Weird Wild Stuff: Short Stories for Kids, Page 2

  Everyone in Magic Land loves and respects nature. They share all of the food and resources with each other and the animals who call the forest home. It seemed as though life couldn't get any better for the friendly citizens of Magic Land. Unfortunately, that was all about to change.

  Thurston Prescott was a very rich businessman. Today he took his son Edward or Ed as he preferred, to the park by the forest. Thurston spent most of the time on his phone while Ed kicked a ball around. Ed kicked the ball so hard that it disappeared into a group of trees.

  Ed found his ball but decided to keep walking deeper into the forest. As he turned to walk back to the car, he saw what looked to be an elf picking berries. "Hello?" Frightened, the elf didn't know what to say. "What's your name? I'm Ed" "Oh no!" the elf thought, "It's a human!"

  Soon the elf was joined by his fellow villagers. "Hi everyone! My name is Ed. You sure have a beautiful little town here." "What do we do now?" asked one of the fairies. "Let's bring him to the Gnome" suggested the elf. The Gnome always knows what to do." And so Ed followed his mini-escorts into the woods.

  Ed was greeted by the rest of the elves and fairies before the Gnome arrived. "Hello Ed and welcome to Magic Land. You are more than welcome to join us for lunch. All we ask is that you respect everyone and everything you see around you." Then they all feasted on every type of berry you can imagine.

  "Ed! Ed!" came a voice from behind the trees. "Uh oh! It's my Dad." "Quick everybody, hide!" whispered the Gnome. Ed's Dad arrived and was amazed by what he saw. "Look at this place. Just imagine what I could do with all this land." He then picked up his phone and started to dial.

  Ed was very sad during the car ride home as he worried about his tiny new pals and what was going to happen to their village. "So tomorrow morning I want to tear down the forest and start building right away. We're going to make a fortune!" Ed felt so helpless as he listened to his Dad planning to destroy the forest and Magic Land.

  "Friends, I have just heard some very bad news" began the Gnome. "Humans are planning to get rid of our happy little village. There will be big trucks here. We are peaceful and don't like to fight. When the time comes we will be left with no choice but to release the bees".

  "Let me know when you're ready to go Mr. Prescott." "Will do. Isn't this exciting Ed? This is going to make me lots and lots of money!" his Dad boasted. Ed just stood and tried not to cry. He had to stop this from happening but he didn't know how. But he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

  The swarm of bees and elves were no match for the mighty machines. It looked as though it would take a miracle to save Magic Land from the bulldozers. Without warning, Ed ran out in front of the machines before they reached the trees.

  Whether Mr. Prescott was moved by his Ed's bravery (or maybe the fairy dust was doing the trick) he ordered the bulldozers to stop. "I'm so sorry Ed. I have been so selfish. I put money ahead of my own son. In fact, I'm going to make sure that this forest is protected forever."

  Ed was a hero! He had saved Magic Land! And if that wasn't enough, Mr. Prescott kept his promise to Ed There would be no hotels, casinos, or any concrete poured in Magic Land. The only ones who were allowed to enjoy this amazing little place were a group of elves, fairies, and a wise old gnome. And of course a brave young man who was welcome anytime.

  THE END

  DINA AND THE DINOS

  Every night it was Dina's job to take out the garbage after dinner. Her brother and sister would help clear the table and wash the dishes. One evening, Dina heard what sounded like meowing from behind the garbage cans.

  She saw a hungry Mommy cat and two kittens. Feeling bad for the kitties, Dina decided to feed them leftovers from dinner. And for the next few nights, the family of cats would wait for her to bring them something to eat. Eventually the cats got scared away by a group of hungry raccoons. They left an awful mess as they ripped open the garbage bags looking for some sweet treats.

  The following night Dina noticed that there were no animals outside at all. "How strange" she thought as she headed back inside the house. Other than a few crickets chirping, the night was still and quiet.

  A few hours later, while Dina was fast asleep, she heard a lot of loud banging noises outside. Did the animals she used to feed come back for more? She knew she should've stayed inside but she was curious to see who or what was making all that racket.

  Dina was not prepared for what she was about to see. Waiting for her outside was a dinosaur, a baby dinosaur! This had to be a dream. "I just need to close my eyes and go back to sleep" she told herself. That was until the dinosaur gave her a big sloppy kiss. Yep, this was really happening.

  The baby dinosaur began to whimper like a puppy. He wanted Dina to follow him. "I can't go with you boy. I have to go back to bed." He looked at her with his big sweet eyes and she couldn't refuse. "Okay. Maybe just a few minutes. But then I have to go back inside."

  Dina continued to follow the baby dinosaur that she named "Dino". "Where are you taking me?” she wondered. "That's far enough. I have to get back now." Unfortunately, she was now lost. How long had she been walking? Everything looked different around her. Where was she?

  It was so humid. It felt like they were in a jungle. Maybe that was because they were in a jungle! Dina felt a little afraid but couldn't help to admire how beautiful the scenery was. The quiet was soon disturbed by some big thumping noises. The baby dinosaur ran off towards the noise. "Hey? Where are you going?

  There were huge dinosaurs everywhere. The baby dinosaur ran over to what must've been his Mommy and Daddy. He seemed very happy to be with them as they nuzzled against him. It was kind of cute to watch them together.

  The Mommy dinosaur walked over to Dina which scared her at first. But then she saw how gentle the dinosaur was. She wanted to feed Dina some grass. "No thanks. I already had dinner" she told the dinosaur.

