The Cold Time

[Malte279]

Thanks a lot Fox!  
I appreciate your feedback very much!
There is a little flaw to be found in the picture though. Especially Cera's legs are too long and too thin (which I regret to admit is a mistake I made more than once).

[Digi-Dragon]

Well, considering this is two years old I don't think you'll be getting around to finishing it, but I migt as well review... *thread necromancy*

The story is intriguing and, while many have probably thought of the basic idea before, I haven't seen it done before. Some of the phrasing is a little awkward, but considering English isn't your first language, this is pretty darn good. I would love to one day see the whole thing completed, but if this is all you have, that's fine. Great job, I say. ^_^

[Malte279]

Sorry, actually I finished this story back in 2001 (translation in 2002) but in fact I forgot this thread even existed. You did more necromancy than you thought you did. Chapter VIII will be up in a moment. I made many mistakes back then I probably wouldn't make today anymore, but still my English is not perfect. I'm working on it. Any suggestions, opinions, pieces of criticism are very welcome  

[Malte279]

Chapter VIII

When the sun rose the next morning everything appeared as if the terrible blizzard, which had been raging for nearly the whole night, had never happened. The sky was again of a shining blue. Not a single cloud was on the sky and only a thin haze was above the horizon. It was calm and the bright sun’s beams warmed the herd that was recuperating from the hard night on the plain.
The grownups began to move around aimlessly to reanimate their nearly frozen limbs.
The circle they had formed around the children during the whole night began to break up. Littlefoot’s grandmother counted the children for the third time, but she came to the same upsetting result than before, Littlefoot was not among them. She closed her eyes and turned to Littlefoot’s grandfather slowly. “He is really not here!”
Littlefoot’s grandfather nodded. He had already sought for Littlefoot himself everywhere at and around the resting place, but he hadn’t found him. Cera’s father and Ducky’s parents ran around restless. None of them spoke a word. They knew that their search was senseless, as they had already looked everywhere; but everything was better than to do nothing.
They had noticed the disappearance of their children already when the blizzard had burst out the evening before. Littlefoot’s grandparents had noticed the absence off their grandson first. They had informed Cera’s father and Ducky’s and Petrie’s parents and their worst misgivings had proved right. If one of the five was missing one could be nearly certain that the others would be gone too.
The only positive fact was that apart from Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike nobody from the herd was missed and that everybody had weathered the blizzard well.
Suddenly Littlefoot’s grandfather raised his head. “They are coming back”, he said quietly.
“Where?” Littlefoot’s grandmother surveyed the horizon excitedly.
“I didn’t mean our children”, Littlefoot’s grandfather said faintly. “The flyers are returning.” Littlefoot’s grandmother nodded with a disappointed sigh. From all directions small points appeared at the horizon, that turned out to be pterosaurs as they approached. Some hours ago the flyers had swarmed out to search for Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike and their fellow Petrie. Cera’s father and Ducky’s parents gathered with Littlefoot’s grandparents. The flyers spun some circles over the herd and confused chattering was audible. Finally the flyers scattered and Petrie’s mother, who was among them, landed in front of Littlefoot’s grandfather. Everybody looked at her expectantly.
It could be read from her face how unpleasant this was for her. She shook her head slightly. “Nobody has seen them. We haven’t found them”, she mumbled quietly. The disappointment could be read from everybody’s face. Ducky’s mother sniveled quietly and even the corners of Cera’s father’s mouth twitched uncontrolled.
Petrie’s mother seemed to find the silence even more uneasy than the others, so she continued with inconsiderable matters just to stop the silence:
“Over there...”, Petrie’s mother pointed into the direction from where she had come with her beak, “...far away is a valley. Like a giant hole in the ground, with a forest, some rocks and a river in it. But the trees are bare of leaves. There is not much more green food than there is here. The valley is snow covered and the river is frozen. There was no mark of the children anywhere.”
A long break set in during which nobody uttered a sound. Littlefoot’s grandfather felt terrible. He had taken the lead of the herd since the leaving of the Great Valley. So far this hadn’t meant anything special. The others followed him and he had to decide when it was time to rest and when it was time to go. He had always tried to meet his liabilities and to pay regard for those who were not as strong and tenacious as the others. But now he faced an important but dreadful decision; that was what herd leaders were for. He felt the responsibility for the whole herd resting on him as a heavy burden. He had to take all his will power together to make a decision and to announce it. “We must move on!” he said sadly.
Cera’s father flared up: “What?! You want to forsake our children longneck?!”
The words hurt Littlefoot’s grandfather, but he stayed calm. “I don’t want to forsake them friend. But we can’t stay here. There is not enough foot to nourish the herd around here. We’ve done what we could do to find our children. If they are not alive anymore...”,
these words were the hardest to pronounce for Littlefoot’s grandfather, the others starred at him horrified, Ducky’s mother sobbed and Littlefoot’s grandfather had to force himself to continue, “...there is nothing left we can possibly do for them. But if they are alive, they’ll find us. I’m sure about that. If we don’t go on, we’ll starve or freeze to dead. Believe me my friends; nothing could be harder for me than this decision. I can’t and I don’t want to force any of you to come along, but it is the only thing we can do if we want to survive!”
Silence.
At first Cera’s father had prepared for a very furious answer, but he had to accept, like all the other grownups, that Littlefoot’s grandfather was right. He let his eye travel over the endless snowfield where his daughter Cera had to be anywhere. Then he turned round.
“Let us go!” he said firmly, and continued the way of the last days. Only Littlefoot’s grandfather noted the slight shaking of his voice. The others followed him slowly one by one. Suddenly Cera’s father felt somebody nudging one of his legs. Looking back he saw the twins Dinah and Dana. “Auntie Ceri nono? Wen comes aunti Ceri back grampi threebe?”
they asked. It took Cera’s father a moment to understand what the little ones meant.
“I don’t know where auntie Cera is. Somewhere”, he made a movement with his head that enclosed the whole landscape around. “I don’t know when she’ll come back either.”
He gritted his teeth. “But maybe it will take her very long.”
Dinah and Dana looked at each other at a loss. Hadn’t Cera said something similar when they had asked her when they would return to the Great Valley? Cera’s father lifted both of them on his back and rejoined the passing herd again.

[Digi-Dragon]

Heh, oh wow! And I've always been told thread necromancy was a bad thing! Apparantly, it's not as bad as one would think.

Well, to talk about the chapter, I knew the kids wouldn't be found so soon (but it's annoying me that I don't know where they are...), but it's almost hard to think about their parents leaving without them. There's good reasoning, of course, but it was definately a hard choice. ... Of course, if anyone can find their way back to their family, these kids can. Anxiously awaiting the next chapter! ^_^

[Malte279]

We had some interesting results from necromancy. Sometimes points of view change over the time sometime now information is provided by new movies etc. Anyway here is the next chapter:

[Malte279]

Chapter IX

Quite a distance away, above the valley Petrie’s mother had told about, the sky looked just as clear and peaceful as it did above the herd’s resting place. Apart from the thick blanket of snow that covered the whole valley and the leafless trees nothing reminded of the night’s terrible blizzard. The valley looked just like Petrie’s mother had described it. It was not surrounded by mountains but resembled rather a giant hole or a meteoric crater in the surrounding plain that was only interrupted by some wavy hills. Only to the side where the sun would reach his highest stand during the day the crater bordered to high mountains whose steep, rugged tops and cliffs stood out gloomy and menacing against the horizon. The walls of the crater became steeper and steeper the closer they were to the crater’s brink, at which they were nearly perpendicular while they sloped easier and easier the closer you came to the ground of the crater. Altogether the crater’s walls were pretty high.
A meandering, river crossed the crater, flowing closely along one of its sides, and disappeared in a narrow canyon at the one end of the crater that bordered to the mountains. The crater was nearly as big as the whole Great Valley. Its ground was largely covered with dark leafless trees. But there were also a number of steep rocks and cliffs, some of which reached up nearly as high as the crater’s walls and didn’t really seem to fit into the crater. Everywhere there were smaller rocks and some long snowy spurs stretched from the rocky walls of the crater far into its interior. High banks of snow had piled up along the brinks of the valley where the snow had slid down from the steeper rocky walls into the deep until they came to rest at the point where the slopes were no longer steep enough to let the snow slide deeper.
At one point the snow of a snow bank near the brink of the crater began to stir suddenly.
It trembled and slipped away as if something was moving below the snowfall. Then Cera made her way through the blanket of snow with her horn. She fetched deep breath, relieved for being at the fresh air again. For her surprise it hadn’t even been cold below the snow, when she had woken up there a short while ago. She hadn’t had any idea where she was and she still didn’t now. But she remembered the blizzard, the reunion with Littlefoot and the fall. After that, it appeared, she had lost her consciousness and had been snowed in. Perhaps this was why she was still alive, for up here the air was so cold she decided not to think over what might have happened if the shielding snow blanket hadn’t covered her. But when she had woken up a short while ago she had been hardly able to breathe and she had started to dig in great haste. She hadn’t even been sure if she was digging in the right direction, as she had lost every sense for the direction. But she had been lucky. Cera yawned deeply for the stuffy air down there had made her pretty drowsy. But after a few more breaths she felt completely recovered and nothing was left of the night’s tiredness. She broadened the way out, she had dug with her horn and her hooves and propped out of the snow. Cera plodded in circles through the deep snow several times to reanimate her numb limbs. Then she looked around. She eyed the valley that spread out in front of her with a cursory look and then turned round into the other direction. Cera deigned the crater wall she had tumbled down in the night a grim look whereby she rubbed one of the hurting bruises she had suffered during the fall.
At the same time she was frightened at the thought of what might have happened if there hadn’t been the deep bank of snow she had landed in. Right here the rocky wall of the crater was comparatively low and it sloped less steep than elsewhere, as right here was at the ridge of a long spur. Had she fallen down somewhere else, the snow might not have done to soften her impact enough for her to get away with nothing but a few bruises, bumps and scratches. Suddenly she winced. “Littlefoot!” she shouted as loud as she could.
“Littlefoot can you hear me?” A bit snow trickled down the rocky wall and Cera stopped terrified. Her father had told her that noise could cause avalanches and an avalanche was really the last thing Cera needed now.
“Littlefoot?” she called with a far quieter voice and listened carefully.
“Littlefoot.” She nearly whispered it, lowered her head and bit on her lower lip.
What if Littlefoot hadn’t been as lucky as her? Her eyes began to smart.
“Cera! I’m here. Help me!” Littlefoot’s faint voice reached Cera’s ears only very damped. She closed her eyes for a short moment to drive away the smarting. Then she opened them again and looked around. She couldn’t see anybody.
“Littlefoot, I can’t see you. Where are you?” asked Cera. I’m down here. At least I believe that it is down. Get me out of here!” Cera had listened carefully to locate the direction from where the voice had come. She had followed the voice and now she stood in front of the hole in the snow she had crept out moments before. She moved her head carefully into the hole she had left under the snow and asked quietly: “Littlefoot, are you in here?”
“I’m here Cera.” She saw a movement at the back end of the hole. She waited until her eyes had accustomed to the dim twilight below the snow and then she recognized Littlefoot’s head. The rest of him was buried by the snow.
“I’m coming Littlefoot”, said Cera with a quieted voice and pressed through the narrow tunnel she had crept out into the little wider, but still very narrow cave she had left behind under the snow. It got pretty dark as Cera blocked most of the light that fell into the cave with her body. “I can hardly move Cera”, said Littlefoot and shoved some snow aside with his head.
“Get me out of here!”
Cera nodded curtly and began to scrape away the snow around Littlefoot’s head with her horn. Sometimes a little cold snow from the cave’s ceiling trickled on her nape and both of them cast alarmed looks upwards; the ceiling made not a very solid impression. Inside the cave it was so unpleasantly warm that Cera wished to be back outside at the fresh cool air. The air in here was so stuffy that both of them both felt drowsy and had to yawn very often. They made little progress, but finally Cera had dug out one of Littlefoot’s forelegs and from now on he did his best to assist Cera to shove away the snow. They had nearly exposed Littlefoot’s second foreleg when he suddenly heard a quiet ominous grating. Apparently Cera hadn’t noticed it, for she continued to dig with undiminished speed, but Littlefoot realized the whole ceiling began to move.
“Stop Cera!” he cried. Cera paused frightened, but it was already to late. The ceiling arched downwards deeper and deeper, a lot of snow began to trickle down on them, Cera shrieked terrified Littlefoot chimed in; and then the ceiling collapsed over them. Cera held her breath. She pedaled and kicked with all her limps and shrieked in panic. It took her some seconds to notice she was in the open air already. She stopped crying and looked around confused.
She was standing in loose snow that reached up to her shoulders in the midst of a deep pit above which the glaring blue morning sky cambered. She still shivered and only gradually she comprehended what had happened. Obviously the ceiling above them had been only very, very thin and when it had collapsed nothing had happened except for a little bit of snow falling onto them. She shook off a bit of snow that still lay on her back and turned to Littlefoot. His head on the long neck looked out from the snow directly aside her. He was looking so dumbfounded that Cera burst into laughter involuntarily.
It took Littlefoot a bit longer than Cera to understand what had happened. Slowly his features relaxed and he cast an angry and offended look at Cera before he joined in her laughter after all. They calmed down by and by and Littlefoot bothered to struggle himself out of the snow completely. Cera helped him to get the last snow away and to get free finally.
Littlefoot fetched some deep breaths of the cool air, just like Cera had done before him.
Still frolicsome they climbed out of the pit. But their cheerfulness came to an abrupt end when they looked around and didn’t see any being anywhere.
“Where are we here?” asked Littlefoot while he let his eye travel over the huge crater.
Cera shrugged and replied: “Why am I supposed to know that?”
Littlefoot turned round to the steep crater wall. “We must have fallen down there in the night”, he said and Cera nodded. “You have heard him too Cera, haven’t you?”
Littlefoot asked suddenly.
Cera looked at him confused. “Who do you mean?”
“Spike. I’ve heard him in the night. Just moments before we fell down here.”
“I’ve heard him too Littlefoot. But don’t you think that we both may have misheard?” Littlefoot thought about that for a moment and shook his head then. “No, we haven’t.
I’ve heard him quite distinctly. It must have been Spike!”
“Ducky and Petrie have stayed with him for sure. But even if we really did hear him, it does not mean forcibly that they are around here too.”
Some steps away the snow began to move suddenly. Something small, dark dug out from under the snow and shot, soon as it had reached the surface, some meters upwards into the air. Then the something stalled, spun, precipitated and crashed into the deep snow.
“Petrie?” Littlefoot and Cera shouted like out off one mouth and ran to the point where the tiny flyer had landed. Petrie shivered. It seemed the sudden shock of coldness had paralyzed him.
“Petrie! Are you alright?” asked Littlefoot while he lifted Petrie carefully out of the hole in the snow that had been caused by his impact.
“It cold!” croaked Petrie and his beak chattered.
“You should have grown accustomed to that in the meantime!” Cera said grimly and earned herself a rebuking look from Littlefoot. She didn’t say anything more.
“Are Ducky and Spike here too?” asked Littlefoot.
Petrie startled. Suddenly he didn’t seem to mind the paralyzing coldness anymore.
“You get them out of there! Hurry!” he croaked and began to dig at the point where he had made his way out of the snow, naturally without achieving too much with his small claws. Littlefoot and Cera too began to dig again immediately, and it didn’t take them very long to find Ducky. She shivered with coldness when they pulled her out of the snow. She coughed fiercely several times and looked around.
“Where is Spiky?” she asked before Littlefoot could even ask her about her wellbeing.
He knocked on the ground with one of his feet. “Probably still somewhere down there, Ducky. Is...” Ducky didn’t wait for Littlefoot’s question, but jumped with one leap from Cera’s back, Littlefoot had lifted her on and began to dig shouting:
“Then we must dig him out. Yes we must! Yep, yep, yep!” Littlefoot Cera and Petrie exchanged a meaningful smile. No doubt everything was alright with Ducky apart from occasionally coughing and sneezing. They dug on and finally they found Spike.
“Spiky we’re coming!” shouted Ducky as soon as she saw him, but Spike didn’t move. “Spike? Is everything okay little brother?” Ducky asked worriedly.
“Spike no can hear us now, Ducky! Dig we must on”, Petrie calmed Ducky, but everybody had an uneasy feeling that didn’t diminish and even increased as Spike persisted not to react to their shouts.
They got more and more worried. Finally they had dug out Spike almost completely.
It had been hard work and Cera let herself drop into the snow with a groan.
Ducky climbed on Spike’s back that lifted and lowered slightly through his breathes.
“Get up Spike!” she called. But Spike reacted neither to her nor to Littlefoot’s or Petrie’s calls. This scared even Cera. She stood up and approached Spike too.
“Could he be injured from the fall?” mumbled Littlefoot. He nearly whispered it, but everybody understood him. Ducky closed her eyes. When she opened them again it glistened in their corners. Petrie landed aside her; he looked very grieved too. Littlefoot and Cera exchanged an earnest look and Cera bent down to Spike. He breathed only very low, but evenly; whereby a quiet snorting was audible. He chewed and grunted quietly, pleased as if he would eat some green food.
Cera flared up and shouted indignantly: “He is just kiping! And we are drudging...”, she rammed her horn against Spike’s flank angrily.
Littlefoot gritted his teeth and sucked in air hissing. When Cera had rammed her horn against his side during the blizzard to wake him up it had hurt so much that he still felt it.
Spike jerked up and cast his eyes open wide.
“Up with you Spike!” shouted Cera angry and made ready for another butt.
“Cera stop it!” Littlefoot, Ducky and Petrie called like out of one mouth and stepped between her and Spike who looked around completely bewildered. He still seemed to be in his pleasant dream with half of his mind. Cera stopped in the motion and fell back one step.
She looked as if she would awake from a dream just like Spike had and seemed to be nearly scared about herself as she mumbled: “Sorry Spike. Maybe I was a bit violent.”
“A bit? Nope, nope, nope! Very violently! Yep, yep, yep!” said Ducky, but Littlefoot stepped between them to prevent the imminent quarrel and said:
“Its alright now! Cera has really reacted pretty rough, but she apologized and Spike has indeed given us quite a fright.”
Ducky grumbled: “That’s Spiky. He is a sound sleeper! Oh yes he is.” But as she wasn’t interested in a quarrel she grumbled it so quietly that Cera didn’t hear it.
“You mustn’t frighten us like that Spiky!” she said rebuking but unmistakably frantic with relief because Spike was unhurt. Spike nodded although he had apparently not understood at all what had happened, and it didn’t seem to interest him. He had put on his nearly perpetual good-natured smiling again. Ducky hugged one of his forelegs as good as she could and he drove his tongue through her face several times. “Spike, stop it!” called Ducky laughing. “Everything is alright with me, but I’m getting cold from this.” And she coughed several times. Spike stopped immediately, gave a surprised mumble, made a self conscious face and lifted Ducky upon his head.

