Tiny-Tricera Troubles

by Dustin Hansen

  “You guys ready to meet the Ruby Girls?” Vicky asked.

  “Um, we kind of can’t leave the Microsaurs out here alone,” I said.

  “Don’t worry. They’re coming to us,” Vicky said.

  The side door of the helicopter slid open, and four women hung out and waved. The crowd went wild, and I gasped as they jumped out of the chopper. For a second I thought they’d lost their minds. The Ruby Girls slid down on long ropes and gracefully descended to their spinning platforms on the float.

  “That was AMAZING!” Vicky yelled, and I had to agree. It was one heck of an entrance.

  Vicky took her spot on the float, and she motioned for the Ruby Girls to gather around. She pointed to us and we waved. The Ruby Girls waved, too, then they motioned for us to come over.

  “I guess that’s our cue,” I said to Lin, but she had already nudged Cornelia forward.

  Bruno and I joined in, followed by Pizza and the costume mistress.

  “Danny, Lin, this is Shina, Hover-Star, Myracle, and Dash,” Vicky said as she introduced us to the Ruby Girls. We waved, a little too starstruck to say anything.

  “And girls, these are my best friends, Danny and Lin, and their amazing robotic pets, Bruno, Pizza, and Cornelia,” she said with a wink.

  “Great to meet you guys, and your robots are beautiful,” the tallest one, Shina, said.

  “Lin said you’re going to escort us in the parade. It’s nice to have you along,” Myracle said.

  “And if you know the words, sing along,” Hover-Star said as music started pumping from a large speaker hidden inside the float.

  “Oh, we don’t know the words at all,” Lin said. “But we’ll fake them.”

  Dash gave Lin a wink and a nod. “My kind of girl,” she said, and Lin blushed.

  “All right. Let’s get this parade moving,” the man with the bullhorn said, then waved us on.

  We followed the color guard, three men dressed in their army uniforms, holding the flag and walking the straightest line I’d ever seen. The Ruby Girls and Vicky sang songs to the crowd and Kathleen, Lin, and I faked the words as we rode real-life dinosaurs right down the middle of the street. Not a single person suspected a thing, but boy, did they cheer at how amazing our “robotic pets” were.

  We were halfway through the parade when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Professor Penrod was trying to start a video call. I swiped the screen and tried my best to hear what he had to say.

  “Danny, your hair looks magnificent,” he said, looking shocked to see me with a bright blue Mohawk.

  “Wait till you see this.” I swung the camera around, showing him his sister, Kathleen, and Pizza.

  “Oh my goodness. Those costumes are amazing. I can’t wait to see them in person,” he said.

  “Can’t wait to show them to you,” I said. “I hope you have some good news for me.”

  “I do. It’s why I called. I found the issue with the Expand-O-Shrink-O-Portal. Everything is working perfectly now, and we’re ready to have you back. Where are you?”

  “We’re about to leave this parade and meet you in the Microterium,” I said.

  “Excellent. We’ll see you soon,” the professor said, then hung up. I clicked the Invisible Communicator in my ear and connected with Lin and Vicky.

  “Okay. It’s time to make our escape. When we get to the corner, we turn the Microsaurs to the right and head to the Microterium,” I said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Lin said.

  “Vicky. Thanks so much for all your help today. We couldn’t have done it without you,” I said.

  She stopped singing for a while, turned off her microphone, and responded. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m an IMPA member. It’s my duty,” she said with a grin.

  “Still. You rocked today,” Lin said.

  “Oh, I know,” Vicky responded in the most Vicky way ever.

  I motioned to Kathleen to follow me when we got to the corner. It was kind of hard to push through the crowd of parade watchers, but when you see something the size of Bruno heading your way, not to mention the rows of teeth Pizza and Cornelia can flash, you tend to scooch.

  The twins went through first, parting the way, and just before I made it, someone jumped on Bruno with me. It startled me so much I almost fell off.

  “Vicky?” I said as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and held on tight.

  “You didn’t think you were going to the Microterium without me, did you?”

  “I thought you would like to spend time with your heroes,” I said, knowing that the Ruby Girls were the most important thing in Vicky’s life.

  “Silly. Friends are way better than heroes,” she said. “Come on. We’re falling behind.”

  I gave Bruno a nudge, and he stomped after Lin and Kathleen and their galloping T. rexes.

  CHAPTER 13

  BACK TO NORMAL

  “Oh my goodness. I haven’t laid eyes on this home for more than twenty years,” Kathleen said as we entered Professor Penrod’s backyard through the hole Bruno had ripped in the fence.

  “Twenty years? How long has Penny lived here?” Lin asked.

  “This was our uncle Percy’s house. We grew up just down the street, but we came and played in this backyard almost every day. I’m sure Penny has told you all about our uncle Percy,” she said, leading us through the deep grass.

