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Dino, the long-necked dinosaur, Tex, the three-horned dinosaur, and Andy, the duck-billed dinosaur, were three small friends from a lush valley with a wide river that wound its way down from mountains topped with eternal snow. They had shared nests along the riverbank since they were very young, and their parents lovingly watched over them in the safe surroundings where they could roam freely and play all day long.
Even though Dino, Tex, and Andy grew steadily, they were still much smaller than their parents, who each day ate more than the three little dinosaurs weighed combined. That was why they were often reminded not to run between the legs of the big ones when playing tag. Still, they had fun and practiced every day at becoming big dinosaurs. They gathered food and kept watch for one another, always close to the herd.
Dino was the only one who could reach the ripe fruit at the tops of the bushes and toss it down to his friends. Tex was good at digging large roots out of the ground, and Andy swam and dove for fresh seaweed in the river. Everything was peaceful. No predatory dinosaurs threatened them, and the elders of the herd spoke only of dangerous times the little ones could hardly imagine.
But one day, everything changed.
The white snow on the mountains turned black and melted away. Fire burst up from the ground, smoke poured down into the valley, and stones filled the sky. The earth grew hot and trembled beneath their feet.
Dino shouted,
“Come on, Tex and Andy. We have to get out of the valley.”
Tex wanted to help.
“I can push us through the pass.”
But Dino warned him,
“No, Tex. The red, flowing rock is hot.”
Andy insisted,
“We have to follow the river right away.”
They decided to follow the river, away from the disaster. In great haste, they were separated from the herd and ran out beneath the wide, open sky. For the first time, they stood on the plain, a place they had only heard about in the elders’ stories. Here there were dangers. Giant crocodiles in the river, flying reptiles in the sky, and poisonous creatures beneath the ground.
But the three little dinosaurs knew they had to cross the plain to find the herd’s old home, the forest on the island.
The plain was green and rolling. They could not see very far, but the mountains on the horizon told them they were heading in the right direction, away from the danger zone. They hid in the tall grass and ran only short distances at a time.
Sometimes the ground shook. A massive predatory dinosaur thundered past, but the little ones were covered in river mud, so it could not smell them. They took turns keeping watch at the mud pools and were always alert for crocodiles.
When the flying reptiles appeared and cast shadows over the sun, they darted into hiding beneath the bushes.
“We must follow the stars away from the mountains,” said Dino.
“And we have to run from bush to bush during the day, so the predators won’t see us,” Andy added.
Tex, who was always brave, volunteered to be the first to step down into the mud pools and dig for roots, but only after they had stomped together to scare the snakes away.
After many hardships, they finally reached the shore. And there, like a dream, the entire herd was waiting for them.
The great long-necked dinosaurs lifted the smaller three-horned dinosaurs onto their backs and waded out to the island, while the duck-billed dinosaurs swam alongside them. There were no crocodiles, and neither predatory dinosaurs nor flying reptiles could find them out there.
And there, far from danger, they lived happily together.
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