| Zachary was a boy who was six years old. He was sitting on
his back porch one lazy summer afternoon passing the time by counting
clouds and comparing their relative shapes and sizes. "How lovely these
puffy clouds are," he thought, and from time to time a yard animal would
distract his attention. Two young squirrels scrambled spirals down the old
oak tree, one after the other, in an innocent game of young squirrel tag.
He looked down at the two squirrels, who were temporarily frozen in place
while they sized each other up. "I wish I could cling to tree trunks
and branches like the squirrels," he thought. "I would love to scurry up
and down and run on branches like the squirrels, but maybe, if I tried,
I might fall. I've never seen a squirrel fall. I suppose it's possible
that once in a great while, a squirrel might fall while playing in a tree,
but I have never witnessed such an event."
Back to the clouds, Zachary noticed one that looked like a flower in his
mother's garden move slowly underneath a much larger cloud that looked
like a popcorn puff. The flower cloud must be lower than the popcorn
cloud because if it were higher, it would disappear behind the larger one.
And if they were both at the same height, they would move at the same speed.
Besides, the flower cloud is in shadow which means the popcorn cloud is
casting the shadow from its position between the sun and the flower cloud.
|
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| Zachary was lucky to have such an active backyard filled with
birds, squirrels, and all manner of insect at his disposal, on any day,
at any time. He thought, "It all makes perfect sense. Each plant and
animal, no matter how big or small, has its place in the overall scheme of
things. Each has its function and, if for some reason one type of animal
were to suddenly disappear, another animal would have to take its place to
ensure the function is still performed. I wonder what my backyard looked
like
100 million years ago. There were different animals back then. Dinosaurs
ruled the earth. Different plants, different animals, I just
wonder......................"
|
 |
Suddenly, Zachary heard somebody calling his name. He looked around, but
didn't see anyone. The voice sounded small and far away. It continued,
"Zachary. Zaaaaachary. Look down here, over by the oak tree." Zachary
looked at the base of the old oak tree and saw a squirrel, sitting up on
his hind legs with his hands together. The squirrel looked to the right,
then to the left, and then at Zachary. Zachary's eyes widened in amazement
as the squirrel spoke again. "Come over here Zachary, I have something
important to tell you." Zachary couldn't believe his own eyes and ears.
"Is that squirrel talking to me? How can that be? Squirrels don't
talk." The squirrel continued. "Zachary, come here and let me tell you a
little secret."
|
|
Zachary slowly walked over to the squirrel and crouched down in front of it.
The squirrel did not run away but offered Zachary an acorn. Zachary accepted
with astonishment. "Thank you. I will keep it in my pocket. But how can
you talk? Squirrels don't talk." The squirrel continued in his little
squirrel voice, "We have been watching you for a while and have decided to
let you in on a little secret. You are inquisitive and in love with nature.
You watch the yard animals, the insects, and you even study the plants. My
friends and I have noticed your great respect for the natural world, and it
is for this reason we have decided to tell you about the Magic Jungle."
"The Magic Jungle? What is this squirrel talking about?" Zachary thought.
"Tell me. What is this Magic Jungle?" The squirrel continued, "A long time
ago, the world was a very different place. Different plants and animals were
alive then. A long time ago, what is now your backyard was a jungle with
exotic plants and animals inhabiting it. Wouldn't it be exciting to go to
this jungle to explore and have a look?" "Yes, yes," Zachary thought.
"Well, you can," said the squirrel. The squirrel pulled from behind his back
a little piece of paper and a little pair of spectacles. He put on his
spectacles and read from the piece of paper. "Now let me see, Magic Leaves,
Magic Branches, Magic Acorns, ah! Here we are. Magic Jungle. One must stand
on this very spot under the old oak tree, close his eyes, and say these magic
words.
|
Jungle jungle
Magic Jungle
take me there with-
out much mumble
with these words that
I make rhyme
take me to
another time.
|
|
And then you name the time to which you want to go. For instance, you
could say 65 million years ago. Or you might say 100 million years ago.
Any time you name, that's the time in which you will go to the Magic Jungle."
