In March, Stegosaurus returned from England, but he shortly decided that he hadn't traveled enough.

"England was great and it is good to be home again, but I would like to visit some other places and visit other friends. Where can I go?" he asked himself.

Stegosaurus thought, and thought, and then he thought some more. He spent a long time thinking, because thinking is hard when your brain is merely the size of a walnut.

Then, in early May, he had an idea, and upon the morning got back on his raft and floated forthrightly to New Zealand.

"It has been some time since I visited with The Moa Birds, and saw the Haast's Eagles," said Stegosaurus. "I would really enjoy some relaxing time eating the greenery in the swamps of New Zealand with my more evolved bird friends The Moas and Haast's Eagles."

The trip was long, as such trips are, but nothing of note happened. The journey was uneventful.

Stegosaurus arrived in New Zealand on May 4th, at Lake Wanaka Ray's Peak. Stegosaurus observed that the lake was beautiful, but this area was not swampy, and the Moa birds did not live there. Still, he remained for a few days drinking from the lake and enjoying a meal of grass before stomping to the swampland.

"This is a very wonderful place, I shall have to ask the Moas if I can watch them here for some of my visit.," he said to himself.

Once he had climbed upland, ( being thankful for his claws, ) he found the Moas grazing peacefully and they were happy to see him.

"Friend Stegosaurus!" exclaimed Moa. "What a grand surprise ! What brings you to New Zealand?"

"I was hoping to visit with my friends The Moas, to watch you and the Haast's Eagles," said Stegosaurus.

"Well you are welcome to watch us and graze with us," said Moa. "We are a little skittish around our friends The Haast's Eagles, as they do like to eat us from time to time but as long as they aren't trying to put us on their menu we can get along. We are mild mannered vegetarians so we forgive and forget easily."

Stegosaurus stomped around the wetlands with the Moas, where you know, the swampland is much smaller than it used to be from the late Pleistocene to the late Medieval period because so many mammals cleared it since; but in more recent times conservation efforts have taken hold because the mammals got wise and started thinking long term, something that is hard for a Stegosaurus to do. Every now and again mammals use their larger brains for very good causes, for which we are all grateful.

They all observed with great awe the giant Dacrycarpus dacryidioides, 197 feet; Stegosaurus determined he would have to bring his college classmates to New Zealand to help him eat that..... it is wonderfully majestic. The mammal government of New Zealand estimates that only 2% of its native habitat remains, most of it is conserved, with some areas still on private property. But these are long lived trees; they are older than the Moas as they were standing tall when Stegosaurus was just out of his shell; and even back then the Jurassic period, they could live up to 500 years.

Then, leaving the Dacrycarpus dacryidioides, Stegosaurus and the Moa birds stomped into the peatland forest and found the smaller but much more common Manoao colensoi, which can only grow up to about 66 feet. Stegosaurus felt okay eating some of those as they have some to spare. The Moas enjoyed some leaves from the Manoao colensoi, but they generally do not eat whole trees.

One thing that is interesting about them is that they have different leaves when they are young, from when they are older. Stegosaurus couild not decide decide which tasted better; He ultimately decided that he'd have to eat more of them to form an opinion. The Manoao colensoiIt is a resilient tree; it grows in hard soil and can grow shoots from the roots of older trees. Forests of them can be quite dense which is why I don't have any question about consuming them, given their abundance.

Then the Moas and Stegosaurus wandered into the waters to investigate the Avicennia marina in the very comfortable sub tropical North Islands. The Avicennia marina is the only tree of New Zealand able to live in the sea. subsequently Stegosaurus tried some algae, a rare treat, as such grow around their trunks and roots. Their tendency to create intertidal forests is sometimes an annoyance to the mammals who want to play in the sea, but they have some positive environmental impact for the ecosystem. They can prevent shoreline erosion during storm surges, for example. They also trap some contaminants and prevent them from going further out to sea.

After we were done playing in the water we went back to the upland, where we just grazed in relaxing silence for a time.

The silence was eventually broken by the arrival a small number of Haast's Eagles, being three. Two remained in the air while the third landed next to me. The Moa Birds looked on nervously at first, and then quickly scattered into the forest for their own safety.

"Hello, Stegosaurus ! How nice of you to visit. What brings you to New Zealand?" Haast's Eagle asked.

