《恐龙当家》第11章

After the strange experience with Forrest, things changed between Spot and Arlo. Now, they walked side-by-side. Instead of scowling¹ and feeling angry at Spot, Arlo began to like the little guy. Spot helped Arlo forget about feeling afraid, even if just for a little bit. The wilderness² was less scary with Spot around... and a lot more fun.

 

Arlo watched Spot as he stopped to sniff³ an insect wing on the ground, investigating it. Spot followed the scent⁴, sniffing⁵ along the ground and winding⁶ through the wilderness with Arlo following behind. Finally, Spot stopped, quivering as he thumped⁷ his leg against the ground in excitement. He led Arlo toward a bush, grunted⁸ as he lifted up a giant leaf. Beneath it was a big, beautiful bug⁹! Arlo smiled, checking out the amazing bug's big eyes and incredible colors. Then Spot tore it apart! Arlo cringed, watching through squinted¹⁰ eyes as Spot ripped his meal to pieces.

 

A little while later, Arlo stepped on something small and hard, and crushed it with his weight. He lifted his foot and saw a delicious-looking nut split in half. Spot sniffed¹¹ the ground curiously¹². Figuring Spot could find more, Arlo let him sniff his foot. Just as Arlo had hoped, Spot set out, sniffing along the ground in search of more nuts.

 

As they approached a tree, Spot's leg started to shake against the ground and his whole body trembled with excitement. Arlo looked up. Spot had found them! There were dozens of nuts hanging from the branches of the tree. Arlo took some down and began to chew. They tasted a little funny, but he swallowed them down. Then he leaned in and took a closer look at the nuts in the tree. One of them moved! They weren't nuts—they were BUGS¹³! And the tree was home to a whole colony! Gagging, Arlo tried to spit them out. But the colony was already bothered, and they started to swarm¹⁴. Arlo was terrified and could do nothing but run away! Spot followed and the two ran until they couldn't hear the buzzing behind them. When they finally stopped, all Arlo and Spot could do was laugh.

 

SQUEAK¹⁵! A strange, high-pitched noise startled Arlo. He looked down and saw a gopher peeking¹⁶ its furry¹⁷ head out of a hole in the ground. Surprised, Arlo backed away. A second gopher popped up. SQUEAK! Spot tried to pounce¹⁸ on it, but it quickly ducked back down into its hole.

 

Spot smiled then put his mouth over one of the holes and blew. The force of his breath caused a gopher to fly up into the air! When it fell down to the ground, it slipped back into its hole. Arlo laughed and joined in the fun, blowing and watching another gopher fly up. The two friends laughed as they orchestrated the airborne gophers.

 

The gophers were not pleased with being disturbed, and in frustration¹⁹, one turned and bit Arlo. He and Spot were so surprised; they ran for safety and found themselves on a ledge²⁰ above the lake. From there, Arlo and Spot turned and watched as the gophers slowly and mysteriously sank back into the ground. Arlo was just about to climb toward solid ground, when, out of nowhere, one of the gophers popped back out, startling him. Then it quickly dropped back down into its hole. It surprised him so much that he slipped—losing his footing and falling into the lake below.

 

Panicking and gasping²¹ for air, Arlo struggled to try and keep his head above water. Spot jumped in right after him and swam around, paddling his arms and kicking his legs. He continued to circle around Arlo, as if trying to teach him how to swim. Arlo tried to imitate him, paddling and kicking his way through the water. It was difficult for the big dinosaur²² at first, but slowly he got the hang of it. Soon Arlo wasn't just keeping his head above water, he was swimming! Once he got a little more comfortable with his underwater moves, he followed Spot swiftly to shore.

 

Spot jumped out of the water, panting happily. Arlo proudly stepped out, then realized his body was covered in leeches²³! He screamed and ran, wiggling and flailing²⁴ his body around, trying to shake off the blood-sucking worms! He had to dance around for quite a while to shake them off. Luckily, Spot was there to help peel off the ones that wouldn't let go!