[Digi-Dragon]

Great to see the gang's all back together again and (relatively) unharmed! This new valley worries me, though. I don't know why, but for some reason I have a feeling that there are going to be some not friendly dinosaurs there.

Of course, this may just be the pessimist in me. Maybe the gang'll find someone who can help them.

[Malte279]

Everything you guessed is both right and wrong
As the next Chapter is rather short I'll post the next two together. I'm really happy about your interest in the story
Thank you very much.
Chapter XI comes with a picture.

[Malte279]

Chapter X

After a short while Cera turned round and eyed the rocky wall of the crater. She fell back some steps to take a run and felt how the everybody’s eyes turned on her. She rushed forward as fast as she could. At first it was quite easy. The rocky slope was easy gradient, but the further she came the steeper it became and Cera’s assault became to an unsteady clambering. She leaned against the rocky wall, felt how some pebbles crumbed away below her feet, tried desperately to hold on to the rocky wall. The crater’s brink was in what seemed like an unattainable high. She couldn’t fell down, could not make a fool of herself in front of her friends she thought. Then she lost her foothold. She slid back down, tumbled over and fell into the snow. Littlefoot, Spike, Ducky and Petrie approached her hasty.
“Is everything alright Cera?” Littlefoot asked worried.
“Of course!” answered Cera crossly and took another run.
Littlefoot blocked her way. “Get out of my way!” ordered Cera grimly, but Littlefoot shook his head and stayed where he was.
“You will not made it up there Cera.” Littlefoot looked up to the brink of the crater.
“None of us can do that except...”, he looked over to Petrie who flapped in the air aside Spike. “Petrie. Can you fly up and check if the herd is there somewhere?”
Petrie nodded and swung himself up to the crater’s brink with an elegant bow.
Littlefoot, Ducky, Spike and Cera uttered a deploring sigh that ended in a new fit of coughing in Ducky’s case. Sometimes they envied Petrie. All this wouldn’t have been such a problem if each of them had been able to fly.
Petrie didn’t stay away very long. Only a few minutes later he reappeared over the brink of the crater and dived down into the deep. Close above the ground he spread his wings, flattened out of his dive and landed on the thin branch of a leafless bush that stood nearby. “And?” Cera asked expectantly. They could read the answer already from Petrie’s face.
He made a gesture with his wings whereby he nearly lost his balance, shook his head when he had regained it and said: “Nobody be up there, nowhere; me no see anything but snow!”
A short break set in during which nobody said a word. The quiet howling of a slight breeze, passing gently along the rocky walls was audible, apart from that there was utter silence. Finally Cera turned round and went a few steps to and fro, whereby she surveying the valley that offered, with its many dark leafless trees a rather dreary view. After all Cera sat down without taking her look from the valley. At last Littlefoot and the others stepped near her. “Cera?” Littlefoot asked quietly. First she didn’t react, but then she turned her head to him and said earnestly: “We are completely alone.”
Littlefoot and the others changed an uneasy look. Spike uttered a contradictory grumbling and shook his head. Littlefoot looked at him reflective and turned to Cera again. He thought the same way like Spike.
“But Cera, how could we be alone lonely as long as we are together?”
Cera raised her look a bit. “Littlefoot has right Cera! We no lonely. We no can be lone at all”, croaked Petrie whereby he flapped to and fro in front of Cera to land behind her neckshield after all.
“Yep, yep, yep! We can’t be alone together. That does not make sense. Oh no, no, no, no, no!” chattered Ducky down from Spike’s back exceptionally without closing in a fit of coughing afterwards. Suddenly a smile appeared on Cera’s face.
She nodded. “You’re right we aren’t alone and we’ll never be alone so long we stay together!” For a short moment it seemed to them as if it had become a little warmer.

[Malte279]

Chapter XI

A long yell down from the valley let them all whirl around. Without another word and without thinking Littlefoot ran off down the slope towards the valley’s floor. Cera jumped up and followed him so abruptly that Petrie fell down from her back. He fell into the snow but got up immediately and flapped after Cera who tried to catch up with Littlefoot who already had a long lead. “After them Spiky!” ordered Ducky up from Spike’s back and kicked him slightly in the sides with her heels, certainly Spike didn’t even feet it. More sluggish than the others he set in motion too.
Littlefoot ran as fast as he could in the direction from where he had heard the yell.
He followed the ridge of the spur that lead down to the valley from the crater’s wall.
The spur forked. Littlefoot hesitated. Which fork should he choose? In that moment he heard a yell again and whoever uttered it seemed to need help immediately. Littlefoot chose the left fork, which was closer to the direction from where the last yell had come, and ran on.
Few instants later Cera reached the fork. She had lost sight of Littlefoot, but it was easy enough to follow his distinct tracks. Still she hesitated for a moment at the fork and cast a look back. Petrie was not far behind her but Spike with Ducky was still a respectable distance away.
“Hurry up!” shouted Cera and ran on.
Meanwhile Littlefoot had reached the end of the spur. For the first time since he had started to run Littlefoot looked back. None of his friends was in sight. He was alone. For a moment Littlefoot thought of the fact that his friends had lost him out of their sight during the blizzard too. Maybe it was better for him not to make running off without heeding the others a habit. Again he heard a long cry for help and he looked incited in the direction from where the cry had come. There was the edge of a leafless wood. At the base of the steep spur was a plain snowfield that had probably been a meadow in warmer days and far back he could recognize the silvery band of a frozen river he had already seen before by overlooking the valley from the slope of the crater wall. The cry for help had come from the wood and Littlefoot just wanted to jump down the spur and run over there when he caught sight of somebody who just broke forth from the leafless thicket of the wood. It was a young longneck and Littlefoot recognized it certainly couldn’t be much older than himself.
The longneck seemed to flee from something or somebody, for it ran as fast as it could across the snowfield, on a route that would lead it directly past the spur Littlefoot was standing on.
It was obvious the cries Littlefoot had heard before had been uttered by this longneck.
The next instant Littlefoot saw the reason for the longnecks panic, as another figure appeared out of the thicket.
It was a sharptooth. A very young sharptooth. Smaller than the longneck it pursued determinedly. Neither the longneck nor the sharptooth had noted Littlefoot. Just this moment the longneck ran past below the spur. Littlefoot had to help or the sharptooth would catch up soon. Littlefoot made ready for the jump and when the young sharptooth ran past below the spur he pounced upon it.
The force of the attack was so violent it tore both Littlefoot and the sharptooth from their feet. The sharptooth uttered a surprised snarl. Littlefoot and the sharptooth rolled firmly interlocked to each other through the snow. From the corner of his eyes Littlefoot saw, that the longneck remained in the midst of a step and looked back.
“Run away! Run!” cried Littlefoot while he evaded a claw slash of the sharptooth. Littlefoot wanted to jump up, but suddenly the sharptooth was over him and with a triumphing grin he lifted, his arm for another slash at Littlefoot’s neck which Littlefoot realized, he would not be able to evade anymore. The two terrible claws of the little sharptooth flashed up in the sunlight. Littlefoot closed his eyes firmly and gritted his teeth.