"I am visiting my friends the Moa Birds." Stegosaurus told him, "Which I hope you would have the decency not to eat while I am visiting. I like watching you too, as we all know I'd like to evolve someday into a bird, but I advise you to be kind to my friends remember what I did with my tail the last time!"

"I know, I am the one you struck," said Haast's Eagle, and all I wanted to do was let you know that once we saw you were here we all agreed that we would not eat your friends. When you are gone, Nature must take its course and the Moas must defend themselves but we will not attack them when we see you here. Instead, we will live in harmony so that you can enjoy watching us both; we know you will continue to use your cool, spiky tail until you evolve out of it. "

"Make no mistake, this is true," said Stegosaurus. "I appreciate your candid honesty, and thus, will apologize for having to strike you."

The Haast's Eagle rejoined to the generosity of the forgiving plate lizard, saying, "Thank you, Stegosaurus." and took flight. Stegosaruus called the Moas from the forest, and explained to them the conversation he had just had. Some of them were still nervous, but generally viewed the news as good for them. The Haast's Eagles circled beautifully as the Moas and Stegosaurus grazed peacefully. It was quite a bucolic scene.

Stegosaruus had to leave before there was a chance to graze upon the shores of Lake Wanaka; but the Moa birds promised him they would graze there with him when he returned. Stegosaurus once again got on his raft, floated forthrightly, and returned to Colorado in time for his birthday in June.

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And then, Woolly Mammoth became even more philosophical.

In February Stegosaurus decided to stomp forthrightly to the town of Maidstone in England to visit Iguanodon and his family. He had received a letter informing him that Iguanodon and his wife had reconciled their differences, and Iguanodon had left the Old North Woods in the Borough of Bromley. He was no longer living in or near The Crystal Palace, which delighted Stegosaurus; as much as he enjoyed the monuments there, he was so happy for his friends.

"I am so delighted to see you !!" exclaimed Iguanodon. "Thank you so much for coming! I have so much to tell you since last year!"

"Your letter made me so happy !!" said Stegosaurus.

"Yes, my wife and I have patched up our differences and I am now back in my native town of Maidstone. It was a rough patch, but the wisdom and council of Woolly Mammoth helped us see the light for the sake of our children. They need and deserve stability."

"I am glad you have worked out your differences with your wife," said Stegosaurus.

"I am thankful for Woolly Mammoth's council," said Iguanodon. "Come to the cave. My wife and family await."

Thus, Stegosaurus and Iguanodon stomped to a cave just beyond the City Limits.

Two young Iguanodon were eating Populus tremula leaves from a tree just outside the cave. When they saw their father they ran up to him with joy.

"Papa, papa, have you brought a guest?" they asked.

"Yes, my young. You remember Stegosaurus, don't you?"

"Oh yes, yes!" They said. "Nice to see you again, Stegosaurus. Would you like to share the Populus tremula leaves with us ?"

"If you don't mind, that would be delightful. If you see any you would like that you cannot reach, just let me know and I will stand on my hind legs for brief periods of time, just as brother horse does, to reach them for you. Just let me know."

"How kind of you, friend Stegosaurus," said Iguanodon.

"Thank you so much, Stegosaurus !!" exclaimed the Iguanodon youth.

"I will go into the cave and ask my wife to come out. She'll be glad to know you are here," said Iguanodon to Stegosaurus.

Shortly Iguanodon returned with his wife, who greeted Stegosaurus warmly.

"Greetings, Stegosaurus! Nice to see you, glad you could visit England!"

"Thank you, I rejoiced to hear the news of your reconciliation; come eat trees with us."

"Thank you, Stegosaurus, rejoined Iguanodon's wife. "When we have consumed the available Populus tremula I will bring us some Earl Grey tea, for tea time approaches!"

When Stegosaurus and the Iguanodons' had had their fill of Populus tremula the Earl Grey did appear, and as the Iguanodon young were outside continuing to graze on that most wonderful of new inventions, grass, Iguanodon and his wife gladly told Stegosaurus the story of how their troubles came about and were repaired.

