The Cold Time

[Malte279]

Hi!
The Fanart and Fanfiction section of the Gang of Five is picking up activity, especially concerning the fanfiction part. And fanfictions posted here did receive reviews.
Now I'm going to post one of my fanfictions here too. It is the second one I wrote, and some of you received it via email already. It is a winter story, but it was written and translated before LBT 8 was released, and except for snow the story has very little in common with "The Big Freeze".
If those of you whom I promised to send the story as an email would still like to receive it that way I shall send it to you as I said.
Either way however, I would be really glad and grateful to hear your oppinions, and this does include criticism. Really, I don't have a problem with being criticized. Please, if you tell me what you think, let me know what you like and what you dislike. Your oppinion may help to improve future stories.  
I'm going to post the chapters of the stories in intervals.

[Malte279]

Chapter I

It had become very cold in the Great Valley. Of course it was not the first cold time Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike experienced, but this time it lasted longer than ever before. They plodded quietly through the deep snow. Ducky had climbed on Spike’s back as the snow reached nearly up to her shoulders in places. Their breath transformed into little, white clouds of vapor in front of their faces. They all thought of the time when the bright circle had still shone warm upon the Great Valley and the snow hadn’t covered its floor. That time seemed to have past for an eternity. At the moment the sun stood close over the mountains’ summits as a red glowing ball and it wouldn’t last for long until it would disappear behind them completely; the days had become shorter. At first they had been delighted about the snow.
It had brought some alternation in their every day life, especially for Ducky and Petrie who had formed balls of the snow and thrown them at their friends, less for Littlefoot, Cera and Spike who had been delivered nearly defenseless to these “attacks”. But they to had enjoyed walking about on the slippery ice sheet that had lain over the river and every waterhole.
After all it didn’t occur every day that they were able to walk on the water.
But they all had realized the apprehension of their parents, which seemed to increase with every day that passed. Once Littlefoot had asked his grandfather for the reason of his own and the other grownups’ apprehension when he had noticed his grandfather’s worried look.
It had been at a time when he hadn’t seen the problems the coldness brought along himself.
At first his grandfather had tried to force a smile on his face, but the attempt failed miserably, and after all, his grandfather had sighed and begun to speak. Littlefoot remembered his words very well. “You Littlefoot have never experienced what happens when the cold time lasts longer than we are accustomed to.” Littlefoot’s grandfather had fallen silent and ignored Littlefoot’s inquisitive looks until Littlefoot had finally asked impatiently:
“What does happen grandfather?”
His grandfather had continued to keep silent and Littlefoot had already expected not to get an answer on his question, when his grandfather had suddenly continued speaking:
“I’ve experienced it a long, long time ago, when I was as young as you are now. It became colder and colder and green food ran shorter with every passing day. As long as the coldness lasted the leaves didn’t grew again. You too have certainly realized, that no leaves grow on the trees anymore at the moment. We life on the few plants that are not damaged by the coldness and on of withered, hard frozen grass we find below the fall of snow. That does not taste very well and sometimes we’re not even satiated, but it is enough until the bright circle stands on the sky for a longer time and it gets warmer again. We have to pound holes into the sheet of ice that is over the river and every waterhole when we want to drink. The water is very cold, so cold that it nearly hurts to drink it; but we can drink it, as we know it will get warmer soon.” Again Littlefoot’s grandfather had paused, as if it would be an effort for him to continue. Littlefoot had looked at his grandfather with big eyes. Had his grandfather not continued by himself now, Littlefoot would not have insisted again, and for a moment he wished he never had. For whatever his grandfather was going to tell him now, it wouldn’t be anything pleasant and Littlefoot suddenly hadn’t wanted to hear it anymore. But he had asked and was unable to countermand it, much as he would have liked to the moment his grandfather had continued: “Well Littlefoot, you know the cold time as something that passes quickly and that brings nothing negative except the bad food and the cold water. You kids can play with the snow and it is interesting for you to be able to walk on the water for some time. But now imagine, the cold time lasts longer.” Littlefoot had kept quiet dismayed while his grandfather let his words take effect for some moments, before he had continued:
“Food would run shorter with every day and it would become colder and colder and one day...”, he had hesitated for a moment, “...we would not have any food left at all!”
“But grandfather! Why do you believe this cold time will last any longer as it always does?”
“Whenever the cold time ends, the days get longer and the bright circle describes a wide arch above the Great Valley. But the days don’t get longer; on the contrary. Usually it should be warmer already for a long time.” His grandfather had turned away slowly and had plotted away. Once more he had turned his head back to Littlefoot and said: “Remember this Littlefoot! It could become possible, that...”, he had hesitated and thought of the right words for the moment, “...that we’ll have to do something... you can’t imagine to do at the moment.” And with that he had gone away. “I... I don’t believe that this will happen!” Littlefoot had said quietly to himself while at the very same moment he had been certain that his grandfather would be right in the end; though he hadn’t even known what his grandfather had meant with his last words at all.

[Petrie]

It sounds like an interesting story...something you'd never see in a LBT story...I like that.

Overall, there are just spelling and grammatical errors throughout, and sentence structure in a couple of places that needs revising.  Otherwise it looks fine to me.  I'll e-mail you a copy of suggested changes and grammatical fixes.

[Malte279]

Thanks a lot! This more than welcome!      

something you'd never see in a LBT story

What exactly is it that you'd never see in an LBT story?

[WeirdRaptor]

Excellent story, Malte.

[Threehorn]

Nice going!

