《恐龙当家》第12章

The next morning Arlo woke to Spot running in his sleep, making growling noises, and pounding into Arlo's nose with his feet. The dinosaur snapped awake and lifted his head away from the barrage of toes and heels. Then Spot woke up; he looked up at Arlo with a big grin. Arlo smiled back.

It was time to start their day. They got up and began walking along the river. Almost out of nowhere, dark clouds appeared and instantly grew darker. The wind picked up and started blowing the leaves off the trees. Soon branches began cracking and whipping through the air. As the wind grew stronger, debris flew toward them, and Arlo started to panic.

BOOM. The booming sound of thunder startled Arlo, causing him to flinch and shudder. He looked at Spot, ahead in the distance, and screamed to him. "We should stop!" But Spot couldn't hear him over the angry sounds of the sky.

The thunder roared even louder and lightning flashed as the storm intensified. It reminded Arlo of that day in the wilderness with Poppa. It was as if he could see himself and Poppa in the pass, the rushing water coming toward them, and that terrible feeling... Arlo remembered Poppa screaming for him to run, right before the water took him away forever. The thought of it made Arlo feel even more frightened and suddenly, he started to run, as if trying to escape the storm.

Spot saw Arlo and turned back to follow him.

Terrified, Arlo scrambled up a hill. BOOM! The deafening sound of the thunder, now right overhead, caused him to slip and fall down a muddy slope.

A large, old tree, having been taken down by the wind, lay on its side. Its giant root ball had been ripped up from the ground and was big enough for Arlo to hide under. He ran to it and pressed his body against it, trying to shield himself from the maelstrom. Arlo stayed there, curled up and trembling, wishing for the storm to pass.

When the wind finally calmed and the sun's rays cracked through the clouds, the light revealed the devastation it had left in its wake. The wilderness looked completely different. Trees were knocked over, shelters destroyed, and debris was scattered everywhere. It was as if the wilderness had been turned inside out.

Spot, with his nose to the ground, sniffed around in search of Arlo. He dug through a pile of leaves and found him, still curled up under the giant root ball. The dinosaur stumbled forward and looked around, panicking at the sight of the wilderness.

"Wh—where's the river?" Arlo asked, whipping his head around nervously. "I've lost the river!" Frenzied, Arlo ran, looking every which way, searching for signs that would lead him home.

Then a shadow passed overhead, blocking out the sun. Arlo looked up and saw a group of Pterodactyls, giant winged reptiles flying in formation, like a search and rescue team. It seemed that they were looking for signs of life amidst the wreckage below. Arlo was overjoyed to see them and figured they could help him get home. He urgently called up to them, waving his arms. "Help!"

But as soon as Spot saw the Pterodactyls he scurried off to hide.

Three Pterodactyls touched ground in front of Arlo as the others continued on their way.

"You wounded, friend?" asked one named Thunderclap.

"No, I'm not hurt," answered Arlo.

Thunderclap turned to the other two. "Coldfront. Downpour. Search for others." The two headed off and went through the rubble, searching.

"Wait, I'm lost," said Arlo. "I need to get home, Clawtooth Mountain."

"Mountain range with three points?" asked Thunderclap.

"Yes!" Arlo said, thrilled that he had heard of it.

"I've been there," said Thunderclap. "But pits, kid, you're not even close. Still I know the way."

Relieved, the young dinosaur smiled and introduced himself, "My name is Arlo."

"I use to have a name like that once, but that was before," Thunderclap said.

"Uh, um—you guys can get me home?" asked Arlo, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah... maybe," said Thunderclap, looking around.

Then the other Pterodactyl, Coldfront, called out, "I found someone! Over here!" Coldfront tried to lift up a heavy, cracked log and Downpour flew over to help.

A little critter stuck his paw out from the rubble, scratching and clawing, trying to get out.

"We could use your help, friend," Thunderclap said to Arlo.

Arlo nodded and walked over to them. The three Pterodactyls lifted one end of the cracked log in the air. Arlo whipped his tail against the log like an axe, whacking it until it split in half.

"Wahoo!" The Pterodactyls hooted and hollered with excitement and let the other end of the log drop to the ground. They landed, pushed aside the rest of the debris, and then Thunderclap reached into the rubble and picked up the furry little creature.

"It's a critter," said Arlo.

"Now a freed critter, thanks to you," Thunderclap said. He lifted it high and looked as if he was going to put it on the ground. But instead of releasing it, he threw back his head, dropped it into his long beak. He ate it!

Arlo was horrified. He looked around and saw Spot hiding under some debris. He was shaking and Arlo could tell he was terrified. He had never seen Spot look so scared.