Zachary was fascinated by the squirrel's instructions. "Have you ever done
this?" he asked. "Have you ever visited the Magic Jungle?" "No no," the
squirrel replied. "We squirrels are much to busy with other magic things
like finding acorns and nuts to store away for winter. Right now, I'm
involved with instructing the young squirrels on how to do spiral oak tree tag.
They are coming along rather nicely, don't you think?" Zachary thought for a
moment, "Going back in time. And staying in my own backyard. What would it
be like?" The squirrel finally said, "I think that you should try it out at
least once. Just remember, in order to get back, you must say the same magic
words except at the end you must say 'hence' instead of 'ago'. 65 million
years 'hence', for example." The squirrel removed his spectacles and returned
them with the piece of paper to where he got them. And with that he said,
"Tah tah. Enjoy the Magic Jungle," and scurried back up the old oak tree in
a jiffy.
|
|
Zachary stood there and looked around the yard for any other squirrels that
talked, but found none. "So I can go back in time. To the magic jungle.
All I have to do is stand on this spot under the old oak tree, close my eyes
and say the magic words. But what if it doesn't work? It's got to work.
The squirrel said it would, and I, for one, have never been told a falsehood
by a squirrel. I really do want to go. I'll give it a try."
|
|
Zachary closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He heard the sounds of the
yard. A dog barking some distance down the street. The sounds of a variety
of birds, and the scurrying sounds of squirrels in trees. "But how far
back in time should I go?" he asked himself. He remembered seeing the bones
of a
Tyrannosaurus Rex at the museum.
T-Rex lived about 65 million years ago. If I go back that far, maybe I
can see one." He was ready. Zachary recited the magic words aloud.
|
Jungle jungle
Magic Jungle
take me there with-
out much mumble
with these words that
I make rhyme
take me to
another time.
Sixty-five million years ago! |
 |
|
All of a sudden, Zachary noticed that the dog had stopped barking. The
familiar sounds of birds had stopped. The air smelled different somehow.
New sounds, quite unfamiliar, could now be heard. "Is that a bird I hear?
That doesn't sound like any bird I've ever heard." Zachary opened his eyes.
The familiar old oak tree had been replaced by a new tree which looked like a
palm tree. He looked around for his house. "Where is it? And for that
matter where is my yard? That's strange. This doesn't look like my yard at
all." Everything was over grown. Plants were everywhere and everything took
on a deep green appearance. "It sure is getting warm," Zachary thought. A
bead of sweat rolled down Zachary's forehead and onto the bridge of his nose.
He wiped it away thinking, "It was warmer 65 million years ago. I learned
that in school and at the museum. It's warmer now. I've made it. I went
back 65 million years. The squirrel was right. I'm in the age of the
dinosaurs!"
|
|
Zachary walked slowly through the dense jungle, looking for signs of animal
life. From time to time, ahead of his foot steps, he could hear the sound of
little animals running away on the jungle floor. But he could not see them.
The dense growth made it hard to see the jungle floor. Zachary stopped to
look and listen. "What are these animals that are running away? I can hear
them squeak from time to time. They sound a little like the moles I have heard
in my backyard." Then Zachary could hear another sound, more distant, but one
that he could definitely recognize. "That's the sound of an animal chewing on
leaves. I've got to see what it is." He slowly moved in the direction of the
chewing sound. He walked up a small hill and to the top. There he stopped
again where he had a much better view of the surrounding area. The chewing
sound was much closer now. And then, without warning, he heard it. A very low
musical sound which took him by surprise. "That sounds like a tugboat," he
thought, and looking to his right, Zachary could finally see the source of the
tugboat sound and the chewing.
|
|
Parasaurolophus! Duck billed dinosaurs. And a whole herd of them.
They'd gathered around a small pond to have a drink and graze the plant life.
Their crests were beautiful, with an average length of six feet and a rainbow
of colors from blue to red. Their average body length was 30 feet with an
average height of 10 feet. The dinosaur books hardly do them justice.