-Threehorn

[Malte279]

Chapter II

Indeed his grandpa had been right in the end. It had become colder every day, and Spike, who pawed the snow on his way aside again and again, hardly ever found some blades of grass. Those he did find were hard-frozen and had changed their color to an ugly yellowish brown. Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike had soon recognized the consequences of the coldness, or their parents had told them about it. At all events none of them took pleasure in the snow anymore. The whole morning they had wandered through the Valley aimlessly and suddenly they stood at the shore of the frozen river that traversed the Valley. If they were thirsty they now had to wait until one of the grownups came to pound holes into the sheet of ice, or they had to eat snow, which melted to water in their mouths.
But this water was almost colder than even the chilly water from the river. At the moment however none of them was thirsty. Nevertheless they continued on their way until they stood on the ice. At least they were not impeded by the snow here, that reached even Littlefoot, Cera and Spike up to the knees at treeless places, and that forced Ducky and Petrie to ride on their bigger friend’s backs, respectively to fly at those places. Here on the sheet of ice the snow had frozen hard as stone so it was passable for all of them.
Ducky jumped down from Spike’s back and ran in circles several times to get a little warmer. Suddenly she stopped abruptly and stared at the ice sheet furiously. Finally she broke the silence that had been between them for nearly the whole morning. “We can not even swim! Oh I hate this coldness!” And then she started as furiously as inconclusively to stamp on the ice sheet. Her friends exchanged a grinning. It was unusual that Ducky really got in a fury about something, but when she did, it seemed to be more comical than threatening. Ducky had noticed the exchange of grins between her friends. She stopped trampling and looked at them enraged. However after a few moments she sighed and bowed her head a bit. But already the very next instant she raised her head jerky and her angry look fell upon a collection of stones that lay on the ice sheet. Furiously she ran over to one of the biggest stones and kicked it as violently as she could. She cried out, “Ah!” danced around on one foot and held her other foot, she had bent painfully at the stone, with both hands. Littlefoot couldn’t watch it any longer. He paced some steps towards Ducky and said: “Hey Ducky cool down! You can’t change anything!” Ducky had stopped to dance around on one foot. She cast a furious look at Littlefoot. He was right and she knew that; but she didn’t want to know that. Instead of answering she whirled around and kicked a stone, that was much smaller than the one she had kicked before, with her unhurt foot. The stone skidded away and left a dimple behind at the spot where it had lain, that was darker than the ice around. Ducky ran to that spot and began to stamp about in the dimple. Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, and Petrie changed an affected look now. Their original malicious joy had receded for consternation and pity with Ducky. The situation had lost all its comic effect. Never before Ducky had been in such a rage about anything. She was quite beside herself with rage. Ducky didn’t stop to trample about on the sheet of ice. Suddenly Littlefoot believed to hear a portentous grating.
“Ducky, stop it!” he shouted to her.
But she didn’t seem to hear him at all while she stamped on the ice and had started to blast loudly. “I hate this coldness! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! Yep, yep, ye....” Ducky never finished the last “yep”. A loud grating and cracking was audible, and then the ice of the dimple, in which Ducky stood, gave in! Ducky shrieked at the top of her voice when she felt the icy cold water like thousands stitches. The coldness paralyzed her nearly completely and she couldn’t breath for a moment. Littlefoot jumped up and tried to reach the hole in the ice with one leap. But it was an awkward movement so Littlefoot slid on the smooth as mirror ice and skidded past the hole where he lost his balance after all and remained lying on the ice sprawling. Cera didn’t make a better figure. Although she ran as fast as she could, she didn’t get from the spot until she slid too and clapped on the hard sheet of ice painfully. Petrie had flown off as fast as he could and had reached Ducky now. She had stopped shrieking and tried to make swimming-movements, but the coldness stiffened her, so she immersed in the icy water. In the very last moment Petrie seized one of Ducky’s arms. Petrie was unable to pull Ducky out of the hole, but at least he could keep her head above the water for a while. In this moment Spike was alongside. He had learned from Littlefoot's and Cera’s mistakes and had, hard as it was for him, not tried to hurry as much as them to get to the waterhole, so he hadn’t slipped. He grasped Ducky’s arm on which Petrie pulled already as fierce as he could.

Quickly he pulled Ducky out of the cold water and put her down carefully aside the hole. In this moment Littlefoot arrived by them after he had managed to get up. “Ducky, how are you?” he asked worried. Ducky’s beak clacked and it was a visible effort for her to whisper lowly: “I’m... cold!” Spike drove his warm tongue all over her. Cera arrived by her friends too now. She cast an anxious look on Ducky. “Quickly! We must warm her up somehow or she’ll freeze to dead! Once my Dad has told me about that”, she called. “But how we shall warm up her? Here nothing still is warm in the Valley!” croaked Petrie. But suddenly Littlefoot called: “But of course there is! On the slopes of the Burning Mountain are many glowing vents in the ground. There we can warm her there!” He cast a short look at Spike and said hasty: “Spike fetch your parents! We’ll bring Ducky to the Burning Mountain!” Spike looked at him helplessly and uttered some wretched noises. Littlefoot remembered that Spike was unable to speak, so perhaps he wouldn’t be able to explain what had happened to Ducky’s parents, who had adopted him for he had never come to know his own family, quickly enough. Littlefoot looked over to Cera. He didn’t need to say anything more; Cera had understood. “Me?” she asked hesitating. But then she nodded shortly turned round and ran as fast as possible in the direction where Ducky and her family had their nests. Spike lifted the trembling Ducky on his back carefully. Petrie landed beside her and coated her with his wings as well as he could to protect her at least a little bit of the coldness. “Brrrrr! She as cold is as water!” croaked Petrie. “Come on we must hurry up!” shouted Littlefoot and hurried as fast as the smooth ice permitted it towards the other shore of the river, to the side of the river where the big volcano was. Spike with Petrie and Ducky on his back followed him.

[Threehorn]

Sounds bad for Ducky... Hope she get warmed up. But not too fast or it will give her one hell of a heart attack. Well that what I know about it when trying to warm someone up from freezing. Slowly get the warmer so their bodies get stable.

