The image of the family of cows stranded on 'quake island' has gone around the world: two Hereford cows and a calf stranded on a tiny piece of pasture thrust two-and-a-half metres above the ground.
Their plight - and rescue - inspired a farmer's daughter from Woodville to capture their adventure in a poem, which she sent to Newshub. The touching poem is below.
It started out, just like any old day
Just munching on grass, and munching on hay
Us three bovines happy as, for all to see
But life as we knew it, wasn't going to be…
While settled down, for a blissful night
We three bovines awoke, with a fright
The ground below us, started to shake
Oh noooooooo, that's got to be an earthquake…
Our lovely cosy bed, started to slide
And we three bovines, had nowhere to hide
Suddenly scarily, the ground began to recede
We were left, with no water and nary a weed…
By the light of the dawn, all could see our plight
What had happened to us, during the night
Our plaintive pleas, went out far and wide
While we waited, for the jolts and the shakes to subside…
The rescue team, came to the fore
For us three bovines, they couldn't have done more
They dug and they dug, and got us all out
A successful mission, without a doubt…
Once we were saved, we three bovines were all full of glee
For us were paddocks and grass, as far as the eye could see
So thanks to you all, you just made our day
We're munching on grass, and munching on hay, once again.
Anon