Some were much smaller, about 3 to 6 feet tall. "The big ones are the parents
and the smaller ones are their children," Zachary thought.
|
 |
| One of the big ones lifted its head high and let out another low
musical note from its crest. "This note is shorter than the last one," he
thought. The
parasaurolophus looked around as a group of youngsters ran to its side.
The parent duck bill touched its nose to one of the youngster's, and then they
both raised their heads and looked directly at Zachary. The big one then let
out another short tugboat burst and the smaller one followed with a note that
was not as deep, but exactly the same duration.
|
| Then the little
parasaurolophus started walking toward Zachary. "He's walking toward
me. What should I do?" Zachary walked slowly backward, away from the little
dinosaur, and then he heard a voice.
|
 |
"Zachary. Zaaaaachary."
The little
parasaurolophus was speaking to him.
"Please don't go away. I want to talk to you." |
|
Zachary froze in his footsteps. "What does he want? Why is he talking to
me?" A voice inside of Zachary calmed him. It was his own voice
of common sense. "Don't be afraid. Ask him what he wants." Zachary spoke
to the young
parasaurolophus. "What would you like to talk about?" The
parasaurolophus answered, "We would like to welcome you to our world. I would
like to show you around and act as your guide. You should know that the Magic
Jungle can be a very dangerous place if you don't take certain precautions.
There are other dinosaurs here that aren't as hospitable as my
herd of parasaurolophus." Zachary walked closer to the young dinosaur.
He looked into his eyes. They were blue and compassionate eyes, not at all
like the dinosaur books in the library had portrayed. He asked, "What is your
name?" "My name is Perry," he answered. "Perry Parasaurolophus. I'm pleased
to make your acquaintance." At once, Zachary felt more comfortable. Perry is
a very polite and accommodating dinosaur. Down by the pond, the big
parasaurolophus let out another short tugboat burst. "Mama is calling us.
Let's go down to the pond where I can introduce you to my herd."
|
|
The two newly made friends walked down to the pond where they were both
greeted by all of the
parasaurolophus, and a serenade of tugboat calls that must have lasted 2
minutes. Each
parasaurolophus made a unique sound, as individual as a human finger
print. Together, the individual tugboat calls made music, which sounded to
Zachary, like a symphony from an alien world. Zachary asked Perry, "Do they
speak English?" "No," he said. "Even though we all love you, I am the only
one who speaks your language. I will be the one you will communicate with
directly." After the greeting calls had finished, the young dinosaurs
affectionately nudged Zachary with their duck bills. "Hey! That tickles."
|
| From a distant hill top, a mother
T-Rex, with young, viewed the greeting at the pond.
She bent down and released a carcass for her children to eat. The two little
Tyrannosaurus fed noisily. Again, she looked at the gathering of
parasaurolophus at the pond and thought, "Hmmmm. Food!"
|
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| Perry showed Zachary around, telling him of the chores and tasks
the
parasaurolophus accomplished every day to ensure their survival. "We eat
plants," Perry said. "I couldn't imagine eating anything else." Zachary asked, "How do you make the tugboat sounds?" "With our crests," Perry answered.
"We send air from our lungs through our sinus cavities and into
our large crests. This air, rushing through our crests, creates the deep
bellowing tones you refer to as 'tugboat sounds'. Each
parasaurolophus has a unique tone. We use these tones to identify one
another from afar, and as warning signals in case a
theropod is nearby." "What are
theropods?" Zachary asked. Perry explained, "Theropods are meat eaters,
and they like to eat us. They also like to attack our nursery and eat very
young parasaurolophus. They even steal our eggs. One theropod, which is
prevalent in this area, is the colonosaurus. They are small when compared
to our large size, but they are a real threat because they move in packs,
and in sufficient numbers are able to overwhelm even the largest
parasaurolophus, though this rarely happens. They are very sneaky and
because of their small size, are able to attack our nests. Usually, by the
time we see them, they are already upon us." Zachary and Perry walked
among the other
parasaurolophus who were busy eating leaves and sipping water from the
pond. A large parasaurolophus stood guard with its head held high above the
jungle floor. Once in a while, it would gently strip leaves from a tree and
while chewing, would resume its watch. Perry came to a lush green plant with
little green leaves and stripped off a bite to eat. Zachary inquired, "You
said you have nests for the baby parasaurolophus. Where are they? Are
we going to see them?" Perry swallowed his bite and answered, "Yes. We
always make our nests near fresh water. When the herd leaves the nesting
sites in search of food and water, the babies are always left with at least
one adult per nest to look after them. We store food in our cheek pouches and
bring it back to the nests to feed the young. The adults take turns going out
to find food and staying behind to tend the young. Our nests aren't far from
here."
