The poem and its dialogue begin on a humorous note when a tiny louse starts conversing with a large buffalo in its own language. And the conversation is far from trivial; it raises fundamental questions about the buffalo’s physique. Its very first question is unique: ‘Why do you have horns growing on your head?’ And consider the louse’s audacity—it poses this question while perched right on the buffalo’s forehead.
The Louse’s questions do not stop there. Driven by curiosity about its surroundings, it keeps asking one thing after another. It is amazed to see fish, frogs, and turtles underwater. It has a barrage of questions: How can one see what lies beneath the water? Why do you keep swishing your tail? Why do you sit in the water? Do fish pee, too? The buffalo, feigning ignorance, ignores all these questions. Its only response comes from within the water—accompanied by a ‘poo’ sound.
The artwork employs a unique technique where only the buffalo’s head is visible above the water, yet it conveys the impression of the entire buffalo and the whole pond. Throughout this conversation between the buffalo and the louse, other small, parallel stories unfold—told entirely through the illustrations