“Littlefoot!” cried a voice that was familiar to Littlefoot. But he couldn’t remember at the moment whose voice it was.
The claw slash Littlefoot waited for didn’t come. Instead he heard a second known voice, which asked incredulous and a bit frightened: “Littlefoot?”
He opened his eyes again and saw that the sharptooth had remained amidst his movement looking at him with a mixture of doubt and joy. His eyes flashed up in recognition.
And Littlefoot too recognized the sharptooth.
“Littlefoot!” cried Cera and in the very next moment she was there with a leap from the spur and pushed her horn into the sharptooth’s side so fiercely that he was hurled from Littlefoot and flung a respectable distance away. Cera fell back one step pawed with one of her hooves through the snow, lowered her head and rushed forth to attack the sharptooth again.
Littlefoot jumped up immediately and leaped into Cera’s way. The butt didn’t hit him with full force, as Cera tried to stop in the very last moment and hadn’t much swing yet, but still it was fierce enough to push Littlefoot from his feet again. He gritted his teeth and tried to imagine how painful the butt had been for the sharptooth.
“Littlefoot! Are you crazy?” Cera shouted furiously.
“Cera stop it! Don’t you recognize him?” Littlefoot shouted back. “It’s Chomper!”
Cera starred incredulously first at Littlefoot, who got back to his feet, and then at the sharptooth that lay in the snow some steps away.
“Chomper?” she asked disconcerted.
“Ali!” shouted Ducky down from Spike’s back. Spike had just appeared on the spur accompanied by Petrie.
Whirling around Littlefoot remembered wherefrom he knew the voice that had shouted his name first. The fleeing longneck had seemed familiar to him from the first moment.
Still he could hardly comprehend it.
“Ali?!” he and Cera shouted like out of one mouth when they saw her. Spike tried to climb down from the steep spur, but he skidded off and landed heavily in the snow, whereby Ducky fell from his back. She got up hasty and plodded coughing through the snow towards Ali. Spike followed her after he had stood up awkwardly and Petrie had arrived by Ali long before anybody.
“Littlefoot! Cera! Petrie! Ducky! Spike!” called Ali and with one leap she was by Cera and Littlefoot.
“Hello Ali!” said Littlefoot a bit less cordial than he would have liked to and squinted over to Chomper who still lay on the ground motionless. “You...”, Ali corrected herself with a
side-glance at Cera, “You both have saved my life!” Littlefoot nodded absent-minded and said to Cera: “Come on Cera! We must look after Chomper! Maybe he is injured!”
And with that he turned round and ran over to the sharptooth that lay in the snow.
Cera cast an apologetic look at Ali and followed Littlefoot with a concerned mien.
“Chomper?” Petrie and Ducky asked simultaneously. Petrie flew a narrow curve and followed Littlefoot and Cera. Ducky jumped on Spike’s back and he ran after the others too.
Ali looked after them. Her lower jaw had sagged down. Some seconds passed before she closed her mouth and followed the others hesitating and shaking her head.

[Digi-Dragon]

Heh, wow! Bringing back both Chomper and Ali in the same chapter? Some would say it's ambitious, but I say it works! Poor Ali's gonna be so confused... Great job- few could probably pull off bringing both of them back, but that was a very interesting way to do so.

And great picture, by the way. Better than I could do, that's for sure! ... *not really saying much, but it's the thought that counts*

[Malte279]

It was hard enough for Ali to grow accustomed to the thought of not hanging around with longnecks only. I thought that it would be interesting to see her reaction to this "special case" in particular after the first meeting going so much off on the wrong foot
Here are the next two chapters:

[Malte279]

Chapter XII

When Littlefoot arrived by Chomper the little sharptooth just propped up on his hands.
He moaned, closed his eyes firmly, and puckered his face painfully.
“Chomper?” Littlefoot asked carefully. Chomper leaned on one hand now, wiping some snow from his face with the other and shook his head.
Finally he looked up and smiled: “Littlefoot!”
“Are you okay?” asked Littlefoot worried.
Chomper nodded: “Yes, I’m fine.” He winced again disproving his words; there was probably no part of him that didn’t hurt. In that moment Cera arrived by them and looked down to Chomper dismayed. Before she could ask him about his wellbeing Chomper stood up completely, shook off the last snow and approached her and Littlefoot with a joyful smile. “Cera! Are the others...”, Chomper didn’t finish the sentence because just in that moment he spotted Petrie, Ducky and Spike who had come close too now.
“Chomper!” shouted Ducky, leaped from Spike’s back and ran through the snow, that didn’t lie as high here as it did closer to the crater’s brink, towards the sharptooth. Petrie had flapped over too and hugged Chomper as far as it was possible despite their difference in size.
And when Ducky too joined the hug, Chomper stumbled and all three tumbled into the snow. They romped about frolicsome. Ducky, Spike and Petrie burst with laughter which ended in another fit of coughing for Ducky. But everybody’s laughter ceased abruptly when Chomper groaned painfully gritted his teeth and sucked air between them hissing.
A short brake set in during which Littlefoot cast an inconspicuous look back. Ali had approached too and she looked as if she didn’t trust her eyes. Littlefoot decided to tell her about this sharptooth, she eyed so distrustfully, as soon as possible.
“Chomper, is everything alright?” Cera asked worried. She advanced a step and her guilty conscience could be read from her face.
“It’s okay”, Chomper mumbled quietly. The worried look on Cera’s face intensified.
“Sorry, but I didn’t recognize you and it looked as if you wanted to eat Littlefoot.”
Chomper nodded while he stood up again. “I did want that!” he said faintly. Chomper jerked realizing what he had just said. He would have liked to bite on his tongue, for it, but he didn’t as firstly it wouldn’t have changed anything and secondly it would have hurt very much because of his sharp teeth. What he had said was out and he couldn’t countermand it.
“I hadn’t recognized him”, Chomper added hasty. But it was to late. Littlefoot gulped and looked at him dismayed.
Cera had fallen back a few steps and eyed him distrustful. Ducky, Petrie and Spike starred at him with wide opened eyes and the distrust in the face of the longneckgirl he had hunted increased as far as it was possible at all. A silence followed and Chomper’s eyes traveled from one to the next nervously.
“I didn’t know that it was you. I didn’t mean to...”, Chomper broke off. What ever he said now, it would just make everything worse. The silence began to become embarrassing.
Cera opened her mouth to say something and she didn’t look as if she would take side with Chomper, so Littlefoot forestalled her hasty: “Alright!”
He cast an imploring look at Cera and turned to Ali: “Ali, meet our friend Chomper.”
He turned to Chomper. “Chomper meet Ali.”
“Hello Ali!” said Chomper did a step towards her and smiled embarrassed. Doing so he tried to ignore that Ali fell back one step when he approached her.
“Hello.” Ali nearly whispered it. She looked at Chomper timidly but never let him out of her sight. Littlefoot told Ali in few sentences how they had come to know Chomper and then Chomper wherefrom they knew Ali. “Why are you here?” asked Ali when Littlefoot had finished. She didn’t budge from Cera’s side for she felt a bit safer close to her.
Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, and Petrie began to tell by turns what they had experienced since the beginning of the cold time. Chomper and Ali listened attentively and now and then Ali even forgot to keep an eye on Chomper. Littlefoot was relieved about that, for most likely Ali would have to accustom to the sharptooth. When Cera finally finished their tale Ali nodded. “It is similar to what had happened to me. Every year when the cold time begins the herd migrates in the direction of the highest stand of the bright circle. It is warmer there and when it becomes warmer in the other regions too, we are migrating back. But this year we’ve migrated for long without reaching the warmer regions.” Ali lowered her head and Littlefoot and the others exchanged a worried look.
“And what happened next?” asked Ducky after all impatiently and coughed several times.
Ali shrugged. “This year everything is different. Even the old one is worried. I believe that she has experienced something like this once before.”
“Yes”, said Littlefoot, “So has my grandfather.”
“Yesterday evening the blizzard burst out”, Ali continued. “The same blizzard that separated you from your families separated me from my herd. I’ve reached this valley in the morning and I’ve climbed down here. Well, to tell you the trust it was more like falling than climbing down here. I hoped to find anything edible down here. But I fear that it is not as easy to come out of this valley as it is to come in here. I was just looking for something green in the wood when this sharptooth came.” Ali nodded at Chomper. She had put a special emphasis on the word sharptooth, so it had a threatening and at the same time disapproving sound.
Chomper frowned at Ali, but she avoided his direct looks.
Littlefoot felt the distinct tension that was between them.
To prevent the outbreak of an open quarrel Littlefoot asked hasty:
“And what about you Chomper? How have you come here? You and your parents were on the piece of land amidst of the Big Water.”
Chomper nodded. “Yes, and it became colder and colder there too. It was hardly anything left to... um eat.”
“Yes but how you’ve come over the Big Water?” Petrie interrupted him. For the first time somebody but Littlefoot addressed Chomper again.
“One morning the earth was trembling”, Chomper continued. “It trembled very fiercely.
Many trees were falling over and some nearly slew me. My parents and me ran to the cliffs where there were no trees grew that could fall. And when we reached the coast the Big Water was gone!”
“What?!” Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie and Ducky shouted like out of one mouth incredulously. Spike looked up from some blades of grass he had dug out from the snow and Ali, who probably knew the Big Water from her migrations with the herd made big eyes.
“Impossible! That can’t be! Where should all the water go? It can’t simply vanish!” shouted Ali shaking her head.
Chomper looked at her grimly. “I didn’t claim that the Big Water was completely gone. Where the Big Water used to be was nothing but wet sand and rocks. But far, far away the water was visibly as if it had gone back to there. This seemed uncanny to my parents and it was a unique chance for us to get away from the Big Water to search for a region with enough...”, Chomper hesitated and cast a short glimpse at Ali, “...food for us. So we went off toward what had been the coast so far. And while we were still on the way the Big Water came back!”
Chomper nodded and made a face as if he wouldn’t like to remember to what he was going to tell now. The others looked at him expectantly and even Ali seemed to be interested. Chomper continued: “I believe the whole Big Water stood up that morning and ran after us. It piled up like a mountain and approached incredibly fast. My parents and me ran as fast as we could. We reached some dunes and climbed up the highest of them as fast as we could. But then the water had caught up with me. My parents had nearly reached the top, but I hadn’t.
Suddenly there was water all around me and the next thing I know it that I woke up not far from here.”
Nobody spoke for a moment, but then Littlefoot asked: “And how have you come here? Do you know that?”
Chomper shrugged. “I guess the water has brought me here. At least I lay at the bank of this river.” Chomper pointed at the frozen river, Littlefoot and the others had seen already from the slope with one arm. “The water was not hard then.”
“Then?” asked Littlefoot. “How long are you here already?”
“I don’t know. For some days perhaps. I didn’t count the crossings of the bright circle, but I’m not here for a very long time.”
Littlefoot cut a caper and uttered a yell of exult. Everybody looked at him as if he had gone mad when he began to dance around them enthusiastically.
“Littlefoot? Is everything alright?” Cera asked worriedly. Littlefoot stopped and looked at Cera radiant with joy. Ducky whispered something to Petrie who had sat down aside her on Spike’s back and looked at Littlefoot pitiful. Petrie nodded and eyed Littlefoot anxiously too. Littlefoot understood that his friends took him for crazy, but this didn’t lessen his joy.
He exulted loudly: “We haven’t migrated for nothing! We will reach warmer regions soon!” “What?” asked Ali and frowned. Littlefoot sighed. His friends didn’t understand the reason for his joy.
“Please understand! We are on the right way!”
“Where do you know that from?” asked Cera impatiently, nearly angry. She advanced a step and sparkled at him pugnaciously. Littlefoot’s cheerfulness seemed to be completely out of place to her in their current situation. Littlefoot advanced a step towards Cera too, so they stood directly face-to-face now. “If Chomper is not here for long, but the water of the river wasn’t hard when he arrived here, then it means that it must have been warmer here a short time ago. And this means...”
“Yes indeed, you’re right!” mumbled Cera. While Littlefoot spoke her grim mien had cleared up distinctly. Everybody kept quiet for some seconds. Then Petrie uttered a yell of exult and rocketed vertically up into the air from Spike’s back. Ducky hopped around enthusiastically until she fell down from Spike’s back into the snow. She jumped up immediately and hugged Spike as well as she could shouting again and again: “We will come in warmer regions Spiky! Oh yes we will! Yep, yep, yep!”
Littlefoot and Cera hugged too. Chomper stood a bit aside.
Petrie dived towards him and flew in narrow circles around him. Ducky approached too and was about to hug Chomper like Spike. But suddenly Ducky and Petrie both remembered what had happened before. Ducky grinned awkwardly, turned around and ran back to Spike.
Petrie did the same. Though both of them tried not to cause the impression that they were afraid of Chomper, he felt that they were. He cast down his eyes. Littlefoot saw this and went over to Chomper. The little sharptooth looked up to him.
“Our families and the herds will reach warmer regions; we won’t. Did you forget that we are all stuck in this valley?” said Ali shaking her head. She had remained apathetic all the time. The others stopped and looked at her.
But Littlefoot shook his head. “No Ali! If we have come into this valley, then we can come out again too.”
“And how?” Ali asked with a bitter smile.
Littlefoot thought about it for a moment, then he turned to Chomper.
“Chomper, where exactly have you woken up after the water brought you here?”
“Not far from here at all. If you want that, I can lead you to the place.” Littlefoot nodded, Chomper turned round and set in motion. Littlefoot and the others followed him.