The big
parasaurolophus let out a short low note and the others started moving away
from the pond, into the jungle. Perry explained, "Mama said it's time to go
back. Come on. We are going to the nesting area." During the walk, Zachary
noticed familiar trees he had known from his time. "We have these kinds of
trees in my neighborhood," he thought. Along with the palm trees and jungle
plants, there were sycamore trees, pine trees, and even oak trees.
|
 |
After only a short walk through the jungle, they came to a large open
clearing. Zachary counted no less than 10 parasaurolophus nests. Each one
consisted of a low mound of dirt and vegetation with a circular depression,
much like a crater. The craters were spaced evenly at about 25 feet
from each other. Inside the craters were the baby parasaurolophus. There
were an average of 4 babies per nest. When the little dinosaurs saw the group
arrive, they immediately became excited and began to make little dinosaur
sounds, as if to say, "Here I am. Here I am."
|
|
It sounded like 'Qwauk qwauk'. 'Qwauk qwauk'. The returning dinosaurs
dispersed to accommodate every nest and began nuzzling the little ones and
feeding them. The youngsters could barely walk, and standing seemed to take
much effort on their part. Zachary was moved by this show of affection
between the little ones and the adults. Zachary asked Perry, "How old are
they?" He answered, "Two weeks old. They are growing at an astonishing
rate." The little parasaurolophus were about 1 1/2 feet tall. Zachary looked
at his friend Perry, who was about 5 feet tall, and asked, "How old are you?"
"I am 2 years old. I will be full grown when I'm 4." "Wow," said Zachary.
"Parasaurolophus grow fast." The adult dinosaurs emptied the food from their
cheek pouches and the little ones ate quickly. Perry explained to Zachary,
"We have to eat a lot of vegetation every day to get the proper amount of
protein our high metabolisms require. We will be going out again, just as
soon as the little ones have finished their lunch. In about another
3 weeks, the babies will start to eat solid food, and soon after that, they
will begin to leave their nests to go to the jungle with us in search of their
own food." Zachary asked, "Why don't the little ones make tugboat sounds?"
Perry replied, "Their crests aren't fully developed yet, but they will be soon
enough. It takes about 6 months for their crests to develop enough for them
to begin making sounds."
|
|
Zachary was amazed at how organized the parasaurolophus herd was. Every
little detail had been taken care of, from the schedule of the adults, to the
placement of the nests and youngsters. Nothing was left out of place. Perry
said, "You mentioned the trouble you have with the theropods. Is there any
other predator that you must be wary of?" "Oh yes," Perry answered.
"We have to watch out for the
Tyrannosaurus Rex. The
T-Rex is the most feared predator of all. If you see the
T-Rex, run away from it as fast as you can. That is your only hope."
Zachary remembered a trip to the museum. He had joined a group of people
that gathered around the skeleton of a large
T-Rex. A paleontologist was telling the group that the T-Rex's vision was
dependent on movement. He explained that the T-Rex only attacked moving prey
and anything remaining stationary and motionless didn't interest the T-Rex.
Zachary told Perry, "If you remain perfectly still, the T-Rex won't see you.
