CHAPTER 5
AROUND THE "CAMPFIRE"
For the rest of the day, the dino children were busy interacting with KITT and his human friends. Grandpa Longneck tried to continue with his story telling lessons, but he had to endure constant interruptions caused by Great Valley residents coming down to see what the fuss was all about.
The news of KITT and Michael's return spread fast throughout The Great Valley, and many of it's residents arrived to get a closer look at what these "strange and harmless creatures" were. Many had met Michael and KITT before, and simply stop by to say "hello" before moving on to other things; while others stopped to chat with the visiting group for a bit. Devon, Bonnie and RC got to meet a whole lot of talking dinos that day, while KITT got the attention of mostly the younger dinos of the valley.
In the end, Grandpa Longneck sighed and had to put off the remainder of his story telling lessons until another day, as the bright circle was setting, and there was still a huge crowd gathered around the sleeping area he shared with Grandma Longneck and Little Foot. He felt that a lot of them wouldn't leave until the bright circle had set.
Just before it got too dark, the humans went to set up their tent a little ways away from Little Foot's sleeping area. Many of the dinos watched as the three human males quickly put up this strange structure that was unlike anything they've ever seen before. Even the human female Bonnie pitched in to help! They were particularly impressed with the hard things the humans called "mallets" to sink the long grey hard spiky things into the ground. The young dinos laughed when Myk'l told them the hard grey things were actually called "spikes". They were even surprised by KITT using his grappling hook, at one point, to hold up a rope that was then tied down.
Little Foot had many questions about the "sleeping area" the humans set up, and Michael and Devon did their best to answer him. He was especially curious about the many objects the humans brought with them that came out of khit's "backside", like the sleeping bags, the pillows, the flashlights, the many food items; and something Michael called a "propane grill". Poor Little Foot didn't quite understand the principals of how the grill worked; and neither did Little Foot's friends, for that matter; no matter how good Michael tried to explain it to them.
By the time the bright circle had set, they had finished setting up their "sleeping area" for the night. When Grandpa Longneck saw what Devon was planning to do with the "proh pain grill", he mentioned that he could take them to an area where they could use the heat from "natural red fire to do whatever it is they wanted to do with their proh pain grill." Already hinting at what the big apatosaur meant, a smiling Devon accepted their invitation, and had all of the humans gather up whatever they needed to follow Grandpa Longneck to wherever it is he wanted to take them.
When they arrived, and saw where it was that Grandpa Longneck led them to, it didn't take them long to get things ready and enjoy their time around this makeshift "campfire".
"I must admit I never thought I'd be roasting weiners over a lava flow like this!" Michael commented.
"Yeah... Sure beats the hell out of using that propane grill!" RC said in turn.
"Especially since Devon was having trouble lighting those matches..." Michael teased, which made Bonnie stifle a laugh.
Devon glared at Michael. "I'll have you know that I'm usually quite adept at striking a match on the first try... I'm just a little rusty, that's all..." He shrugged.
"Aw, don't let Michael get to you, Devon..." Bonnie soothed as she patted his shoulder. "We all know you mean well..."
WHOO WHOO. "If you needed to start a fire, I could've produced a few sparks to a pile of kindling..." KITT said from his place behind them.
"Yeah, you could've, KITT; but that wouldn't really be 'camping out'..." Michael said.
"Well, neither is THIS..." Devon said, gesturing at the lava flow right in front of them. "... but no one's complaining..."
"Yeah... especially this guy..." Michael commented as he gestured towards Chomper, who was eating one of their roasted hot dogs. "So what do you think, Chomper?"
"Iss good!" Chomper said as he paused from munching on his hot dog.
Cera made a face. "Must you talk with your mouth full!!?"
Everyone laughed at this banter.
They were, in fact, quite amazed at the lava flow Grandpa Longneck showed them. The heat that came out from the crack in the ground was about the same warmth as a regular campfire, and they found it ideal for cooking up the food they brought; which consisted mainly of hot dogs. Bonnie, however, had brought some popcorn along as well; and it didn't take long before the tell tale popping sound of well heated kernels could be heard coming from the aluminium foil container they were in. Bonnie let Ruby try some of it after she realized that Ruby was omnivorous. Ruby allowed the strange food to cool down enough so she could handle it. When she was able to eat it, she thought it was real good.