Chapter XIII

At first they went to the bank of the frozen river and then they followed its course. The sun was behind them on their way. So they went in the opposite direction than before, the opposite direction than the direction into which their families were moving, thought Littlefoot. This fact gave him a very unpleasant feeling. The banks of the river were overgrown by numerous plants but none of it had leaves or anything green on them. Nevertheless the plants grew so thick that hardly any snow lay below them on the narrow, sandy bank. In warmer days it had probably been an almost impenetrable jungle. Now it was actually nothing but leafless undergrowth which still grew thick enough to often block the sight completely. The river kept its general direction, but it made numerous turns to the one or the other direction. When he cast a look back at one of these windings Littlefoot noted that everyone but him kept some distance from Chomper who had taken the lead.
“Safety distance”, Littlefoot thought grimly. But the next moment his fury vanished and gave way to a very gloomy mood. Did his friends forget about Chomper’s good sides completely? Just because of what had happened? He hadn’t finished the thought when he became aware of what might have happened had Chomper not recognized him in the very last moment, or if he himself had come some instants later. Chomper would have eaten Ali!
He became furious again, but furious this time at Chomper and he gave him an angry look. Usually Chomper ought not to notice this look, but it seemed he had felt it, for he stopped, turned his head and cast a sad look up to Littlefoot. Then he turned forward again and went on. This look had driven out all the rage Littlefoot had felt a moment before.
Now he felt nothing but pity with Chomper, who was stuck in this valley for days already, who had been separated from his parents too, who had, unlike them, been wholly alone, who was probably at least as hungry as they were, maybe even more hungry, for few plants still existed under the snow, but fresh meat didn’t. It seemed like every being had left this valley, and Littlefoot would have liked to know which way they had used.
For sure Chomper hadn’t had a prey like Ali in a long while. Actually Littlefoot doubted that the little sharptooth had ever before hunted anything bigger than himself. Now he had met them, and had undoubtedly been very glad about that; but everybody seemed to be either afraid of or angry at him. Altogether that was surely too much to cope with for little Chomper. Littlefoot ran some steps passed Chomper and their looks met. None of them spoke a word, but Chomper smiled again like he had read from Littlefoot’s face what he wanted to say. Suddenly Chomper stopped.
“What’s the matter Chomper?” Littlefoot asked.
“Ahead of us the thicket is too thick”, answered Chomper and pointed at the next turn of the river where the thicket blocked every way on the bank.
“We must go a short distance on the hard water.”
The others had approached and understood every word.
“Going on the hard water?!” Ducky cried down from Spike’s back. She nearly got a hiccup of the fright Chomper’s words had inflicted on her. She skidded down from Spike’s back and fell on the sand. She jumped up again hasty. Since her accident in the Great Valley Ducky avoided the ice. “That’s not possible!” shouted Ducky. “Oh no, no, no! That’s really impossible! That is out of question! Oh yes it is! Yep, yep, yep!”
Chomper looked at Ducky confused. He didn’t understand her problem.
Littlefoot exchanged a mischievous grin with Cera, Petrie and Spike. Doing so he noticed that Ali stood a bit aside. She looked very stern. Before Littlefoot could say anything Ducky called his attention on her again.
“I will go through this! Oh yes I will!” she called and went past Chomper towards the thicket. She began to make her way through the brushwood, which turned out to be more difficult than
she had expected. Chomper went after Ducky up to the brink of the thicket and asked carefully: “Ducky is everything okay?”
“Yes!” moaned Ducky and they could hear how she tried to press herself further through the thicket. She climbed between two thick boughs that formed a bifurcation. Thereby she slipped, fell and felt how one of her feet was jammed between the two branches.
She uttered a suppressed yell.
“Ducky, what has happened?” Littlefoot called worried. They had lost sight of Ducky.
“Come back Ducky!” said Chomper. “It is too narrow!”
“I guess you’re right”, said Ducky who noticed that she couldn’t get forward nor back.
As if to make matters worse, there were big spikes everywhere so Ducky didn’t dare to make any fierce movement.
“Now come out!” said Cera after some seconds impatiently.
“I can’t!” answered Ducky nervously.
“What?” Littlefoot asked frightened.
“I’m stuck, really stuck!” lamented Ducky and suppressed a coughing. “Get me out here!” Littlefoot, Cera and Spike looked at Petrie who seemed to be the only one small enough to follow Ducky. But Petrie shook his head and hid behind Cera’s neckshield.
“Spikes there are in the bush! They tears Petrie’s wings!”
The others understood this. Petrie was more fragile than any of them. They looked at each other helplessly, including Ali who had approached in the meanwhile.
“I’ll do it!” said Chomper and stepped towards the bush thicket.
“You?” Cera asked incredulous. Chomper made his way through the thicket slowly.
“Take care!” shouted Ducky when the whole bush seemed to shift. Finally Chomper had made his way to where Ducky was jammed. Very carefully he bent the two boughs of the bifurcation asunder until Ducky could pull her foot free. She stood up and burdened her foot tentatively several times to test if it was all right.
It was, and both Ducky and Chomper made their way back out of the brushwood where the others gave them an enthusiastic reception. Chomper was very pleased. He had caught many scratches during the rescue operation, but the distance the others kept from him had shrunk noticeable.
“Do we really have to go over the hard water?” Ducky asked anxiously.
Chomper nodded. “Why are you so afraid of that?” he asked.
“She broken in once, back in the Great Valley”, explained Littlefoot.
“But now let’s go on.” And with that Littlefoot lifted Ducky on his head and rose it high up into the air so Ducky was as far away from the hard water as possible. Behind the winding they could walk on the riparian stripe again and Littlefoot set Ducky on Spike’s back.
He remembered Ali, and when they went on he fell behind to her inconspicuously.
She still kept a wide distance to the others and avoided Littlefoot’s look until he had arrived by her and asked worriedly: “What’s the matter Ali? Are you angry?”
She looked at him morosely, ignored his question and said: “It is difficult to speak with you in private, but we have to talk urgently!”
“Do you keep any secrets from the others?” Littlefoot asked surprised.
Ali shook her head. “No, not from all of them.” While she said that she cast a glimpse after Chomper.
“Chomper won’t hurt you. Really. I’m completely sure about that!”
“I see. And wherefrom do you take this sureness?” Ali asked gruffly.
Littlefoot was dismayed and remained silent for some seconds. “I know him. We are friends!” “The sharptooth doesn’t seem to know you as well. He nearly had killed you!”
“He hadn’t recognized me!”
“It would have been a cold comfort, had he recognized you a few instants later! I don’t want to end as sharptooth food at the first opportunity!”
Littlefoot fell silent again. He didn’t know what to say at all, for Ali was right. But somehow Chomper seemed to be nothing less right. Once more he made a faint hearted try to convince Ali that there was no need to be afraid of Chomper: “Ali, remember when we’ve come to know each other? Back then you didn’t like Cera and she didn’t like you either.”
“That was something completely different! Cera didn’t want to eat me!” Ali shouted angrily and ran after the others.
“Wait Ali!” Littlefoot shouted after her.
But she didn’t. Littlefoot stopped for a moment sad and perplexed. He understood Ali, but Chomper too. Littlefoot didn’t know what to do; he felt very lonely suddenly.
At last he ran after the others hasty, not to loose sight of them. Just when he caught up with Ali, who went as the last and tried to avoid his looks he heard water rushing and Chomper shouted: “Here it was. This is where I’ve woken up again.”
Littlefoot thronged past the others forward to Chomper. They had reached one brink of the valley. The rocky walls were not very high, but too steep to be climbed up. A big grownup saurian might have been able to leave the valley on this way. A broad waterfall rushed down from the rocky wall. Within a radius of several meters around the waterfall the water was not frozen as it was in constant motion.
“Right here?” asked Littlefoot. “You’ve woken up right here?”
 Chomper shook his head. “Over there.” He pointed over to the other bank. Ducky eyed the waterfall pensively, sighed sadly and said unnecessarily:
“No, I can’t swim up there. No, no, no.”
“The more so as the water is probably a little too cold; did you forget that?”
Cera pointed out ironically. Littlefoot stepped to the brink of the ice sheet carefully, ready to jump back at the first cracking, and drank a bit. He shivered of coldness and nodded to Cera agreeing. “You’re right. The water is very cold, but at all events it is better than eating snow all the time when you’re thirsty!”
The others, except for Ducky, who was afraid of walking on the ice, drank too one after the other. When everyone had drunk Petrie said what they all had recognized already:
“Me no see way out for you! Nowhere!”
For a moment everybody remained silent disappointed. Their hopes to get out of the valley quickly using the same way Chomper had come in dispersed.
Finally Littlefoot turned to Chomper: “The river has to flow out of the valley elsewhere.”
“Of course it does”, answered the little sharptooth. “At the other brink of the valley the river flows into a narrow canyon.
Littlefoot nodded lost in thoughts. “We can get out of the valley there”, he said finally.
“How do you mean that?” Ducky asked alarmed. She felt that she wouldn’t like Littlefoot’s idea at all.
“We can walk on the hard water. So we can get out of here!” Littlefoot shouted with increasing enthusiasm in his voice.
“You aren’t serious!” cried Ducky frightened and coughed several times. “A team of wild sharpteeth couldn’t drag me there!” she shouted, but stopped immediately when she noticed Chomper’s offended look.
“Sorry Chomper”, she said subdued and looked at him conscious of her mistake. It was not very polite to represent sharpteeth as something so terrible in presence of Chomper who had perhaps saved her life a short while ago.
“Do we really have to do that?” Ducky asked quietly.
Littlefoot shrugged. “Do you have a better idea?”
Ducky shook her head.
“There you see!”
Ducky didn’t contradict anymore although her heart beat up to her throat at the thought to be forced to walk on the hard water for maybe a very long time.
“So? What’s the matter now? Do we go?” asked Littlefoot impatiently, when none of the others moved. “When we set off now we won’t arrive there before dusk”, said Chomper.
“We should better rest and go on tomorrow. It will be a very strenuous day for sure.” Littlefoot had to agree on that and nodded though he wanted to come out of the valley as soon as possible.
“Resting in this coldness?” shouted Cera and shivered.
Chomper smiled. “Not far from here is a big rock with a cave in it. I dwell there since I’m here in the valley. In the cave is plenty enough place for all of us.”
“Well, so lets go there!” shouted Ducky who liked the thought of a sheltered, warm cave very much.
“The cave is um...”, Chomper grinned mischievously, “...on the other side of the river.”
“Oh no!” groaned Ducky and sat down with a sudden fit of fatigue. Everything seemed to have conspired against her. Spike nudged her encouraging.
“It is just good when you get accustomed to the hard water again”, said Cera.
Ducky nodded and jumped up. But for everybody’s surprise she didn’t jump on the back Spike offered her, but ran over the ice-sheet herself as fast as she could. Her friends had hardly ever seen Ducky running like this before. When she had nearly reached the other bank she turned round to the others who hadn’t done a step so far, and shouted to them:
“What are you waiting for? Come on!”
It had been an awkward movement and when she tried to come to a standstill she skidded on, over the smooth as mirror sheet of ice and finally fell down lengthwise. The others jumped up immediately and hurried, as fast as the slipperiness admitted it, to get over to her.
When they arrived by Ducky she already sat up groaning.
“Is everything alright with you Ducky?” asked Ali worried. It was the first time since her quarrel with Littlefoot she said something.
Ducky shook her head, got up completely and said: “No, no, no! Nothing is alright.
I hate the hard water! Oh yes, I do!”
The others couldn’t suppress laughter anymore.

[Malte279]

Here are the next three chapters including one picture:

Chapter XIV

They could see the “rock” Chomper had told about already from a far distance, but the designation “rock” was a bit downplayed, for it was a collection plateaus of different highs which together looked like a small mountain chain that rose not far downstream from the place where they had met Chomper and Ali. Littlefoot and the others had seen this mountain towering over the forest already in the morning from the brink of the valley. The river meandered in a narrow bend around two sides of the table mountain, where the walls of rock rose nearly vertically into the sky. The other walls of rock rose almost vertical too, except for a broad rocky spur that reached from the top of the highest plateau a distance into the jungle it branching out several times. This spur was very steep too, but it seemed to be climbable; it looked like a giant ramp. Unlike most of the valley the immediate surroundings of Chomper’s rock were not covered by leafless primeval forest and offered a very impressive sight. Chomper grinned broadly and appeared to be very proud when they had arrived and he showed his friends his dwelling. The entrance of the cave he had told about was close aside the big ramp and it was not bigger then necessary to let them pass comfortably. Cera eyed the narrow entrance critically before she went through it, but her doubts dissipated inside the cave where it widened very much, so there was plenty enough place for everybody. Far to the rear, at the end of the cave a narrow cleft that had to be at the riverside of the rock let in some sunlight, enough to recognize everything. Littlefoot looked around fascinated when he suddenly heard a quiet growling and Spike uttered some wretched noises afterwards. Littlefoot jerked around alarmed and so did Cera, Ali, Petrie and Chomper.
“What was that?” Cera asked worried.
“Spiky’s tummy”, answered Ducky who stood aside her “little brother”. “He is hungry.”
An a bit quieter growling was audible and Ducky pressed hand against her own tummy.
“And I am too”, added Ducky. Only now Littlefoot began to fell that he was nearly out of strength. Since the blizzard had burst out the last evening they hadn’t eaten anything.
Cera, Petrie and Ali didn’t seem to feel any different from Ducky, Spike and himself. “Chomper is there anything left to eat anywhere?” asked Littlefoot.
“Anything to eat for us”, Cera added hasty. Chomper pondered long, but finally he shook his head sadly. “No.” Suddenly he raised his head as if he had yet remembered something.
“That is… of course! Perhaps. But I don’t know if...”
“Is there anything?” Ducky interrupted him hopefully.
“Not far from here are still some trees full of green. But...”
“What?!” Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Ali shouted like out of one mouth and Spike cut an enthusiastically caper; his eyes flashed.
“Really?” Cera inquired carefully once more.
Chomper nodded. “Yes, but it is...”
“Lead us to that place Chomper! Please!” said Littlefoot and his mouth watered.
Chomper shrugged. What he wanted to say didn’t seem to interest his friends. So he went ahead towards the way out of the cave. The others followed close behind him. Even Ali didn’t keep a long distance from him anymore.