-Threehorn

[Petrie]

I was laughing at the sight of a pissed off Ducky because that's not typical.  I really like how you went through and showed how hard times can change the emotions of one...that was amazing.  I'm positive Ducky survives this without catching hypothermia.

There's not much to fix this time...did you happen to go and re-edit this before you posted it?

[Malte279]

Hi!
Yes, I did reread the chapter before posting it. A few days ago something really annoying happened to me. I was doing some correction work for the story. I had finished the corrections of chapter one you suggested (and you are going to get a mail from me with just a few questions about some of the corrections) and I had made sure that in the whole story Littlefoot’s grandpa and his grandma won’t be named as his –grandfather“ or –grandmother“ a single time. Luckily I had saved after that, so at least this part was saved.
Reading this you may already anticipate what happened later. I was ridding the whole story of sentences which begin with the conjunction “and”. This was a mistake which I made very, very often throughout the story, and each case must be considered and corrected individually. Sometimes one can simply delete the “and” and make sure that the next word begins with a capital letter. Sometimes the “and” needs to be replaced by a different word (I frequently used “suddenly” here if it fitted into the context), and in a very few cases of direct speech from the characters the “and” at the beginning of a sentence works out just fin (you even hear it throughout the movies). It was quite some work, but finally I had corrected this mistake throughout the whole stories. And what happened? When I hit the “save” button I got some weird error notification and “Word” broke down without saving any of the corrections done after page 60  :angry:
Of course I was really frustrated at this. Oh well ... happens  

You are going to see more scenes of an angry Ducky in “Old Threehorns”, but there it is much more serious than it is here.

[Akiko Okami]

I like this a lot, quite interesting so far, and I also was amused at seeing Ducky's little fit of rage.   Although it was 'out of character' for her, I could easily see it actually happening...extreme hardships, or weather in this case, can make the sweetest of characteres reach their edge. It's great so far, keep writing...can't wait to see what happens next. I've had that happen with word too, so I know how you feel.

[Malte279]

Chapter III

The Burning Mountain was a sinister site and usually it was avoided by every saurian as nobody could tell when the mountain would spit fire and glowing lava next time. When they reached the base of the Burning Mountain Littlefoot stopped and cast an anxious look up to its summit. The ground here was warmer than anywhere else, and the mountain itself was completely free of snow. Above the fiery pit, the giant crater of the Burning Mountain, was a red gleam of fire which flashed up time and again, and a threatening grumbling could be heard whenever it did. Ashes rained down on Littlefoot and the others and covered the ground around with a gray layer. The Burning Mountain always seemed uncomfortable, but usually they could avoid to get very close to it, this time however they had to intrude its nearest nearness. Littlefoot looked back for Spike with Ducky and Petrie. Spike had caught up with him, had stopped too and eyed the mountain with an anxious mien just like Littlefoot had done. “Up there?” asked Petrie shivering. Littlefoot nodded. “Yes! Come along we must get on!” Spike cast a surreptitious look behind. But then he remembered Ducky who had ceased trembling on his back. She simply sat there, very stiffly, and Petrie had to hold her to stop her from falling down from Spike’s back. Spike plodded on determinedly over the layer of ashes and Littlefoot ran ahead to look out for a suitable lava vent.