  “Not really, actually,” I explained. “We’ve seen his field guide, and Professor Penrod said that his uncle was a big inspiration. But that’s about it.”

  Kathleen Penrod stopped in her tracks, then turned to look back at us. “I cannot believe my ears. The stories of Perciful Penrod are the most adventure-filled, dangerous, crazy stories I’ve ever heard. He is one of the most important micro-paleontologists of our time. I’m going to give that brother of mine an earful when I meet him. He should have been sharing his stories with you from the start.”

  “I can’t wait to hear them,” Vicky said.

  “Me too, but I also can’t wait to get these guys back to the Microterium,” Lin said.

  “Of course. Carry on,” Kathleen said, then continued to mumble to herself as we walked to the barn-lab.

  I hurried ahead and opened the door. Kathleen went in first and looked around.

  “Well, this place hasn’t changed one bit,” she said.

  “Really? I am shocked. I thought for sure this was all new stuff Professor Penrod put together,” Lin said.

  “On the contrary. This is all Uncle Percy’s equipment. I will say that Penny has done an excellent job of preserving the place, though. It is like stepping back into my childhood,” she said.

  “Well, if you think that is a big step, just wait until you step through the Expand-O-Shrink-O-Portal,” I said with a grin.

  “I’ll turn it on and you push Bruno and the twins in,” Lin said.

  “That’s a great idea. You guys go ahead and shrink, and I’ll be right behind you,” I said.

  I propped the door wide open by leaning a shovel against it, then went back to get the Microsaurs moving. They were tired. It had been a long day for them, too. Bruno was leaning against the apple tree, munching on sour apples that Cornelia had bashed from the tree earlier in the day. The twins were lying in the grass, enjoying the summer sun.

  I heard Kathleen scream, in a happy way, as she shrank. Hearing her voice go from normal to so tiny a bee couldn’t hear it made me giggle.

  “Come on, you three. It’s time to go home,” I said. They all looked at me like I was crazy, which wasn’t too much of a shock being that I still looked like a punk rocker who had been dunked in a glitter bathtub.

  “There are snacks in there,” I said, trying to get their attention, but still, nobody budged. Then I had an idea. I took off my backpack and found the jar of emergency peanut butter I always carry around with me. I went to the apple tree and found an old branch that had fallen off so long ago that it was brittle and crispy, Bruno’s favorite type. As I slat
hered the stick, I talked to Bruno.

  “I get it, big guy. You want to be big. I mean, that’s what your ancestors were like, right? It must be fun to be big enough to smash a Tomato-Mobile.” The twins were getting curious. They stood up and walked over to see what we were doing.

  “And you, too,” I said. “It’s gotta be great to be so big you could scare away a whole crowd of people with one simple growl. Actually, there are times when I wish I could do that for sure.”

  I finished slathering the stick. Bruno licked his lips and chuffed. I let Pizza lick off the knife as I put the lid back on the jar.

  “But even though you might think it’s fun for a while to do something new. Something wild and awesome. To be someone else or act like something totally new. In the end, it’s always better to be yourself. You guys are not big scary dinosaurs. You’re Microsaurs, and that’s not just okay, that’s downright amazing.”

  I stood up and put on my backpack, then carried the peanut butter stick toward the open barn door.

  “So, what do you say, big guy? Are you ready to go back to the Microterium? I can’t guarantee there will be any bumper cars to smash inside there, but I can tell you two things. One, there is no doubt that behind that Expand-O-Shrink-O-Portal you will be surrounded by friends. And two, when you are surrounded by friends, good things happen,” I said.

  After flicking the blue switch to turn on Professor Penrod’s new and improved invention, I tossed the stick in through the barn. It shrank in an instant as it flew through the Expand-O-Shrink-O-Portal. Bruno tilted his head and looked at me a bit confused.

  “Go on, bud. It’s just through there. Adventure AWAITS!” I said. Then I slapped his rump and Bruno charged, leading the way for Pizza and Cornelia and me as we zipped into the Microterium.

  A MESSAGE FROM PENROD

  Tap, tap, tap!

  “Hello? Are you there? Is that you, fine reader?

  “Well, if it is and you’re still reading, then I assume that it is. I must admit, it’s been nice having you along for the adventure. Danny, Lin, and Vicky have been through quite a lot, and knowing that you were always there cheering them along has made all the difference. In many ways, it would have been impossible without you.

  “But now it’s your turn. Yes, yours. It’s time for you to continue the Microsaur adventures. Go forth and discover! Study and be curious. Look in the most unexpected of places. Make yourself a fine grass suit if you think that will help. Because they are out there, and they need our help.

  “And of course, like any good scientist, keep a record of your adventures. Write them down. Share them with friends. Sharing is the best way to help them now. Get their stories out there. And perhaps I’ll have a few of my own to share as well.

