The horns are very long and curved and sharp. The boy often wonders if there is another animal in the world with such fearful horns. He says to himself:

 

"Perhaps the very buffalo who owned this pair was the one that gored² to death poor Olo." Alila stretched himself on the ground,[34] closed his eyes, and again pictured the story in his mind. This is the tale:

 

In the village just below the plantation³ there lived a young man who was honest and brave but very poor. It happened that he loved the daughter of a neighbour very dearly and she returned his love. But the youth had no money and no land, and at first the girl's father said:

 

"No, you cannot have my daughter, for you can give her no wedding portion."

 

It is the custom among these people for the lover to give his bride as fine a present as her parents think suitable. The young man felt very sad, when an idea entered his mind that gave him hope. He said to the father:

 

"Can I not come to your farm and serve you for two years? And if I then show myself faithful in all my duties, will you give me your daughter?"

 

The father consented. It was a very common[35] thing for such service to be given, and he felt satisfied.

 

The two years passed by. The young man had worked day after day at the hardest labour. He had never spoken a cross word nor found the slightest fault. But now that his service was over and the day set for his marriage, he wished to show the father of the lovely girl how brave he was, and he wanted to make his bride some little present, too.

 

He heard that a party of men, one of whom was Alila's father, were going on a buffalo hunt. He would join them. It was to be his first venture of this kind, but he had no fear.

 

The party was made up of six men on horseback, two tame buffaloes⁴, and a pack of immense dogs used to hunting. The men were armed with knives and spears and each one carried a lasso.

 

They started in the early morning and rode out over the plains till they came to the edge[36] of a large forest. There they waited at some little distance from an opening through the trees while the dogs were sent into the forest to rouse the prey⁵. They had only a short time to wait before the barking of the dogs was heard.

 

They took their places some distance from each other and listened breathless. The young lover was to be given the first chance in this combat. A bull-fight is fearful enough, but it cannot compare with the struggle between a maddened buffalo and his pursuer.

 

Hark! There is a crashing of trees, a falling of branches. The ground shakes and out from the darkness of the forest plunges⁶ a huge buffalo. He raises a storm of dust as he comes onward⁷. He is shining black, and as he tosses his head one can see the wicked horns, capable of doing such terrible injury.

 

For an instant he pauses and looks at the[37] men standing⁸ ready to capture him; then he rushes toward the young man, who now has the chance he begged for. With lasso in hand he urges his horse toward the buffalo.

 

It is over in a moment's time. He has hurled⁹ his lasso but has failed; and before he can move out of danger the furious animal has thrown him from his horse and ended his life.

 

But the other hunters cannot stop a second. They, too, will lose their lives if they are not careful and quick. One after another gallops¹⁰ after the enraged¹¹ animal and throws his lasso. There are several failures, but each time the men manage to escape. At last two are successful, and the monster, hardly able to breathe, stands quiet and still.

 

He is conquered. And now other lassos are drawn¹² tightly around that magnificent head and the animal is tied to the stout¹³ trunk of a tree. The danger is over for these others, but the poor youth who longed so greatly to succeed[38] lies dead not far away. He will never see his dear one again.

 

The men lift his body tenderly and carry it to the place where the tame buffaloes have been left. They place it on the back of one of them. Then they return to their prey and fasten a rattan¹⁴ ring through his nose. With one of the tame buffaloes on each side of him, he can now be easily led to the village, where they will kill him.

 

All the people came out to meet the hunters, and, when they heard the sad news, all hearts were filled with pity for the young bride.

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 gored   

v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was gored by a bull. 他被公牛顶伤。
• The bull gored the farmer to death. 公牛用角把农夫抵死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

4 buffaloes   

n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓

参考例句：

• Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Water buffaloes supply Egypt with more meat than any other domestic animal. 水牛提供给埃及的肉比任何其它动物都要多。 来自辞典例句

5 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

6 plunges   

n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• Even before he plunges into his program, he has his audience in his pocket. 他的节目甚至还没有出场，就已控制住了观众。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Monseigneur, he precipitated himself over the hill-side, head first, as a person plunges into the river.' “大人，他头冲下跳下山坡去了，像往河里跳一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

7 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 gallops   

（马等）奔驰，骑马奔驰( gallop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Let me turn the beautiful steed, gallops with you in the horizon. 让我变成美丽的骏马，和你驰骋在天涯。
• When Tao gallops through and Yang, all things come into and thrive. 当道驰骋在阴阳之中时，则万物生焉，万物兴焉。

11 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13   

参考例句：

14 rattan   

n.藤条，藤杖

参考例句：

• When they reached a long bridge fastened with rattan strips,everyone got out and walked.走到那顶藤条扎的长桥，大家都下车步行。
• Rattan furniture,include rattan chair,rattan table,and so on.藤器家具包括藤椅藤桌等等。