Running away will only make him want to eat you." "You must be joking,"
Perry replied. "I don't know about you, but when I see a T-Rex, I'm running
away as fast as I can."
|
|
Another low tugboat sound was heard, this time coming from a different adult
parasaurolophus who was standing up with its head raised high. Most of the
herd started moving out of the clearing and into the jungle. Perry told
Zachary, "Lets go. It's time to go eat some more vegetation." Perry said,
"I'm with you," and walked with the herd, close by Perry's side.
|
|
Walking through the jungle, Zachary looked up through the canopy of palms,
pines, and oaks and noticed birds. "Those look and sound like
seagulls," he thought. "Are those
seagulls flying overhead?" he asked. "Yes," Perry replied. "Those are
early
seagulls. I imagine in your time, they have changed very little." "But
seagulls usually fly around by the sea," Zachary
replied. "We aren't by a sea, are we?"
|
 |
|
"Oh yes," said Perry. "There is a great, shallow, inland sea not very far
from here. That's why we can observe seagulls in this area." Zachary
learned in school that millions of years ago, his neighborhood was once part
of a great inland sea. He found evidence for this in rocks around his house.
Fossilized seashells were plentiful there, and Zachary enjoyed fossil
hunting in and around his backyard. The sound of seagulls was replaced by a
much deeper bird call. Zachary looked up again. There, in the sky above the
trees, he saw a huge flying reptile with leathery wings and a long beak with
sharp teeth. It was chasing the seagulls away, snapping at them with its long
sharp beak. "Is that a
pterosaur?" asked Zachary. "Yes it is," replied Perry. "That is a variety of
pterosaur known as
quetzalcoatlus. They are very territorial and they don't allow any other
animal to move in on their air space." It's as large as a small airplane,
thought Zachary. "Does it pose a threat to us?". "No," replied Perry.
"They're scavengers. They eat the leftovers of previous kills, sort of like
garbage collectors." Zachary viewed the giant quetzalcoatlus and thought,
"How beautiful it is. So large, yet, so graceful and agile in flight."
|
|
The parasaurolophus herd moved on. They walked in silence for a few more
minutes and then, suddenly, the lead parasaurolophus halted and made a loud
tugboat sound. Zachary noticed that this time, there was a sense of urgency
to the low note. The volume and long duration betrayed its panic. All the
rest of the parasaurolophus stopped in their tracks and began to make loud,
low tones with their crests. "What is happening?" asked Zachary. "I'm not
sure," answered Perry. "Let's go up and see." They both moved to the head
of the herd where they could hear some sort of struggle taking place. The
parasaurolophus herd had ceased the warning calls by now. Zachary and Perry
heard what sounded like several small animals squealing wildly. They moved
closer for a better view. Four colonosaurs were attacking two
possums. The possums were squealing loudly as the colonosaurs bit and
clawed at them. "Don't get too close Zachary," Perry warned. "We don't want
a colonosaurus to take an unhealthy interest in you." Then, much to everyone's
surprise, one of the possums escaped the grip of a colonosaurus.
It ran as fast as it could, but didn't get far before two of the four
colonosaurs chased it down and placed its body in a vice-like grip with their
jaws.
|
|
The parasaurolophus herd moved on. Zachary thought about the scene he had
just witnessed. "Those colonosaurs are very fast." He asked Perry, "Did you
see how fast those colonosaurs were?" "Yes," Perry replied. "Small mammals
like the possum are their main source of food." Zachary thought, "Those poor
little possums." Perry noticed the troubled look on Zachary's face.
"Don't feel bad about the possums Zachary. If it weren't for meat eaters like
the colonosaurs, the jungle would be over run by little mammals." Zachary
thought again, "Yes, it's true. Everything has its place in the overall
scheme of things. Even here, 65 million years ago. The colonosaurs can be
thought of as performing a much needed service in the Magic Jungle."
|
 |
The herd came to the top of a hill overlooking a valley. Through the trees,
Zachary could see a vast field of purple flowers. Three
triceratops were lazily munching the blooms. "Look!" said Zachary. "Those
triceratops are eating flowers."
|
|
The flowers came up to the level of the
triceratop's shoulders. Their heads were mostly buried in the flowers,
seemingly oblivious to the world around them as they munched their way through
the field. Zachary asked, "Do you eat flowers, Perry?" "No," he replied.
