Taka found the best way to deal with the bullies is to keep quiet. He knows if he says the wrong thing, not only will Hyp make him suffer, but the others too. Right now, he listened in on the adults. They didn't see him and wouldn't be pleased with him intruding.
Grandpa Longneck spoke. "As you can all see, our valley is quickly drying up".
Another grown up spoke. "Yes, we see it and feel it as well. There is less and less water to drink".
Another voice added in. "And green food to eat"!
"I know. That is why our herds must work together, to save the little water we have left. From now on, we must drink only what we need to survive and no more. Hopefully soon, the Thundering Falls will bring us water again If not, we me have to leave the Great Valley".
Taka was shocked by what the elder longneck said and so was the others.
"Leave the Great Valley"?
Never"!
It's our home".
"Then until the water returns, we must not use the water we have left unwisely".
Topps huffed. "Hmph". Taka knew he was going to blame someone. "Threehorns never use water unwisely, but your herds do".
Taka sighed. They also said what they felt like at the expense of peace.
The clubtail took offense. "Our herds? What makes you think our herds would do such a thing"?
"You drink greedily with no concern for others".
Taka winced. "Ouch".
"Can you believe he's saying that"?
Taka heard different chatter until the clubtail threw a comeback.
"Well, I've seen threehorns waste".
Topps wasn't pleased. "What"?
"You take long baths, even if you're the least bit dirty". He turned to someone else. "And I've seen your kind waste, too. Splashing water needlessly. For shame"!
"Impossible! I never did such a thing"!
Taka sighed. He wondered it Topps was to blame for the arguments of whose fault it was. Considering how accused quickly accused someone else who said nothing, perhaps it was inevitable. He decided to go back to his friends and return with news.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot was chasing Cera through the water, both laughing. Cera was now on top of a rock when she had an idea. "Hey, let's play bullies. "I'll be Hyp".
She jumped into the water with her Hyp impression. "I'm gonna get you"!
Littlefoot returned a raspy voice. "Not if I get you first".
She fake gasped, then laughed. And ran while Littlefoot chased her.
Petrie decided to play with his own raspy voice. "Me wanna play bullies too! Hey, hatchling! You no eat my green food"!
His response from Spike was getting squirted in the face.
Taka who just showed up laughed. "That's one way to stand up to a bully". His expression turned serious. "Look guys, I heard the adults speak about the water issue".
That got their attention. He continued. "We need to be careful and save the water we have".
Another voice spoke. "You heard him. "You hatchlings, better not waste our water".
Taka sighed and looked up to see Hyp and the bullies. At least other cubs that hated him simply kept their distance. And Mufasa and Sarabi would avoid him a few times. Not these guys. They were committed to their work.
The others weren't pleased either.
"Aww"!
"Not again".
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no"!
"It them".
"Thought you hatchlings could play in our swimming hole, huh"? Taka didn't say a word as Hyp said this.
Cera wasn't pleased. "They're beginning to get on my nerves".
Nod asked Hyp. "Can we teach 'em a lesson, Hyp? Can we, huh"?
"Be my guest, Nod"! Hyp pushed him off the rock.
Littlefoot and Cera gasped.
"Run"!
Cera got out of the way, but Nod landed on Littlefoot.
Some water splashed Topps as a result. Other adults laughed.
Nod gasped and fled. So did Mutt. "See ya". And Hyp. "Wouldn't want to be ya".
Topps was far from happy. "This is not funny. Now someone splashed me and wasted precious water".
As for Littlefoot, he made his way back to his friends. "Huh"?
It was Ducky who asked. "Littlefoot, are you all right"?
"Uh huh. But I think I'm in trouble".
"Your Littlefoot is guilty of wasting water"! Topps went right into accusing.
Taka didn't hesitate to dispute this. "No, he didn't. It was Hyp, Nod and Mutt. They're always picking on us".
Topps wasn't convinced. "Really. I didn't see them".
It was Cera who spoke then. "The cowards ran away. They didn't want to get in trouble".
