The ends of the crescent bend in toward each other, just as if the two
tips of the letter C were to close up a little, leaving only a small
opening between the tips.

The buffaloes have their faces toward the _outside_ of the crescent.
So, as we are following the buffaloes from behind, we are looking at
them through the gap between the tips.

There are only bulls in the line making up the crescent; the cows and
the calves come behind them, so that they are _inside_ the crescent.
So you see, while the buffaloes are grazing and moving along, if they
meet any danger, the Papa buffaloes will face the danger. And as the
Mammas and the children are inside the crescent, they are quite safe.

This is the way the buffaloes feed and move along:

The Papas on the outside of the crescent tear off a mouthful of grass,
with one or two bites, and walk on a step or two while they are
munching the mouthful. Then, with another bite or two, they take a
fresh mouthful and walk on a step or two while they are munching that.
In this way they leave enough grass for the Mammas and the young
buffaloes that are following them.

But now let us come out of this thicket, and go after the herd very
quietly from behind. We shall see some wonderful things.

You notice at once that the Mammas and the children do not show any
fear at all, as they graze along; they are quite sure that the Papas
are taking good care of them all the time. The little ones even play
about here and there.

See that very young calf! He is playing about near the middle of the
space. He is only a few weeks old, and not much bigger than the calf
of the ordinary cow. Watch and see how playful he is! He is just like
any other calf. His Mamma is grazing along quietly, and he is now
standing still for a minute, looking at nothing. A calf and a baby can
do that quite well--just stare, and yet look at nothing.

But now this buffalo calf rushes to his Mamma very suddenly, and has
a mouthful of milk. He does not seem to want more than a mouthful at a
time. So he looks up suddenly, and stares. Then just as suddenly he
plunges into a frantic race over the ground, all by himself.

The race also ends suddenly--after going only ten yards. Then he stops
there for a minute, stares, and trots back to his Mamma for another
mouthful of milk. After that he looks up again for a minute, stares at
nothing, and plunges into another mad gallop all by himself.

So you see that he spends his ti