Cera ran, closely followed by Ducky’s mother, towards the Burning Mountain. She had told her in great haste about what had happened and about what the others were going to do. Ducky’s mother had been shocked, when Cera told here what the others were going to do with Ducky. “To the Burning Mountain?!” she had cried and started to overwhelm Cera with a flood of reproaches. Cera however hadn’t listened to that very long, but had told Ducky’s mother to follow her, and had run off. Now Cera had reached the base of the mountain and looked around searching. Ducky’s mother caught up and asked impatiently: “Where is Ducky? And where is Spike?” Cera had discovered footprints in the layer of ash. They were already halfway masked by new ashes, but still the outlines of Littlefoot’s and Spike’s feet were clear to be seen. “They have gone past here. We follow their trails!” called Cera and ran on. She wanted to find the others as quickly as possible, if it were only to calm Ducky’s mother. The trails led directly up the steep, rugged slope of the mountain and finally behind a big rock. As she turned around it Cera spotted the others. Ducky sat, encircled by Littlefoot, Spike and Petrie, next to a vent in the ground. Hazes of steam rose above the vent, and the lava that filled the vent’s ground glowed red and orange. Ducky’s mother ran past Cera towards her daughter. Littlefoot, Petrie and Spike had heard them coming and stepped aside, to make room for her. None of them said a word. Cera ran over to them.
“How is she?” she asked Littlefoot quietly.
“I don’t know.” He whispered back. “But I believe that she is on the way of recovery.”
He added louder. Ducky had heard her mother coming too. She turned her head to her and tried to smile a bit, but she didn’t really succeed.
“Ducky is everything alright with you?” her mother asked worried.
“I’m better than before. But I’m cold!” Ducky breathed.
Her mother eyed her examining, sighed relieved after a while, turned to Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie and Spike, who approached expectantly and gave them a relieved smile.
“She is alright! And she’ll recover soon, I guess!” she said audibly eased.
Loud cheers from Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie and Spike were the response.
Ducky’s mother remembered how she had overwhelmed Cera with reproaches before.
She bent down to her and said: “I’m sorry for what I said a little while ago. I was so upset. But if you hadn’t brought Ducky here then...”, she broke off.
“It’s Okay!” Cera mumbled a bit shy.
A thudding, rumbling followed her words and everybody’s eyes turned up to the crater, above which the gleam flashed up brightly.
“Nevertheless we should get away from here as fast as possible!” said Ducky’s mother while she turned to the children.
Littlefoot had gone to Ducky, eyed her for a moment and then he asked: “Do you believe that you can walk?”
“I guess so.” Ducky answered quietly. She stood up, made some awkward steps, tripped and fell down longitudinal. Fortunately the layer of ashes had softened her fall.
Littlefoot shock his head wordlessly and lifted Ducky on his back carefully.
“Come on kids!” shouted Ducky’s mother and they set in motion. When they had reached the base of the Burning Mountain the nipping coldness in the Valley fell upon them even harder than before. Spike looked back to the Burning Mountain. Now from a little more distance it didn’t look threatening at all and Spike almost thought of returning to the pleasant warmth. Suddenly Ducky began to whimper quietly on Littlefoot’s back: “I’m so cold!”
Her mother looked around and went into the leafless thicket that sprouted to their both sides.
The children looked after her confused. She returned after a few moments and she seemed to have found what she had been looking for. In her hands Ducky’s mother held a big fern-leaf. Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Spike and Ducky looked even more bewildered. They knew this rare sort of fern. It was absolutely inedible, way too stringy for any leafeater’s teeth.
But Ducky’s mother didn’t seem to intend to eat the leaf. She went over to Littlefoot and laid the leaf around Ducky’s shoulders. “Hold it! It protects you from the coldness a little bit”,
she explained and Ducky did as she was told. Indeed she noticed how she became warmer after a few moments. They set in motion again and soon arrived at the nests of Ducky and her family. Littlefoot set Ducky, who still clasped to the fern-leaf her mother had given her, down carefully.
“Do you feel better now, Ducky?” her mother asked.
Ducky nodded: “Yep mummy!”
“Very well!” she looked at Littlefoot and the others and asked them: “Would you please stay with Ducky? I got to go away once more!”
Littlefoot, Cera and Petrie nodded. “Yes, of course we stay with Ducky!” said Littlefoot while he advanced a step. Ducky’s mother nodded and turned to go.
“But where do you want to go at such a late time?” Cera called after her with a look up to the sun that began to disappear behind mountain’s tops at the western brink of the Valley in the already. But Ducky’s mother went on without answering and even seemed to accelerated her steps. Cera looked after her frowning. Ducky’s mother had certainly heard her! It looked almost as if she didn’t want to answer the question. Littlefoot had noted it too.
He changed a surprised look with Cera and then shrugged.
Petrie flapped over to Ducky’s nest and asked: “Really everything again is well with you Ducky? Hm?”
Ducky nodded: “Yes Petrie, I think so. But I would have liked to renounce this bath!”
Hearing that Cera stepped forth with a somewhat sly grinning and said:
“You wanted to swim a short while ago! Now you’ve swum and you’re still not satisfied. What do you want?” Ducky cast an extremely angry look at Cera so the grinning vanished from her face. For a moment Ducky looked at Cera and the others grimly, but then her features relaxed and she mumbled reflectively: “Yes Cera. You’re right; somehow.”
And suddenly Ducky started to laugh loudly. Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie and Spike chimed in. They hadn’t laughed for a very long time, so they really enjoyed it. For a moment they even forgot about the coldness, until Petrie suddenly stopped laughing. He looked down to the river and what he saw worried him.
“Look!” he croaked and pointed down at the river bank. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, and Spike stopped laughing too and looked into the given direction.

[Malte279]

