Why it should so irritate him we don't know.

When a picador and his horse are down they are absolutely at the mercy of the bull; and the onlooker naturally thinks that he will proceed to gore man and horse till they are absolutely destroyed.

But the cloth being at once flaunted near him he immediately attacks it instead and is thus decoyed to another part of the ring.

Thus, too, the apparent danger to the swordsman who delivers the _coup de grace_ is not really very great if he show the necessary agility and watchfulness.
When a bull charges he charges not his real enemy, but that exasperating red cloth; and the man has only to step a little to the side, but _still hold the cloth in front_ of the bull, to escape all danger.

Without this protecting cloth no matador would dare to enter the ring.