Chapter XV

Chomper led his planteating friends a distance into the leafless jungle. He considered if he should tell his friends what he had wanted to say them before when they hadn’t let him speak out. But he decided against it. Soon as they reached their destination they would see it themselves. Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Ducky, Spike and Ali already looked out impatiently for the green trees Chomper had told about. They could hardly believe it especially because every tree they saw on their way was completely bare of any leaves. Finally Chomper went towards a group of conic, snowy trees, seized a low bough and shook the snow down from it revealing rows of green needles on both sides of the bough.
 “Needles!?” Cera shouted indignantly. “Do you want to make fun of us?”
The disappointment could be read from everybody’s face.
“I wanted to tell you about it before, but you didn’t let me speak out”, said Chomper and bowed his head dejected. It was hard for Littlefoot to conceal his disappointment, but he went over to Chomper, stood in front of him as if to shield him from Cera’s grim looks and said: “That’s right! He wanted to say something more but we’ve interrupted him.”
Ducky noticed that it was a good opportunity to thank by Chomper for the rescue of a short while ago. She was disappointed too, but she remembered exactly that Chomper had tried to say something more. Ducky stepped towards Cera and nodded.
Her voice sounded sad when she said: “We really haven’t let Chomper speak out Cera. No we haven’t! It is not his fault. No, no, no!” Petrie flapped over, landed aside Ducky and nodded agreeing. Chomper looked at them thankful.
“He should have known that we can’t eat needles”, said Cera, but she sounded very unsure, since she realized that she was wrong.
“Wherefrom should he have known that?” asked Littlefoot conciliatory. “He is no leafeater.” Cera nodded very slightly and cast another sorrowfully look at the snowy conifers.
“You’re right Littlefoot! He only feeds on them!” Ali remarked sarcastically and advanced a step. Littlefoot closed his eyes firmly for a moment. It was as if Ali had dealt him a blow.
He didn’t want to quarrel with Ali and strangely he had thought that they were unable to quarrel at all.
But Littlefoot hadn’t come to know this side of Ali yet. Her last remark aimed not only at Chomper, but also at himself. He had to say something, but he didn’t know what.
Chomper seemed to be near to burst into tears. Littlefoot looked at Ali reproachful; she returned his look defiantly. He tried to sound angry, but at the same time not too furious when he prepared for an answer. “Ali...”, Littlefoot stopped.
Spike had suddenly set in motion with a mumble, passed through between Ali and Littlefoot and headed for one of the snowy conifers. Littlefoot looked after him confused and also the looks of the others, including Ali’s followed Spike surprised. He had reached his destination now and eyed a low bough directly over his head shortly. Then he rose up determined, snapped at the bough and shook it whereby the snow that had lain on the bough poured down over Spike. Spike let go the bough immediately and jumped back. The bough sprang back into its original position and seesawed to and fro for a while whereby also the last snow fell down from it. Spike shook off the snow that had landed on him and stepped towards the tree again at once. Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Ali and Chomper followed Spike slowly. Littlefoot was on the sly very glad because Ali seemed to have forgotten the beginning quarrel. Spike rose up on his hind legs anew and snapped at the bough.
“Stop it Spiky! You’ll hurt yourself. You can’t eat needles!” shouted Ducky and ran over to her “little brother” with some leaps whereby she coughed fiercely. Ducky clung to one so Spike’s hind legs and tried to drag him back. Of course Spike, who was completely busied with the green needles, didn’t even notice it at all. Petrie flapped near and said hopefully: “How you know that Ducky? You not ever tasted needles!”
Cera approached shaking her head thoughtfully. “None of us has Petrie”, she said agreeing. Ducky looked at her friends surprised. She let go Spike’s and looked just like Petrie, Cera and the others up to Spike expectantly now. He plucked off a row of needles from the bough’s side with his teeth carefully, let down on all fours again and began to chew the needles.
He made a grimace, but then he swallowed the needles and rose up again to pluck more needles from the bough. Littlefoot went to one of the conifers that stood nearby him, he eyed the pointed needles distrustfully, but then he did the same as Spike, plucked off a row of needles and began to chew them carefully. Immediately a bitter taste spread out in his mouth and he had nearly spit out the needles disgusted. Sharp ends of needles stuck him everywhere in the mouth. But he pulled himself together and chewed on. After some more time the bitter taste moderated a bit and Littlefoot stung rarer.
“How does it taste?” asked Ali.
“Terrible!” answered Littlefoot. “But, it sure is better than nothing.”
By these words he plucked off another row of needles from the bough. Cera went to the tree where Spike already stood too, broke off a thin long branch and gave it to Ducky. She gave another one to Petrie and then she began to eat herself. Nobody said anything, but the longer they ate, the more they grew accustomed to the bitter taste. It was really better than starving. Littlefoot had just ate the last needles of his bough and was going to attack another one when he cast a look back casually. There stood Chomper. He watched them eating and appeared somehow very sad. Littlefoot went over to him and as soon as he noted Littlefoot Chomper tried to force a smile on his face not to show the sadness Littlefoot had just recognized. “Chomper what’s the matter?” asked Littlefoot. “Nothing”, said Chomper. “Nothing at all!” he added when he saw Littlefoot’s doubtful mien. But Chomper’s tormented smiling disproved his last words and the skepticism didn’t disappear from Littlefoot’s face.
“What’s the matter?” Littlefoot asked gently once more.
Chomper squirmed embarrassed and unwilling. “I’m hungry”, he admitted after all.
He nearly whispered the words. Littlefoot gulped; now it was him who was at a loss.
“Would you like to have some of this?” asked Littlefoot and pointed at one of the conifers with his head. “No, thank you”, answered Chomper quietly after short pondering, turned round and went back on the way they had come from the rock.
The others, who had finished their dinner in the meantime, followed him and Littlefoot set in motion too. He suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore.

Chapter XVI

They were still in the forest when Chomper suddenly stopped. The end of the ramp of Chomper’s “rock” lay in front of them. “What is it Chomper?” Littlefoot asked alarmed and jumped with some leaps from the end to the head of the column. Chomper turned round, he looked as if he had an idea he liked.
“Would you like to overlook the whole valley once?” he asked.
“You mean...”, began Cera and looked over to the ramp that sloped easy here.
“Certainly!” said Chomper and nodded enthusiastically. “You can see everything from up there. You can even look out of the valley.”
“Perhaps we can see how we must go tomorrow”, considered Ali and Chomper nodded eagerly again. “Then let’s go!” said Littlefoot and set in motion. Chomper took the lead again. At first the way was easy, the ramp sloped slightly, but when they reached the brink of the forest, Chomper’s “rock came in sight and they were at the level of the tree’s tops, the way began to become steeper quickly. When at last they all had reached the highest plateau they were pretty exhausted. Cera let herself drop sprawling.
Ali and Littlefoot leaned against some boulders and even Chomper, who has shown an amazing endurance during the ascent sat down and fetched deep breath several times.
Only Ducky and Petrie who had sat on the back of Spike, who just made his way on the plateau short of breath and as the last one, during the whole ascent began to survey the surroundings of the rock immediately. “Maybe we shouldn’t have climbed up here”, grumbled Ali and looked over to Chomper. But Chomper smiled weary and shook his head. “Wait till you see it. Besides, who knows, maybe we’ll have to climb much more during the next days.”
“Talk of the sharptooth and it will appear!” said Cera thoughtlessly. A moment later she noticed her mistake when Chomper looked at her reproachful.
“Sorry! Um I meant... err, that uh...”, stammered Cera embarrassed. She didn’t found the fitting words which annoyed her quite a bit. She continued irritated: “Anyway, you shouldn’t be so pessimistic!”
Chomper made an pacifying gesture and said: “It’s alright, it’s alright!”
Then he stood up and went over to Ducky and Petrie who stood close to the edge of the rock around which the frozen river meandered far down in the deep. Littlefoot, Cera, Ali and finally Spike followed him. The sun was already out of sight and the whole sky was coated with a blue that was still pretty bright at the western horizon, while at the opposite horizon it shaded into the dark black night-sky on which already some stars twinkled. The moon too stood on the sky already, but it was concealed again and again by scuds of clouds passing by. Littlefoot eyed the sky and said finally with an earnest mien: “I hope that it won’t start to snow again.” A cold blast howled past; altogether it was pretty windy up here.
“Where is the canyon you’ve told about Chomper?” Cera asked.
“Yonder far back.” Everybody’s eyes followed Chomper’s outstretched arm. Despite the darkness they could recognize a gloomy canyon in the stated direction. It was recognizable only as a dark stripe on the rocky walls into which the silver band of the frozen river flowed.
“I do not like to go in there! I do not like that idea at all!” said Ducky shivering.
“Oh no, no, no!” She coughed several times. Spike nodded agreeing to her words. The canyon appeared somehow uncanny.
“Looks dangerously!” whispered Petrie so loud that everybody understood him.
“I don’t like it either...”, said Littlefoot, “...but do you have a better idea?” No one spoke. Littlefoot craned his long neck; he tried to see what was outside the valley in the direction of their way, but in this direction big, low cloudbanks blocked his sight. In every other direction Littlefoot could see a big plain that was only interrupted by some wavy hills. Finally Littlefoot contented himself with the guess that it would look similar in the direction of their way. “Petrie get away from there!” said Chomper suddenly to Petrie who stood closer than anybody to the edge of the rock. “It is not safe!”
“Why? What do you mean Chom...”, Petrie didn’t finish his sentence, for the very next instant he noticed himself what Chomper meant to be dangerous. A strong gust swept across, tore Petrie from his feet and over the edge of the rock. “Petrie!” Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Ali and Chomper cried like out of one mouth. Spike jumped to the edge of the rock and all apart from Chomper did the same.

“Careful!” shouted the little sharptooth, but his friends seemed to have eyes and ears only for Petrie who fell into the deep shrieking.
“Do fly Petrie!” shouted Ducky and only now Petrie seemed to remember that he was a flyer. He flapped fiercely with his wings caught himself and flew back to his friends. He trembled all over when he landed beside Chomper far, far from the edge of the rock.
“Are you alright Petrie?” asked Ali concerned.
Petrie shook his head but nodded the next moment. He had gotten away with the fright. “Whew, what a luck you’re a flyer Petrie!” said Ducky and Petrie nodded.
“Dear me! Just imagine he wouldn’t be a flyer!” said Cera. Littlefoot shook his head and answered: “I prefer not to imagine that!”
“If the river wouldn’t be frozen...” “...I still wouldn’t jump down here!” Ali finished the sentence Ducky had begun. “You don’t have to”, said Chomper smiling calmingly with, but Ali ignored him. Chomper stopped to smile. He wasn’t in the mood for it anymore.
Again a nipping cold wind howled around the rock.
“I’m cold! Let’s go down! It is nearly dark”, said Cera and went towards the ramp.
“Yes, we should rest now. Who knows what will have to go through tomorrow.”
Littlefoot agreed. So they began the descent. Littlefoot who went as the last one looked once more in the direction of the waterfall Chomper had shown them today; and he believed to recognize a big shape there. He stopped and looked carefully, but the shape had disappeared. “Probably my eyes cheated me in the darkness”, thought Littlefoot and tried to close up with the others. He couldn’t know that his eyes hadn’t cheated him. Two saurians had just entered the valley at the waterfall and disappeared in the leafless forest.
It were big saurians and they had pointed claws and sharp teeth.

[Malte279]

Chapter XVII

“One of us should always stay awake”, said Littlefoot. “As we don’t know if somebody apart from us is here. Besides the one who is watching can wake the others in the morning.”
“And who of us shall stay awake?” asked Cera.
“We relieve one another, so everybody gets his sleep. Spike would you...”, Littlefoot let the sentence unfinished for Spike yawned deeply turned round and lay on the ground of the cave that was nearly completely dark in the meantime.
“I’ll keep watching first”, said Cera. “Let Spike sleep.”
“I’ll keep watching after you Cera”, said Ali.
“Then I’ll keep watching after you two”, said Littlefoot hasty. He saw a possibility to speak with Ali undisturbed when he would relieve her in the night. Turned to Ducky, Petrie and Chomper he continued: “I guess that will do. You may sleep tonight.”
For some reason Chomper seemed to be disappointed at this thought Littlefoot.
“Well, good night”, said Cera and took position at the entrance of the cave. “I will wake you later Ali.” In this moment Spike began to snort. “Sleep well!” said Ducky and went over to her “little brother”. Chomper lay down too and Littlefoot lay down beside him. Ali lay down not far from Cera close to the cave entrance, and Petrie joined with Ducky and Spike.
One by one fell asleep and the last thing Littlefoot heart before falling asleep was the rumbling of Chomper’s stomach.
Only Cera stayed awake. At first she stood in a mighty pose at the entrance of the cave, but in the long run this pose became very uncomfortable and when all the others were asleep Cera didn’t saw a reason to put on such a pose and she squatted down, for it was very cold at the cavern’s entrance. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she noticed that her legs began to get numb. She stood up, stretched, went out of the cave and ran a few steps whereupon the feeling came back to her legs. She returned to the cave.
Ducky, Petrie and Spike seemed to sleep well, but Ali tossed about in what seemed to be a rather troubled sleep, Chomper’s stomach rumbled audibly, which gave Cera a shudder and Littlefoot didn’t seem to sleep very well either. After a long tome had passed Cera thought that she had kept watching long enough now. She approached Ali, but she didn’t need to wake her. Ali startled with a shriek and looked around disordered; she shivered.
“Ali. Ali everything is alright”, whispered Cera loud enough that Ali could understand her, but also quiet enough not to wake up the others; fortunately none of them had from Ali’s shriek. “Did you have a bad dream?”
Ali starred at Cera bewildered. It seemed to take her some seconds until she had found back to the real world; then she nodded. “I’m gonna to get some sleep now, you keep watching”, said Cera and turned to retire deeper into the cave.
“Cera?” Cera stopped and looked back at Ali.
“Yes?”
“Can I have a word with you?” Cera was taken aback. Some moments passed until she nodded and answered quietly: “But of course! Certainly!”
Ali pointed at the cave entrance with her head and went out. They hadn’t woken up anybody yet, but they certainly would if the continued to talk in here. Cera followed Ali.
The longneckgirl crossed the snowy meadow in front of the rock and headed for the edge of the forest. Cera frowned. It seemed Ali wanted to have quite a distance between her and the others. At last Ali stopped at the first row of trees. “What’s the matter?” Cera asked impatiently when she arrived by Ali. She was tired, cold and wanted back into the warmer cave as soon as possible, “I just had a nightmare.”
“I know”, Cera answered a bit rough. “And?”
“I dreamed about the sharptooth.” Cera looked at her bewildered. Some moments passed until she understood that Ali meant Chomper. Suddenly this talk seemed to be very important to Cera. “And what did you dream?”
“The sharptooth had eaten Littlefoot.” Cera couldn’t suppress a laugh and Ali looked a bit insulted. Cera shook her head: “No Ali! Chomper would never hurt Littlefoot. They are nearly like... um like brothers.”
“I noticed in the morning!” Ali said sarcastically, but she became earnest again immediately. “You’ve saved Littlefoot’s live today. Thank you!”
Now it was Cera who became more earnest. “No, I don’t think so. He simply hadn’t recognized Littlefoot.”
“And had that made any difference?” Ali asked dryly.
Cera didn’t answer for a moment. “Why do you want to talk with me?” she asked suspiciously after a while.
Ali noticed that she had made a mistake and she continued with a gentler voice:
“Sorry Cera. I don’t mean to incite you against the shar... uhm I mean against Chomper.
I’ve quarreled with Littlefoot.”
“About Chomper?” asked Cera suddenly very sympathetic. Ali nodded. “Yes.”
Cera didn’t know what to say. Finally Ali said: “I guess that I’m afraid of him. But...”
“There is no need to”, Cera interrupted Ali. “Actually I don’t believe that Chomper had ever really hurt a saurian. He is too young.”
“Maybe, but he is growing up and I don’t had the impression that he was hunting me just for fun. But above all Littlefoot cares only for him.”
Cera smiled and Ali blushed a bit. “You should talk with him”, Cera suggested.
“With whom?” asked Ali. “With Littlefoot and at best also with Chomper.” Ali didn’t answer. “Chomper isn’t evil. He is only well... different from us. That’s all. I’ve once thought just like you Ali. But I’ve learned to live with saurians that are different from me. My father had taught me that everybody should stay with the own sort. Threehorns, longnecks, spikedtails, flyers should never do anything together. Didn’t they teach you in your herd not to associate with saurians who are no longnecks?”
“That’s all very well, but...”
“The difference is a little bigger this time... Okay, perhaps it is even very big. But it is no mountain that cannot be topped. And, you can believe me; it was harder for me than for anybody to see that. Give it a try!”
Some seconds passed then Ali nodded. “I will!”
Cera nodded agreeing and gave Ali a cheering up smile.
“I’ll go to get some sleep now. I’m really tired”, she said at last, turned round, and plodded across the snowy meadow back to the cave. Ali looked after Cera slightly confused.
Never before Ali had heard Cera talking so open minded nearly self critically. It was really not like her, and this more than anything made her think about it. After a while Ali got cold and she returned to the cave’s entrance. Cera had fallen asleep meanwhile.