Chapter IV

Down by the river stood Ducky’s mother. She seemed to be deeply engaged in a talk with Littlefoot’s grandparents. Cera recognized also her father nearby Littlefoot’s grandparents and just in that moment Petrie’s mother landed on a low tree beside them. Many other grownup dinosaurs had gathered around and more and more of them were coming from all directions down to the river bank.
“I do not like that! Oh no, no, no!” mumbled Ducky and crept out of her nest.
“When the grownups gather, then this means trouble most time”, said Cera.
“Let’s go there! Then we’ll know what all that is about.”
“You no really believe grownups will us let listen?” croaked Petrie.
Littlefoot shrugged and said: “Let’s try! Then we’ll know it.”
“Well then, come on!” said Cera and set in motion towards the river bank.
Littlefoot followed her after a short hesitating; very suddenly he had a very uneasy feeling like a foreboding. Spike wanted to lift Ducky upon his back again, but she gave a sign of refusal, threw the leaf, she had clung to till now away, and ran off herself.
Her nest lay on a low hill on whose slopes lay only a thin sheet of snow so Ducky had no problems to walk on it. Petrie swung up into the air too, and Spike hurried to catch up with the others. There was not a great need to hurry for Spike, for Cera had stopped some distance from the grownups. She hesitated and cast a look back. Littlefoot just caught up with her.
He noticed how nervous Cera seemed to be and felt pretty precarious himself. Now Ducky and Petrie, and a moment later Spike, arrived by them. Each of them seemed to feel this unpleasant, uneasy feeling.
Some seconds passed then Littlefoot went on slowly and the others followed him hesitantly. Nearly the very moment they reached the grownups the sun disappeared behind the mountains completely. The sky shone in deep red where it had vanished. At the other horizon the sky was already dark blue. Usually it was nest time when the bright circle was not to be seen anymore, but since the beginning of the cold time the bright circle was on the sky only for such a short time, that nobody stuck to that rule anymore. Littlefoot thronged through between two grownups, closely followed by the others. He and the others tried to call as little attention as possible on themselves, but Littlefoot’s grandpa had spotted them immediately.
He frowned and bent his head down to them. But before he was able to say anything Littlefoot’s grandma had stepped aside him and murmured in his ear:
“Let them stay! They will hear it in any case, so why shouldn’t they yet?”
She had spoken quietly, but since there was complete silence around, Littlefoot, the others and even the other grownups had understood every word. Littlefoot’s grandpa looked at her doubtful and then he cast a look around. None of the other grownups seemed to want to raise any objections, so Littlefoot’s grandpa nodded to them to show his permission to stay. Then he raised his head, cast a look in every direction and asserted that nearly every grownup saurian of the Valley was present. He cleared his throat and everyone fell silent.
Littlefoot’s grandpa began to speak with an earnest mien. “My dear friends! As you all noticed the cold time lasts longer already than we are accustomed to, and nothing indicates that it will get warmer soon!”
A troubled murmuring set in. Littlefoot picked up some pieces of talks. They promised nothing good. Littlefoot became more and more fidgety; a terrible misgiving came over him. He looked back for the others. They too seemed to be worried, even frightened.
Littlefoot’s grandpa waited for an instant until the murmuring had died down before he continued: “The coldness seems to increase with every day, the food runs shorter and shorter and today...”, Littlefoot’s grandpa bent his head down to Ducky, “...the coldness has almost cost the life of one of our children!” Again a polyphonic murmuring arose and everybody’s eyes turned to Ducky. Intimidated Ducky stood back a few steps and then ran over to her “little brother” Spike. Gradually the jumble of voices died down again and Littlefoot’s grandpa continued: “It is hard to say this...”, he stopped and cast a pitiful, nearly pleading look to Littlefoot. It was completely silent. Even the cold wind had stopped to blow for that moment. In that moment Littlefoot’s misgiving solidified to certainty.
Now he knew what his grandpa had meant then with his words. “It could become possible that we’ll have to do something you can’t imagine to do at the moment.”
The words of his grandpa danced through Littlefoot’s mind and now he knew for sure what they meant. “...but we’ll have to leave the Great Valley!” Littlefoot’s grandpa ended his sentence and Littlefoot’s last hopes that his misgiving might not fulfil. Somehow Littlefoot had known for long that this would happen, but he hadn’t wanted to admit that.
“Of course we should migrate all together”, Littlefoot’s grandpa added hasty when he saw the horrified faces of Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike. Some seconds of utter silence followed and then the burst of talking of the grownups started anew far louder and far more polyphonic than before. Littlefoot had stepped forth from the row of the other saurians unconsciously and starred up to his grandpa. He returned his look pitiful.
Littlefoot wanted to say anything, but it was as if an invisible hand pushed on his throat.
“You ain’t serious!” shouted Cera. She had run forward some steps and looked up to Littlefoot’s grandpa angry. The face of Littlefoot’s grandpa became even more sorrowful, but he didn’t say anything.
“We can’t go away from here! Here we are at home!” Cera nearly cried it and she still starred at Littlefoot’s grandpa fiercely and challenging. Some shouts from the crowd became audible. Most of them agreed with Cera. Littlefoot ran over to Cera and tried to shove her back into the semicircle that had formed around his grandpa.
“Cera come back! It...”
“Leave me alone!” cried Cera furiously and starred at Littlefoot so hostile that ht fell back from her instinctively. But Cera shouted on: “If you longnecks are such cowards, then get lost! I’ll stay!”
Littlefoot twitched under her words like under a blow. Cera had pronounced the word “longnecks” derogatory like an insult. Littlefoot lowered his head threatening and starred at Cera lurking. Cera pawed with one of her hooves and lowered her horned head too.
In this moment a big foot stamped between them. Cera and Littlefoot looked up surprised. It was Cera’s father, Daddy Tops.
He cast a stern look on both of them and then he said to his daughter: “That’s enough Cera!” And turned to Littlefoot’s grandpa he continued: “But my daughter is right longneck! Where should we go at all, if we would leave the Great Valley?”
It seemed that Littlefoot’s grandpa had expected and thought over this question as he answered immediately: “Among us are some who come from the direction where the bright circle stands at it’s highest point, before it sets again behind the mountains to reappear the next morning behind the mountains on the other side of the Valley, and a new day begins. Everybody who comes from there has told that it was much warmer there than it has ever been here in the Great Valley. So I think we should turn in that direction. I hope that we’ll find a warm place where enough green food grows for all of us.
Some day this cold time will end too! Then we’ll be able to return to the Great Valley!” Littlefoot uttered a short sigh of relief at this words, as so for it had sounded as if his grandpa planned to leave the Great Valley forever. Again a murmuring ran through the crowd and died down gradually. Sad nodding was visible everywhere. Everybody had to accept that the only other possibility was to stay and to hope for a wonder.
Finally Cera’s father advanced another step and asked quietly: “And when shall we go longneck?”
“As soon as possible! Tomorrow morning if we can, for there is hardly anything left to eat already now! Unfortunately we’ve really no other choice my friends”, answered Littlefoot’s grandpa and bowed his head on the long neck. No further objections were raised and so it was a settled affair. Nevertheless not everybody seemed to be convinced. A few of the grownups went away and apparently seemed to be determined to stay in the Valley. Most of them however stayed and discussed the details. But Littlefoot didn’t listen anymore.
He looked over to Cera because he hadn’t forgotten her words from a short while ago.
She had retired a short distance and lain down below a big, bare tree.
There Littlefoot noted tears in Cera’s eyes and suddenly he realized what was behind Cera’s behavior. He went over to her slowly. Petrie, Ducky and Spike approached too. When Cera heard them coming she wiped the tears away hasty and as inconspicuous as possible, stood up and looked towards them. Nobody spoke.
“It must be a bad dream! It is not true!” Cera mumbled finally.
Littlefoot nodded, but shook his head the next moment: “It is no dream! It is really true!” Ducky jumped with one leap down from Spike’s back on which she had climbed to escape the grownups’ attention. “It really always means trouble when the grownups are gathering!
It should be forbidden to them! Yep, yep, yep! That should be done!” she shouted annoyed. “And what would be changed by that? My grandpa is right after all! What else can we do if we want to survive?” Littlefoot interjected.
The others kept dismayed quietness.
The voice of Ducky’s mother startled them: “Ducky, Spike come along! Tomorrow will be a strenuous day!” Ducky nodded and leaped on Spike’s back.
“See you tomorrow!” she called with a sadly mien and waved them for parting.
Spike cast a look on them that said more than words and trotted after Ducky’s mother then. “Petrie we must fly home! It is already late!” Petrie’s mother called.
“See you!” mumbled Petrie and disappeared with some flaps in the darkness that had fallen over the Valley meanwhile.
Littlefoot and Cera remained. Cera’s father still seemed to talk intensely with Littlefoot’s grandparents, but most of the other grownups had disappeared in the meantime.
Cera cast a hasty look around to make sure that nobody else was within hearing and then she approached Littlefoot and whispered to him: “Sorry for what I’ve said before.”
Littlefoot knew how difficult such a confession was for Cera and it was for Cera, as for everybody else, very hard to come to terms with leaving the Great Valley. He didn’t want to make it even harder for her, so he nodded and said quietly: “Its alright Cera!”
“Anyhow I’ve anticipated that this would happen.”
“Yes, so have I. And we were not the only ones. Nearly everybody seemed to anticipate it.” This time Cera nodded. Suddenly she looked up. She had seen her father and Littlefoot’s grandparents approaching from of the corner of her eyes.
“Good night Littlefoot!” she called and went over to her father.
“Sleep well!” shouted Littlefoot after her before he turned away and followed his grandparents to his nest.
 

