Authors: Dick King-Smith
Dinosaur Trouble (4 page)
“He's not all that bright.”
“Nor's my daddy. Perhaps females are always cleverer than males. What do you think?”
“I don't think that's true,” said Banty. “It's obvious to me that you are a much brighter dinosaur than I am.”
“Well, actually,” said Nosy. “I'm not strictly a dinosaur. I'm a pterosaur.
Pteron
means âwing', and
saurus
means âlizard.'”
Pteron
means âwing', and
saurus
means âlizard.'”
“Oh. Well, what does the
dino
bit of
dinosaur
mean?”
dino
bit of
dinosaur
mean?”
“Huge and terrible.”
“Wow! I like it!” said Banty.
She looked around at the sound of a mighty splashing in the lake.
“Here come Ma and Pa,” she said. “You better beat it, Nosy, before they start being rude about you. But come back another day, won't you?”
“I will,” said Nosy as he dropped off his branch. “See you, my friend!” he squeaked as he flew away.
Gargantua and Titanic came lumbering up toward their daughter. They were dripping wet and covered in mud and waterweed.
“Whatever was that you were talking to, Banty?” her mother asked.
“A pterodactyl, Ma. A young one. He's nice.”
“Nice!” said Gargantua. “I'm surprised at you, speaking to such a creature. You don't know where it's been.”
“Dirty things they are,” rumbled Titanic.
“Nosy isn't dirty, Pa,” said Banty.
“Oh,” said Gargantua, “so we're on first-name terms already, are we?”
“He can hang upside down, Ma,” said Banty.
“Hang upside down!” said her mother in tones of horror. “Well, there you are! How can it possibly keep clean?”
“What d'you mean, Ma?”
“Well, goodness me, Banty, you're old enough now to know that all creatures have to ⦠um, er ⦠make themselves comfortable. No one can digest everything that is eaten. Some of it is, er, wasted. It has to be got rid of.”
“What d'you mean, Ma?”
“Droppings,” said Titanic heavily. “We all do 'em.”
“But,” said Gargantua, “we do them on the grass.”
“Or in the water,” said Titanic.
“But just imagine,” said Gargantua, “a creature that is hanging upside down and suddenly needs to do its, er ⦔
“ ⦠droppings,” said Titanic.
“ ⦠and you can easily realize that it is going to make itself filthy. I very much hope, Banty, that you will have nothing more to do with it.”
Nosy's a “he,” not an “it,”
thought Banty
, and we're friends, and if I want to see him again, I shall, Ma, so there.
thought Banty
, and we're friends, and if I want to see him again, I shall, Ma, so there.
Â
Meanwhile, back in the woods, Aviatrix and Clawed were waking up to find that Nosy was absent.
“Where's he gone?” said his mother.
“Don't know,” said his father.
“What are we going to do?”
“Don't know.”
“Wherever he's gone, he'll come back, won't he?”
Clawed, hanging by his huge talons, stretched his huge wings and yawned a huge yawn.
“Don't know,” he replied.
You don't know anything,
thought Aviatrix angrily, but before she could say more, Nosy came flying in at speed.
thought Aviatrix angrily, but before she could say more, Nosy came flying in at speed.
In one fluent movement, he turned on his back,
reached up with his little legs, caught the branch with his little claws, and hung there, swinging to and fro.
reached up with his little legs, caught the branch with his little claws, and hung there, swinging to and fro.
Aviatrix turned her anger on her son.
“Wherever have you been, you naughty boy?” she cried.
“To the lake, Mom.”
“To the lake? Whatever for?”
“A drink, I expect,” said Clawed. “That's why I go there. I like a drink now and again.”
“No, Daddy,” said Nosy. “I went to meet a friend.”
“A friend?” said his mother. “Another pterodactyl, you mean?”
“No, Mom.”
“What, then?”
“A young apatosaurus. The one we saw yesterday. On the Great Plain. She's called Banty. She's nice.”
“Well!” said Aviatrix. “I'm dumbfounded!”
“What's that mean, Mom?”
“Reduced to silence.”
“But you're talking.”
“Hold your tongue, child. I am utterly flabbergasted.”
“What's that mean?”
“Oh, stop your endless questions. I cannot tell you how surprised I am that you should be speaking to such a creature.”
“But you are telling me, Mom,” said Nosy.
“You don't know where it's been,” said Clawed. “They're dirty things, they are.”
He did a huge poo, which, by a stroke of luck, missed his head and fell to the ground below.
“They're not dirty, Daddy,” said Nosy. “They come off the Great Plain and go and bathe in the lake. Banty certainly isn't dirty.”
“Banty!” said Aviatrix. “What a silly name for a
silly flightless creature. I trust you'll have nothing more to do with it.”
silly flightless creature. I trust you'll have nothing more to do with it.”
Banty's a “she,” not an “it,”
thought Nosy
. She's my friend and I hope I'm hers, and I will see her again, Mom, so there.
thought Nosy
. She's my friend and I hope I'm hers, and I will see her again, Mom, so there.
Of all the creatures that lived on the Great Plain, the nastiest was
Tyrannosaurus
rex, and of all tyrannosauruses the biggest and most bloodthirsty was the one that Aviatrix and Nosy had met when they were catching flies on the body of the dead brachiosaurus. His name was Hack the Ripper.
Tyrannosaurus
rex, and of all tyrannosauruses the biggest and most bloodthirsty was the one that Aviatrix and Nosy had met when they were catching flies on the body of the dead brachiosaurus. His name was Hack the Ripper.
What he liked best was to hunt a dinosaurâany one of the many kinds of grass-eaters that
roamed the plainâand kill it, and eat it, or as much of it as he could stomach. Hack's favorite prey was baby dinosaur, not because it was too slow to escape himâthey were all too slow, whatever their ageâbut because a baby made such a lovely meal: so tender, so tasty, so mouthwatering.
roamed the plainâand kill it, and eat it, or as much of it as he could stomach. Hack's favorite prey was baby dinosaur, not because it was too slow to escape himâthey were all too slow, whatever their ageâbut because a baby made such a lovely meal: so tender, so tasty, so mouthwatering.
On one particular morning he was walking upright across the plain, scanning the various herds of animals with his cold, hard eyes, looking to see if there was a nice fat baby nearby.
As soon as they saw him, diplodocuses, iguanodons, and the rest all moved away, slowly of course, turning small heads on the end of long necks to see if he was following.
Hack the Ripper was hungry, but not ravenously hungry. He decided he would have a drinkâit was a hot dayâbefore beginning his hunting.
It so happened that Titanic and Gargantua were standing at the edge of the lake, at the very spot indeed to which Hack was heading.
They had been out grazing on the plain since first light, and their huge stomachs were packed full of grass. Now, when they saw T. rex approaching, they splashed as hastily as they could out into
deep water and submerged. Only their nostrils showed.
deep water and submerged. Only their nostrils showed.
Some minutes passed, and then, slowly, Titanic put his head up and then so did Gargantua.
“It's all right, Gargy,” said Titanic. “The brute is going,” and they watched as Hack strode away back to the grasslands.
“Horrible thing!” said Gargantua. “I wonder what wretched animal will die today to feed its disgusting appetite.”
“They say it likes baby dinosaurs best,” said Titanic.
The two great apatosauruses stretched up their long necks and stared, first at one another and then, as the same thought struck them, all around the lake and its shore, and with one voice, a horrified voice, they cried, “Where's our Banty?”
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