The Giggle Mudslide

The air in the jungle, usually so full of the chirps of tiny creatures and the rustle of enormous ferns, seemed to hold its breath. Dino, Pippy, and Spike had just narrowly escaped a cascade of truly enormous, truly rumbly rocks. They’d tumbled down a gentle slope, their hearts thumping like drumbeats against their ribs, and landed in a heap of relieved sighs and dust. Dino, ever the brave leader, shook his massive head, sending a cloud of fine particles into the sunbeams filtering through the canopy. Pippy, who had managed to do a spectacular, albeit accidental, somersault during the rock-rolling escapade, was already back on her feet, wings flapping with renewed vigor. Spike, the ever-optimistic Stegosaurus, had, of course, tripped over his own tail mid-roll, but true to his nature, he’d bounced back up with a sheepish grin and a little shake of his plated back.

“Wowza!” Pippy chirped, doing a quick loop-de-loop that sent a flurry of leaves spiraling down. “That was a close one, wasn’t it? My tummy did a flip right along with me!” She giggled, a sound like tiny bells tinkling.

Dino let out a rumbling chuckle, a deep sound that vibrated through the mossy ground. “You can say that again, Pippy. I thought for a moment there we were going to be flattened into prehistoric pancakes!” He nudged Spike gently with his snout. “You okay, Spike? No new dents?”