There was some fear, though, that the hot dog buns would make Chomper sick, but he was able to stomach it. He found the roasted meat of the weiner to be quite delightful. He compared it to the ground worms he likes on occasion, "but not as cold and slimy". This caused Bonnie to gag momentarily. Ensuing laughter followed.
But while the humans had their own food, and allowed Chomper to sample some of it, the flattooth all had their own handpicked greens. For dessert, they roasted marshmallows and smores. Michael invited Chomper to try a marshmallow. Unsure at first, Chomper then found that he could stomach it, and he immediately helped himself to some more. The same was offered to the other dinos, but they politely refused; although they thought that they could easily handle food like that, if they wanted to.
Little Foot was a bit confused at the term the humans used to describe the "red fire river". Devon explained that humans had a broader vocabulary than dinosaurs would, which would explain why some terms would be strange to him. Little Foot nodded his understanding.
By now, there was only a select group of dinos left by the lava flow, as most everyone had gone home for the night. There was only Little Foot's gang, Grandpa and Grandma Longneck, Mr. Threehorn, Tria, Mama Flyer and Mrs. Swimmer.
Grandpa Longneck decided to tell one of his own nighttime stories, as was often told around a "red fire river" like this. He was surprised to note that the humans told stories around a "campfire" like they did.
"Now that you've heard some of our stories. I'm sure you have stories of your own you'd like to tell." Grandpa Longneck invited, after he finished telling his nighttime story.
"As a matter of fact, we do..." RC quickly said. "In fact, I have one I'd like to tell you right now..."
"You may do so, Are See..." Grandpa Longneck said.
RC cleared his throat before he began. "This is a story of three Texas cowboys..."
"Cow boys??? What are THOSE??? And what's a 'Teck zehss'???" Little Foot asked in interruption.
RC smiled. "'Cowboys' are guys who ride horses and herd cattle... or 'cows', if you will..."
"...And Texas is a STATE from where we come from..." Devon said.
"The Lone Star State..." Michael said.
"Quite beautiful, actually..." Devon smiled.
"Huh???" Little Foot asked, genuinely confused.
"We'll explain it all to you later..." Michael said.
"Please don't interrupt, Little Foot." Grandpa Longneck whispered to him. "Save your questions until after the story..."
"Sorry, grampa..." Little Foot said as he looked to the ground.
After a few moments, RC continued. "Well, like I said: This is the story of three Texas cowboys who bought a house in the Texas hill country... They were entrepreneurs, you see... businessmen... Their business was hunting... They planned to convert the house into a hunting cabin, and rent it out to hunters who wanted to go hunt the plentiful game that was on the land that came with the house...
"BUT... little did they know that the house they bought... was HAUNTED..."
All of the humans smiled slowly when they realized where RC was going with this.
"What's..." Little Foot started to say.
But Cera shushed him harshly.
"The cowboys stayed in the house while they planned their new business venture... It was a beautiful four bedroom house that was almost 50 years old! They couldn't ask for anything more!! But it didn't take long before they realized that they were not alone in the house...
"From the very first night, they heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway... All three of them were getting ready for bed... There was nobody else in the house with them; and when they went to look to see who was making those footsteps, they saw no one... and the sound suddenly stopped...
"They thought nothing of it at first... They thought it was just their imagination... But EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, the footstep sounds came back... Not only that, but other sounds as well... like banging sounds, as if somebody was hitting the walls with a hammer... These sounds would go on for awhile, and then stop... Then there was nothing but dead silence, and the cowboys finally went to sleep, relieved that the sound that kept them up was gone for another night...
"But one particular night, one of the cowboys whom I will name 'Bobby' experienced something that deeply disturbed him. He was woken up by a really loud crashing sound that came from the kitchen. Thinking he had a robber on his hands, he grabbed his gun and slowly crept out of his bedroom towards the kitchen... As he reached the threshold of the kitchen entryway, he heard the crashing sound again. To him, it sounded like somebody threw one of the kitchen chairs against the wall... But when he turned on the light, he saw that all of the kitchen chairs were in their place, and everything was where it should be... This totally baffled him, because he was sure he didn't imagine what he just heard...
"When he told his two friends the next morning what had happened the night before, that's when they realized that they had a GHOST on their hands!"
Petrie let out a gasp and hugged Ducky for comfort. Ducky also sought comfort in hugging Petrie, and she was visibly shaking.
