The March of the Animals By D A Tressler

They gathered around the lion one day,
They all had lots and lots to say,
'These humans come to hunt and prey,
'Cut down our trees and pull them away.'

'Ahem,' roared their king, 'What shall we do?
'They do not seem to have a clue,
'If they don't watch out. the day they'll rue,
'That they decided to rob us too'.

The doe with all her gentleness,
Said, 'I'm alarmed, I do confess,
'The hunters chase us, their dogs no less,
'It really all seems so senseless.'

'Do they not realise,' spoke up the hare,
'That this destruction that they dare,
'To cause without a thought or care,
'Will take from them what's theirs to share?'

'We too, the creatures of the wild,
'Have lots to teach,' said the elephant, mild.
'Look at my back with logs they've piled,
'Not once have I complained or riled.'

'I hear when they've a special cause,'
Added the tiger sharpening its claws
'They never think or for a moment pause,
'But march out in numbers to settle scores.'

'Let's do the same, for each one's sake,'
Said the clever fox, 'and each one take,
'Some posters too, there's lots at stake,
'We'll walk and walk till our legs do ache.'

The tailor bird stitched leaves together,
The crow wrote slogans with a feather.
To bamboos then they did these tether,
Saved them from sun and stormy weather.

They all set out, a determined band,
Through forest, by stream and over grassland;
Joined by animals, both humble and grand,
All set and ready to take up a firm stand.

They assembled near a city, each one dazed,
Each one now was completely dismayed,
Each one aghast, at their decision amazed,
Each one now terrified and afraid.

How had they conjured up a plan so brave,
That could easily take them to the grave,
Squeaked the lowly mouse, 'Your attention I crave,
'Why stop and wait when there are souls to save!'

Afire, they marched on, they were so near,
Their posters aloft, saying loud and clear,
'If you value this planet and all that's dear,
'You'll stop all destruction and remove all fear.'

The men, the women, the young, the old,
Mouths agape at a sight to behold,
Never had such a story been told,
Never had animals been so bold.

'Let us,' said humankind,' all say,
'Take a pledge and solemnly pray,
'To save our earth and all on it that stay,
'And wake each morn to a better day.'

1. prey	a. reason; something they want to change
2. rue	b. to show that something wrong is happening and needs to be made right
3. realise	c. wait and see what harm they are causing (here)
4. riled	d. horrified; shocked at what they had done (here)
5. cause	e. small; unimportant
6. pause	f. held up high
7. settle scores	g. not proud; less important than others
8. stake	f. thought of; the plan they had made (here)
9. slogan	i. making a promise- never to cause destruction of their environment or animals (here)
10. tether	j. understand
11. humble	k. so much to lose if action is not taken
12. aghast	l. mouths open with amazement at something they had never seen before
13. conjured	m. tie
14. lowly	n. to hunt animals for food or for their skins
15. aloft	o. something said or written to show how people feel or feel they want (here)
16. agape	p. to feel sad
17. pledge	q. angry; annoyed; irritated

Conquer English Course Book 5

D A Tressler, Good Luck Pub

Chapters

The March of the Animals

D A Tressler

Available Answers