But before going to earn his living elsewhere, the tiger takes his family to the _easiest_ hunting ground there is near their jungle, where there is at least some kind of prey to catch. Then the tiger himself goes to a more difficult hunting ground. So even in that a tiger is kind to his family, and he does the best he can for them. At first he returns to the family every few days; I suppose he does that to see how they are getting along in his absence. By that time the cubs have learned most of their lessons, and the mother tigress continues the lessons during the tiger's absence. But after the cubs are ten months old, they have learned all their lessons; they only need to _practice_ what they have learned. As they can do that with their mother, they do not need their father any more. So the tiger then goes on his travels to distant parts. As the cubs practice with their mother the different ways of catching and killing the prey, she must provide them with many chances of doing so. It is then that she helps the cubs to kill more animals than they can eat. That is why people give the tiger a bad name and call him a "bloodthirsty" animal. It is not he at all, but the tigress mother. And she helps to kill a large number of animals only at this time--when she must provide her cubs with the chance of practicing their lessons. The tiger cubs do not need even their mother when they are two years old. By that time they are quite able to get their own living by catching every kind of prey. But still they usually stay on with their mother for about six months more. Then they leave their mother, and roam the jungle alone, each cub separately. But each cub still continues to grow in _size_ till the age of four years. A male tiger may even grow in _strength_ till he is six years old. But you may want to know if a tiger family ever meet again after they have all separated. That may sometimes happen. It may be in the dry season, when nearly all the water in the jungle is dried up. Then by some wonderful instinct _all_ the animals in the different parts of that dry region know that there may be one place where there is water. So a general migration begins toward that place; that is, _all_ the animals begin to travel to that place with their families. These animals may start from different places a hundred miles apart, and yet after a few days they will get to that same Water Hole. Of course they do not all reach it on the same day; but many of the animals stay near there for a few days, till the rain comes and there is water in other places. So it does happen that a tiger family may meet again at the Water Hole, and then there is a happy reunion among them. _The Truce of the Water Hole_