"We stick to the green stuff. I tried to eat a flower once." "What
happened?" "It tickled my throat." The two friends laughed and continued with
the herd toward the pond.
|
|
When they arrived at the pond, they noticed that two large herbivores were
already there, nibbling on the surrounding treetops. "What are they?" asked
Zachary. "Those are
alamosaurs," Perry answered. "They look sort of like
brachiosaurs," Zachary mentioned.
|
 |
|
"Oh no, those aren't
brachiosaurs," Perry said. "
Brachiosaurs lived millions of years before. These are
alamosaurs. They aren't quite as big, but they do have the same appearance as
brachiosaurs."
The parasaurolophus began to feed on the surrounding vegetation, giving the
alamosaurs plenty of room. The two species were completely content to
feed in the same area as long as they stayed out of the way of each other.
"Stay well enough away from their feet, Zachary," Perry warned, "if they
accidentally step on you, they will squash you like a bug, and they won't
even notice it." "O.K.," Zachary answered. The legs of the giant
alamosaurs reminded Zachary of greenish brown tree trunks, only those
tree trunks moved up and down and all around, and when they came back down to
the ground, the earth rumbled.
|
 |
Just as Zachary was growing accustomed to the presence of the alamosaurs,
another giant made its appearance, and with a loud roar. The mother
T-Rex stepped into the clearing around the pond and looked around at the
parasaurolophus to see which one would make the easiest catch for a meal.
|
|
Roooooaaaar went the giant meat eater, and all of the other dinosaurs ran
as fast as they could in different directions, the parasaurolophus making
their loud tugboat sounds. Even the giant
alamosaurs thundered away giving the
T-Rex a wide birth. "Run Zachary! Run!" shouted Perry while running into
the jungle. "Don't let it eat you!". But Zachary was frozen with fright. He
could only stand there and watch as the big mother
T-Rex stopped in her tracks 50 yards from where Zachary stood petrified.
"What should I do? How will I get out of this?" And then Zachary heard a
voice in his thoughts. "Just remember, in order to get back,
you must say the magic words, except at the end you must say 'hence' instead
of 'ago'. 65 million years 'hence', for example." It was the squirrel
talking to him in his thoughts.
|
 |
 |
The
T-Rex stood there, looking around for any signs of movement and turning
her head as if to listen for any sounds that would betray the presence of her
dinner.
|
|
Zachary thought hard but was having trouble remembering the magic words.
"Humble jungle, exotic mumble,.... that's not it. Humbo jumbo, tasty
gumbo,..... what are the words? Take me there without much mumbo...,"
Zachary could not remember the magic words that would take him to his own
time. Zachary stood there, looking at the big T-Rex, trying to
remain absolutely still while he tried to remember.
|
 |
|
The big
T-Rex let out another powerful roar.
Roooooaaaar went the giant meat eater.
|
| Zachary closed his eyes and remembered being in his backyard with
the squirrel. Think. Think. Remember the squirrel. Remember how he is
talking. Remember what he is saying. Now I think I have it. Yes! I can
remember the magic words. And then the T-Rex seemed aware of Zachary's
presence. She looked directly at him. Zachary opened his eyes and could now
see the T-Rex walking slowly in his direction. It wasn't movement that gave
Zachary away. Nor was it sound that betrayed his presence to her. A warm
soft breeze blew against Zachary's back in the direction of the giant
meat eater, placing his scent directly in line with her. It was her keen
sense of smell that gave Zachary away, causing the mother T-Rex to walk slowly
in Zachary's direction. "Well, it's now or never," thought Zachary. He
closed his eyes and spoke out loud.
|
Jungle jungle
Magic Jungle
|
|
The
T-Rex heard the words and started running at full speed toward Zachary
while letting out a thunderous roar.
Roooooaaaar!!, went the
T-Rex.
|
take me there with-
out much mumble |
| The
T-Rex ran with all her might, crunching down bushes and small trees as she went.
Roooooaaaar!! went the big meat eater.
|
with these words that
I make rhyme |
|
Perry, who was by now hidden safely in the woods, could see with terrible
dismay that his human friend was about to become a small snack for the
fearless predator.