 

Later on, Arlo and Spot came upon some pieces of fruit scattered²⁵ across the ground. Arlo ate as much as he could, then offered some to Spot. Laughing, the two stuffed their faces. It had been a long day. But after a while, they started to feel a little funny. Arlo looked at Spot and his face had started to grow in all kinds of crazy ways. Spot looked at Arlo and he suddenly looked like he had five eyes! Something strange must have been in that fruit. They laughed and laughed. In fact, it almost felt like they would laugh forever. But eventually they grew tired. And with their bellies²⁶ pleasantly full, they finally fell asleep on the ground.

 

As night fell, Arlo and Spot walked through a meadow. Arlo saw a firefly and suddenly got an idea. He was reminded of that night with Poppa, back in the fields of their farm. "Spot, watch this!" he said.

 

Arlo brushed his tail through the tall meadow grass and hundreds of fireflies floated up. Spot loved it! He chased them excitedly, jumping and snapping at the air, trying to catch each one he saw. Arlo joined him; there were so many to chase.

 

Then Spot caught one with his hands and showed it to Arlo. The dinosaur smiled and gently blew on it, just like Poppa had. Spot and Arlo watched as the firefly lit up, glowing brightly inside Spot's hands. Then Spot released it and the firefly opened its wings and rose up into the sky. They watched it flickering²⁷ and flashing as it flew off and disappeared into the night.

 

Arlo's smile soon faded as he thought about Poppa and his family at home. "I miss my family," he said quietly.

 

Spot looked up at Arlo with his face twisted in a confused expression and tilted²⁸ his head. He didn't seem to understand.

 

"Family," Arlo said, trying to think of a way to explain.

 

Arlo broke some sticks into dinosaur shapes. "That's me," he said, placing it on the ground in front of Spot. He continued, placing each one down as he spoke²⁹. "There's Libby, and Buck³⁰, and Momma..." He placed the last one down. "And—and Poppa." He drew a big circle in the dirt, around all the figures and said the word again: "Family."

 

Spot sniffed the figures, curiously, but still didn't seem to understand. "That's okay," Arlo said, trying to hide his feelings of disappointment.

 

Arlo rested on the ground as Spot scurried³¹ off, rummaging³² through some nearby bushes. He returned with some twigs³³, broke them, and set them down. They looked like three human shapes. Then Spot drew a big circle around his stick figures.

 

"Yes," said Arlo, perking³⁴ up. "That's your family."

 

Spot took two of the figures and laid them down, flat on the ground. He covered them with dirt and looked up at Arlo, sniffing sadly. Arlo understood what Spot was trying to say: his parents had died.

 

Arlo took the figure of Poppa and covered it with dirt, too. "I miss him," Arlo said.

 

Spot reached over and patted Arlo's leg, comforting him. Then he went toward his stick figures and howled at the moon.

 

"Arroooowah!"

 

Even though Spot didn't talk, he had a way of communicating that he was sad. And that he was still hurting as he remembered painful things. Arlo had been hurting over Poppa for a long time. And until now, he'd never really tried to talk about it.

 

But this was as good a time as any. Arlo joined Spot and howled, too.

 

Under the giant sky and a million twinkling stars, the two friends howled at the moon, releasing their sadness into the night.

 

"Arrrroooooooowah..."

