After that day, everything changed. The family worked hard, trying to keep up with the endless tasks that were necessary to maintain the farm. But as winter approached, they were falling behind. Momma was exhausted¹ and many of the fields were left fallow. The family worried they wouldn't have enough food to make it through the winter. Arlo couldn't help but feel that it was entirely² his fault. He had been the one to set the critter free. He had been the reason Poppa went into the wilderness³ that night. If he had just taken care of that critter, Poppa would still be alive and everything would be okay.

 

Momma carried a huge load of corn to the silo, but she was struggling. Arlo ran up to help her.

 

"If we don't get this harvest in before snow hits, we won't make it," Momma said desperately⁴.

 

"I'll take the corn to the silo, Momma," said Arlo. He picked up the load of corn and put it on his back. He smiled at her. "Don't worry, I ain't gonna let us starve."

 

"You're a good son," Momma said.

 

Arlo wavered, carrying the weight of the corn on his back. He could feel his legs wobble, but he was determined⁵ to make it.

 

When the silo finally came into view, he gazed at Poppa's mark and felt a familiar sadness wash over him. But he knew he couldn't stop to feel sad. He had to keep working.

 

Arlo walked carefully to the silo and slowly removed a rock to place the corn inside. He set the corn down and began to husk it, peeling each one and tossing it into the silo. Then he heard something rustling⁶ inside and went to investigate. He saw a figure chomping⁷ the corn and spitting out the empty cobs.

 

But Arlo couldn't believe his eyes: It was that pest from the trap! Arlo caught him red-handed.

 

With fire and rage in his heart, Arlo shouted: "My Poppa would still be alive if it weren't for you! It's all your fault." He lunged toward the critter and tried to bite him.

 

But the boy was too fast. He jumped on Arlo's neck and slid down toward his back—where the boy grabbed a stalk of corn and took off. Arlo chased him as he ran toward the river.

 

When Arlo caught up, he chomped⁸ down hard on the other end of the stalk, lifting the boy high in the air. The boy jumped down and scurried⁹ out of sight. But Arlo wasn't giving up. He continued in pursuit of the thief, with the stalk of corn remaining in his mouth.

 

Out of nowhere, the boy jumped from a tree, growling¹⁰, "Grrrrrrrrrrr!" He lurched toward the corn, bit down, and began to gnaw¹¹ on the cob. He growled¹² again—ferociously with a wild, hungry look in his eyes. Arlo swatted and spun¹³ around, trying to get the boy off, but he wouldn't let go. As Arlo twisted and twirled, he became dizzy and fell backwards¹⁴, plunging¹⁵ into the river!

 

Arlo gasped¹⁶ for air as the raging water overtook him. "Help—" Arlo screamed. He desperately called out for Momma, but the sound was muffled¹⁷ as his mouth filled with water.

 

The strength of the current carried him away so quickly—no one could hear his cries. In an instant, he was further from home than he had ever been.

 

Arlo struggled just to stay afloat, gasping¹⁸ for air as the rapids pulled him under. His body bashed up against sharp rocks at the bottom of the river, scraping into his skin. Suddenly, a giant boulder¹⁹ came into view and Arlo whimpered, struggling to try to avoid it. But the river was much stronger than he was.

 

BAM.

 

His head slammed right into the massive rock. His vision became blurry²⁰, and Arlo could barely make out Clawtooth Mountain as it disappeared into the distance.

 

Then everything went black.

 

那天之后，一切都变了。这一家子没日没夜地干活以维持农场的正常运转。但是，随着冬天慢慢迫近，他们渐渐跟不上节奏了。龙妈妈累得筋疲力尽，许多田地就此荒废。恐龙一家担心没有足够的食物过冬。阿乐不禁想，都是自己的错。他是放走小男孩的罪魁祸首，也是因为他，爸爸那天晚上才会走进荒野之地。如果他就那样杀掉那个小孩，爸爸现在就依然活着，一切也都会好好的。

 

龙妈妈费力地背起一大担玉米往筒仓走去，阿乐跑过去帮她。

 

“如果我们不在冬雪来袭之前把这些收成装进筒仓里，我们将熬不过这个冬天。”龙妈妈绝望地说。

 

“妈妈，我会把玉米粒装进筒仓里。”阿乐说。他拿起一担玉米放到肩上，笑着看向龙妈妈说：“别担心，我不会让大家饿肚子的。”

 

“好儿子。”龙妈妈说。

 

背着沉重的玉米，阿乐走起路来左右摇晃。他能感觉到双腿在颤动，但还是决定做成这件事。

 

终于筒仓映入了眼帘，他凝视着爸爸的标记，一种似曾相识的悲伤向他涌来。但是他知道这不是感伤的时候，他必须继续干活。

 

阿乐小心翼翼地走到筒仓，慢慢搬开岩石，想把玉米装进去。他放下玉米，开始一一剥皮，然后扔进筒仓里。这时，他听到里面传来沙沙声，就过去一探究竟。结果，他看见一个人影在一边啃玉米一边往外吐吃完的玉米棒。

 

然而，阿乐不敢相信自己的眼睛：他就是那个从陷阱里逃跑的坏蛋！阿乐当场抓住了他。

 

阿乐怒火中烧，大喊道：“如果不是你，我爸爸就不会死！都是你的错。”他扑向小孩，想咬他。

 

但是小男孩的速度太快了，他跳上阿乐的脖子，顺着他的背滑了下去——男孩在他背上的时候顺势抓住了一根玉米秆，然后逃走了。男孩向河边跑去，阿乐紧追不舍。

 

阿乐追上来的时候，狠狠地咬断了玉米秆的另一头，把小男孩送上了高空。小男孩跳下来，跑不见了。但是阿乐并没有放弃，他继续追赶这个贼，嘴里还衔着一节玉米秆。

 

冷不丁地，小男孩一下子从一棵树上跳了下来，咆哮着：“咆呜！”他迅猛地冲向玉米，咬下一根就开始啃，又接着咆哮——非常凶猛，眼中满是野性、饥饿的神色。阿乐一边扑打、一边在原地打转，试图赶走男孩，但是没有用。阿乐扭来扭去，又不停旋转，直到自己头晕目眩，他往后一跌，一头栽进河水里！

 

湍急的河水就要吞没了阿乐，他喘着气喊道：“救命……”虽然他拼了命地喊妈妈，但因为嘴里灌满了水，喊声被堵住了。

 

水流的力道很快就把他冲走了——没人听得到他的求救声。一下子，他就被冲到了离家很远的地方，他从未离家这么远过。

 

阿乐挣扎着浮到了水面上，刚喘了口气，急流就把他拉了下来。他的身体撞在河底尖锐的石头上，刮破了皮肤。突然，一块巨石进入了阿乐的眼帘，他呜咽起来，极力想要避开它，但是河水的力量却比他大得多。

 

砰！

 

阿乐的头正好撞在了那块巨石上，他的视线变得模糊了。随着爪牙山消失在远方，阿乐几乎认不出它的样子了。

 

接着，他眼前一黑晕了过去。

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