Herds Divided

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Littlefoot, Gus and the others saw that the oasis was occupied by two herds of dinosaurs. One group were Swimmers, like Ducky. They were the ones in the water. The other that had the shore with the green food near a cluster of trees were Dome-heads.

Both groups were not mingling with each other at all. And Gus had a pretty good reason why that was.

Littlefoot led the group to the watering hole where the Swimmers were drinking. But when they got closer an adult Swimmer with a graying bill came up to them, blocking their way.

"What do you want, little ones?" The Swimmer said rather sternly.

Gus noticed that the dinosaurs all had stern or hard looks upon their faces. Definitely not friendly.

Littlefoot boldly stepped up to the Swimmer, who was probably the herd leader, and said, "We need food!"

"And water, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky added.

A fat Dome-head walked up and said with a growl, "No food!"

Graynose, the herd leader, turned to Ducky. "Pay no attention to Clifford and his kind. You may drink with my herd, little one." he said not unkindly. "You are a Swimmer like us. But," he continued, pointing to the rest of the group, "no water for them."

"But they need to drink too!" Ducky protested. "They're my friends!"

Both Clifford and Graynose had a look of befuddlement on their faces. Some of the other members of their herds also looked confused.

"These are your friends?" Clifford snorted, pointing a claw at the kids. "A Three-horn? A Long-neck? A Spike-tail? A Flier and," he pointed at Gus with an ugly sneer. "whatever that is?"

Gus gave the dinosaur an ugly look right back.

"Best not make friends with the likes of them," said Graynose to Ducky in cautious tone. "you might end up growing horns and spikes on you sooner then you think."

Gus could not believe what he was hearing. He had never realized before now how foolish the dinosaurs behaved back in prehistoric times, how foolish to dislike someone just because they looked different. They acted no better then people back in his time. All he knew now was that they all needed food and water.

Cera, having enough of this squabble, reared her head up and said firmly, "We're hungry! All of us!"

Graynose stared down at her. "And so are we." he said, slapping his tail on the water.

Cera scowled. Gus didn't know what to do. Spike, Ducky and Petrie didn't know what to say either.

It was Littlefoot who spoke up finally.

"Why don't you share the water with them," he said tentatively. "and they could share the food with you. Then they wouldn't be thirsty and you wouldn't be hungry."

There was a long and unpleasant pause. Then all the dinosaurs began talking at once in angry protests.

"No! Absolutely not!"

"Out of the question!"

"Well if you don't change your minds, all of you will die," Cera said bluntly.

Ducky turned to Graynose. "Why don't don't you like each other? Huh, huh?"

"The Dome-heads are from the other side of the swamp." Graynose snorted.

"And you don't like each just for that?" Littlefoot pressed.

Clifford's mouth worked as if chewing something, his snout wrinkling over his jutting teeth. "The Swimmers think they own every pond they come across and other herds have to wait their turn! So why should they feed upon our green food?"

There was nothing for the kids to do now but move on. They were still hungry and they knew that they were not going to get any food or water in this place. Not with the two herds refusing to work together.

A while later Littlefoot, Gus, and the rest of the group were at the bottom of a rocky hill, panting from exhaustion and thirst. There was a slight gust of wind but everyone pressed upward. There was no other way. They had to climb.

Gus was good at climbing rocks back at home in Central Park. He had a knack for it, like all kids his age. But here in the prehistoric past they were different. He found that they were not as easy to climb then in the park. And his friends were even having a tougher time scaling the hill.

Spike, his tongue hanging out, was wheezing and Petrie was on the verge of collapsing where he lay. Cera was trying on her own to climb the hill as well. But even she looked like she wanted to give up too.

"Oh, you can't quit now," Gus said.

"Ahhh," Petrie wheezed. "Good time to quit."

"But what if the Great Valley is just over the top of these rocks?" said Littlefoot as he turned to continue climbing.

Gus hitched up his shorts and began climbing as well. He was with Littlefoot all the way, even if the valley wasn't really there waiting for them at the top.

The others shrugged and preceded tiredly.

Finally, at long last, they reached the top. Their faces were full of hope at finding the valley at last. The sandstorm began to calm and everybody could see a little better.

But their hopeful faces fell when they saw that it was not the fabled Great Valley at all. Below them was nothing more than a burnt-out, and desolate crater!

Cera was furious. She had come all this way with Littlefoot and the others only to find that the Great Valley was nowhere in sight.

"This is your Great valley?" she shouted angrily at Littlefoot. "You're crazy!"

Furious and frustrated, she turned away with her tail erect.

"I'm leaving!" she announced.

"You can't do that!" said Gus. He stood in her way to cut her off.

"Gus is right," Littlefoot said. "we have to keep following the bright circle."

"I'm taking the easy way for once!" retorted Cera. She stuck her horn up, brushed past Gus, and began to march off.

Littlefoot got in the young three-horn's way, annoyed with her stubbornness.

"But it's the wrong way!" he argued back at her.

"Who says?" Cera ridiculed.

"My mother!"

Cera sneered at him. "Then she was a stupid long-neck too."

