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,

Meaning

The day the bulldozers came

When the bulldozers came to the forest,
Rooks were building Rooks (a type of bird) were making
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks; nests (egg baskets) in oak trees.
Stanza 1
Green flies sizzled by the pond Green flies were buzzing around the
pond while a toad was waiting to eat
And a cold-eyed toad
them.
Waited for them.

The day the bulldozers came

When the bulldozers came to the forest,
Squirrels were scattering squirrels were scared and they were
running up the trees. They tried to leap
Up tree trunks, from branch to branch, but the tree
Stanza 2
And leapt from branches branches were no longer there. The
bulldozers had knocked them down.
That were hardly there.

The fox The fox woke up from his nap but he

Stanza 3 Stirred in his sleep went back to sleep. He felt the ground
shake but he thought he was safe deep
As the ground trembled.
down in the foxhole. However, the
‘Ha ha!’ he thought, bulldozers came and dug him out of the
soil!
‘I’m quite safe,
Deep down in the Earth,
No one can get me here.’
Then the bulldozer came.

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.

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 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:

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.
1. What were the rooks doing when the bulldozers came?

2. What does the phrase ‘egg baskets’ refer to?

3. What were the green flies doing?

4. Where were the green flies at?

5. What was the cold-eyed toad doing?

6. What were the squirrels doing when the bulldozers came?

7. Why were the squirrels scattering?

8. What happened to the tree branches?

9. What was the fox doing when the bulldozers came?

10. Why did the fox think he was safe?

11. Why was the ground trembling?

12. What do you think will happen to the fox?

13. Name two lessons that we can learn from the poem.

14. Do you think the bulldozers should stop what they were doing? Why?
15. What do you think the bulldozers are doing?

16. How can we make sure that the animals are safe?

17. If you were the fox, what could you do to prevent a disastrous ending?

18. How can we continue developing out cities while still make sure that the nature is
taken care of?

19. Do you agree that the bulldozers were to be blamed? Why?

20. Development is harmful to the environment. Do you agree? Why ?