Topps didn't seem convinced. So, Taka decided to be a bit more manipulative. "You don't seem to believe us. Are you calling your own daughter a liar".
Topps got defensive. "Of course not. But you both are obviously trying to cover for him".
Cera was annoyed. "Daddy. He's telling the truth".
Ducky nodded. "He is. Yep, yep, yep".
Petrie nodded. "He sure is".
Spike nodded.
The other adults seemed convinced. Topps not so much. He turned to Grandpa Longneck. "Your Littlefoot is a bad influence".
The elderly longneck wasn't happy. "That's not true"!
Ducky was confused. "What is an influence".
"Come, Cera and Taka. You're not to play with the little longneck anymore".
Taka sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing at the moment.
Cera looked back at her friends then at him. "But, Daddy"!
Grandpa Longneck tried to reason with Topps. "My friend. I think you're acting rashly. You heard the children say that Littlefoot is not to blame".
"Hmph! I said come you two"!
"No"!
She ran behind Littlefoot. Taka smiled. Despite the current problem, she sure improved a lot since they first met.
"Cera, I'm your father, and I want what's best for you".
A sad Cera joined them and they all walked away. Taka had no idea what to make of this. Topps just went accused Littlefoot, refusing to accept any other possible scenarios. It reminded him of Ahadi. He would always accuse Taka right away. And if the cub did manage to get his point across, it wouldn't make a difference. From what Cera once told him, he didn't approve of Cera playing with Longnecks before. Taka wondered if he simply was looking for an excuse to break up the friendship. He knew Topps wasn't that bad, all though some might assume he would be.
Later that night, the subject wasn't dropped.
"I don't understand, Daddy"!
"You need friends who know how to behave, especially in times like this".
Cera was defiant. "Littlefoot is my friend".
Taka agreed. "And she will be no matter what you say".
"Cera, I'm your father. I want that's best for you".
Now, she was in tears. "No, you don't! You just don't want me to any fun"! She went running into some weeds.
Taka shook his head in disbelief. "I keep telling you, it wasn't his fault, it was Hyp, Nod and Mutt. The bullies. Why won't you accept that".
"Because, you never mentioned the bullies once, nor has Cera. And Littlefoot for his faults seemed to at least accept responsibility. Then out of nowhere, you mentioned bullies. And the others were silent on the issue until you brought up the topic
Taka hated to admit he had a point. He did mention to Cera that they should tell him about them. Cera said they could handle them on her own. Taka sighed. "I'm not actually your son, you can't prevent me and Littlefoot from being friends".
"I am your guardian. You chose me yourself and I say no".
Taka sighed, then glared. "I'm off to bed".
Topps groaned. Both of them were angry with him. The next morning, Taka and Cera refused to talk to him.
As for Littlefoot, he was woken by his grandparents early in the morning. Grandma nudged him. "Time to wake up, my little one".
"But Grandma, it's early and I'm still sleepy".
"You must get up, Littlefoot, if you want to drink the morning dew with us", explained Grandpa.
"The morning dew"?
"Yes. It collects on the leaves in the early morning. Grandpa nudged. "If we hurry, we can drink the morning dew, before the bright circle gets too high in the sky and dries it all up".
"Oh. 'Yawn'. All right".
Later on, Grandpa got a tree star with some dew. "Here, Littlefoot, drink this. I think you'll find it delicious".
He licked his lips and went for it, only to break it. He was sad to see the dew soak into the ground. "Oops. It-it broke".
"It's not your fault, Littlefoot", assured Grandma. "The tree stars are very dry now and crumble easily".
Littlefoot let out a sigh. "But when will everything be green and wet again, Grandma"?
"I don't know. I hope soon".
As they walked, Littlefoot asked another question. "Well, what's going to happen if it's not soon"?
Grandpa explained. "Water will get harder and harder to find. Soon, everything will be as dry as that tree star".
"And it will be easier for fires to start", explained Grandma.
"Fire"?
"Yes, Littlefoot. Which is why you must remember the escape paths we've shown you".
"Don't worry, Grandma. I'll remember".