"Run, Zachary!! Don't just stand there reciting poetry! Ruuuuuun!!"
|
|
take me to
another time. |
|
The T-Rex was almost upon Zachary. She opened her mouth wide, ready to chomp
on her prey as soon as her powerful legs transported her with thunderous speed
to where Zachary stood. She was almost there and with well rehearsed skill
started to bite down on Zachary's head.
|
 |
Sixty-five million years hence!
|
Her jaws clamped shut,
biting down on a big warm mouthful of jungle air. |
| Zachary could hear a dog barking down the street. He could hear
birds. He heard young squirrels playing an innocent game of spiral tree tag.
The temperature was a bit cooler. He opened his eyes. He was home again.
|
|
"Zachary. Zaaaachary." He could hear a voice calling him. "Come in for
dinner. Your father is home and he has exciting news to tell us." His mother
was calling him in for dinner. He ran to her and gave her a big hug. "Oh
mom. I was just in the Magic Jungle, and I met a group of parasaurolophus and
I saw a pterosaur and there were alamosaurs and-" "Now just hold on there,
Zachary. You're going too fast and you're all excited. Just settle down and
go greet your father."
|
 |
 |
Zachary ran to his father and gave him a big hug. "Dad. Dad. I was just in
the Magic Jungle and I saw colonosaurs and prehistoric possums and-" "Hello,
Zachary. I have some exciting news. Something wonderful has happened, and to
celebrate, I've brought home some chocolate ice cream. Your favorite. We
will have it for dessert, but now it's time to sit down for dinner."
|
|
The family sat down for dinner and Zachary's mother served the main course.
"Now tell us about this Magic Jungle, Zachary. Where is it?" "It's where our
backyard is now. The Magic Jungle is warmer and it has different plants and
animals and dinosaurs," Zachary replied. "Dinosaurs. Well that sounds very
interesting, Zachary," his father said. "Would you and Mom like to go?"
Zachary continued. "I can take you there after dinner." His mother said,
"I don't think we are going out in the backyard, er ah, the Magic Jungle
tonight, Zachary. That will have to wait until tomorrow." Zachary smiled. He knew that tomorrow would be another day and he could go to the Magic Jungle
any time he wanted to. "I wonder what adventures the Magic Jungle will have
in store for us tomorrow?"
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"Your father has a very important announcement to make right now, Zachary.
Something about a big accomplishment at the laboratory where he works."
Zachary and his mother looked inquisitively at him, hoping for the important
announcement to be forthcoming. "Well, yes," Zachary's father said proudly.
"My colleagues and I at the R&D Laboratory have finally succeeded in an
exciting project that has been ongoing for quite some time now. "What is it?
What is it?" Zachary asked with much enthusiasm. "We have finally made a time
machine." "Yaaaaay," exclaimed Zachary. "No." said his mother. "Oh yes.
It's true," Father said. "It's as big as our living room, it's very sturdy,
and it comes complete with all the comforts of home." "Why is it so big?"
Mother asked. "To accommodate several scientists on their travels to...
well... their travels forward or backward in time," Father replied. "What do
you mean when you say it's sturdy, Dad?" asked Zachary. Father continued,
"That's a very good question, Zachary. In the past, we know that there were
very huge animals alive, both on land and in the sea. We have made this time
machine sturdy enough to withstand the abuse of even the largest dinosaur.
In the future, we don't know what we will find, but it's nice to know we have
a sturdy time machine just the same." "Can we go see it, Dad? Can we?" Zachary
asked very excitedly. "Well.....," Father hesitated. "Oh, we would love to
see it, dear. And it means so much to you. Wouldn't you want to share it
with your family?" Mother persuaded. "Well, O.K.. We can go to the lab
tomorrow morning and have a look," Father gave in. "Yaaaay!" Zachary
exclaimed. "But now it's time to have some of that chocolate ice cream
to celebrate the occasion."
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The family ate, the family smiled, and the family yawned. Zachary went to bed
knowing that tomorrow was another day that would be filled with excitement,
and he slept snug and secure with thoughts of adventure in his head and a
smile on his face that would remain for a long, long time.
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Stay tuned for the next
installment in the Magic series,
"The Magic Time Machine"
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