Gus could not hold back the gasp he let out upon hearing that. But it was soon replaced with anger.

"Hey! You can't say that!" he shouted at her.

Littlefoot was now really angry. How could Cera say that about his mother!

"Take that back!" he demanded, getting right into Cera's face.

"Never!" Cera snapped stubbornly.

Littlefoot reared up angrily, pawing the air aggressively. "Take it back!" he screamed.

"No!" Cera shouted, sticking her horn up again.

That was the final straw! Littlefoot charged at Cera, ramming her in the chest with enough fury to send them both tumbling over the hill.

"Littlefoot!" Gus cried out. He ran over to the edge and saw the two dinosaurs sliding down the embankment. Instinctively, he jumped down after them.

Spike, not wanting to be left behind, tried to follow after Gus but ended up sliding down the hill with Ducky and Petrie hanging onto him. The both of them screamed as they slid down and landed in a heap at the bottom.

Littlefoot, Gus, and Cera were now engaged in a vicious fight.

"You!" Cera growled as she rammed right into Littlefoot's side. He yelped and went flying right next to a rock.

Gus tackled Cera and kicked her in the stomach. She rounded on him and charged but Gus leap-frogged over her head. She smashed into a rock that crumbled upon impact.

"I'll get you for that!" she growled, shaking her head.

Gus grabbed onto her tail, lifted it to his mouth, and bit down as hard as he could.

Cera let out a shrill scream that echo around the crater. Furious and more enraged she tried to get Gus to let go of her.

Littlefoot, recovered from the attack, was on his feet and rejoined the fight.

Ducky, Petrie and Spike hid behind a boulder and watched in fear. They winced and cringed and poor Spike dug his head in the sand to avoid watching.

Cera was spinning around and snapping her teeth at Gus to make him let go of her. But the boy held on to her tail with both hands.

Littlefoot took that chance to bite Cera's leg, intending to trip her up.

"Let go of my leg!" she demanded.

Littlefoot and Gus worked together to throw her against another rock. But the young three-horn quickly recovered and charged at them both. Working together, Gus and Littlefoot both kicked sand in her face.

Sputtering and spitting, Cera shook the sand from her eyes and nose.

Littlefoot charged and headbutted her, pushing her back.

But Cera was not going to take that from a stupid long-neck or a scale-less freak!

She headbutted Littlefoot right back and he was pushed away. Gus tried to help but Cera rammed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He collapsed on the ground and lay there like a slug.

"Why you!" Littlefoot shouted.

Cera and Littlefoot continued to fight each other now, headbutting and pushing each other. Dust kicked up from both combatants as they grunted and bleated out painful cries.

Opening his eyes, Gus recovered a little as he got to his feet, but was too late to help Littlefoot as Cera bashed him from behind with another painful headbutt. The force of it spun Littlefoot across the ground on his belly and he came to a stop, panting and glaring furiously at Cera.

The fight was over and Cera had won. She huffed at Littlefoot and walked away with both her horn and tail in the air, not bothering to apologies for her actions.

Littlefoot, hurt, angry, and fed up, got to his feet. Gus joined him but winced as he tried to hold back tears. Both boys were holding back from crying. They did not want to look like weaklings in front of Cera.

"Go on!" Littlefoot panted angrily after the young three-horn. "Go the wrong way! We never wanted you with us anyway!"

Gus shouted as he sniffled, "Cera, you'll never get to the Great Valley without us, and you know why? Because you're too stubborn to trust anybody! Littlefoot's mother never should have saved you!"

But Cera continued to walk away. Gus saw her waver a little before quickly regaining herself.

Ducky, Petrie and Spike, slowly came out of hiding from behind their rock. But now they didn't know which way to go. Or who to follow.

Littlefoot knew which way. Up the slope to their left. It was rocky but it went in the right direction following the setting sun west.

Still sniffling, Littlefoot turned and walked toward the slope. Gus was right behind him. He was so done with Cera's attitude.

"Come on," Littlefoot told the others as he started to climb the hill. "we have to keep going."

"Right behind you," said Gus. "we got a valley to find."

The two climbed up only a few feet because when they turned around, they were not joined by Ducky, Petrie or Spike. The three dinosaurs remained where they were, tired and panting.

"What's wrong with you guys?" said Gus, panting and wincing a little.

"Com on!" Littlefoot urged, nodding to them to follow.

But they didn't.

"Cera's way is easier," Ducky said in a apologetic voice.

"I, I think so… too." Wheezed Petrie.

Spike nodded in agreement and began to follow after Cera.

Littlefoot looked devastated. Gus was stunned. How could they do this, after all they had been through?

"You can't go that way," Gus told them. "You don't even know where it goes."

Ducky replied, "We know where it doesn't go. It doesn't go up. Nope. Nope. Nope."

Littlefoot's eyes narrowed as he glared at them. He turned his back on Ducky and Petrie and resumed climbing the hill, moving past Gus.

The human boy paused to also glare at them. He shook his head as he continued to climb, following Littlefoot. They had turned to the direction of the bright circle and the hard path that was ahead.

Down below, Ducky and Petrie waved a tearful goodbye, turned and followed after Cera to the north.

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