  These dinosaurs were called Brontosauruses. From what she remembered in school, they only ate plants which came as a relief. It was good to know that she wasn't going to be on the menu that day. They treated her like I was one of their own.

  "Oh, hi there little guy. I know you. You're a Raptor. Well aren't you cutest little thing." He growled at her but he was still just a baby so it was more of a grumble. As Dina continued to talk to him she could feel a group of eyes looking at her. She started to feel very uncomfortable.

  Before she knew it, Dina was surrounded by hungry Raptors. They were mean and vicious. Things didn't look good for Dina when an old man dressed in rags came to her rescue. He was pudgy and had a big bushy grey beard. Not exactly a dashing hero. He was able to fend off the Raptors with a stick.

  "Who are you?" Dina asked. "I'll tell you later. Here's the plan.........run as fast as you can!" "That's your plan?" "Uh, yeah" the old man said as the two began to run through the jungle. "We just need to make it to the waterfall" the old man shouted. "Waterfall?"

  The pair were somehow able to elude the Raptors and made it to the waterfall. "Can you swim?" asked the old man. "Yeah, why...oh no!" "I have a raft waiting for us at the bottom of this cliff." "No way!" Dina emphatically said. Then she saw the angry eyes and sharp teeth of the Raptors getting closer. She jumped.

  Miraculously the pair survived their big plunge into the river. Unfortunately, the old man got his legs trapped in some seaweed at the bottom. Dina didn't notice that he was trapped and neither one of them noticed that they weren't alone.

  A giant dinosaur from the deep was heading their way. Things did not look good for the duo. Then, from out of nowhere some fish swam by, distracting the sea monster. The old man was able to get his legs free and the two swam as fast as they could towards the surface.

  Soaked, exhausted, and still shook up by almost being eaten by dinosaurs, the pair finally made it to shore. "We'll be safe in my cave. I have food and fire so we'll be fine until morning" the old man told Dina. She wasn't really listening. She was scared, tired, and she just wanted to go home. She still had no idea how
she ended up here or who this old man was.

  "I know you want to go home kid. As do I. My name Dr. Darwin Slate. I'm a scientist. I've always been fascinated with time travel. One day I discovered a time portal. I walked inside of it and I've been stuck here ever since. How'd you end up here?" "I followed a baby dinosaur into the woods" Dina replied. "What??????"

  "I have been looking for that portal for weeks, months, maybe even longer. I don't know how long I've been here. Do you remember where it was?" "I think so. It was in the area where you saved me from those Raptors." "Fantastic! Get some sleep, for tomorrow will be a long day. Hopefully one where we will both find our way home."

  "Our 'taxis' have arrived. Hold on tight and enjoy the scenery." Waiting for us with a group of brontosauruses including one special little one. "Dino!" Dina yelled as she saw her little dinosaur friend. "Things could get dangerous so be brave and we'll find that portal and be very soon" Dr. Slate tried to reassure Dina and himself.

  "Don't worry about the Pterodactyls overhead. They're too high up and they don't see us. Hey, did you know that the "P" is silent? Isn't that p-funny?" Silence. Dina didn't react. "Guess it's too early for dinosaur jokes this morning."

  "They look so familiar" Dina said as she looked at a group of dinosaurs chewing on some plants and vegetables. "They're called Stegosauruses. They aren't dangerous but let's not get too close. I wouldn't want to feel those sharp spikes on their back" Dr. Slate commented.

  A loud rumbling noise starting to get closer and closer. It was a group of Triceratops. "Keep still. They won't eat us but you don't want to get poked by those sharp horns" Dr. Slate whispered. "We're almost there. I recognize this area" Dina told the doctor.

  "Looks like our old friends the Raptors are waiting for us" Dr. Slate said. "What are we going to do?" Dina wondered. "I brought some food. Hopefully it will distract them. Uh oh! Did you feel that?" "Feel what?" Dina replied. "We're in trouble now. Really big trouble!"

  "Tyrannosaurus Rex! The most feared dinosaur of them all!" Dr. Slate started to panic. "This is one dinosaur that does want to eat us." Frozen with fear, neither the doctor nor Dina could move a muscle. But an unlikely hero would emerge.

  "Dino! No!" Dina shouted as the little dinosaur went to protect his friends. He was too small and ended up being hurt by the T-Rex. "Let me try something" Doctor Slate said as he tossed some meat in the T-Rex's direction.

  The group of Raptors swarmed the T-Rex looking for more to eat. They buzzed around the T-Rex who just swatted them like mosquitoes. This gave Dr. Slate and Dina a chance to escape.

  "I want to see if he's okay!" Dina screamed. "We have to go now! The time warp could close at any moment!" Slate shouted taking her by the hand. She looked back one last time to see Dino's mom looking over her injured baby.

  "Earth to Dina! Hello!" "Sorry Lola, I must've dozed off during the tour of The Museum of Science." "Well I hope my tour hasn't been that boring" a familiar voice said.

  "Dr. Slate?" "Have we met before?" he replied. "I guess you just look like someone I know" Dina said, a little disappointed. "Oh, by the way, the baby dinosaur is going to be just fine" Dr. Slate said with a wink and a smile before walking away. A smile started to form on Dina’s lips. Whether or not any of this really actually happened, it was one heck of a ride.

  THE END