"But, being the rough and tumble guys they were, they weren't going to let a noisy ghost get the better of them! They were determined to go through with their business plans, and hoped that the ghost would eventually go away, and peace would be restored to the house...
"But EVERY NIGHT the same old thing happened... But there was some new stuff mixed in as well... Like one night, while his two partners had left for the city for a few days; and he was all by himself in the house, the cowboy who's name was 'Johnny' was woken up by someone or someTHING calling his name... He looked around his bedroom, and there was no one there! What's more, despite it being the middle of summer... or 'hot time'... His room was really really cold! It was so cold, he was shivering!!
"And another night, the third cowboy, who goes by the name of Mike Richards, was woken up with this tremendous pain in his right leg. He tried to get out of bed to shake it off, but he found that he couldn't move! Almost as if somebody he couldn't see, or some invisible force, was holding him down! Finally, after some struggle, he was able to finally get up off the bed and shake off the pain and numbness in his leg.
"Yet ANOTHER night, Bobby was woken up by the movement of his bed. When he looked over, he saw that a corner of his bed was sunken down, as if somebody had sat down on the edge of it! It was only when he kicked at the area over the sag that it dissapeared!!
"They told friends and family about what was going on, but nobody really believed them. Until two of Mike's sisters came to spend the night at the house. They wanted to see for themselves if what their brother was telling them was true.
"Well, it didn't take long before they became convinced that their brother's stories were true. As soon as they had settled down for the night, the noises started up again with a fury! Footsteps, sounds of objects being thrown, the sound of somebody whistling, crushing blows to the walls and ceilings... BANG BANG BANG... That's what it sounded like..."
As RC said this, a lot of the dinos gasped or cried in fear. Bonnie showed her own fear leaning against Michael for comfort.
"The next morning, Mike saw that his sisters had experienced something truly terrifying throughout the night, though he slept through it. His sisters begged him to leave. They didn't want to stay in that house a minute longer than necessary. They were out of there faster than you could say 'Mississippi'."
This brought laughter from some of the dinos.
"Eventually, the cowboys became fed up with all of the activity that was going on. They left the house about a year after they bought it, finally decided to let this unseen ghost have the house for himself.
"Scientists would later come to study what was going on at the house. They said they heard and recorded the same sounds the cowboys described, but they never could really explain what was causing these sounds, or who was making them. It remained a mystery to them, and it's still a mystery to this day. This story turned into a legend, and came to be known as 'The Legend of The Texas Entity'."
Some of the two footed dinosaurs applauded after he finished. RC simply bowed his head and said "thank you".
Grandpa Longneck bent down to face him. "That was a truly fascinating story, Are See! Beautifully told, too! We have many similar legends that we tell our children, but yours is obviously a form of story telling I've never even heard of..."
"It's what we call a 'ghost story', Mr. Longneck..." Michael said.
"Goast... story???" Little Foot asked in confusion.
Michael nodded. "Yes! A 'ghost story'. It's meant to scare people."
"Well it sure scared Petrie!" Little Foot said as he glanced over to a still shaking Petrie cowering next to his mother. "And it scared me too, although I didn't understand a lot of the words you used..."
"Humpf! Well, I, for one, don't believe a WORD of it!" Topsy said from his place behind the humans. "This thing you call a 'goast' doesn't exist in our world, and I don't think it exists in YOURS, either."
Topsy's mate, Tria, sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't believe a LOT of things, Topsy!"
"You're right... I don't!" Topsy confirmed.
"Well, 'I' believe it!" Little Foot said. "And I have some questions about the story..."
Little Foot was allowed to ask his numerous questions to the humans. It mostly had to do with a lot of the terms RC used in his story. Little Foot was able to understand some of the terms somewhat after he heard the explanations, but he still wasn't able to understand the other terms, no matter how good the humans tried to explain it to him. Cera finally told Little Foot to let it go saying that if he didn't understand what the terms were now, he'd never understand them.
Afterwards, Grandpa Longneck spoke up. "I now know you can be as good story tellers as us, but what about singing? You've heard some of the songs we like to sing. Do you have any songs you'd like to share with us?"
Devon immediately spoke up. "As a matter of fact, we do! I can think of one particular folkloric song I'd like to share... "Excuse me..."
He got up and moved towards KITT, who looked quite eerie with his flashing red light at the front of his bumper that was his scanner. "KITT, would you mind opening your trunk?" He asked KITT.
"Right away, Devon." KITT said as he popped his trunk open.
