Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin. Wade Mary Hazelton Blanchard
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 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.
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