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.