"We have Woolly Mammoth to thank for our reconciliation for his wisdom and council, you see, he helped us realize that maintaining a happy marriage is a lot of work, but its worth the effort to maintain. For the children, for making manifest the love of the Lord in our midst. The Lord, the Creator, The Giver, The Healer. Jesus. Especially when all that my love Iguanodon did was absentmindedly eat my favorite Fagus sylvatica tree. They're so common here that we can replant it after all."

"While I learned not to eat my wife's favorite tree, she also agreed that if she ever had a problem with something I am doing, she would tell me about it forthwith; No more trying to guess," said Iguanodon. "Communication is a major key to happiness; Oh the children are so much happier too, as they do not have to be brought up without a stable father figure; they won't have to live in a broken cave."

"What else we learned from Woolly Mammoth is to rededicate ourselves to our faith. The shared principles inculcated by The Word of God helped to bring us together, and will help us maintain the love we have for each other," said Iguanodon's wife. "We even bring our young to Church. We want them to know that they can have a firm foundation in The Lord."

"I am so delighted for you both," said Stegosaurus. " .... and your young. Relationships are hard, and I commend anyone who puts genuine effort into maintaining them."

"Thank you, Stegosaurus," rejoined Iguanodon's wife. "Now I have brought for us, dessert ! A nice meal of aloe plants !"

"Ah, my favorite relaxing meal!" said Stegosaurus.

"Only the best for our guests," said Iguanodon. "Turns out aloe plants go well with Earl Grey."

Stegosaurus remained a guest of the Iguanodons' in England through March, and returned to Colorado in early April.

He was sincere in his compliments to the Iguanodons, and left them with such a light heart; in this hard world happy endings can be few and far between. The news of such reconciliation was very welcome.

In January, Stegosaurus paid a visit to his loyal accountant, Corythosaurus, just to find out how his various businesses had done in the previous year. Stegosaurus found Corythosaurus predictably down by the river.

"Hello, Corythosaurus," said Stegosaurus as he approached.

"Hello, Stegosaurus, what brings you to visit today?" rejoined the busy hadrosaur, who seemed distracted as he looked up at the trees.

"I was wondering if you could tell me if any of my businesses had turned a profit in the last year," said Stegosaurus.

"Sure let me finish what I am doing here and we can talk all about it," replied Corythosaurus.

"Why are you looking at the trees, are you going to eat them?"

"This stand of Betula nigra will someday be a work of art, at which I will make a profit. I am deciding which ones to take down that they might make good stock for my woodworking projects."

"They look quite delicious," observed Stegosaurus.

"Maybe so, but we don't eat these trees, they will be used to create art in my new woodworking projects."

"Are you still baking bread?"

"No, no more bread. Not as a business. I'm all about woodworking now."

"I will help you," said Stegosaurus. "Just let me know what tree you want down and I will emulate brother horse by standing on my hind legs for a brief period of time in order to knock it down."

"That would be fine, Stegosaurus, just remember: don't eat the trees; I need something to create with so we cannot dine on these trees. If you'd like for your help I'll take you to visit a few Asimina triloba that I found last week just down this very same river. The fruit of the Asimina triloba is probably my favorite new invention, at least right after Diet Coca Cola."

"That would be delightful, Corythosaurus. Thank you."

So the two dinosaurs worked together most of the afternoon knocking down Betula nigra and breaking their branches. It was hungry work, but again Corythosaurus reminded Stegosaurus not to eat the Betula nigra and be patient for the Asimina triloba which they'd go to very shortly.

When Corythosaurus and Stegosaurus arrived at the Asimina triloba just down the river, Corythosaurus asked Stegosaurus, "How are your studies going, friend Stegosaurus?"

"Oh very well. I have a mere 4 classes to go before I finish for my doctorate with a specialty in tree disease."

"Delightful. Delightful," rejoined Corythosaurus. "Let me tell you regarding your businesses, other than playing extinct in museums, your best and most lucrative endeavor remains as always your School of Dance. You should definitely keep doing this. It is what most mammals above Elementary School level remember you for, especially in Cuba."

"I'm glad to hear it. I love my School of Dance," said Stegosaurus, who then paused to swallow a bite of fruit from the Asimina triloba.

Stegosaurus then continued, "Well I remember that my attempt at apartment manager for mammals failed because mammals don't eat trees, and dinosaurs don't use money."

"The lessons of the Market can be harsh, but it was a worthy effort," observed Corythosaurus.

