雙語讀電影 《恐龍當(dāng)家》第13章 :霸王龍搞丟了牛群

Arlo gulped. “Rustlers?” he asked.

Butch walked further ahead and found a dead longhorn in the tumbleweed. “We gotta move,” said Butch. “Hya!”

The T-rexes took off, running swiftly and quietly. Spot and Arlo followed as they tracked the prints until they disappeared over the top of a small hill. When they got closer to the edge, the T-rexes crawled on their bellies to get a view of the herd a short distance away. The dinosaurs quietly took in the scene below.

Arlo crouched down, too. There—out below the big, blue sky—was the herd, quietly grazing in the tall grass. It seemed very peaceful.

“I don’t see any rustlers,” whispered Arlo, wondering where the thieves could be.

“They’re out there,” said Butch, slowly inching forward. He turned to Arlo and squinted, sizing him up. “I got a job for you.”

“I’m not really good at... jobs,” Arlo responded timidly.

Butch pointed out to the right of the herd. “I need you to keep on the dodge and sidle up the loblolly past them hornheads, just hootin’ and hollerin’ to score off them rustlers. We’ll cut dirt and get the bulge on ’em.”

“What?” Arlo asked, blank-faced.

“He just wants you to get on that rock and scream,” Ramsey said, clarifying. She pointed to a large rock in the field near the longhorns.

“They’ll come right at you,” added Butch. “You hold your ground. Don’t move.”

“Don’t move?” asked Arlo nervously. “What if they have claws and big teeth?”

“Don’t overthink it,” Butch said. Then he pushed Arlo right out into the field!

With Spot on his back, Arlo nervously looked around. He glanced at the T-rexes and Butch confidently nodded him forward.

Arlo took a deep breath and tried to get over his fear. He moved forward, slowly creeping through the grass. When he turned back, the T-rexes were gone! He panted as he anxiously continued toward the large rock.

Once he reached it, he carefully climbed up to the top. Trembling, his legs shook and his knees knocked into each other as he tried to muster up some courage. He took a deep breath and finally, opened his mouth to roar. A low, strained whisper came out. He took a breath and Spot watched as he tried again. But Arlo’s “roar” barely made a squeak.

Taking matters into his own hands, Spot chomped down onto Arlo’s leg and Arlo let out a piercing scream!

In an instant, Arlo saw the tall grass quiver and move. He could hear something coming toward them rapidly, but he couldn’t see what it was. His mouth went dry and he could barely breathe. Once again, Arlo was terrified.

“YEEEHAWW!” A voice hollered. “Pervis, get ’im!”

“I am getting him!” shouted another voice.

“Whoooweeeee!” shouted a third voice. “Not before me!”

Three of the thieves appeared: they were nasty looking Raptors. Each had a mouth full of big, pointy teeth and a sharp curved talon on each foot. Arlo turned to see another one—even bigger than the others—coming right at him. He froze in fear.

Just as the giant Raptor lunged at Arlo, Butch leaped out of the grass and grabbed it mid-air! The other three Raptors jumped and bounced, and Nash swiped at them. As the Raptors and T-rexes battled, Arlo was right in the middle of the chaotic brawl.

The Raptor named Pervis landed on a rock in front of Arlo and jumped at him. “I GOT YA!” he yelled, standing right over Arlo.

BOOM! Butch head-butted Pervis and he went flying. He landed with a thud, right in the middle of the herd. The noise stirred the longhorns up and they began to stampede. They trampled right over Pervis and were headed toward Arlo.

Arlo was petrified, but Spot barked and hopped onto his back, snapping him out of it. Arlo took off running.

Ramsey dashed toward the stampede and called to her brother. “Nash! The herd! Hya!”

“Giddyup! Come on now! Giddyup! Hya!” Nash shouted, following close behind.

Then Ramsey noticed a Raptor right behind Nash. “Watch out!” she screamed.

The giant Raptor jumped onto Nash and they began to fight. Nash got in a few good punches, but the Raptor managed to peg him down. It held up its claws, ready to strike, when Ramsey charged into the fight—nailing it with an impressive tail whip. CRACK!

The Raptor went flying back. And when he finally stood up, he touched his lip and realized it was bleeding. Then he pulled out a tooth. “Shoot! That’s my favorite tooth!” He threw it aside and looked up at Pervis.

“Ah, quit bleedin’ Bubbha,” Pervis said. Then he and the Raptor with the missing tooth went straight for Ramsey and Nash, ready to rumble.

Meanwhile, Arlo and Spot ran from the stampeding herd, getting tossed around along the way. Spot barked as Arlo ran behind a boulder. Arlo caught his breath, and Spot continued to bark and growl.

Just then, a Raptor named Lurleane landed on a nearby boulder. Arlo ducked for cover, trying to stay hidden. But she sniffed around, looking for someone to fight. All of a sudden, Spot jumped out, growling at her and egging her on. But Arlo grabbed him back, hoping she wouldn’t find them.

“It’s playtime,” Lurleane said creepily. “I know you’re there. I can SMELL ya.”

Without warning, Butch charged in with Pervis on his back and Lurleane joined in the attack on Butch. Arlo tried to get out of the way, but got whacked by Butch’s tail in the scuffle.

The Raptors pinned Butch to the ground right in front of Arlo. “Nab his tail!” Butch yelled, but Arlo was scared stiff. Spot nudged him, growling, and Arlo knew he had to help. Without giving it another thought, Arlo ran straight at Pervis, screaming like a crazed dinosaur.

Arlo head-butted the Raptor clear across the field! He couldn’t believe he had actually done it. He smiled proudly but the feeling quickly faded as soon as Lurleane slunk toward him.

“I’m going to love ending you,” she said with a terrible growl. She lunged at Arlo but before she could reach him, Butch snatched her up by the tail. Butch roared as he hurled her off into the distance. Then he chased the other Raptors away, biting their blue-feathered tails as they ran.

Nash ran up. “Come on, we gotta drive this herd outta here,” he said, nipping at one of the longhorns. “Hya! Come on now!”

Arlo and Spot couldn’t believe it, but they’d survived. They shared a glance and proudly galloped along with the T-rexes and the herd as they moved the longhorns on to safer pastures.