[Littlefoot1616]

Looking good Malte! Seriously guys. I've read both of Malte's stories and I always recommend his work! For a non-native English speaker, the vocabulary is excellent and (minus a few mistakes here and there) his tales are just sooo interesting to read! I can't wait for your upcoming novel Malte! You just gotta let me have a glance at that when you're done!!!

[Malte279]

Chapter V

As announced they set off very early the next morning. The bright circle still seemed to touch the mountains’ tops at the brink of the Valley. It shone in glaring red and orange and colored the cloudless sky around. Above the other end of the Valley the sky was still deep blue and some stars twinkled there. The dinosaurs had eaten nearly nothing for breakfast, since nearly nothing was there, and now they hurried to leave the Valley. Littlefoot had noted that not nearly all saurians were present and he had asked his grandfather about the others.
His grandfather had answered gravely: “They want to stay here and we couldn’t persuade them to come along. It is their decision. But Littlefoot...”, his grandfather had continued when he had seen Littlefoot’s dismay, “...don’t worry too much about them. They are so few that indeed the little food that is left in the Great Valley may lasts for them... I hope!”
The grownups removed some big boulders that blocked a way from the Valley into the Mysterious Beyond, broad enough, even for the grownups, to pass through. In the meantime Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, Ducky and Petrie stood a bit apart and watched the rise of the bright circle. The white snow that covered the whole Valley reflected the sunlight and shone in the same colors as the sky. The innumerable leafless trees contrasted dismally from the snow that had kept its white color within the tree’s shadows. In spite of everything it was a beautiful sight thought Littlefoot, and he realized they were not the only ones who watched the Great Valley a last time, as if to say goodbye. All the children stood around and it could be read from their faces they would have favored to go back.
Even Hyp, Nod and Mutt stood among the other children and remained uncustomary silent. Since the time of great giving they had become far more affable, but still they tended to show how tough they considered themselves and they also were not the kind who ever let an opportunity for a quarrel slip. Others, especially the younger ones didn’t seem to understand what was going on at all. Cera suddenly felt how she was nudged two times by somebody;
she looked back. Behind her stood the twins Dinah and Dana. “Wenus gogo bag auntie Ceri?” “They want to know when we’ll go back”, interpreted Ducky. Cera nodded. She didn’t need Ducky’s translation, for meanwhile she had a certain practice in understanding what the little ones wanted to tell her. Moreover the question could nearly be read from their faces.
Not only the twins but also Littlefoot, Ducky, Spike and Petrie looked at Cera expectantly, nearly as if their return would depend on Cera’s answer. “Dunno when we’ll go back”, Cera answered sadly. “But I fear that it could take quite a while.” With that she turned away in a  nearly jerky manner. It was hard to leave the Great Valley and it would become even harder if she didn’t tore herself away from its sight. Cera went slowly towards the passage the grownups had created in the meantime. She hesitated shortly and then traversed it. The others followed her brooding in silence.

They didn’t know for how many days they were on the move. Since the grownups had blocked the passage carefully with boulders after they had left the Valley nothing of importance had happened anymore. During the first few days the younger ones had asked again and again the question after the time of return. But this question grew more and more rare with every day, until at last it stopped completely. During the days they rested only when they would have been absolutely unable to walk on without a break. Whenever they did take a rest the dinosaurs dispersed as far as possible and searched for hard frozen grass that was nearly the only food to be found. Initially Littlefoot, his friends and probably everybody else had hoped that it would get warmer soon after leaving of the Great Valley. But after the climate hadn’t changed the least after several days of marching they gave up this hope gradually. The fall of snow that stretched over the whole landscape from one horizon to the other didn’t get any thinner either. Some had perhaps given up any hope to ever see a green landscape without snow again. But they were regardful enough not to say that aloud.
Now and then Petrie’s mother and the other grownup flyers flew ahead filled with the hope to reach the horizon where the fall of snow would end finally. But they always returned with the same disappointing report, that the warmer regions were still not in sight. But they went on; in the morning the sun stood to their one in the evening to their other side. Usually they set off long before sunrise and stopped only long after sunset, as the days hadn’t become longer either. The children were urged by the grownups not to look on the sunlit snow too long. They had explained them that the bright light on the snow could injure the eyes. The grownups themselves too tried to keep their eyes in their own shadows. Some of them were appointed by turns to stand sentry at night while the others slept. The guards were relieved several times by others during the nights so nobody had to be awake for the whole night, which would have certainly disabled anyone to continue the journey the next day. Littlefoot had asked his grandfather what the guards had to protect them off anyway in this desolate lands and his grandfather had explained that the coldness was the main reason. He told him it was dangerous to sleep by this coldness without anybody else awake who could awake the others later. Many others had frozen to death, as they simply hadn’t woken up again by themselves. They moved straight on and left a broad trail behind in the snow, a fact that didn’t contribute to calm the grownups. Every sharptooth would have been able to find and follow the trail easily. But neither did they meet a sharptooth, nor any other being. Once Littlefoot believed to see a flyer far, far away, but he wasn’t sure. The landscape seemed to be downright deserted. Still they didn’t seem to be the only ones who migrated in the direction of the bright circle’s highest stand, because, though they didn’t meet any being, they found tracks several times that led in the direction they went too. They tried to avoid the tracks as far as possible however, knowing that if a herd had passed through before there wasn’t going to be any green food left ahead. The only good fact was that the weather stayed as it had been all the time. The sky was clear most time and nothing indicated that new snow could fell. The sun shone and in its shine they became a bit warmer sometimes while only occasionally a slight cool breeze passed gently over the snow-covered land.

