One day, Danny went to the museum. He wanted to see what was inside. He saw Indians. He saw bears. He saw Eskimos. He saw guns. He saw swords. And he saw… DINOSAURS! Danny loved dinosaurs. He wished he had one. “I’m sorry they’re not real. It would be nice to play with a dinosaur.” “And I think it would be nice to play with you.” “Can you?” “Yes.” “Oh, good! What can we do?” “I can take you for a ride.” “Let’s go!” “Pardon me!” A policeman stared at them. He had never seen a dinosaur stop for a red light. The dinosaur was so tall… …Danny had to hold up the ropes for him. “Look out!” “He thinks you’re a car. Go away, dog. We’re not a car.” “I can make a noise like a car. Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! ” “What big rocks!” “They’re not rocks. They’re buildings!” “I love to climb.” “Watch out!” “Down, boy!” The dinosaur had to be very careful not to knock over houses or stores with his long tail. “Hop on!” “Look!” “All who want to cross the street may walk on my back.” “It’s very nice of you to help me with my bundles.” Danny and the dinosaur went all over town and had lots of fun. “It’s good to take an hour or two off…after a hundred million years!” They even looked at the ball game. “Hit the ball.” “Hit a home run.” “I wish we had a boat.” “Who needs a boat? I can swim.” “Toot, toot!” “Oh, what lovely green grass! I haven’t eaten any of that for a very long time.” “Wait. See what it says?” “Please Keep Off.” They both had ice cream instead. “Let’s go to the zoo and see the animals.” Everybody came running to see the dinosaur. Nobody stayed to see the lions. Nobody stayed to see the elephants. Nobody stayed to see the monkeys. And nobody stayed to see the seals, giraffes, or hippos either. “Please go away so the animals will get looked at.” “Let’s find my friends.” “OK.” “There they are.” “Why, it’s Danny riding on a dinosaur! Maybe he’ll give us a ride.” “May we have a ride?” “I’d be delighted.” “Hold on tight. Let’s go!” Around and around the block ran the dinosaur, faster and faster and faster. “This is better than a merry-go-round!” “Phew! I’m out of breath!” “Teach him tricks.” Danny taught the dinosaur how to shake hands. “Can you roll over on your back?” “That’s easy.” “He’s smart.” “Let’s play hide-and-seek.” “How do you play it?” “We hide, and you try to find us.” The dinosaur covered his eyes. All the children ran to hide. The dinosaur looked and looked, but he couldn’t find the children. “I give up.” “Here we are!” “Now it’s your turn to hide.” The children covered their eyes. The dinosaur hid behind a house. The children found him. He hid behind a sign. The children found him. He hid behind a big gas tank. The children found him. They found him again, and again, and again. “I guess there’s no place for me to hide!” “Let’s make believe we can’t find him.” “Where can he be?” “Where, oh, where is that dinosaur?” “Where did he go?” “We give up.” “Here I am!” “The dinosaur wins!” “We couldn’t find him!” “He fooled us! Hurrah for the dinosaur! Hurray!” “Well, goodbye, Danny.” “Can’t you come and stay with me? We could have fun.” “No. I’ve had a good time—the best I’ve had in a hundred million years. But now I must get back to the museum. They need me there.” “Oh. Well, goodbye.” Danny watched until the long tail was out of sight. Then he went home alone. “Oh, well. We don’t have room for a pet that size anyway. But we did have a wonderful day.”