Devon then took something out of the trunk that looked really strange to the dinos.
"What's that?" Little Foot asked as Devon came back to take his place on the log the humans used as a bench.
"THIS is called a 'guitar'. It's an instrument... We use it to play music..."
He then demonstrated by strumming it.
"That is a great sounding insturrment, Mr. Devon. Yep, yep, YEP!" Ducky commented.
"I wondered who's guitar that was..." Michael said. "Funny, I never pegged you as being a guitar player."
"I'll have you know, dear Michael, that I was part of a Beatles tribute band, when I was younger..." Devon said matter-of-factly.
"You learn something new every day..." Michael mused.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Michael. If you'd like, I'll tell you about it at another time... But for now, I wish to partake this traditional English ballad to you all... and it goes like this..."
Devon started strumming his guitar in a very rhythmic pattern, and sang a song that spoke about "a lovely bunch of coconuts standing in a row". Michael was surprised at hearing Devon sing so well! He never pictured Devon being much of a singer, let alone a good guitar player. Michael thought it must be true what Devon had said about him being part of a Beatles tribute band earlier in his life.
The song, however, amused some of the dinos, as there was a singular wit about it. Even Topsy admitted that he thought it was "not bad". Tria nudged him affectionately, happy at seeing him showing his appreciation for one of the humans' traditional songs.
When Devon finished, he received applause and praise from all around.
"That was a really nice sung, Devon! Well done!!" Grandma Longneck commented.
"Thank you!" Devon said as he smiled up at the female longneck.
"Any more were those came from?" Chomper asked, eager to hear other human songs.
RC immediately spoke up. "As a matter of fact, I have one!"
"Oh? Which one?" Bonnie asked.
"Leroy Brown... Do you know 'Leroy Brown', Devon?"
"As a matter of fact, I do; and it goes something like this..."
Then he started strumming his guitar to the appropriate beat of the song.
RC cleared his throat, and sang the appropriate lyrics:
Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
If you go down there
You'd better just beware of a man named Leroy Brown
Now Leroy wanted trouble
He stands about six foot four
All the downtown ladies call him 'Tree Top Lover'
All the guys just call him 'Sir'
Yeah he's bad bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Well Leroy he's a gambler
And he likes his fancy clothes
He also likes to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody's nose
He's got a custom Continental
He's got an Eldorado, too!
He's got a .32 gun in his pocket for fun
And a razor in his shoe
And he's bad bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than olf King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
One day, at the local pub
Leroy was throwing dice
At the edge of the bar sat a girl named Doris
And OOH did she look nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
'Cause Leroy Brown learned a lesson
'bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man
Yeah he's bad bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Well, the two men took to fighting
And when all was set and done
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone
Since that day not too long ago
Leroy was never the same
But don't believe that he's any less brave
And believe me when I say
That he's bad bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
By the time RC reached the final refrain, all of the humans joined in and sang along with him. The sang the refrain three times before finishing, thus prompting a lot of cheers and applause from the audience. RC simply smiled, nodded and thanked everybody for their applause.
"A most wonderful song, Are See!" Grandpa Longneck commented.
"Thank you... It became very popular a few years ago..." RC said.
"Yeah, and I have another popular one I'd like to share..." Michael announced.
"Gee! I didn't know you could sing, too, Myk'l!" Chomper said in surprise.
"Well... I'm not the greatest singer in the world, but I like to think I'm pretty good..." Michael boasted.
"I do admit that you filled out your role as an undercover singer to a tee in a case we worked on just two years ago..." KITT began.
"KITT!" Michael interrupted. "You can tell our friends about it LATER! Don't spoil the moment."
"Of course... Sorry, Michael!" KITT apologized.
Michael continued. "The song I'm about to sing is called 'Piano Man', and it goes great with a harmonica. Speaking of... RC, did you bring yours?"
"Oh! As a matter of fact, I did! I know I got it on me SOMEWHERE..." He said as he felt inside the pockets of his jacket. His face lit up as he finally found it. He pulled it out from his lower left jacket pocket. "Ah! I KNEW I brought it with me..."
"All right! Devon, RC, if you please..." Michael prompted.
RC started playing the appropriate rhythm on his harmonica while Devon strummed the appropriate beat on his guitar.
Michael cleared his throat and sang the following lyrics:
It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sittin' next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says "Son, can you play me a memory?
