Your 100 Word Challenge this week is to write 100 words – no more, no less – based on the prompt:
Out of the Ashes
This is inspired by our whole class research into Foot and Mouth disease, alongside our reading of Michael Morpurgo’s brilliant novel.
Out of the ashes came a cry,
A low humming sound as slow as time.
Out if the ashes came a squeal,
As soft as a heartbeat in the burning field.
Out of the ashes came nothing but smoke,
Twisting and turning making me choke.
I sobbed salty tears,
And screamed and screamed so that they would hear.
But they didn’t stop killing ’till the cattle were gone.
Out of the ashes came hatred and anger,
For the man who didn’t tell,
Out of the glowing orange ashes came the last breath,
Burned and dead and buried.
Wow, Maggie! This is a really moving interpretation. I love the similes and fiery imagery you chose.
Miss T
Wow Maggie you sound like a poet
I always loved working on the farm . When foot and mouth broke out dad had to burn all the cows, pigs, and sheep. We had no business or holidays . I had to go and live with my grandparents in London as dad said it wasn’t a good environment for a 10 year old . They lived in a musty cold house and a stayed there for a long while before I left dad always used to mutter about the man who started all this . I hope it never happens again after all I still have the burn on my arm from the flames.
This a very creative response, Honor! Writing from this character’s perspective is really powerful and shows the personal impact this outbreak had. Well done!
Foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease which affects sheep, goats, cattle, deer and pigs and other cloven- hooved animals. In 2001, farmer Bobby Waugh sent his pigs to a slaughter house, but they were carrying foot and mouth disease. The people who worked there knew there was something wrong with the pig, as they were drooling, had a fever, had blisters on the feet and the mouth. If you were near to a farm that had F&M or one of your animals had it, you would have to burn them or bury them deep in acids.
You’ve definitely remembered the symptoms and causes of Foot and Mouth – well done Rosalie!
The farmers of Britain were worried
for their precious cloven hooved livestock
were not safe from the deadly foot and mouth
outbreak of 2001
All of what Britain desired the most
cows pigs and sheep may not survive
because of the deadly foot and mouth
outbreak of 2001
Nothing but burning pyres of animals to see
because of the deadly foot and mouth
outbreak of 2001
out of the sadness and out of the death
out of the destruction and out of the fire
out of the silence and one blissful morning
out of the ashes came a nature reserve
I like that you included the uplifting ending and showed how some people managed to transform those horrible sites into something positive!
FOOT AND MOUTH
Foot and mouth is an extremely contagious disease. Foot and mouth was started by Bobby Waugh, his pigs caught the virus by getting fed kitchen waste and other types of food waste. Only animals with cloven hooves like cows can catch this disease. The way that the farmers get rid of the illness is by culling a herd of cattle and burning their carcasses. To get rid of the virus all the foot paths were closed and no one was allowed on the foot paths and the fields that have had evidence of foot and mouth disease.
By Ewan
You’re right about the causes – that’s why we have so many regulations dictating what farm animals are allowed to eat. Well done, Ewan!
Out of the Ashes
Foot and mouth was a dangerous outbreak that started in a pig farm owned by a farmer named Bobby Waugh. It started because he fed his pigs contaminated kitchen waste which resulted in starting the first F and M outbreak for 34 years. The reason F and M spread so quickly was because he didn’t tell anyone about it and sent his pigs to the abattoir. Although the abattoir noticed it almost straight away it was to late and F and M started again. It affected cloven-hooved animals and in the end they were culled.
You’ve really remembered all the facts we discovered in class! Great use of accurate terminology, too 🙂
Miss T
When I came home and saw mum and dad staring at the blank T.V I didn’t know what to say. Obviously my fist thought was that they were angry at me for scaring Mr Bailey’s sheep. The silence was unbearable, like a cold icy wind. I had to ask what was the matter. Turned out to be a disease called foot and mouth. It only affects cloven hooved animals. Lucky Ruby does not have cloven hoofs. But sadly Bob does, so does Primrose and not to mention all the others. I was scared and didn’t know what to think, I went up to my room and took it all in.
Very effective to write from the character’s perspective, Bela. You also remembered all the details from Morpurgo’s book!
Wow bela I really that you recapped on the story
The decision was made,
Bobby Waugh got prison for days,
We hope that time will never replay,
Or death itself won’t delay,
To come down to English farms,
To cause the animals so much harm,
I can still remember the never-ending smoke,
The fiery acid,
The farms left broke,
So everybody hope and pray,
That 2001s events don’t replay,
Pigs, cows and ewes,
They were all over the news,
Just because of the man that didn’t tell,
It put farmers and animals both through hell,
I hope a lessen will be taught,
The foot and mouth bug won’t be caught.
I saw that look in my father’s eye, the look of sadness, as if there was a problem he couldn’t do anything about. Once he told me, I couldn’t have been more right…
‘Foot and Mouth Disease’ said my father, ‘it’s back and already spreading to the farm.’ My heart was racing, pounding, beating, I looked back at dad and felt tears rolling down my flustered cheek. I sat in my father’s lap weeping, thinking about Molly and her piglets. I remember going to the dairy farm watching the cows getting milked, and all of the memories came flooding back.
FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE
Foot and mouth disease can be very contagious to sheep, cows and chicken which is bad for the farmers. Did you know that the farmers can get annoyed because if your farm animals are at least 5 miles away from another farm that has foot and mouth disease you would have to kill all your farm animals even your best-selling ones. The reason why this all started was because of Bobby Waugh he knew that his animals had foot and mouth because it was so easy to spot so he had to go to jail .
By Kirsty
Out of the ashes
You could see the flaming fire in the distance, it was a terrible sight from my window, the thick jet black smoke was sinister. I knew that some of the animals out there didn’t even have foot and mouth and I also knew that some of the animals were my animals, my animals from our farm. It’s like I could feel the animals pain, day after day. When would this disease end? It needs to stop. But we knew that the culling had to be done. And there should be no arguing about it.
By Evie
3 march 2001
Crockdale farm
Cumbria
Hello. I’m a cow. Holstein Fresian to be exact. I’m bored . Ohhhhh pickled grass!!!!! YUM. Oh hey Bill, yeah I’m fine, how are you? Oh hope you get better soon! Oh well, I’ll be munching on this for a bit, bye!
One day later.
Don’t feel well. All of the herd have blisters everywhere and we’re all dribbling like crazy. I’m going to have a lie down. Bye.
The next day.
Help. We’re all felling much worse and the people with bangsticks are killing us. there are fires every where. Oh, I’m dead.
Wow Sam, I love this. It is so creative to write from a cow’s perspective.
Hi, I’m a soldier, but you can call me Jim. I was there when we had to kill all the animals in the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001, and as you probably know, it wasn’t nice at all. We were called in to kill all of the infected animals and the noise was deafening. All the animals moaning, and the gunshot, and the machines digging out rows of graves. And of course, don’t forget the smell. Disgusting! Millions of animals died, and farmers to this day think it could’ve been done better. But hey, I’m just doing my job.