Reply To: The Land Before Time XIX: Adventure in the White Mountains
CHAPTER FIVE: THE BASE OF WHITE MOUNTAIN
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Littlefoot thought for a moment of giving her some made up story. However, he quickly realized that she wasn’t likely to take any baloney and that the best hope of getting her to let him stay was to tell the truth. “I wanted to help Ali with her father.” said Littlefoot.
“You are not fully grown. You put yourself in danger coming here!” scolded the Old One.
“Ali helped me with my Grandpa. It’s the least I can do.” said Littlefoot.
“I trust you didn’t tell your grandparents of this.” said the Old One knowingly. Littlefoot nodded.
She shook her head. “Typical young dinosaurs. They reach the Time of Great Growing and they think they can do anything!” she grumbled.
“Well, we made it here.” said Cera defensively.
“You young ones have a lot to learn.” said the Old One, shaking her head.
“Please do not send us back. That would not be good. Oh no, no, no.” said Ducky.
“Very well. But I cannot promise your safety. You are not part of my herd after all and I am not liable for anything that happens to you.” she said sternly.
“We understand.” said Petrie.
“How did your unauthorized trip from the Great Valley go?” asked the Old One.
“Well, fine, mostly. Some Blowing White Ground Sparkles held us up in a cave where we encountered Large Claws. But, we got away.” said Guido.
Ali came near to Littlefoot and his friends. “I guess I can talk to you now more, now that you got yourself exposed.” she said.
“You knew about them coming Ali?” scolded the Old One. Ali nodded. The Old One again shook her head.
“Teenagers.” she grumbled.
“Large Claws? You ran into Sharpteeth, didn’t you?” snapped Ali at Littlefoot.
“We didn’t shout ‘Here we are!’, but, yeah.” said Littlefoot. “I can handle myself.” Littlefoot reassured her.
“Ah, it’s your third cousin. Guess he really likes you if he came all the way here.” said Rhett.
Littlefoot and Rhett both liked Ali. The two had been rivals ever since Rhett had first come to the Great Valley. He had boasted of being a brave Longneck who fought off many Sharpteeth. However, introducing him to Chomper had caused him to drop the charade in a hurry. Littlefoot had been one-up on Rhett ever since then. Rhett had since improved, though it was clear that he wanted Ali’s attentions and wasn’t fond of sharing them with Littlefoot.
“I don’t see any green food around here.” said Perrin’s mother.
“It is higher up. We found a spot near warm water where it still grows.” said the Old One.
Littlefoot came to Ali’s mother. “How is Ali’s father?” Littlefoot asked. He knew that there was too much fear in Ali for it to merely be a hurt leg.
“He is hurt. And I fear because of those pesky Large Claws around here. And, if that weren’t enough, some Longnecks are challenging us for our food.” said Ali’s mother.
“Can’t they share?” Littlefoot asked.
Al’s mother laughed. “They don’t want to. They come in a group and are just a bunch of big bullies.” she said in disgust.
Meanwhile, nearby, some Large Claws sniffed the air. They smelled the Leaf Eaters. They ran off, eager to go tell their pack of the food source that they had found. They were not spotted by the Leaf Eaters.
The Leaf Eaters started to climb up the mountain chain. The going was easy at first, but got harder the higher they got. Ducky slipped and nearly fell off. “I do not like this. Oh no, no, no!” she said in alarm.
“It is ok Ducky as we are here.” said Ruby, grabbing hold of her and pulling her back to safety.
“Thank you Ruby.” said Ducky.
Meanwhile, Papa and Mama Fast Runner came to the Great Valley, for they knew the way, though they hadn’t been there before.
“So, this is the Great Valley.” said Papa Fast Runner.
“Hello, welcome to the Great Valley.” said Grandpa Longneck.
“Have you seen our daughter Ruby? We know that she’s friends with Littlefoot. She said that she was going to White Mountain with him. Do you know where that is?” asked Mama Fast Runner.
“White Mountain!” grumbled Topps angrily.
“Yes, it is at least two day’s journey from here. But with the Blowing White Ground Sparkles, not to mention Sharpteeth, it would be dangerous to travel there.” said Grandma Longneck.
“But our Ducky is out there!” cried Mama Swimmer.
“We’ll just have to hope that they found Ali’s herd.” said Grandpa Longneck.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot turned around. He thought that he heard feet coming. “Guys, cut it out!” he said nervously. His friends, who were next to him, stared at him. They paused. They all heard it. They heard a snarl.
“Sharpteeth!” they all yelled.
Snow fell from the peak as their yells echoed. It struck the path behind them. This blocked the Sharpteeth and caused two to fall to their deaths. However, it also blocked the pass behind them.
“How are we going to get back?” asked Littlefoot in concern.
“There are other passes.” the Old One reassured them.
However, the Sharpteeth soon realized that too and began looking for those passes.
