A Dinotopia Tail

Hey everyone, this is a crossover of 'Dinotopia' and 'An American Tail'. I do not own any of the characters from either the books or movies. I hope you all enjoy this story and please leave a review to comment this story.

Chapter one

In the year 1885, snow was falling gently down from the sky in the land of Russia. In a small village, many Jewish families were celebrating their annual holiday, Hanukkah. In one house was a family that was in high spirits as violin music played inside. This house belonged to a family called the Moskowitz. They were a family that didn't have very much, but they still found joy in being together. The laughter of two children accompanied the violin's music before a woman's voice suddenly spoke up to be heard above the children's laughter and the violin's music.

"Tanya, Fievel? Will you stop that twirling, twirling? Uh, no. No more. That's it. Time for bed, come."

"But, Mama, its Hanukkah!" exclaimed a joyful male voice.

"For you, every night his Hanukkah," said the female voice in exasperation.

The scene changed to show us the inside of the house where we see a man in his late forties sitting on a stool, while play the violin.

He had short brown hair, green/blue eyes and a pepper grey beard. He wore a tan shirt, brown pants, black Russian boots. Wrapped around his waist was a black slash and sitting on the bridge of his nose were a small pair of glasses. Sitting on top of his head was a blue Russian kasket cap with two large yellow buttons on either side of the hat and a black bill.

He was the father of the family and goes by the name Bernard Moskowitz. He's a friendly and kind father that enjoys telling folk tales and legends, and he loves playing the violin.

Standing behind Bernard and near the kitchen cupboards was a woman. She had long light brown hair that was tied up into a bun and blue eyes. The woman wore a yellow and brown dress with a red apron over the skirt, brown slip on shoes and spectacles, which sat on the bridge of her nose.

This was Alla Moskowitz, the wife and mother of the house hold. Alla was the complete opposite of her husband as she was stricter and takes on a disciplined style when it comes to raising her children. She is also more pessimistic and realistic then her husband. In her arms she held her baby girl, Yasha, who was bundled up in a light purple blanket. Yasha had light brown hair and the same blue eyes as her mother.

Bernard let out a chuckle as he played a few more notes on his violin, while glancing over his shoulder to look at his wife.

"Papa, enough already," said Alla as she grabbed a prepared milk bottle off the counter. "They'll never get to sleep."

Bernard panted as he caught his breath before he spoke: "Alright, alright."

Sitting in front of Bernard was his seven year old daughter, Tanya Moskowitz. She had light brown short hair and blue eyes just like her mother. She wore a blue blouse with a navy jumper dress, frilly white pantalets and blue slip on shoes. She was a cheerful young girl who is always optimistic about things and has a strong faith that things would turn out for the better.

Bernard handed his violin to Tanya before his only son suddenly spoke up: "Presents. What about presents?"

Fievel Moskowitz was a young five year old boy with short dark brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a red sweater with a dark red patch on the elbow of his left sleeve, blue pants, black Russian boots and a black sash around his waist. Fievel was a young boy who was curious about everything around him and is very adventurous, though sometimes he would wind up getting into trouble whenever he gets too carried away with his adventure streak.

Bernard straightened up on his stool at the word 'presents' with a shocked expression upon his face: "Presents? What presents?"

A sad expression came over Fievel's face along with Tanya's after she had placed the violin on its hanger when they think that their father had forgotten about getting presents for them. But that was not the case as Bernard's face broke into a smile, while Alla only shook her head at her husband.

"Oh, Papa," chided Alla.

"Just a joke," said Bernard with a chuckle before he walked up to Tanya and pulled out a red headscarf from behind his sash before placing it on her head. "For Tanya, a new babushka. Happy Hanukkah."

Tanya smiled happily at her father as she turned to look at her reflection in the mirror that hung within the room: "Oh, Papa. Thank you."

"You have only one parent?" questioned Alla in sarcasm.

Tanya turned to look at her mother with a smile: "Thank you, mama."

Alla let out a satisfied hum before walking over to where Yasha's cradle stood within the room. Bernard then turned to his son with a smile on his face.

"And for you, Fievel, a new hat," said Bernard as he lifted his blue hat off his head. "And not just any hat. A new hat that has been in the family for three generations. It belonged to me, my father, and my father's father, and now it belongs to you. Happy Hanukkah."