[Malte279]

Chapter VI

“I don’t believe we’ll ever reach warmer regions”, said Cera earnestly while she chewed on some hard frozen blades of grass braking the silence that prevailed between them most of the time since the departure from the Great Valley. They rested on a large steppe, and as usually the saurians had scattered over the whole plain to search for food below the fall of snow, though the sun stood already close to the mountains that bordered the plain at the western horizon. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike and Petrie however had stayed together as usual.
The others froze in their motions upon hearing Cera’s words and looked up to her. Littlefoot swallowed some grasses and replied with a nearly pleading look: “Cera, don’t say that!”
Cera shrugged slightly. “But it is true”, she said with a pretended indifference.
“How do you know?!” Littlefoot answered with beginning rage; a deep crease had formed on his forehead. Cera lowered her head threateningly and opened her mouth for a sharp answer. Ducky, Petrie and Spike changed an alarmed look.
“Not quarrel again!” Petrie croaked crossly while he flapped towards Cera and landed on her horn. He eyed her sternly and cast a reproachful look at Littlefoot.
“Stop it! Both of you!” shouted Ducky too and jumped with some quick leaps over to Littlefoot whereby she tried to pass only places where they had pawed the deep snow aside during their forage for food. Spike nodded fiercely swallowing down a thin cluster of grass. Cera fell back one step. For a moment she seemed to play with the thought to blow Petrie from her horn with a snort. Littlefoot’s annoyed look alternately met Cera’s and Ducky’s. Ducky stood in front of him, her arms set akimbo and frowning up at him. Finally he shook his head with a sigh and nodded the next moment.
“You’re right”, he said quietly to Ducky, Petrie and Spike and a bit louder he said to Cera: “They are right. Nothing will become better if we start to quarrel now.”
Cera closed one eye halfway, fixed him with her other eye and held her head a bit slanted to be able to look past Petrie, who through this motion of her could barely hold on to her horn. Littlefoot looked at her a bit grieved. Finally she nodded too with a quiet sigh, robbing Petrie finally of his balance and sending him falling down into the deep snow.
“But we are going on and on and nothing changes”, said Cera and the others fell into affected silence. Petrie struggled out of the snow, shook the snow away, swung up into the air and flew in circles several times to warm up.
“I just wish that anything would happen!” Cera said sadly.
A sudden, cold squall arose before Cera had even finished. Petrie was whirled around in the air and managed to cling to Spike, while he wobbled past him, in the very last moment.
They cast a frightened look up to the sky and could hardly trust their eyes at the sight.
Few minutes before the sky had been completely clear, apart from a few thin, tattered clouds at the horizon, but just in this moment the shadow of a giant cloudbank that approached with terrific speed lay over them. It were dark gray clouds that piled up high, and there was no doubt that snow would fall from these clouds. A strong gust of wind brought the first flakes.
“Are you pleased now?” grumbled Ducky and looked at Cera as if it was her fault.
The threehorn prepared for a sharp answer but Littlefoot shouted hasty: “We must return to the grownups! Quick!”
As he spoke he turned round and ran off as fast as he could. The sky continued to darken, the wind became stronger and it was so cold, that the chill forced tears into Littlefoot’s eyes.
The sight became poorer with every step Littlefoot made, but he recognized the herd gathered on the plain. He ran as fast as he could, but that was not very fast, for he had to struggle against the wind that had become a real storm in the meantime and that blew straight into his face. They seemed to be the last ones who were not with the herd. Littlefoot recognized from the distance that the grownups had formed a circle around the children to protect them from the snow and the cold wind. Moments later the herd was only discernable as a dark shadow in the snowdrift. Littlefoot believed to recognize his grandparents when the storm lulled for a moment. It was the last thing he saw of them for a long while.
A strong blast swept across. Littlefoot closed his eyes fiercely and stopped. When he blinked again he saw nothing but the wall of snowflakes, which surrounded him from all sides and that seemed to become denser with every second. Littlefoot cast a careful look up to the sky. Everything he saw was a mass of innumerable white spots, that were whirled around by the wind until they touched the ground after all. Some snowflakes fell directly into Littlefoot’s eyes so he has to shut them again. He shook off the snowflakes that had landed on him and  rubbed fiercely over his smarting eyes. When he opened them again he cast a look back.
His heart missed a beat, for there was nobody!
He hadn’t paid attention on Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike to see if they followed him.
He had simply taken for granted that they would. And probably they had, but possibly they had progressed not as fast as he had and lost sight of him. Perhaps they had called for him and he hadn’t heard them because of the storm’s howling. Littlefoot whirled around.
“Cera!” he shouted as loud as he could; he got no answer. “Petrie, Ducky, Spike?” No answer. Littlefoot knew it was senseless. Nobody who was not even in sight would hear him in this din, and the range of sight amounted to only few meters. Littlefoot noticed how a thin blanket of snow began to cover him. He couldn’t remain standing on the spot!
Hasty he looked around. Where should he go? Where was the herd? And where were the others? He had lost his bearings completely. It was all the same in which direction he looked, everywhere was only the wall of falling snowflakes. He looked for his tracks from before, but he didn’t find them; the new snow had already covered them up. He didn’t even know roughly where the herd had to be. The wind changed its direction every few moments so it was no help for Littlefoot to orientate himself either. Finally he chose one direction and set in motion, not at least to get warmer. First he ran, but then he became slower and slower. Sometimes he had to lean against the wind with all his might not to be torn from his feet. Littlefoot’s ears, his nose and feet, everything hurt. He knew that he was on the wrong way. Had it been the right direction, he would have reached the herd for long. He wondered if Cera, Ducky, Spike and Petrie had made to reach the herd, or if they were in the same situation as he. Of course he hoped for them that they had reached the herd, but on the other hand he wished that they would be there. Along with them he was never really unsure what to do, but now he didn’t know what to do further. He was alone. Completely alone...
Suddenly a blast swept across that was strong enough to tear him from his feet and send him sprawling into the soft snow. He raised his head and starred into the snowdrift that surrounded him from all sides. He wanted to stand up but then he let himself relapse feeling so tired suddenly that he could hardly keep his eyes open. And the snow felt so pleasantly soft suddenly.
“I must stay awake!” he though, feeling that he couldn’t. The very last moment before his eyes closed he saw a shadow in the snow squall.
A shadow?! Littlefoot cast his eyes open again and immediately he recognized the shadow. “Cera!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “Cera I’m here!”
The shadow stopped moving and Littlefoot could discern a voice indistinctly. But the howling of the storm made it impossible to understand any words. Then the shadow approached. Littlefoot jumped up and ran to meet it. It was as if his lassitude had been blown away.
Cera appeared her head lowered and her eyes halfway closed from the wall of falling snowflakes.
“Littlefoot!” Cera cried to drown out the howling of the storm. “Gosh I’m sure glad I have found you!”
“So am I Cera! Are you alright?” Littlefoot cried back.
“Yes I think so. And you?”
Littlefoot simply nodded, because the crying was very strenuous in the long run; he already felt the slight scratching in the throat that announced the beginning hoarseness.
“Where are Petrie Ducky and Spike?” asked Littlefoot; and he croaked so much that he nearly sounded like Petrie. Cera made a helpless gesture and shrugged.
“Anywhere. Dunno where. I lost the sight of them shortly after you weren’t to be seen anymore. They have stayed together I believe.” Cera’s voice began to become husky too.
Littlefoot signified Cera that they had to go on with a gesture. Cera nodded and she didn’t budge from Littlefoot’s side. It was a calming feeling not to be completely alone anymore. They took new courage.

