04 Henry

4. Henry Jack gasped as Annie held out her hand. Oh, brother. She was always trying to make friends with animals. But this was going too far. “ Don’t get too close to him, Annie! ” Jack shouted. But Annie touched the Pteranodon’s crest, She stroked his neck. She was talking to him. What in the world was she saying? Jack took a deep breath. Okay. He would go down, too. It would be good to examine the creature. Take notes. Like a scientist.

Jack started down the rope ladder. When he got to the ground, Jack was only a few feet away from the creature. The creature stared at Jack. His eyes were bright and alert. “ He’s soft, Jack, ” said Annie. “ He feels like Henry. ” Jack snorted. “ He’s no dog, Annie. ” “ Feel him, Jack, " said Annie. Jack didn’t move. “ Don’t think, Jack. Just do it. ” Jack stepped forward. He put out his arm. Very cautiously. He brushed his hand down the creature’s neck. Interesting. A thin layer of fuzz covered the Pteranodon’s skin. “ Soft, huh?” said Annie.

Jack reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil and a notebook. He wrote: FUZZY SKIN “ What are you doing?” asked Annie. “ Taking notes, ” said Jack. “ We’re probably the first people in the whole world to ever see a real live Pteranodon. ” Jack looked at the Pteranodon again. The creature had a bony crest on top of his head. The crest was longer than Jack’s arm. “ I wonder how smart he is, ” Jack said. “ Very smart, ” said Annie. “ Don’t count on it, ” said Jack. “ His brain’s probably no bigger than a bean. ” “ No, he’s very smart. I can feel it, ” said Annie. “ I’m going to call him Henry. ” Jack wrote in his notebook: SMALL BRAIN?

Jack looked at the creature again, “ Maybe he’s a mutant, ” he said. The creature tilted his head. Annie laughed. “ He’s no mutant, Jack. ” “ Well, what’s he doing here then? Where is this place?” said Jack. Annie leaned close to the Pteranodon. “ Do you know where we are, Henry?” she asked softly. The creature fixed his eyes on Annie. His long jaws were opening and closing. Like a giant pair of scissors. “ Are you trying to talk to me, Henry?” asked Annie. “ Forget it, Annie. ” Jack wrote in his notebook: MOUTH LIKE SCISSORS?

“ Did we come to a time long ago, Henry?” asked Annie. “ Is this a place from long ago?” Suddenly she gasped. “ Jack! ” He looked up. Annie was pointing toward the hill. On top stood a huge dinosaur!