Chapter XVIII

Hours passed. Ali stepped out of the cave again and again and looked up to the moon.
When it lowered closer and closer to the western horizon Ali thought that she had kept watching long enough and that it was time to wake Littlefoot; she was really anxious to talk with him undisturbed. Littlefoot woke up immediately when she nudged him, nearly as if he had waited for it. He got up quickly. “Ali”, said Littlefoot the very same instant Ail addressed him: “Littlefoot.”
Both had to grin and suppress a laugh not to wake up the others. But Littlefoot became serious again very quickly and said: “Ali, I need to talk with you.”
Ali nodded: “And I’ve with you.”
“Let’s go out so we don’t wake up the others.” When they went out of the cave Littlefoot noticed the tracks Ali and Cera had left in the snow. He looked at them shortly, but didn’t say anything about it. “I’m sore for…what has happened before... But the shar... uhm I mean Chomper it is...” Ali stopped short. While she had kept watching she had prepared the words for this moment, but now everything was somehow different than she had imagined.
Littlefoot waited for a moment and when he was sure that Ali didn’t want or could say anything more he implored: “Please Ali give him a chance!”
Ali didn’t answer. Littlefoot continued after some seconds and nearly pleading:
“You almost don’t know him. He is really very nice. He has often helped and saved us.”
After some moments Littlefoot added thoughtfully: “If it hadn’t been for him, we had probably never come to know each other.”
“Why?” Ali asked surprised.
“He had saved me. And I’ve saved him.”
Ali bit on her lower lip thoughtfully and finally she asked half-heartedly:
“But what could be worse than a sharptooth?” Ali hadn’t expected an answer and so she was surprised when Littlefoot blurted out, “Eggsnatchers!” after some seconds.
Ali looked at Littlefoot confused. “What?”
“Eggsnatchers!” I think that eggsnatchers are worse than sharpteeth!” “Why?”
“Just consider. The eggs cannot even run away. And to be eaten before you are even hatched...”, Littlefoot trembled for the mere thought of it made him shudder. “My mother told me that an eggsnatcher had nearly stolen my egg very shortly before I hatched. Moreover they are hardly different from a sharptooth when they are hungry; they are only smaller.
When we came to know Chomper, we saved his egg from two eggsnatchers and later he saved us from the very same eggsnatchers.”
“Tell me about it Littlefoot. Please tell me exactly how you’ve come to know Chomper.”
And Littlefoot began to tell.
When he had finished finally he and Ali looked at each other wordlessly for a moment.
“Do you understand now why Chomper and I... we...”, Littlefoot corrected himself,
“...are so good friends?” Ali nodded: “I guess so. But...”
“But?” asked Littlefoot when Ali didn’t continue.
“Oh nothing”, said Ali shaking her head. “I’m cold. I’ll lay down again”, she said and before Littlefoot could answer anything she turned round and went back into the cave.
“Good night”, said Littlefoot so quietly that Ali didn’t hear it. He was dissatisfied, feeling he hadn’t convinced Ali completely. Slowly he too went back to the cave’s entrance.

[Malte279]

Does anyone still read the story? :unsure:



Chapter XIX

The very first sunbeams shone over the summits in the east and Littlefoot considered waking the others now. Finally he decided against it. It would be a comfort for all of them to sleep a little bit longer especially for Cera and Ali who had kept watching. At this thought Littlefoot noticed how tired he was himself. Maybe it would take very long before they would have the occasion to sleep long the next time. Very quietly Littlefoot went over to the place where Chomper slept. Littlefoot shuddered when he heard how Chomper’s empty stomach rumbled and when he saw how Chomper seemed to snap for something in his dream.
Chomper would be glad when Littlefoot showed him how much he trusted in him, for he had appeared sad and disappointed when nobody had asked him to watch when they had gone to sleep the previous evening. Littlefoot woke Chomper quietly. He looked a bit confused. “Littlefoot? What’s the matter?” “Hist! Be quiet Chomper so none of the others wakes up!” whispered Littlefoot. They went to the cave’s entrance, where they could speak a bit louder. “I think it is better when we sleep a little longer, otherwise Cera, Ali and I won’t get one foot in front of the other later. Would you keep watching and wake us when the bright circle is up completely?” Chomper’s face brightened distinctly. He seemed to be wide-awake promptly and nodded zealously. “Of course Littlefoot. It’s a pleasure!”
Littlefoot nodded at him smiling. “Thanks Chomper!”
Then he went back into the cave and lay down.
The time passed slowly for Chomper. Again and again he looked out for the sun, but only its first beams appeared over the mountains and tinged the sky there in an exceedingly beautiful red and orange. Chomper felt very feeble for he hadn’t eaten anything yesterday. Of course he couldn’t hunt as long as his friends were along with him. In this moment a thought struck him. The others were asleep! With a short look Chomper made sure Littlefoot too had fallen asleep again and then he sneaked over to the cave’s entrance. “If they don’t know everything will be okay”, he thought and began to run as soon as he was out of earshot.
While he was still running towards the edge of the forest he realized that the others would see his tracks in the snow, but he didn’t worry much about that. He would find a good excuse and besides the others had obviously left the cave too, for numerous trails led from the cave to the edge of the forest and back.
In this moment the outmost rim of the sun appeared over the mountains in the east and enlightened the cave’s entrance from which a shape appeared this moment.
Since Littlefoot had began to keep watching Ali hadn’t really fallen asleep again. She had dozed, but had woken up immediately always when she had really fallen asleep for a moment. The talk between Littlefoot and Chomper had woken her up completely and since Chomper kept watching Ali had observed him with half closed eyes. Despite of everything Littlefoot might say she distrusted the sharptooth and her mistrust was confirmed by Chomper’s sudden and hasty departure. She cast a short look back into the cave. The others slept soundly.
Then she ran after Chomper as quietly as she could.

Chapter XX

When he arrived in the forest Chomper stopped running and began quietly and carefully to sneak through the undergrowth. He didn’t notice Ali who stole after him within a safe distance taking cover behind bushes and tree trunks. Suddenly Chomper stopped and sniffed shortly. Ali held her breath; her heart beat up to her throat. The first moment Ali had thought that Chomper had scented her, but the gentle breeze that blew here came against her, so Chomper couldn’t perceive her. Chomper made some quick steps to the edge of a brushwood, he was just sneaking through, and looked out between the many thin boughs. He saw what he had smelled. In front of him was a small glade onto which the first sunbeams shone.
In the midst of the glade lay some small boulders and on the biggest one sat a small lizard.
It had probably crept there to be warmed up by the sunbeams to get its full mobility.
But it was still nearly paralyzed with coldness, a sure victim. Chomper did not even have to hurry. With some nearly comfortably steps Chomper had reached the rock and the lizard hadn’t even budged.
Ali peered carefully through the brushwood through which Chomper had peered through some moments before. What she saw took away her breath. Chomper was busy devouring a little lizard. Ali wanted nothing but to get away without being noticed. But she had to gulp. Chomper who had just finished his meal heard the gulping and a quiet rustling in the brushwood. He jerked round and saw Ali disappearing in the thicket. Chomper starred at the brushwood helplessly for some instants, then he went slowly back to the cave. The sun had risen half only, but Chomper foresaw that he wouldn’t need to wake the others.
From her tracks he could read, that Ali had started running after a few meters.

Chapter XXI

Chomper assumption proved right. When he entered the cave, the others were all up and awake already and he could read from their faces that Ali had already told them everything. Ali looked at him hostile. Cera eyed him with a touch of mistrust in her look. Ducky, Petrie and Spike looked at him with a mixture of fear and regret. When Littlefoot stepped towards Chomper he looked very grieved. The others, especially Ali and also Cera looked at him expectantly. Littlefoot tried to sound very reproachful when he asked: “Where have you been Chomper?” On the way back to the cave Chomper had imagined dozens of excuses but none would have sound credible. Besides Ali had seen everything and moreover Chomper suddenly felt that he hadn’t to vindicate himself for what he had done, not even before his herbivorous friends. With a tinge of anger in his voice he answered: “I’ve had breakfast!”
Littlefoot looked at him dismayed. Ali opened her mouth to say something, but kept quiet. The mistrust in Cera’s look increased and Spike, Petrie and Ducky looked even more frightened. Spike gulped just as Ali had done when she had observed Chomper. Nobody said a word for a while. Littlefoot looked at the others as if he wanted to ask if anybody wanted to say anything more, but no one did.
“We should set off now. Come on!” said Littlefoot after all and went past Chomper towards the way out of the cave. Chomper followed him after a short hesitation; only then the others set in motion too. When she stepped out of the cave behind Spike, Ducky looked at the snowfield in front of the cave surprised. “Oh! It looks like there was a lot going on tonight!” she said when she saw the numerous different trails in the snow.
“Chomper how do we come to the place where the river runs out of the valley?” Littlefoot asked. “We would have to go simply in this direction”, Chomper answered and pointed with one of his claw-armed hands in the direction he meant.
“But perhaps you should take some boughs with the green needles along. Who knows when we’ll find something eatable for you next time.” Littlefoot nodded.
“Oh yep, yep, yep, Chomper is right! He is!” said Ducky. Obviously she still sided with Chomper; and Littlefoot who had feared to be the only one again gave her a thankful look.