[Petrie]

I'll catch up later tonight....that's a promise.  I just keep forgetting these are here, and when I see the length, I have to get some work done beforehand so I can take a good look at these without worrying if I'll get this or that done today.

[Petrie]

Read it....and I'm impressed.  You've done a great job of translating this into English and I like the drama of the last chapter there--lost in a blizzard.  I wonder if they're going to make it through all of this....

[Malte279]

Chapter VII

They didn’t know how long they had plodded through the snowdrift already. Not only had they lost their bearings but also the feeling for time. But for sure it was already in the midst of night, as it had become even darker in the meantime.

They hadn’t spoken a single word since their meeting for they tried to save their strengths for walking on rather than trying to shout at each other over the din of the blizzard. Their feet, noses and ears were nearly unfeeling and they moved on almost mechanically as if somebody else would control their steps.
Both of them had nearly fallen asleep several times. Every time when their eyes closed involuntary they startled and cast them widely open, but the cold wind and the snowflakes forced them immediately to close their eyes to as narrow slits as possible without blocking their sight entirely which didn’t make their struggle against the desire to sleep any easier. Though they fought against it with all their willpower they always relapsed into the drowsy semi-conscious state, they had been in before the startle, within a few moments.
Littlefoot felt a slight push in the side; he nearly didn’t perceive it. A second push hit him so violently that he screamed out painfully and cast the eyes open startled. Apparently he had actually fallen asleep for some seconds. As if through a thin wall he heard Cera’s voice.
She spoke directly into his ear not to be forced to cry too loud.
“Littlefoot! Wake up! You mustn’t fall asleep! Wake up!”
“I’m already awake!” mumbled Littlefoot so quietly that Cera probably didn’t understand the sense of his words. Littlefoot stood up groaning and rubbed his hurting side whereby he cast an angry look on Cera’s horn. Cera put on a pardon mien, but it became grimly one a few  moments later.
“What else should I’ve done? Leave you behind? You would not get up any other way!”
Cera shouted angrily drowning out the blizzard’s howling. Littlefoot had to recognize that and cried back: “Sorry Cera. I know you meant no harm. Thanks!”
Cera nodded and her look became more conciliatory again.
That moment the wind calmed down completely for some instants and it became very quiet.
The howling of the storm still lingered in Littlefoot’s and Cera’s ears but both of them could clearly hear the lamenting that only one could utter in this pitch; Spike!
Littlefoot jerked onto his feet and Cera whirled around too to the direction from where the lamenting came.
They couldn’t see him, but nevertheless they were sure, that it was him.
“Spike!” they shouted like out of one mouth and heard the lament end a moment later.
Nearly in the same instant the storm burst out again with all its might, so it was impossible to hear each other again. Littlefoot fought against the wind into the direction from where they had heard Spike; Cera followed him hasty. The blizzard was almost stronger even, than it had been before; they could hardly see their own feet any longer. Littlefoot made another step, and didn’t feel ground below his feet anymore. He cried out frightened when he tumbled down into the deep. Cera almost leaped after Littlefoot when suddenly he wasn’t to be seen in front any more.
“Littlefoot what...?” She never finished the question. She too lost the ground below her feet, fell and landed in soft snow. The next moment she fell asleep at last.

[Fox MacCoy]

This is what I mean, Malte! Excelent work. Nice translation!