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DINO DOG |
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 Tom points out ribs and leg bones of a duck-bill dinosaur. © David Muenker |
"Wee!" shouted the passengers. Sonya's ears stood out like wings.
At the bottom of the hill, they went into a metal building. An entire duck-bill dinosaur skeleton lay protected inside. This one was called a Corythosaurus. Tom pointed out the ribs, legs, head and tail.
Sonya looked at them closely. "Now I know exactly what fossil bones look like."
Back outside, Tom explained how to identify a fossil. First he licked his finger and touched a rock.
"If your finger sticks, it might be a fossil," he said.
To make sure it was a fossil, he did the second step. He looked at its color. "The color must be lighter than the color of bones," he explained. "This rock is a fossil."
Sonya licked her paw and touched the rock. The fossil was as sticky as spilled orange juice. She looked at the color. It was lighter than the bones she gnaws on at home.
"Ready?" Tom asked. "You have one hour to find a fossil."
 Sonya discovers a fossil when her tongue sticks to it! © Ravay Snow 2005 |
She licked her paw and touched a rock.
Nothing.
She licked her paw and touched another rock.
Nothing.
She did this again. And again. "This is hard work," Sonya sighed. "Maybe all of the big bones have been found."
It was getting hot.
"I'm so tired," she panted. "But I won't give up. I won't!"
Her tongue hung lower and lower — so low that it touched a rock. A big, STICKY rock!
"Oh, no! I didn't use my paw!" she yipped, pulling her tongue away.
The rock was as long as a tree branch. She tapped her paw on it and it stuck.
"Hooray!" she barked. "It's lighter than bone!"
"I need to keep my eye on it until Tom comes looking for me." Sonya raised her foreleg in a point.
 Tom says farewell from the Fossil Safari bus. © David Muenker |
"Wow! This is a huge Albertosaurus leg bone!" Sonya ran victory laps around the fossil.
"In honor of your great discovery," Tom declared, "I name you Dino Dog!"
Note: This story is fiction based on fact.
Go to Sonya's Picks for links to websites about fossils and dinosaurs.
Read a non-fiction article about Dinosaur Provincial Park.
See how many words you know on the Word Match.
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Photographs ©2005-2010 David Muenker. Text ©2005-2010 Rose Muenker. Illustrations ©2005-2010 Ravay Snow Any use without express written permission is illegal and punishable by law. All rights reserved. Site designed and developed by Josh Bergman. |
