Mowgli heard an answering bellow from the foot of the ravine , saw Shere Khan turn -LRB- the tiger knew if the worst came to the worst it was better to meet the bulls than the cows with their calves -RRB- , and then Rama tripped , stumbled , and went on again over something soft , and , with the bulls at his heels , crashed full into the other herd , while the weaker buffaloes were lifted clean off their feet by the shock of the meeting .