 

与福里斯特的那次奇妙经历之后，小不点和阿乐之间的关系变了。如今，他们肩并肩一起走。阿乐不再对小不点大吼，也不再对他生气了，而是开始喜欢这个小家伙了。哪怕阿乐有一丁点的害怕，小不点也能帮助他忘却。有小不点在身边，荒野也没那么可怕了……还添了很多乐趣。

 

阿乐看着小不点停了下来，嗅着地上一只昆虫的翅膀，探究着它。小不点顺着这股气味，一路嗅过去，蜿蜒穿过荒野，阿乐紧随其后。最后，小不点停下来，颤抖着兴奋地跺着脚。他带着阿乐走向灌木丛，咕哝着掀起一片大树叶，下面有一只又大又美的虫子！阿乐笑着打量着这只虫子，它有一对神奇的大眼睛，身体的色彩也很奇妙。这时，小不点把这只小虫子撕成了两半！阿乐吓得缩起身子，眯着眼睛看着小不点把自己的晚餐撕成了碎片。

 

没多久，阿乐踩上了一个又小又硬的东西，他身体的重量把这东西压碎了。阿乐抬起脚，看到一个碎成两半的坚果，看上去很可口。小不点好奇地嗅了嗅地面，阿乐知道小不点能找到更多的坚果，就让小不点嗅他的脚。正如阿乐希望的那样，小不点出发了，他沿着地面一路嗅过去，以找寻更多的坚果。

 

当他们走近一棵树时，小不点开始跺脚，整个人因为兴奋而颤栗。阿乐抬头向上望，小不点找到坚果了！有几十个坚果挂在树枝上。阿乐摘了几个，开始嚼起来。坚果尝起来有些奇怪，但他还是把它们吞了下去。然后，他靠过去，凑近一点去看树上的坚果，有一个坚果动了！这才发现它们不是坚果，而是虫子！这棵树就是一整群虫子的聚集地！阿乐作呕起来，努力把吃下去的虫子吐出来，但是他已经惊扰了这群虫子，它们蜂拥而来。阿乐被吓到了，只能逃跑！小不点紧随其后，两人奔跑着，直到听不到身后的嗡嗡声才停下来。最后当阿乐和小不点停下来的时候，两人只能笑个不停。

 

吱吱！一道奇怪而尖锐的声响惊到了阿乐。阿乐低头看到了一只囊地鼠，它从地下的洞里探出毛茸茸的头，向外偷看。阿乐吃惊地往后退了几步。又有一只囊地鼠突然出现了。吱吱！小不点试着猛地扑向它，但是它很快就逃回了洞里。

 

小不点笑了，然后用嘴对着其中一个洞口吹气，一只囊地鼠被吹上了天！它一落到地上就赶紧溜回洞里。阿乐大笑，也加入到了捉弄囊地鼠的行列，他吹出了另一只囊地鼠，看着它飞起。这两个朋友因为戏弄了这群“飞”鼠而哈哈大笑。

 

对于这种被戏弄，囊地鼠们感到很不满意。挫败之下，有一只囊地鼠转向阿乐，咬了他。阿乐和小不点感到很惊讶，就往安全的地方跑，结果发现自己跑到了湖上面的悬崖边上。阿乐和小不点站在那儿，转过身看到囊地鼠们慢慢地、神秘兮兮地回到了地下。阿乐正要爬向坚实的地面，突然，不知打哪儿又冒出来一只囊地鼠，吓了阿乐一跳。接着，它又很快钻回洞里。阿乐被吓了一大跳，以至于脚下一滑——失足落入了下面的湖里。

 

阿乐很是恐慌，大口呼吸着空气。他挣扎着把头伸出水面。小不点紧随其后，也跳入水中，他划动双臂，蹬着双腿，绕着阿乐游动。他继续围着阿乐转圈，好像是在教他怎么游泳似的。阿乐试着模仿他，也按照他的方式在水里划动、蹬腿。起初，这些动作对一只大恐龙来说的确很难，但是慢慢地阿乐就掌握了要领。只过了一小会儿，他就学会了游泳，而不仅是只把头伸出水面！阿乐一适应水下的动作，就跟着小不点快速游向了岸边。

 

小不点从水里跳了出来，高兴地喘着气。阿乐自豪地从水里走出来，却发现自己全身布满了水蛭！他边跑边叫，一边扭动着身体，一边来回拍打着，努力甩掉那些吸血的虫子！为了甩掉它们，他不得不来回跳了好一会儿。幸运的是，小不点在他身边，能帮他弄掉那些甩不下来的水蛭！

