Jaws and Claws UFLI Foundations Lesson 96

Roar! Rex crashed out of the jungle, loud and proud. 'I am the best dinosaur who ever lived,' Rex growled. A crowd of other dinosaurs poked their heads out from the ferns. They stared. Their eyes went wide.

Rex pointed down the long line. The crowd had lined up, small to tall. 'We came in all sizes,' said Rex. 'Teeny ones no bigger than a cat. Big ones. And then...' Rex looked up, and up, and up at the tall ones towering over everything. A tiny human stood at the end of the line, no bigger than an ant. Rex grew quiet. 'Well,' said Rex. 'Size is not everything.'

Five small hunters came bounding across the ground, fast as arrows. They moved together like one animal. 'Hunting in packs,' Rex muttered with a scowl. 'How silly. A real dinosaur hunts alone.' The hunters did not even glance at Rex. They had work to do.

Rex prowled across the hot dust and opened its mouth very wide. 'See these teeth?' said Rex. 'Very sharp. Made to rip. Made to crunch. Made to spoil a nice afternoon.' Rex smirked. 'One look in my mouth tells just what is for dinner.'

Two long-necked dinosaurs crossed the plain. 'What shade were we?' one asked. Rex opened its mouth and then closed it. 'No one can tell,' Rex said at last. 'Skin rots away before a fossil forms, and no one has found the real shade of a single dinosaur. But I bet I was red, very red.'

A scaly dinosaur stood in the bushes close by, looking surprised. Rex pointed at it. 'Classic. Strong. Scaly. Outstanding.' But many dinosaurs had feathers, and Rex had them too. Over time, some feathered dinosaurs got smaller and smaller until they could fly. They became birds. Rex frowned. 'Wait. Am I kin to a chicken?'

A large dinosaur looked down at two babies resting in the plants below. The little ones peered up with wide eyes and tiny smiles. Rex watched from far away and said nothing for a long moment. 'Fine,' Rex whispered. 'That is so cute. Even I can admit that is cute.'

A small dinosaur came striding among the ferns on its back legs, tail out behind it. 'Every bone is a clue,' said Rex proudly. 'Every footprint on the ground tells a story of how we moved.' Rex watched the small dinosaur trot past. 'My footprints are much bigger.'

A large dinosaur stood up on its hind legs. Its big claws were made to grab. It could reach up and snatch food from high branches with those strong hands. Rex looked down at its own tiny arms, then at those big claws. Rex changed the subject. 'Very handy,' Rex said. 'Moving on.'

Rex stood tall and held up a wiggling little beast in those short arms. 'Everybody mocks these arms,' said Rex. 'Tiny, they say. Silly, they say.' Rex growled. 'But these arms are strong. So strong, they grip food. So strong, they push me up off the ground. Small does not mean weak.' Rex flexed. 'Who is mocking now?'

Three long-necked dinosaurs stood on the rocks, smiling as if they held a secret. Rex frowned and asked what was funny. 'Every new fossil changes the story,' said the tall one. 'Old ideas get turned upside down. There is still so much to find out.' Rex opened its mouth to snap back, then closed it. That was a very good point.

Rex stood among the old trees, sunlight on its proud back. Rex took a deep breath. 'I did not get it all right,' Rex said. 'There are fossils in the ground, secrets still hidden, and so much still to ask.' Rex looked right at you. 'So keep digging, keep asking, and never, ever stop roaring.' Roar!