THE DAY THE BULLDOZERS CAME

THE DAY THE BULLDOZERS CAME

FORM 3

WHAT IS A BULLDOZER?

THE DAY THE BULLDOZERS CAME

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 bulldozer came.

MEANING OF STANZA 1

When the bulldozers came to the forest, Rooks (a type of bird) were making nests (egg baskets) in oak trees.Green flies were buzzing around the pond while a toad was waiting to eat them.

MEANING OF STANZA 2

When the bulldozers came to the forest, squirrels were scared and they were 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.

MEANING STANZA 3

The fox woke up from his nap but he went back to sleep. He felt the ground shake but he thought he was safe deep down in the foxhole. However, the bulldozers came and dug him out of the soil!

THEMES

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 no where 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

• We should be alert to any threats and changes around us.

• We should be ready to face changes.

• We should respect the nature and the animals that depend on it.

• We should protect flora and fauna and the only Earth we have.

• We should understand that development projects can bring harm to the nature.

Poll

Do you understand the poem?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

What is the symbol of a bulldozer?

• Construction

• Destruction

Multiple Choice

What is the meaning of crazy egg baskets?

• Birds flying

• Birds nest

Multiple Choice

What happened after the bulldozer came?

• The animals ran away.

• The animals died.