He was a very friendly dinosaur. He dosn't have a name, so we'll just call him Dino. Dino was very lonely. There was no one to keep him company on the island. And all there was to eat was coconuts. Blech! He was sick of them. Dino dreamed of what the world was like. He never left the island because it was surrounded by water and man-eating sharks, (Probably dino-eating sharks, too.) and he was scared of what he might find out there. But one day, he was so lonely that he roared," Sharks or no sharks, I'm going out to find a companion." He spoke in the dinosaur language, which is unknown to us, but I'm translating it. So he set off in the world.

Well, started to, anyway. He put one foot in the water and the sharks started to swim around, just waiting for him to slip into the ocean. He drew his foot out and began to think. Then he had an idea. Grabbing his supply of coconuts, Dino rushed to edge of the island and threw them across the water. They made a splash that brought dolphins up to see what was the matter. The sharks caught a whiff of dolphin, and began to chase after the surprised creatures. Dino knew that he didn't have much time. The dolphins might get away and then the sharks would come back. So he jumped into the ocean and began to swim. He was a very good swimmer, considering he had never tried swimming before. But that didn't occur to him. The sharks had heard him jump and were hot on his trail. Dino swam as fast as he could, but the sharks were faster. One of them bit his tail. Dino winced at the sharp pain, but now was no time to be a crybaby. He swam fast. After a while, the sharks gave up and left.

Soon, a very weary Dino pulled his enormous body on dry land. No more water for him! Dino lay on the hot sand and started to laugh. He would never go back to that lonely island. He was going to travel and see new things. He got up and began to walk across the sand. Dino was headed for the town, Vinton, on the coast of California. Dino didn't know this, and he went nearer and nearer.

In Vinton, a festival was going on. The children were singing and dancing. Things were made and sold. Everything was cheerful until Dino arrived. He came across a child who was making things out of flowers. The child looked up and screamed. This brought the people running. When they saw Dino, panic broke out. Women grabbed their children and men ran for guns. Dino was puzzled at the scene and said," Is that a way to treat a visitor?" At hearing him roar, Men shot at him but missed because they were so frightened. Dino held up his bleeding tail and said," I'm hurt. Can you help me?" At this roar the men dropped their guns and everybody ran for the houses. There were cries of "King Kong" and "Monster" none of which Dino could understand. Soon the town was empty. "What a strange welcoming process," thought Dino. "I wonder if it is a custom." He waited, but it was soon evident that nobody was going to help him. So he moved on.

Soon he arrived in Southern California, where I live. People ran for guns and knives, but they were no match for Dino. In a couple of days, houses were abandoned and people were running. But he hadn't arrived in Desert Hot Springs yet.

One night, I heard a loud noise outside. I rolled out of bed and glanced at the clock. 7:30. It was early. I tried to go back to sleep, but all that shouting and banging outside was too loud. I got up and looked out the window. A very funny sight met my eyes. A dragon or a dinosaur of some kind was lumbering down the street, knocking down fences and garbage cans and other things. People inside their houses were yelling their complaints. I put on my robe and ran outside. I screamed," HELLO!" as loud as I could. The whatever-it-was looked at me. I asked," Who are you?" He roared and I translated the words," I am a dinosaur." My next question was," What are you doing here?" He told me all about how he was lonely and was searching the world for a companion. I laughed and told him that the world was very big and it would take decades for him to search every corner of it. Then I had to explain to him what a decade was. Then a year. Then I explained month, week, day, and hour to him. I was really tired after that. Imagine having to explain all that thoroughly to a dinosaur. I was pretty hoarse afterwards, too. After he understood, he seemed very depressed and went away. The day after that one, I was almost convinced it had been a dream, except for my sore throat.

This is what happened to Dino. He went back to his desert island, ignoring the screams and guns around him. He went back to his old life of coconuts and sharks and loneliness. And for all I know, he is living there, still.