An Unexpected Visitor

Every afternoon, James liked to visit Litrasaurus in his cave to read with him. Litrasaurus was a wise old dinosaur who had many wonderful stories to tell. On this particular afternoon, James was entering the cave as he always did, but something seemed out of place. There was a young dinosaur walking around the entrance. This little dinosaur looked familiar, but James couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

The dinosaur looked confused. “Hello”, said James, “is everything ok?”

“I’m lost”, he said.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe in here” said James, “- what’s your name?”

“I can’t – I can’t remember … ” said the dinosaur, “and I can’t remember how I got here, either”.

James knew someone who could help. “Follow me”, he said. He beckoned for the dinosaur to follow him, and led him into the cave. They turned this way and that, and the light slowly grew dim as they walked. Strange glowing lights lit the walls in the darkness, and as they travelled deeper, the sound of the outdoors eventually faded.

Litrasaurus liked to read at this time of the afternoon, and James knew just where to find him. He led the little dinosaur up to the door of the old Study, and paused for a moment. A strange humming sound seemed to come from inside. James turned to the little dinosaur. “We’re here”, he said “we just need to-” James jumped back in shock. The little dinosaur who had been following him walked straight through the wooden door, as if he were a ghost!

James hurried through the door to follow, but when he opened it, the dinosaur was nowhere to be seen. Litrasaurus was standing behind the desk in his study. He had a large, heavy book open in front of him. Bright light seemed to spill from the pages, and mysterious shapes swirled around the room above him.

“What’s going on?” James asked. “Did you see where the little dinosaur went?”

“It’s ok” said Litrasaurus, as he lifted the heavy pages of the book. It closed with a heavy thump. “He’s home now.”

“Where?” asked James, with a confused look on his face.

“It’s more a question of when”, said Litrasaurus, as he lifted the heavy book up onto a shelf and placed it amongst a row of other mysterious books.

“So who was the little dinosaur?, asked James, even more confused by his answers.

Litrasaurus smiled, “that same little dinosaur stands before you” he said. “It was me, as a boy. The Book of Time allows me to look into the past and the future. Sometimes things escape from its pages. The rest is a story for another time … ” He pulled another, smaller book from a lower shelf and handed it to James. “Time for today’s reading”, he said, and together they read, as they always did.