Nobody spoke during their further way to the conifers. Although the sun had risen completely in the meantime it was still not much warmer than it had been during the night. Their breath changed to white clouds and Spike had to carry not only Ducky, but also Petrie on his back who considered the air to be too cold for flying. He had wrapped up in his own wings.
Even after they had arrived by the trees they hardly spoke.
“Petrie, come on my back!” ordered Cera. “We load as many boughs as possible on Spike’s and my back and Ducky holds them on Spike’s and you on my back.”
“We’ll relieve one another on the way so you don’t have to carry the boughs alone all the time”, said Littlefoot. Cera and Spike made faces when the boughs were loaded upon their backs. They pricked very much and Ducky and Petrie could barely hold the boughs without pricking themselves. When they were finished they continued on the way Chomper had directed them. Littlefoot was pleased to see it was the direction of the bright circles highest stand. Littlefoot walked slowly intending to fall some distance behind the others now. Chomper had noticed it and tried to remain behind too now as inconspicuous as he could. Nevertheless Ali too noticed it and cast a look back.
She frowned shortly, but didn’t stop or say anything. Chomper had become more and more sad on their way to the conifers.
“Maybe he wants to talk with me undisturbed”, thought Littlefoot. They went side by side wordless for a while and Littlefoot felt Chomper watched him out of the corners of his eyes. Both waited for the other one to say something. After all Littlefoot couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Chomper?”
The little sharptooth stopped and looked at him. “Littlefoot! I had to eat something!” Chomper said pitiable.
He seemed to be close to tears. “It’s okay, I think, Chomper!” Littlefoot hurried to say.
“I know you had to eat. And... uhm that you unfortunately can’t eat plants.”
Chomper nodded. Despite of this affirmation from Littlefoot he looked grievously.
“But what’s about the others?” Littlefoot cogitated for a while.
“I don’t know”, he admitted, but then he corrected himself: “We all know it, but we prefer not to talk about it.” Chomper nodded again. Something in Littlefoot’s words seemed to displease him. They fell back into silence again for a while, until Chomper asked finally: “Did you have a fight about me?”
“Who?”
“You and the others. Especially Ali.”
“What makes you thinking that?” Littlefoot asked partly to win time to think over the answer.  “There were several tracks in front of the cave. Some of you have been outside tonight.”
“We had no fight tonight”, Littlefoot replied evasively.
“And before that?” Chomper asked persistently. Littlefoot nodded wordlessly.
“Stop! Look that!” croaked Petrie so loudly at the head of the column that even Littlefoot and Chomper at its end could understand him distinctly.
“Ah!” cried Cera. “Hold on to the boughs Petrie!” The next moment Littlefoot and Chomper heard surprised outcries from everybody. They exchanged a short look and ran to catch up with the others who had stopped and stared up fascinated. They had stopped short in front of a big glade on which a steep round hill rose, that was grassy and completely free of snow.
None of the others took notice of Littlefoot and Chomper, so much they were impressed by what they saw, but it was not the hill which appeared like a wonder to Littlefoot. The others looked up to the roof of the trees below which they stood. Littlefoot followed their looks.
The light of the sun, which stood a respectable distance over above the mountain’s tops meanwhile blinded him, but when he had accustomed to the light he recognized a small shadow between the boughs whose shape became clearer and clearer the longer he looked at it. Then Littlefoot identified it as a sappy green treestar. Before the beginning of the cold time the view would have hardly impressed any of them since there had been innumerable treestars in the Great Valley. But these had changed their color, had fallen down or had been eaten and had left their trees behind as gloomy frames. Littlefoot felt remembered to his first treestar. There was nothing else he could compare it with, for apart from the lone treestar the tree was just as bare of leafs as any other.
“Who gets it?” asked Cera after they had marveled it for long. “We can’t possibly divide it among six fairly.” Littlefoot felt the tension that was in the air suddenly. They were all hungry, they all wanted to have the treestar, none of them needed it more than the others, but only one of them would get it and earn the others envy. A quarrel seemed to be inevitable and a quarrel was really the last thing they needed now. In this moment a thought struck Littlefoot. “I suggest that we leave it to Chomper.”
Complete silence set in. Chomper fell back some steps and mumbled quietly:
“To me? Why to me?” He didn’t seem to be very enthusiastic about Littlefoot’s idea. Chomper had tested some leafs during his live and had always spit them out immediately, but never a treestar.
“Maybe one of my greatest wishes will be fulfilled soon”, thought Littlefoot. The treestar appeared to be so marvelous to him and to the others that Chomper simply couldn’t scorn it. Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Ali had all been surprised at Littlefoot’s suggestion.
But they realized that it was probably the only possibility to prevent a quarrel: “I agree”, said Cera finally as the first hesitating. “Alright ”, Ducky said next. Spike cast another longing look up to the treestar, but then he nodded and did even smile. Petrie shrugged spreading his wings, whereby also the last conifer’s boughs fell down from Cera’s back and croaked:
“Me okay with that.” At last Ali too nodded and said so quietly that she was the only one who heard it: “Well.”
The only who hadn’t given his consent was Chomper himself. Had asked him he had refused thankfully for sure. But he wasn’t asked. A gentle puff of wind passed through the tree’s tops, broke off the treestar that had hung there for such a long time, and let it hover down to them slowly. Littlefoot pushed Chomper with gentle force some steps forward so the treestar landed directly in front of his feet. Chomper only looked at it helpless and didn’t pick it up.
Finally Littlefoot picked it up carefully with his teeth and handed it to Chomper.
Chomper took it awkwardly. His claws left long tears in the leaf. Seeking help he looked around, but there was no way to escape the situation. Everybody was looking at him expectantly.
The treestar seemed to be a wonder for them. He could hardly imagine their reaction if he would refuse to eat it now. So he drew breath and bit into it. It tasted just as he had expected. Nasty. It was and effort for him not to simply spit out the leaf. But he brought himself to chew on valiantly. His whole interior seemed to rebel when he forced himself to swallow with all his will power. He began to feel sick and dizzy. But he forced himself to a smile that couldn’t have looked more spurious and crammed the rest of the treestar into his mouth.
He chewed briefly and struggled fiercely. For a moment he believed that he would have to vomit. The direct feeling disappeared, but a great nausea remained.
He became more and more dizzy. Everything spun around him and Littlefoot’s voice reached Chomper’s ear only deadened. “And Chomper? How was it?”
“It... it was...” Chomper felt how he lost his balance. He heard Littlefoot’s frightened outcry and he felt how Littlefoot cushioned his tumble.
Then he fainted.

[Malte279]

I don't know if anyone is still reading the story, but hope dies last I guess. Here are the next few chapters one of which is so short that I would definitely not make it a separate chapter if I was writing the story today
One of the chapters comes with a picture.

Chapter XXII

“That’s all my fault! I’ll never forgive me that.” Littlefoot’s words reached Chomper’s ears at first very quietly, but then they became more and more distinctly. He felt that he was lying on something warm and he couldn’t imagine what it could possibly be.
“Why your fault? Don’t talk such nonsense! He didn’t have to eat it!” It was Cera’s voice. “What choice did he have?” Littlefoot replied slightly grim and then he said depressed:
“I didn’t ask him at all.” “None of us did”, said Ali. “It is not your fault, but rather...” “Hooray! He wakes up!” shouted Ducky in whose face Chomper had looked as soon as he had opened his eyes a tiny slit. Actually he would have liked to know what Ali had been about to say. But Ducky’s cheer had interrupted her, and everybody’s attention was focused on him now. “Chomper, how are you?” asked Littlefoot who had hurried over to Chomper immediately, Cera and Ali closely behind him. Chomper saw that he lay on the snow-free hill they had seen before. The ground of the hill was not only not cold, but lukewarm.
But Chomper had no time to think about that, as he had not even opened his eyes completely when Petrie, who had apparently stood aside him together with Ducky and Spike all the time, asked: “Everything okay is with you?” Chomper stood up slowly. Doing so he became dizzy again, a black veil seemed to lie over his eyes and he sat down on the ground not to lose his conscience again. After some seconds he made another attempt.
This time he tried to get to his feet even more slowly and he succeeded. “Can you stand?” Littlefoot asked worried. Chomper nodded and doing so felt the sickness returning.
“I’m sick!” he said quietly and then he asked louder: “Why are we here?”
“We brought you here so you didn’t have to lie in the snow”, answered Cera.
“And why does no snow lie here?”
Cera shrugged. “It’s all the same. I do not objection.” Spike nodded agreeing while he chewed a bunch of grass he had pulled out of the ground.
“But there is no hill here!” protested Chomper feebly. “I’ve been here before, and there never was a hill here! And certainly there was snow around here!”
A little impatient Cera said: “Would you prefer it the other way round?”
“No, but…”, Chomper stopped. Cera was right, it was no use questioning this luck.
“Do you think that you can walk now?” Littlefoot asked after a short break. Chomper nodded. “I guess so, but please don’t go too fast.”
“Shall I carry you?” offered Littlefoot. “Littlefoot. Do you really believe that...”, Ali fell silent frightened. She hadn’t thought and had spoken much louder than she had intended and though she hadn’t finished, it was easy to guess what she had meant to say.
Chomper didn’t say anything, but he was disappointed. Anyhow he had hoped that Ali’s opinion of him had changed, but obviously it had been a false hope.
“Never mind Littlefoot”, he said and gave a sign of refusal.
“I’ll walk myself.” Ducky and Petrie began to load the conifer boughs they had put down nearby back on Spike’s and Cera’s backs.
Ali murmured something to Cera and underestimated the hearing of Chomper who stood only a few steps apart. He understood Ali’s words exactly: “I wonder how somebody can possibly get sick of a treestar.”
Till now Chomper had always kept cool at such remarks of Ali, but now he lost his
self-control. “And you wouldn’t become sick if I would offer you a tasty piece of meat?”
he shouted furious and looked at her aggressively. Everybody stopped in their motions and looked at him. Chomper felt that a lot depended of what he would say now.
“Ali why are you so... so...”, Chomper couldn’t think of the right expression.
“Why don’t you give me a chance? Are you so scared of me? I am a sharptooth! I can’t and I don’t want to change it”, said Chomper with a short sidelong glance at Littlefoot.
Chomper appeared to be weary when he continued: “I would never hurt any of you, but if you want it so, then we’ll go asunder and I’ll go on alone.”
Chomper cast his eyes down and waited for the others saying anything. Nobody stirred, but after all Spike, on whose back Ducky held the boughs stepped towards Chomper and eyed him for a long while. And then he advanced another step and drove his tongue through Chomper’s face so he sat down involuntary. Ducky let the boughs drop, jumped down from Spike’s back and ran to Chomper. “Spiky is right! He is! That is out of question! You won’t go on alone! Oh no!” “She right is Chomper! Me no want you go neither.” Petrie flapped over to Ducky, Spike and Chomper from Cera’s back. Littlefoot gave them a relieved smile and Chomper too looked at them thankful. Cera stayed by Littlefoot who didn’t move from where he stood. Now Ali stepped near. It could be read from her face that she was fighting an inner battle. She just wanted to say something when suddenly a slight vibration of the ground could be felt, that grew stronger very quickly.
“What’s that?” Cera asked frightened.
“An earthshake!” cried Ducky, but Ali shook her head. “That’s not an ordinary earthshake.” “What is it then?” asked Littlefoot drowning out a booming and rumbling that became louder and louder. “Run! Run as fast as you can! Get away from the hill!” cried Ali.
She whirled around and rushed away. Littlefoot ran after her immediately. With one leap Chomper was on his feet again and had to fight against the vertigo that set in immediately. Cera ran off with an outcry. She too had understood what was about to happen. She ran into the forest, but in another direction than Ali and Littlefoot.
Ducky jumped onto Spike’s back. “Go! Run!” But Spike looked helpless first in the one direction where Ali and Littlefoot ran and then in the other direction into which Cera ran.
He couldn’t decide for one direction. Suddenly a terrible stench like rotten eggs was in the air. “Hurry little brother!” shouted Ducky desperately from Spike’s back.
Like most of the others she recognized the danger that came from this hill.
But Spike was still unsure in which direction he should turn. Finally it was Petrie who took the decision for Spike. “Follow Petrie!” he shouted and flew off. He flew neither after Cera nor after Littlefoot and Ali, but between the directions in which they ran to keep the distance to all of them as small as possible. Chomper followed Petrie as fast as he could.
He understood that it was high time to get away from this hill. But Spike set in motion only very slowly in spite of everything. This changed however when a deafening detonation could be heard behind him and a big boulder from the top of the newly born volcano struck on the ground very close behind him. Now Spike ran at such a tempo that he outran Chomper even before they had reached the edge of the forest. Glowing boulders whizzed through the sky like comets, and the sky itself seemed to darken more and more from the dense smoke. Just when Chomper reached the edge of the wood the first torrent of lava welled out of the burst top of the hill.



Chapter XXIII

Ali stopped for a moment to cast a look back. Littlefoot was close behind her, but nobody else was in sight. She waited until he had caught up with her. “Where are the others?”
“I don’t know. They’ve probably run in another direction.” In his mind Littlefoot added:
“I really grow kind of accustomed to that.”
“I just hope they’re running fast!” said Ali and cast a look up, through the bare treetops, that cambered above them, to the sky, where glowing volcano stones whizzed along.
“We mustn’t stay here, Ali!” said Littlefoot. Ali nodded: “You’re right. Everything here will be aflame soon.” “We must reach Chomper’s rock. There is nothing combustible on it; we’ll be safe there, I believe.” They ran back on the way they had come before. From behind they could hear the volcano’s cracking. Once a glowing shell of the volcano that was bigger than both of them together hit the ground so close beside them that it was pure luck that neither of them was hit by the embers that squirted around. Everywhere smaller lumps of glowing lava fell down through the leafless roof of the forest. The smallest extinguished sizzling in the snow but the bigger ones melted the snow and let it evaporate within few seconds.
The snow only delayed the fire but was unable to stop it. More and more often they passed places where bushes and trees had already caught fire.
Around the fires the snow had melted to water and the ground below had become muddy. They had to go some short detours as their way was repeatedly blocked by fires, but finally they reached Chomper’s rock. Hundreds of lava lumps lay on the snowy meadow in front of the rock and had melted some very big holes into the snow, but there was nothing combustible below the snow. Nothing but sand. So these lumps just glowed harmlessly.
It hailed further glowing volcano stones and rocks around Littlefoot and Ali. “We must go up there!” said Littlefoot and pointed at Chomper’s rock with his head.
“We are more safely up there.” Ali nodded and turned around. Again they had improbable luck not to be struck by one of the glowing rocks while they covered the distance back to the foot of the ramp of Chomper’s rock. When reached it they ascended as quickly as possible.

