Dinosaurs Don't Do Ballet, Pt. 2

Dinosaurs Don't Do Ballet, Pt. 2

Dinosaurs Don't Do Ballet, Pt. 2
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 4
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	2.65

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		Brachy, ducked, frustration, GrrAAAAAHH, know-opera, meat-eater, Miimmiimmimmii, towered, tyrannosaur, swallowed, halfway, lowered, purpose, fell, wobble, jagged
	content words:		Then Boomer

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Dinosaurs Don't Do Ballet, Pt. 2
By Toni Lee Robinson

¹     The tyrannosaur's howls got louder. Brachy and Dippy slipped into the trees behind Ollie. "He scares me!" Dippy whispered from his hiding place.

²     Brachy even stopped chewing. "Watch out, Ollie!" he warned. "He looks mad!" The ground shook as Boomer came near. Ollie faced the angry meat-eater. He wedged his back between two big trees.

³     "GrrAAAAAHH!" After a really loud roar, Boomer stopped in front of Ollie. As the big head swerved close, Ollie could see Boomer's little eyes. They looked red and mean.

⁴     "Aren't you going to run like your friends?" he roared.

⁵     "I don't think so," Ollie said. The tyrannosaur towered above him. Ollie swallowed. He was glad his voice sounded steady. "What are you doing, Boomer? Why do you try to scare everyone?"

⁶     The tyrannosaur threw his head back. A roar of frustration thundered through the air. The meat-eater lunged forward. His little front legs thrashed above Ollie.

⁷     Ollie raised his head a bit. His three sharp horns pointed forward. For once, he was glad for his frill. It made a jagged wall of bone across his neck. The rest of his body was safe between the trees. Boomer's howling shook the leaves.

⁸     "Stop that!" Ollie yelled. His knees shook a little but his voice was firm. "Boomer! Stop roaring and tell me what is wrong."

⁹     The tyrannosaur's roar became a low growl. His little eyes blinked. His head swayed back and forth. Then Boomer stood still in front of Ollie. The big head lowered.

¹⁰     "I'm tired of being lonely," he said, finally. "Everyone else has friends. I don't even have a family."

¹¹     "How can you have friends if you scare everyone off?" Dippy's voice came from the trees behind them. Brachy's head peeked out from the treetop.

¹²     "I started out just trying to do something special," said Boomer. "I thought someone might like me then. I really was trying to be a singer. You know—opera."

¹³     He cleared his throat. "Miimmiimmimmii," he sang. The sound came out halfway between a howl and a roar. Brachy ducked back behind his tree.

¹⁴     "See?" said Boomer sadly. "That's what happened every time. They all ran away. No one liked my singing. It hurt my feelings. I wanted to hurt everyone back."

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