Lesson 8 Elsa Kills a Buffalo

Joy Adamson

One morning we were walking quietly along the river. Elsa was with us, full of energy and, judging by the twitching of her tail, having a wonderful time. Having walked for two hours, we were looking for a place to have breakfast. Suddenly I saw Elsa stop short, ears cocked and body tense. The next moment she was off, jumping noiselessly down the rocks along the river. Then she disappeared into the thick bush below.

We had stopped to wait to see what she had discovered. Then we heard what I thought was an elephant trumpeting[1]. Deep vibrations[2] shook the air. I was sure that there was more than one elephant in the dense bushes. My husband, George, disagreed.He said that the noise was made by a buffalo[3]. I had heard many buffaloes making different kinds of bellows, but never one that sounded so much like an elephant.

We waited for at least five minutes, hoping that Elsa would get bored with her big friends. She usually did after a short time. Then came a deep rumbling[4] sound.Before I realized what was happening, George leaped down the rocks, saying that Elsa was in trouble. I followed as fast as I could, but stopped when the sound of violent bellowing began again just ahead. I felt most uneasy as I pushed through the thick bush.I imagined that at any moment an angry elephant would break through and squash everything in its path. The men and I stopped and called to George not to go on, but nothing would stop him. He disappeared behind the green walls of creepers and trees.

Now we heard an ear-splitting scream, followed by urgent shouts from George,“Come, quick, quick!” My heart turned to lead. An accident must have happened. I raced as fast as I could through the bush with terrible scenes flashing through my mind.But soon, thank God, I saw George’s sunburnt back through the trees. He was standing upright, so he had to be all right.

Again he told us to hurry. When I got to the river bank, I saw Elsa. She was dripping wet, sitting on top of a bull buffalo in the middle of the rapids. I could not believe my eyes. Here was a buffalo helplessly forced down with his head half under the water, while Elsa tore away at his thick skin and attacked him from every angle.

We could only guess what had happened in the ten minutes since I first heard my “elephant noise”. Elsa must have found the buffalo while he was resting close to the water. She had chased him toward the river. While he was trying to cross the river he must have fallen on the slippery rocks of the rapids, and Elsa had taken advantage of his difficulty. She had jumped on him. Then she had held his head under water until he was half drowned and too tired and weak to get up. As soon as Elsa gave him a chance,George ended the poor buffalo’s agony[5]with a bullet.

The next problem was to get the dead beast out of the river. We would have to drag it through the rapids between the slippery rocks. It would not be easy to pull twelve hundred pounds over such ground, especially with an excited lioness guarding it.

Elsa, intelligent as she was, saw our difficulty. She seized the buffalo by the root of the tail and did her part while the three men pulled at the head and legs. With much laughter at Elsa’s efforts, the men succeeded in hauling out the buffalo body. Then they cut it up. Here again, Elsa was most helpful. Each time one of the big, heavy legs was cut from the buffalo’s body she at once dragged it into the shade of a bush, saving the men the work of doing so later on. Luckily, we were able to bring a truck to within a mile of the place. We managed to get most of the meat to camp in the truck.

Elsa was exhausted. She must have swallowed a lot of water during her battle with the great beast. She had spent at least two hours up to her neck in the fast current[6] of the river. But, tired as she was, she would not leave her kill until she knew that it was safe and that it was all finished before she rested in the shade of a bush.

I joined her a few moments later to relax after the excitement. She licked my arm,embraced[7] me with her paw, and hugged me. She was very gentle. She took care to avoid scratching me with the claws that only a short time ago had been deadly to the thick skin of a powerful buffalo.

It would have been a remarkable achievement for even a wild lion to kill a buffalo bull single-handed. But Elsa had been raised as a pet. She had just learned how to hunt.

Although the river had been a big help to her, it had taken a good deal of intelligence for Elsa to do it. I felt very proud of her.

(884 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Check the details] The killing of the buffalo took place in the___________ .

A. morning B. late afternoon C. evening

2. [Check the details] The author was certain that a buffalo had made the “elephant noise” when___________ .

A. she heard it a second time

B. her husband identified it

C. she saw the buffalo

3. [Give the reason] The author’s husband called to her to hurry because___________ .

A. the scene was so unusual

B. Elsa needed immediate help

C. he had been injured

4. [Give the reason] George shot the buffalo out of___________ .

A. anger B. pity C. necessity

5. [Draw a conclusion] There is evidence in the story that Elsa had___________ .

A. previously shown interest in big game B. never before had experience in hunting

C. killed small game as she killed the buffalo

6. [State the purpose] The purpose for which the buffalo meat was saved was___________ .

A. to supply the whole camp

B. to feed Elsa

C. not mentioned

7. [Identify the similarity] In handling the buffalo’s body and in greeting the author,Elsa showed great___________ .

A. strength B. humor C. carefulness

8. [Draw a conclusion] The buffalo would probably have made an escape if___________ .

A. George had come later

B. his bellow had gone unheard

C. he had crossed the river

9. [Draw a conclusion] Elsa’s greatest advantage in hunting was her___________ .

A. gentleness B. experience C. intelligence

Ⅱ. Read for words:

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) I imagined that at any moment an angry elephant would break through and squash everything in its path. (Para. 3)

A. 压扁，压烂 B. 吞噬 C. 击打

(2) Now we heard an ear-splitting scream, followed by urgent shouts from George, “Come, quick, quick!” (Para. 4)

A. close B. deafening C. painful

(3) When I got to the river bank, I saw Elsa. She was dripping wet, sitting on top of a bull buffalo in the middle of the rapids. (Para. 5)

A. 河堤 B. 丛林 C. 急流

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) Suddenly I saw Elsa stop short, ears cocked and body tense. (Para. 1)

A. stop suddenly B. stop gradually C. stop quietly

(2) She seized the buffalo by the root of the tail and did her part while the three men pulled at the head and legs. (Para. 8)

A. tried to help B. played her role C. ate up his share

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