 

过了一会儿，阿乐和小不点看到一些果子散落在地上，阿乐大吃特吃后，也分给了小不点一些。他俩鼓着腮帮，哈哈大笑。这一天很漫长，但是，一会儿之后，他们俩却觉得有点奇怪。阿乐看着小不点的脸以各种疯狂的方式在变大，小不点看着阿乐，发现他好像突然长出了五只眼睛！果子里肯定有什么奇怪的东西。他们笑啊笑，事实上，好像感觉会永远这样笑下去。但是，最后他们都笑累了，肚子也饱饱的，就躺在地上睡着了。

 

夜幕降临的时候，阿乐和小不点走过一块草地。阿乐看到一只萤火虫，突然有了一个主意。他想起了与爸爸一起在自家农场田间的那个晚上。“小不点，看这个！”他说。

 

阿乐用尾巴扫过高高的牧草，数以百计的萤火虫飞起，小不点爱上了这个场景！他兴奋地追着它们，蹦蹦跳跳地在空中乱咬，想要抓住他看到的每一只萤火虫。阿乐也和小不点一样，追赶起萤火虫来，因为飞舞着的萤火虫是那么多。

 

接着，小不点用双手抓住一只萤火虫，把它拿给阿乐看。阿乐笑着，轻轻吹动它，就像爸爸那样。小不点和阿乐看着这只萤火虫在小不点的手心里散发着明亮的光芒。接着，小不点放了它，萤火虫展开双翅，飞上了天空。他们看着它忽闪忽闪地飞走，消失在了夜空中。

 

一想到爸爸和家人，阿乐脸上的笑容就消失了。“我想家了。”他幽幽地说。

 

小不点抬头看向阿乐，脸上露出了困惑的神色。他歪着头，好像不太明白阿乐所说的。

 

“家人。”阿乐一边说，一边想方设法跟他解释。

 

阿乐折了一些树枝，在小不点面前的地上摆出恐龙的形状，然后对小不点说：“那是我。”阿乐继续把树枝一根一根摆到地上，嘴里还说着：“还有莉比，巴克和妈妈……”他把最后一根树枝放下：“还有……还有爸爸。”然后，他在地上画了一个大圈，把所有的图形都圈在一起，又说了一遍那个词：“家人。”

 

小不点好奇地嗅了嗅这些图形，但是好像仍然没弄明白。“没关系。”阿乐一边说，一边努力掩饰自己内心的失望。

 

在小不点匆忙跑开去附近的灌木丛中四处翻寻的时候，阿乐躺在了地上进行休息。小不点拿了一些小树枝回来，把它们折断摆在了地上。树枝看起来像三个人形。然后，小不点也画了一个大圈，圈起这些树枝人。

 

“是的，”阿乐兴奋地说道，“那就是你的家人。”

 

小不点拿出其中的两个树枝人，把它们平放在地上，用土盖上，然后抬头看着阿乐，悲伤地抽泣。阿乐明白了小不点想表达的意思：他的双亲过世了。

 

阿乐把代表爸爸的树枝拿开，也用土盖上了。“我很想他。”阿乐说。

 

小不点伸出手，拍了拍阿乐的腿，以示安慰。然后，他走向自己的树枝人，对着月亮嚎叫起来。

 

“嗷呜！”

 

尽管小不点没说话，但是他用自己的方式表达了他的难过之情，当他想起痛苦的往事时，仍然很受伤。阿乐也因为爸爸的事情伤心了好久，直到今天，他也从未真正想要说起这件事。

 

但是阿乐感觉这一次也和之前与小不点在一起的每一次一样畅快，于是他也和小不点一起嚎叫起来。

 

浩瀚的天空中繁星点点，天空下的两个朋友对着月光嚎叫，将各自的悲痛释放到夜空之中。

 

“嗷呜……”

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