Wild Carabao Ride

When I was in the 6th grade, one of my friend's family were farmers who owned a carabao, an asian water bufallo. They used it to plow the rice field and help with moving materials around the farm. On the weekends my friend, as one of his chores, would watch the carabao while it munch on grass in the pasture near my home. The pasture was a muti-level rice paddies were grass grew when the it was not planting season. He would take it by the river afterwards and let it cool itself in the water before leading the animal home.

One day, another friend and I saw him riding his carabao while it lazily grazed on the green grass. We talked to him and after a while asked us if we wanted a ride on the carabao. Since I never tried it before, I jumped at the chance and I had to convince our other friend to join me on the back of carabao. Since we can only comfortably fit two people my friend let us ride by ourselves. We carefully prodded the animal to move so we can feel how it moves. My friend was moving around the carabao while he talked with us.

The carabao was very gentle and it just snorted and kept munching on the grass. It would occasionally dart it's tongue into one of it's nostrils. The carabao was almost pure black except the gray where the mud clings on it's skin. The horn was massive and sweeping, unlike the bufallo in the U.S. with it's short horn. The body was covered with coarse hair that tickles when it came in contact with my bare legs. I have never seen a more noble animal than this carabao.

While day dreaming that I have mastered another skill, nothing short of riding a water bufallo, the carabao bellowed, snorted and started to gallop. My friend and I got frightened and held on the hair on animal's back trying not to fall and get trampled by the beast. It ran like a see-saw and on the down swing I kept sliding toward the carabao's neck. I saw the huge black horn looming in front like giant spears. The carabao jumped into a lower rice paddy and the really scared us because we thought we would surely fall of the animal's back. I was so happy when the poor animal stopped it rampage and we both got off it's back. We later found out that my friend went behind the carabao and used a rubber band to shoot the animal's "dangling participle." The carabao was so surprised that it ran away in panic with us still on it's back. I don't know why I was not angry towards my friend, but we all have a good laugh afterwards.