Chapter XXIV

Meanwhile Ducky, Spike, Chomper and Petrie ran respectively flew as fast as they could through the forest that had already caught fire at many spots around them. Chomper cast a short look up through the bare treetops and the wisps of smoke, that grew denser and denser, to the sun. “If we continue running in this direction we’ll reach the river. Maybe we are safe on the other bank”, he shouted to the others without stopping. “If you only can get over”, answered Petrie looking back shortly. “What do you mean? Why shouldn’t we get over?” asked Ducky alarmed from Spike’s back. “Hard water become normal water again when it get to warm from Burning Mountain”, answered Petrie this time without looking back.
“Gee you’re right!” shouted Chomper frightened. Spike howled up panicky and suddenly reached a speed that Chomper and even Petrie could hardly keep up with. Ducky had to cling to Spike’s backplates as fierce as she could, not to fall down. Chomper ran faster too now.
He felt the biting smell of the dense smoke in his nose. And suddenly he became dizzy again. He tried to fight against it, but it was in vain. He tripped tumbled down and remained lying on the ground. None of the others would have noted it in time had not the way in front of them been blocked by a fallen, burning trunk. Petrie cast a short look back and saw Chomper lying on the ground. “Stop! You no go on Spiky!” he shouted. “Chomper is no running on anymore! We get him!” Spike stopped immediately and jerked round so abruptly that Ducky had nearly fallen down from his back. With one leap he wanted to run off, but he skidded on the forest’s soil, that had been changed to mud by the melting slush, and fell down sprawling. He got up awkwardly, uttered a growl, that sounded surprisingly similar to an angry curse of one of his friends, and ran on. In the meantime Petrie had arrived by Chomper who hadn’t lost his consciousness. He crawled forward slowly and carefully.
“You are there?” he mumbled when he beheld Petrie. “Never again I’ll eat a treestar!”
Petrie nodded and looked out impatiently for Spike and Ducky, who arrived at last.
“Can you carry him little brother?” asked Ducky Spike when she jumped from his back.
Spike nodded hasty and Ducky and Petrie tried to the best of their ability to lift Chomper on Spike’s back. But he was pretty heavy and they wouldn’t have made it if Chomper himself hadn’t struggled as well as he could to get on Spike’s back too. Spike moaned under the weight and bowed his knees a bit, but when Ducky had taken seat on Spike’s back too and clung to Chomper to keep him on Spike’s back, he set in motion again slowly. Spike had done only a few steps when a big burning bough broke off from a tree and fell exactly on the spot where they all had been just a few moments ago. Petrie looked back frightened but Spike continued his way imperturbable although he sank down deep in the mud because of the heavy weight on his back.

Chapter XXV

Cera didn’t know how long she had already run through the forest, that burned at more and more places, without reaching its end. Everywhere around her sparks floated through the air and burning boughs fell down on the ground. She was alone and afraid.
Already shortly after she had run off she had regretted that she hadn’t stayed with the others, but when she had understood what kind of a hill it was on which they had been her only thought had been to get away from it. At first there had been only ashes, embers and big and small lumps of lava falling onto the ground here and there, but the forest had caught fire gradually at more and more places and now it seemed to be nearly completely aflame and there seemed to be no end to it. She stopped for a moment to fetch deep breath several times, but this was no relief because of the hot and smoky air. She thought about what to do next. The forest, she had seen it from Chomper’s rock, covered nearly the whole valley. It seemed hopeless to search for a treeless place by chance. She remembered the river whose drain out of the valley had been their original destination. Maybe she could make for safety on its other bank. She tried to estimate the direction she had to turn by the sun and ran on.

[The Great Valley Guardian]

I just got finished reading chapter 22, it think....but it's well written and I;m enjoying it! Keep'em coming!

[Malte279]

Thank you very much for your reaction Great Valley Guardian! I appreciate it a lot
Here are the next two chapters. They come with one picture:

Chapter XXVI

Petrie and Spike with Ducky and Chomper on his back had to avoid burning obstacles quite frequently meanwhile. They had lost their bearings and had not the slightest idea in which direction the river was. The sun was out of sight behind the flames, that had almost encircled them completely several times, and behind dense clouds of black smoke. “Where do we have to go?” asked Ducky Chomper uneasy, but the sharptooth made a helpless face.
“I’m sorry. I really don’t know.” The heat was nearly unbearable and the smoke threatened to smother them. “Petrie, fly up and look where we have to go!” shouted Ducky.
“Fly through that?” asked Petrie quiet and anxiously while he sat down aside Ducky and pointed upwards with one wing. The tree’s tops over them were a single sea of flames.
“No, nobody could come through that!” thought Ducky. Everything seemed lost.
With a loud crack a big burning bough fell down close beside Spike. He made a terrified leap forward and ran some further steps before he stopped. In this moment Ducky twitched as she smelled something else but the biting, dense smoke. Something she as a swimmer had a very sensitively nose for. Water. “This way Spiky!” she shouted and pointed in the direction from where the scent came. Ducky sounded so positively that Spike didn’t hesitate, but ran off at once. Already after a short distance the burning spots grew less and they felt a fresh, cool puff of wind. Spike made his way through a very dense shrub. And then they stood at the bank of the river that was still covered by a sheet of ice that had only some holes here and there, where glowing stones of the volcano had landed. Petrie was the first who started to cheer and he flew a sequence of loops and rolls. Ducky and Chomper, who meanwhile felt much better than before, joined in and so did Spike whereby he gamboled around with joy, so Ducky and Chomper on his back were shook thoroughly and finally fell down from his back. But they jumped up again immediately and hugged each other and Chomper lifted Ducky up whereby he shouted: “It’s a piece of luck that you have such a sensitive nose for water, even if it is hard water!” “Yes, we lucky! We safe!” called Petrie and Ducky blushed slightly.
Nobody seemed to bother that Chomper was a sharptooth.
“Not yet! Only when we are at the other bank”, he said, responding to Petrie’s last words when the first cheerfulness had faded away a bit. Ducky and Chomper climbed back on the back Spike offered them and he stepped on the ice, but jumped back immediately when it gave a threatening grate and numeral thin white cracks ran through the ice.
Bewildered and frightened Spike looked up to Ducky. But she laughed and said:
“Don’t worry Spiky! All together we are too heavy of course. Let us alight from your back!” and she asked Chomper: “Are you able to walk again?”
He nodded: “Yes, I’m much better than before.”
And he skidded down from Spike’s back carefully. Ducky landed aside him with one leap. “Let’s see who bee first over there!” shouted Petrie frolicsome and flew off as fast as he could. “Oh no, no, no!” Ducky shouted after him. “We can’t fly and I don’t want to run if I have to go on the hard water!”
When they had finally reached the other bank Chomper cast a look back. The fire had reached the brink or the forest on the other bank and began to melt the ice. Only a slight smooth breeze blew, but it drove the sparks in the other direction and prevented the fire from spreading over to the other bank where they were.
“And what about the others?” he asked frightened. All cheerfulness was gone at once without leaving a trace. Everybody became very pale. Petrie forgot to flap with his wings and precipitated. None of them said a word.
 
Chapter XXVII

Cera had been lucky till now. The part of the forest she had traversed on her way in direction of the river so far had, as luck would have it, been spared almost completely by the fire. Nevertheless she had been running as she didn’t know when the fire would break out here too. Moreover the fire could cut off her way to the river every instant and when this happened she would be lost. The very next moment she had to see that her apprehensions were founded, for she suddenly felt the biting, dense smoke in her nose and her eyes that began to water from this immediately. After a few more steps Cera could see the fire.
The breeze didn’t drive it towards, but neither away from her. It burned in both directions as far as Cera could and though Cera kept a respectful distance from the flames she could feel the nearly unbearable heat. After short hesitation Cera ran on following another direction along the fire hoping to find a spot where she could pass. But she memorized the direction she had kept so far because the river had to be somewhere in this direction. Maybe the dense smoke would block the sight at the sun that was the only point of reference about the direction for her. Suddenly she saw a gap in the high blazing wall of flames beside her. There lay a fallen trunk that, unlike the other trees in whose tops the fire spread extremely fast, hadn’t caught fire yet. Cera stopped and cast a worried look back. She was almost relieved to see that meanwhile even behind her great columns of smoke arose over the forest. The fire had started there too, so she was spared the possible choice to go back and to hope the fire would spare that part of the forest. But still Cera hesitated to climb over the fallen trunk into the flaming inferno behind. In that moment she noticed a tree that stood close to the fallen trunk. It was completely carbonized and wrapped up in flames from its roots to its top. It moaned, inclined to one side and was, Cera had no doubts about that, about to fall over and block the way she had just discovered. Now she didn’t hesitate any longer.
With a few leaps she was at the fallen trunk, pike dived over it and ran on to escape the horrible heat that could be felt even in a far distance to the fire. Cera heard the cracking of the tumbling tree behind and she knew that there was no more way back now. She followed the direction she had run to before the fire had blocked her way. Flames flared everywhere around and Cera had to pass very close to them very often. Several times she felt sparks falling on her back, but they extinguished at once. Cera was very thirsty and the heat and stuffy smoke were not exactly helping. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks for she had discovered something. Footprints. In the meanwhile dried up mud she could recognize distinctly the extraordinary deep footprints of spikedtailfeet. “Spike!” it flashed through her mind, and immediately she deviated from her way to follow the trail. While she ran she pondered frantically. Spike had certainly tried to reach the river too. Ducky had probably sat on his back and Petrie had flown. But what had happened with Chomper? Had he been separated from the others, or far worse, had something happened with him?
Suddenly Cera stopped.
The trail led directly into the fire. She couldn’t breath for a moment and hoped urgently that the fire had broken out here only when Spike had already been gone. But the fear for the others remained. Cera evaded the fire and ran on into the previous direction. The smoke became denser and denser. Cera had to cough and held her breath. She became very tired suddenly and recognized with fear that it had to be because of the dense smoke.
The heat was ever increasing and when Cera already feared not to be able to endure it anymore she recognized the river. She saw it only indistinctly and very vague blurred beyond a flaring wall of fire. For a moment Cera believed to have to cry with rage and disappointment. Her eyes watered anyway already from the heat and the biting smoke. But then Cera pulled herself together and whipped the tears off. The wall of flames couldn’t be very broad otherwise she wouldn’t have seen the river beyond so distinctly. She thought of a plan that would have seemed to be madness to her in every other situation. She had to go through the fire! She shivered by the mere thought of it, but the closing in crackling of the flames made certain that she would end up in the fire anyway if she wouldn’t try it.
That settled it. She took a short run during which her heart beat like a hammer, closed her eyes rushed forward and jumped. It was easier than Cera had dared to hope. She hadn’t even believed that she could really make it at all, but she felt the heat only for a very short moment and then a cool breeze. She took another leap not to feel the burning heat of the flames behind her so strong anymore and opened her eyes again. Right in front of her was the river, but many thin and thick cracks were running through the sheet of ice that lay over the water.
The ice broke to floes everywhere and began to drift downstream faster and faster. But Cera saw something more. On the other bank were Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Chomper looking very grievous. Cera was relieved about Chomper’s presence and shouted to the others:
“Ducky! Spike! Petrie! Chomper! I’m here!” They all looked up jerky. Spike saw her first, uttered a shout of joy and cut a joyful caper.
The next moment Ducky saw her too and shouted loud: “Cera!” She pointed at her with one hand. “There she is! It is her! Do you see her? It is her!” she shouted and hopped around fiercely with dither. Petrie and Chomper had seen her too now and Petrie flew towards her while Chomper shouted: “Hurry up! The river will soon be as it has been before. Then you can’t come across anymore!”
Cera agreed with him, for it was already perceptible that the stream of the river had to be very strong, and the ice grew less and less. One could see it melting. Close to the bank the ice had already thawed out. Cera sized up the distance to the next floe shortly and jumped. When she landed on the floe she cried out frightened for it inclined sideward immediately below her weight and only because she managed to shift her weight to the other side immediately she could prevent the floe from turning over and dropping her into the water.
Cera felt how the staggering floe set in motion below her feet and began to float downstream. She didn’t waste time, but jumped to the next floe nearby immediately.
Again Cera lost her balance and almost fell into the water. The next leap brought her on a bigger ice field, that didn’t stagger as much. But it grated loudly and for a moment Cera feared to break through the ice like Ducky had back then in the Great Valley. Cera didn’t brake in, but after a few moments the part of the ice she had landed on broke loose from the remaining ice field and she had to jump off again, before the floe drifted too far away from the rest of the ice field.
She landed safety on the big ice field, but slipped and clapped down so heavily that stars seemed to dance in front of her eyes.
“Cera you alright?” Cera looked up to Petrie who flapped in the air directly in front of her. She nodded and stood up slowly. “You hurry up Cera. Not much time is left.” Petrie was right; Cera felt how the ice melted away behind her. She ran over to the other end of the ice field hasty. Just the moment she arrived there a single floe floated past on the river that was otherwise nearly free of ice meanwhile.
Cera hesitated for a moment before she jumped. This time she didn’t land on the floe exactly but only near its edge. Because of her swing the floe drifted towards the bank, but it was even harder for Cera not to topple backwards into the water. She tried to get closer to the center of the floe with one leap, but she misjudged the distance this time and landed far on the opposite edge of the floe. It tilted forward and this time Cera couldn’t hold on to the smooth as mirror ice; with a short shriek she tumbled forward into the water.

It was as if innumerable small pointed needles would prick at her when she dipped in the icy cold water. Strangely it didn’t even seem to be so unpleasant to Cera after the heat in the burning forest. A strong vortex pulled her into the deep, no matter how much she struggled against it, while the current pulled her downstream. Cera struggled as fierce as she could and suddenly she felt sandy ground below her feet. With all her might she pushed of and for her big surprise she broke through the water surface immediately. She swam towards the bank and then she felt the sandy ground again while her head was still above the water. She clawed firmly to the ground and leaned against the stream. She made to find save foothold and to approach the bank slowly step by step while the undertow still pulled on her legs. Completely out of breath Cera reached the bank where she was welcomed jubilantly by Chomper, Ducky, Spike and Petrie, who had stayed close to Cera while she had been in the water. Cera lay down and closed her eyes for a moment.