alila has a tame monkey at home now. he has taught him many clever tricks. every night when he goes to bed, the monkey curls himself up by his side and lies there till morning. he seems to love his little master very dearly and often rides on his shoulder while alila is working.
until a few months ago, the boy has lived on a sugar plantation owned by a rich tagal planter. the plantation is divided up into small farms and rented to different workmen. the planter furnishes one buffalo and all the needed tools to care for each little place.
when the harvest time arrives in december, each tenant carries his crop to the mill for[30] grinding. he is allowed one-third of it for himself, and, whatever price it brings, it must support his family for the next year.
boy riding pull
"sometimes alila rides on his back"
alila is not the least afraid of his father's buffalo. when he was only three years old the huge creature would obey him and allow him to drive anywhere he pleased. he seemed to know by the tone of the boy's voice just what he wished him to do.
it made an odd picture,—the tiny little fellow, holding a slender rein in his chubby hands as he trotted along by the buffalo's side. the rein was fastened to a piece of split rattan drawn through the animal's nose. yet somehow every motion of alila was understood by him. is it the boy's patience that makes the beast so gentle? we like to think so.
if we should take alila's place the animal would not stir to obey us. he would at once become stubborn and ugly, because he[31] is not used to our quick, nervous, impatient ways.
he cannot work all day like a horse. after two or three hours, he needs to stop and rest. but that is not enough,—he suffers if he cannot have a bath. sometimes alila rides on his back when he plunges into the river, and holds on without fear while the buffalo stretches his head down and holds it under the water for two minutes at a time as he searches for food.
how alila does love him! he has the next place in his heart to his father and mother. but the buffalo has other good friends beside alila's family. they are not people, nor even other buffaloes. they are white herons that follow him as he ploughs. they are not afraid if alila is the only person there. as the animal's heavy feet plod over the ground, worms and insects come to the surface. the herons know this and easily get a good breakfast.
[32]
besides these attendants, a small blackbird often keeps the buffalo company, who will raise up his head in delight to meet it. why is it? because the bird flies about his head and neck and picks off the insects from his skin.
this buffalo has lived on the farm from the time he was caught wild when a baby. if he had not been so young he could never have been tamed. a wild buffalo is a terrible thing; he is most to be dreaded of any creature in the islands.