Bernard then let the hat fall onto his son's head as Fievel smiled at his father's gift. But as soon as the hat landed on his head, it slowly slipped down until it covered his eyes. Fievel frowned as he pushed the hat up to look at it unhappily.

"It's too big!" complained Fievel.

"You'll grow." Alla reassured her son as she placed Yasha in her cradle.

Bernard chuckled before he sat down on the stool as he looked down at Tanya, who sat before him on the floor.

"Ah, did I ever tell you about the giant of Minsk?" asked Bernard with a smile.

"No," replied Tanya with a shake of her head.

"No," said Fievel as he turned away from the mirror to look at his father before he walked over to sit beside his sister.

"Was it anything like the girl with the long hair that the prince climbed up?" asked Tanya.

Bernard chuckled before answering his daughter's question: "No. This was a giant that was the guardian and protector of Minsk. He was as tall as a tree. It was also said that whenever his feet stepped down on the ground they would create the sound of thunder."

"Really?" asked Fievel in wonder.

"Really," answered Bernard with a nod. "He was so big, he frightened all the Cossacks."

Alla shushed as she came up to Bernard with a disapproving look upon her face: "Don't say that word. Talk about something else."

Tanya then suggested something that she and her brother have always heard their father telling them: "America."

"Another fairy tale," said Alla with a scoff.

Bernard smiled down at his children before he spoke: "America. What a place!"

"What a place," echoed Fievel and Tanya excitedly.

"In America, there are houses where every person can settle in."

"Who says?" questioned Alla with a frown.

"Everyone!" exclaimed Fievel, Tanya and Bernard.

"In America, you are free to be whoever you want to be." Bernard said as continued to tell his children about America.

"You're talking nonsense," said Alla.

"In America, you can say anything you want. But most important..." Bernard lowered his voice to a whisper. "And this I know for a fact." He glanced over at his wife for a moment before looking at his children again. "In America, there are no Cossacks."

Alla shushed at her husband again when she heard him say that word: "They'll hear you."

Bernard turned to look at his with a frown on his face: "How could they hear us?"

Then, as soon as those words left his mouth, the house started to shake. Yasha began to cry out in fear before Alla turned to scold her husband.

"There, you see?"

That was when the happy night for the family became one of terror. The sound of horses' pounding hooves and the shouts of the horses' riders filled the air. But these shouts did not belong to ordinary men. The men that were invading the village were none other than the Cossacks, an anti-Jewish group who terrorized the Jewish people and kill any of them on sight. The people within the village began to cry out in fear as they ran out of their homes. The sound of gun shots were heard throughout the night as the Cossacks shot at the Jew families that try to escape from them. The Cossacks also threw their fire lit torches on top of the houses so as to draw out the Jews that were hiding in their houses. The Moskowitz were tense when they heard the shouts and cries of the Cossacks before Bernard turned to his family in urgency.

"Hurry, grab whatever you need." Bernard told his family as he tried to keep calm in the situation that they were in. "We'll sneak out through the back and head towards the forest."

The Moskowitz family quickly gathered up the items that they would need before they made their way towards the back of their house. Bernard was the first one to go outside. He quickly looked around before motioning for his family to follow him when he saw that there were no Cossacks near their home. The Moskowitz ran through the burning village as they headed towards the forest where other Jewish families had also escaped to. They were able to make it to the forest without any of the Cossack soldiers taking notice of them. There were also other Jew survivors as they all huddle with their remaining family members that had escaped the massacre. Alla held Yasha within her arms and close to her chest, while Bernard held his violin and bow in his hand. Fievel and Tanya stood close to their parents as they all stared out at the village that had once been their home. All the other Jew families also stood near the edge of the forest as they sadly stared out at the village that was engulfed by the fire the Cossacks had created. Bernard sadly shook his head at the scene before he said the words that he had said in their home.

"In America there are no Cossacks."

The Moskowitz and the other Jews watched in sadness as the fire consumed their homes as the night was filled with the red glow and smoke of the flames. It was the night that Hanukkah, a night of joy and happiness, had changed to a night of sadness and fear for the families who have lost their homes and some of their loved ones to the hands of the Cossacks.

To be continued

So this is the first chapter of my story. Sorry if it's a bit short, but I promise to create longer future chapters of the story as I progress.

White Hunter, howling out to you and creativity!