"I'm not really sure how it goes
"But it's sad and it's sweet, and I knew it complete
"When I wore a younger man's clothes."
OH... Laa la la dee dee dah
La la dee dee dah... dah daaaahh
Sing us a song! You're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
'Cause we're all the mood for a melody
And you're got us feeling all right
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke
Or'll light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says: "Bill, I believe this is killing me!"
As the smile ran away from his place
"Well, I think I'd like to be an Actor
"If I could get out of this place!"
Now Paul is a Real Estate Novelist
Who's never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' to Davey who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes! They're sharing a drink they call 'loneliness'
But it's better than drinking alone
Laa la dee dee dah
La la dee dee dah... dah daaah
Sing us a song, you're the piano man!
Sing us a song tonight
'Cause we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling all right
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the Manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for awhile
And the piano sound like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
The men who sit at the bar come put bread in my jar
and say "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Ooh... Laaa la la dee dee dah
La laaa dee dee daaah... Dah daaaah
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
'Cause we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling all right
When the song was over, everybody cheered or applauded.
Grandma Longneck chuckled. "Who knew these creatures had such a rich and dynamic culture!" she said to her life mate.
"I guess that's what makes us human!" Michael said with a smile.
Grandpa longneck chuckled. "Indeed, my friends! Indeed!!"
"With everyone's permission, I have a song I'd like to share..." KITT suddenly said.
"Uh oh..." RC warned.
"You... KITT... Have a song???" Michael surprisingly asked as he turned to face the horizontal dancing red light of his partner's scanner.
"Yes, Michael! Totally made up... on the spot!!"
"I take it khit's not in the habit of making up his own songs?" Grandpa Longneck asked in some confusion.
"Let's just say that for a... CREATURE... like him, it's most unusual..." Michael answered.
"But not impossible... I, for one, would be most interested to hear what he's come up with. Go ahead, KITT!" Bonnie encouraged.
"Thank you, Bonnie!" KITT answered.
"Humpf! Now THIS I've gotta hear!" Cera said.
"Please... Courtesy for the performer!" KITT said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "This is a song I call 'Awesome World'. For your hearing pleasure, and without adue..."
KITT started by playing what sounded like orchestral violin music over his external speakers, then made a noise as if he was clearing his throat before singing the following:
I love the mountains
I love the clear blue skies
I love the forests
and all the birds that fly
I love the whole world
And all it's sights and sounds
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
I love the oceans
And all the fish that swim
I love the deserts
And all the live within
I love the whole world
And all it's craziness
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
I love the seasons
I love arachnids
I love hot magma
And the giant squids
I love the whole world
It's such an awesome place
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
Boom dee ah, boom dee ah
The humans thought they could hear African tribe chanting in the background music KITT was playing. When KITT finished, he received thunderous cheers and applause all around. Even the humans had to applaud KITT's efforts!
"Wow, khit! That was GREAT!" Chomper said with a big toothy smile.
"Khit sings better than any of us! He does! He does!" Ducky commented.
KITT made his WHOO WHOO sound before answering. "Why, thank you, Ducky!"
"That's a matter of opinion! 'Sings better than any of us', indeed!" Topsy grumbled.
"Oh, Topsy!" Tria said as she rolled her eyes.
"Well... maybe a little..." Topsy corrected, thus prompting an affectionate nudge from Tria.
WHOO WHOO. "High praise, coming from you!" KITT said, which made Topsy glare at him, thus prompting giggles from some of the gathered dinos.
Grandpa Longneck then noticed Little Foot let loose a huge yawn. "Well, as eventful as this day has been for all of us, I fear it's time to put all of our kids to bed..."
Some of the young ones whined, but those too tired to say anything in rebutted simply yawned, or leaned sleepily against their parent(s).
"I think we can allow them to sleep in a little..." Grandpa Longneck announced. "Tomorrow is another day... Good night, one and all!"
Thus prompting the crowd to disperse.
A short time later, the humans bedded down for the night. Through Bonnie was invited to share the tent with the men, she preferred to sleep in KITT's back seat. Because, in her own words, she "felt safer inside KITT than in a tent left out in the open". Michael tried to convince her that it was safe with KITT, Grandpa and Grandma Longneck all ready to jump into action, if ever there was any trouble; but Bonnie wouldn't hear any of it. This left Michael to shrug his shoulders in a "suit yourself" attitude. They soon went to sleep in the pitch black darkness.