Arlo slowly started to back up, toward the place where Spot was hiding. Then Thunderclap flew over, cutting him off. Arlo gasped. "Where you goin', friend?" asked Thunderclap, menacingly.

Downpour and Coldfront landed behind Arlo. He was surrounded. Trapped.

"I-I'm—I need to get home," Arlo stammered.

"And I said we would get you home," said Thunderclap. He touched Arlo's shoulders and began to sniff the air. "Friend, you have a critter of your own."

Coldfront sniffed around, searching too.

"Where is it?" screeched Downpour.

The towering Pterodactyls stared down Arlo, waiting for an answer. Arlo pointed in the opposite direction of where Spot was hiding. "Over there, by that leaning tree."

Downpour and Coldfront went over to the tree, using their claws and beaks to wildly scratch and scrape around the rubble, searching for Spot. But Thunderclap stayed behind, watching Arlo and staring deep into his eyes. Arlo accidentally gave Spot a worried glance, and Thunderclap immediately knew where the boy was hiding.

"The storm provides," Thunderclap said matter-of-factly and flew over to Spot's hiding place.

"No!" Arlo yelled. Spot quickly scrambled, slipping right beneath Thunderclap's claws, and took off running. Thunderclap flapped his wings and flew, chasing Spot from above. Arlo dashed toward them, scooped Spot up, and bolted as the Pterodactyls continued their pursuit.

Spot hopped on top of Arlo's back and held on tight as Arlo raced as fast as he could. Arlo saw a big, long neck dinosaur grazing and yelled to it. "Oh ... help!"

He ran toward it with the Pterodactyls right behind him. When he got close enough, he saw it wasn't a big, long neck dinosaur at all—it was two dinosaurs—and they were T-rexes!

第二天早上，阿乐梦见小不点在他的睡梦中奔跑、吼叫，还用脚踹他的鼻子。阿乐突然惊醒，将小不点的双脚从自己的脸上挪开。这时，小不点也醒了；他抬头看着阿乐，露出一个大大的微笑，阿乐也回应了他一个微笑。

是时候开始新的一天了。他们站起来沿着河流出发了。骤然间，天空中乌云密布，顷刻变得越来越暗。风越来越大，吹落了树上的叶子，不久便强劲到连树枝也吹断了，断裂的树枝随风抖动。风力越来越强，裹着残叶和残枝向他们扑来，阿乐开始害怕起来。

隆隆！隆隆的雷声吓到了阿乐，他一边后退一边瑟瑟发抖。他看向前方远处的小不点，大喊道：“我们应该停下来了！”但是空中雷声滚滚，小不点没听到。

暴风雨愈演愈烈，雷声也越来越响，不时还有闪电划过天际，这让阿乐想起了和爸爸在荒野的那天。他仿佛能看到自己和爸爸在山口，汹涌的河水朝他们肆虐而来的场景，还有那种可怕的感觉……阿乐记得爸爸被河水卷走、永远无法再回来的前一刻，还在大声喊着让他快跑。想到这些，阿乐更加害怕了。突然，他开始跑起来，好像要逃离这场暴风雨。

小不点看到阿乐跑走了，也转身紧随其后。

惊吓之下，阿乐慌乱地爬上了一座小山。隆隆！轰鸣的雷声就在阿乐的头顶上方响起，震耳欲聋，把他吓得从山上滑下来，摔在了泥泞的山坡上。

一棵有些年头的大树被风刮倒，躺在一边。巨大的根团被连根拔起，这足够阿乐在下面藏身了。他跑过去，把身体挤进根团下面，试图让自己躲过这场大风暴。阿乐躲在那儿，蜷起身子，不停地发抖，希望这场暴风雨快点结束。

风暴终于过去了，阳光穿过云层，照射在暴风雨带一片狼藉之上。荒野看起来完全不一样了，树木被吹倒了，动物们的巢穴被摧毁了，碎片散落得到处都是，荒野好似被吹了个底朝天。

小不点把鼻子凑到地上，四处查看，找寻阿乐的踪迹。他挖开一堆树叶，找到了阿乐，他仍蜷缩着身子躲在巨大的根团下。阿乐跌跌撞撞地朝前走，边走边环顾四周，荒野的景象让他感到害怕起来。

“河……河在哪儿呢？”阿乐紧张地拍打着自己的脑袋，问道。“我找不到那条河了！”阿乐一时失去了理智，跑着去察看每一个方向，寻找着能够指引他回家的标记。

这时，一个黑影从他头顶掠过，挡住了阳光，阿乐抬起头，看到了一群翼手龙。这些长着翅膀的大型爬行动物在上空列队飞行，像是一个搜救队。他们看起来像是在下面的废墟中寻找生命的迹象。看到他们，阿乐喜出望外，认为他们能帮助他回家。他急切地挥舞着手臂，朝他们大叫：“救命！”

