The Day the Bulldozers Came_onlineClass

The Day the Bulldozers Came

by David Orme

The day the bulldozers came
Rooks were building

Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;
Green flies sizzled by the pond

And a cold-eyed toad
Waited for them.

The day the bulldozers came
Squirrels were scattering
Up tree trunks,
And leapt from branches
That were hardly there.

The fox
Stirred in his sleep
As the ground trembled.
‘Ha ha!’ he thought,

‘I’m quite safe,
Deep down in the Earth,
No one can get me here.’
Then the bulldozers came.



Poem Meaning

Stanza 1 The day the bulldozers came When the bulldozers came
Rooks were building to the forest, Rooks (a type
of bird) were making nests
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks; (egg baskets) in oak trees.
Green flies sizzled by the pond Green flies were buzzing

And a cold-eyed toad around the pond while a
Waited for them. toad was waiting to eat

them.

Stanza 2 The day the bulldozers came When the bulldozers came
Squirrels were scattering to the forest, squirrels were
Up tree trunks,
And leapt from branches scared and they were
That were hardly there. running up the trees. They
tried to leap from branch to

branch, but the tree
branches were no longer
there. The bulldozers had

knocked them down.

Stanza 3 The fox The fox woke up from his
nap but he went back to
Stirred in his sleep sleep. He felt the ground
shake but he thought he was
As the ground trembled. safe deep down in the
‘Ha ha!’ he thought, foxhole. However, the
‘I’m quite safe, bulldozers came and dug

Deep down in the Earth, him out of the soil!
No one can get me here.’

Then the bulldozer came.

Pictures to help you understand

Bulldozer Rook ~ A type of crow

Oak Green fly

Toad Squirrel
Branches Fox

Themes:

1. Destruction of nature

The bulldozers are designed to knock down trees and flatten lands for
development. However this has resulted in the destruction of nature. Many
trees are knocked down. Animals lose their home and have nowhere to
go.

2. Change is inevitable
Life is always changing. Change cannot be avoided. For example, the
bulldozers are invented to replace the animals and help human to develop
new lands.

3. Alertness
It is important to be alert to our surroundings. For example, the fox
believes that as long as he hides in the hole, he will be safe. However he
does not realise that the change that humans make is now able to harm
him even though he is deep in the ground. He needs to be alert so that he
can survive the change.

4. Disruption of life
The lives of the animals in the forest are disrupted by human’s activities.
For example, the bulldozers knock down the tree branches where the
squirrels live. The bulldozers also disrupt the home of the foxes by digging
up the foxholes.

Moral values:

1. We should be alert to any threats and changes around us.
2. We should be ready to face changes.
3. We should respect the nature and the animals that depend on it.
4. We should protect flora and fauna and the only Earth we have.
5. We should understand that development projects can bring harm to

the nature.