  “So … I guess this is it. Time for me to say good-bye, but have no fear. As long as there is adventure out there to be found, I’ll be around.

  “Until then, remember, adventure awaits!”

  FACTS ABOUT TRICERATOPS

  • Professor Penrod was right to be surprised in Follow That Tiny-Dactyl when Danny discovered that the color red was what was driving Bruno 2 crazy, because scientists have discovered that most dinosaurs, including triceratops, were actually color-blind.

  • Triceratops horns changed shape as they grew older. Young triceratops, like Bruno, had short, stubby horns, but the adult triceratops had long, sharp horns they used to protect themselves from aggressive carnivores.

  • Triceratops never had a chance to eat peanut butter, but they probably would have loved it. They were big plant eaters, also known as herbivores, and their sharp beak and powerful crushing molars helped them eat everything from flower blossoms to roots and nuts they dug up with their big, beaklike noses.

  • The first fossil of a triceratops was discovered in Denver, Colorado, in 1887. However, it wasn’t until John Bell Hatcher found a nearly complete skull in Wyoming in 1889 that the dinosaur was given its name.

  • The name triceratops actually means “three-horned-face” in Greek. Makes perfect sense.

  • Some triceratops may have had as many as eight hundred teeth! And you thought it took a long time to floss.

  • One thing Bruno 2 taught us that was actually spot-on: The triceratops was not a very fast dinosaur.

  • Fossils today show us that a fully mature triceratops could grow up to thirty feet long and ten feet tall, and weighed between eight thousand and eleven thousand pounds. If a triceratops stood on a basketball court, it could touch the three-point line with its tail and lick the backboard with its tongue at the same time.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I can’t believe this happened so fast. It seems like only yesterday I was rummaging through Hilmer Peterson’s old barn, mystified by all his dusty tools, the bolts, screws, and nails in all those tiny jars, and his stacks of National Geographic magazines. It wasn’t long ago that I went “adventuring” with my cousin Brent, who had come to visit from Idaho, with backpacks full of snacks, walking sticks we found along the way, and a wary eye for the rattlesnakes that often crossed the same paths we walked. And the memories of finishing reading my first “big book” on my own, Nanook of the North by Robert Flaherty, and wanting to write stories of my own are as fresh in my mind today as they were four decades ago.

  Telling stories and drawing pictures about the adventures in my mind has been a lifelong pursuit. And sharing them with the world has been nothing short of a dream come true.

  It’s impossible to imagine this all happening without the help of a large extended family. My agent, Gemma Cooper. My editor, Holly West. The amazing team at Feiwel and Friends, including Jean Feiwel, Liz Dresner, Emily Settle, and so many more.

  My immediate family has been there every step of the way. My sons, Davis and Tanner, helped coloring in some of the pages found in these books. One daughter, Annie, helped name the Microsaurs and tell silly jokes, and my other daughter, Malorie, performed the voices of Danny, Lin, and Professor Penrod in the audiobook. But I can’t begin to express how much time and support my wife, Jodi, gave along the way. She read every horrible rough draft, listened to me brainstorm a bazillion bad (and a few good) ideas, and gave me encouragement when I thought I simply couldn’t do it. To these five bright stars in my life, I can’t thank you enough.

  And of course, to you, dear reader and members of the IMPA. Your enthusiasm for reading and sharing your stories has been the driving force behind this series. Without you, this simply wouldn’t have happened. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  And so it draws to a close, and I’m left quoting old you-know-who. Professor Penrod. Ready to say it with me? Here we go.

  Adventure awaits!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DUSTIN HANSEN, author of Game On! Video Game History from Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft, and More and the Microsaurs series, was raised in rural Utah. After studying art at Snow College, he began working in the video game industry, where he has been following his passions of art and writing for more than twenty years. Dustin can often be found hiking with his family in the same canyons he grew up in, with a sketchbook in his pocket and a well-stocked backpack over his shoulders. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Chapter 1. The 48th Annual Great Tomato Festival

  Chapter 2. Back in the Microterium

  Chapter 3. Come Back!

  Chapter 4. The Tomato-Mobile

  Chapter 5. Chasing Trouble

  Chapter 6. Fun and Games

  Chapter 7. Leading the
Blind

  Chapter 8. Things are not how they Appear

  Chapter 9. Costumes for Everyone

  Chapter 10. Seeing things in a New Shade

  Chapter 11. Talk about a Makeover

  Chapter 12. Everyone Loves a Parade

  Chapter 13. Back to Normal

  A Message from Penrod

  Facts About Triceratops

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2019 by Dustin Hansen

  A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK

  An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC

  120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271

  mackids.com

  All rights reserved.

  Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955575

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  First hardcover edition 2019

  eBook edition July 2019

  eISBN 9781250090409