但是，小不点一看到这些翼手龙，就飞快地跑去躲起来了。

三只翼手龙在阿乐面前落下，而其他的则继续在往前飞。

“朋友，你受伤了？”一只叫雷霆的翼手龙问道。

“没，我没受伤。”阿乐答道。

雷霆转向另外两个同伴：“冷锋、暴雨，你们去别处找找。”这两个起身离开，穿过碎石，继续搜寻。

“等等，我迷路了，我想回家，我家就在爪牙山那里。”阿乐说。

“那座三脉相连的山吗？”雷霆问。

得知雷霆听说过爪牙山，阿乐激动不已地说道：“是的！”。

“我去过那儿，”雷霆说，“但是，很不幸，孩子，你离那儿还远着呢，但我还是知道路的。”

这只小恐龙松了一口气，微笑着做自我介绍：“我叫阿乐。”

“我以前也有过一个类似的名字，但那是很久之前的事了。”雷霆说。

“噢，嗯……你们能带我回家吗？”阿乐问道，开始感到有些不安。

“可以……应该可以。”雷霆环顾四周说道。

接着，那只叫冷锋的翼手龙喊道：“我有发现！在这儿！”冷锋奋力抬起一根沉重的、有裂纹的木头，暴雨飞过去帮他。

碎石中伸出了一只小动物的爪子，胡乱抓着，努力想要出来。

“我们需要你帮点忙，朋友。”雷霆对阿乐说道。

阿乐点点头，走向他们。三只翼手龙抬起有裂纹的木头的一端，阿乐挥动他的尾巴，像斧头一样朝木头重重地劈下去，直到把它劈成两截。

“啊哈！”翼手龙们兴奋地喊叫起来。他们把原木的另一端扔到地上，然后飞落到地上，将剩下的碎片推到一边。接着雷霆把爪子伸到碎石里，揪起了一只毛茸茸的小动物。

“是一只小动物啊。”阿乐说道。

“现在它自由了，多亏了你。”雷霆说。他把小动物高高举起，看样子是要把它放到地上。但他没有放走它，而是把头向后一扬，将它扔进了自己长长的嘴里。他吃了它！

阿乐被吓坏了，他四下瞅了瞅，看到小不点正躲在一些碎石下面。他在发抖，阿乐看得出他很害怕，他从未见过小不点怕成这样。

阿乐开始慢慢朝着小不点藏身的方向后退。就在这时，雷霆飞过去，切断了阿乐的去路，阿乐倒吸一口气。“朋友，去哪啊？”雷霆充满威胁地问道。

暴雨和冷锋在阿乐身后落下，阿乐被包围了，他陷入了困境。

“我……我想……我要回家。”阿乐结结巴巴地说。

“我说了我们会带你回家。”雷霆说。他拍了拍阿乐的双肩，在空气中嗅了嗅。“朋友，你自己也带了一只小动物啊。”

冷锋也在空气中嗅探着。

“它在哪儿？”暴雨尖叫道。

这几只高大的翼手龙死盯着阿乐，等着他的回答。阿乐朝小不点藏身的反方向指去：“在那边，在那棵歪脖子树后面。”

暴雨和冷锋走到那棵树旁，用爪子和嘴野蛮地在碎石周围乱刨乱挖，寻找小不点。但是雷霆却留了下来，监视着阿乐，双眼直勾勾地盯着阿乐的眼睛。阿乐无意中担忧地瞥了小不点一眼，雷霆立马知道了小男孩的藏身之地。

“天助我也。”雷霆不动声色地说着，飞到了小不点藏身的地方。

“不要！”阿乐大叫道。小不点赶忙爬走，却恰恰溜到了雷霆的爪子下，于是他撒腿就跑。雷霆拍拍翅膀飞起，在空中追赶着小不点。阿乐猛冲向他们，抱起小不点，飞快地跑开了，翼手龙们则紧随其后，穷追不舍。

小不点一跃，跳到了阿乐的背上，紧紧抱着他，阿乐竭尽全力往前跑。阿乐看到一只大型长颈恐龙正在吃草，就大喊起来：“喂……救命啊！”

阿乐向长颈恐龙跑去，翼手龙们紧随其后。当他跑近了，才发现它其实不是一只大型长颈恐龙——而是两只恐龙——是两只霸王龙！