Now the buffalo had always lived an honest life , but if his mistress did not feed him , he must get food for himself . So that night , when all the village was asleep , he came out from the wood and ate a few beans here and a few there , as his mistress had bidden him . And when at last his hunger was satisfied , he crept back to his lair . But a buffalo is not a fairy , and the next morning , when the women arrived to work in the fields , they stood still with astonishment , and said to each other : ` Just look at this ; a savage beast has been destroying our crops , and we can see the traces of his feet ! ' And they hurried to their homes to tell their tale . In the evening the girl crept out to the buffalo 's hiding-place , and said to him : ` They perceived what happened , of course ; so to-night you had better seek your supper further off . ' And the buffalo nodded his head and followed her counsel ; but in the morning , when these women also went out to work , the races of hoofs were plainly to be seen , and they hastened to tell their husbands , and begged them to bring their guns , and to watch for the robber . It happened that the stranger girl 's husband was the best marksman in all the village , and he hid himself behind the trunk of a tree and waited . The buffalo , thinking that they would probably make a search for him in the fields he had laid waste the evening before , returned to the bean patch belonging to his mistress . The young man saw him coming with amazement . ` Why , it is a buffalo ! ' cried he ; ' I never have beheld one in this country before ! ' And raising his gun , he aimed just behind the ear . The buffalo gave a leap into the air , and then fell dead . ` It was a good shot , ' said the young man . And he ran to the village to tell them that the thief was punished . When he entered his hut he found his wife , who had somehow heard the news , twisting herself to and fro and shedding tears . ` Are you ill ? ' asked he . And she answered : ` Yes ; I have pains all over my body . '
But she was not ill at all , only very unhappy at the death XXXXX the buffalo which had served her so well .
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