"I guess it would help if I'd eat more of the Pinus nigra, but there are none about just now."

"Don't feel bad, yours is not the first business to fail," said Corythosaurus.

"Well this Asimina triloba sure is delicious. I should eat more of them !!" Stegosaurus declared.

"As long as we practice conservation, what I planted will last some time yet," said Corythosaurus.

"I hope your woodworking business does well," said Stegosaurus.

"Me too," said Corythosaurus. "Speaking of the Pinus nigra, I've been trying to add more of them to my own diet in hopes that that will help my success."

"Let us eat to your success," said Stegosaurus, as he began to chew on a branch of Betula nigra.

"Wait, Stegosaurus ! STOP!! Remember, please don't eat the stock !!" exclaimed Corythosaurus.

"Oh, I'm sorry, forgive me," said Stegosaurus.

"You are forgiven," said Corythosaurus. "Just remember that eating your stock is really bad for business."

Stegosaurus and Corythosaurus continued to eat trees through the afternoon, except of course, the Betula nigra.

Later they went to the Royal Alberta Museum and played extinct for awhile, which was novel to the mammals, since the museum does not have Stegosaurus or Corythosaurus on permanent display.

Salut, je m’appelle Lexovisaurus !!

Alors que j’étais en Chine avec ma femme à notre réunion de famille, le cousin Stégosaurus a suggéré que ma femme Loricatosaurus et moi lui rendions visite pour les vacances de Noël. Nous avions, bien sûr, voyagé très loin et étions en Chine depuis un certain temps. Mais il était également vrai que nous n’étions pas venus pour Noël depuis la semaine dernière, ou peut-être que c’était en 2007. Comme cela faisait un certain temps, ma femme et moi étions volontiers d’accord, d’autant plus qu’elle n’était pas allée en Amérique pour célébrer Noël auparavant.

Nous sommes tous partis de Chine sur deux radeaux séparés, faisant nos adieux à Wuerhosaurus, à nos autres cousins et au célèbre mammifère Dong Zhiming. Nous avons promis de revenir, après nous être énormément amusés. Heureusement, le voyage de retour en Amérique s’est déroulé sans incident. Nous avons, rencontré une tempête en mer, ce qui nous a rappelé que les stégosaures ne sont en aucun cas des animaux marins, même de loin, mais nous y sommes. Nous n’en avons eu aucun effet et nous avons été très heureux quand une fois de plus nos griffes ont pu toucher la Terre, qui était le 18 décembre, après avoir atterri à New York.

Stégosaurus a eu un certain nombre de ses propres surprises pour nous, dont la première était des billets pour sa représentation annuelle du comte Drosselmeyer dans le ballet Casse-Noisette de Tschiakovski. Notre cousin américain sait à quel point nous aimons assister à des programmes artistiques et à des événements culturels. Bien sûr, nous avions longtemps entendu parler de l’implication du stégosaure dans le ballet, mais nous n’avions jamais vu de représentation auparavant. C’est un comte Drosselmeyer si gracieux ; on ne s’y attendrait pas, de la part d’un stégosaure, étant donné que notre poids moyen est de 6 tonnes. Tout le monde était tellement habitué à voir un stégosaure dans la performance que personne ne remettait en question la présence de moi ou de ma femme. En fait, beaucoup ont été impressionnés par les différences dans nos pointes. Ils nous ont également souhaité un Joyeux Noël. En effet, ils étaient si gentils et pleins de joie de Noël que les acteurs de mammifères nous ont demandé si nous voulions nous joindre à eux pour chanter dans Central Park avant de nous rendre directement au Colorado. Stégosaurus a eu une autre surprise pour nous quand nous sommes arrivés dans son état natal et sa grotte natale.

Nos compagnons, ainsi que ceux de Central Park qui nous ont vus et entendus ont été très impressionnés par nos voix, qui, comme vous le savez, rappellent Mario Lanza et Louis Armstrong, quel que soit notre sexe. D’une manière ou d’une autre, cela rencontre l’approbation de nombreux mammifères. Ma femme pense que c’est peut-être juste la nouveauté puisque la plupart des dinosaures ne chantent pas. Elle a insisté pour chanter une interprétation de « Bring A Torch, Jeannette Isabella », étant l’individu audacieux qu’elle est, ce qui était un délice pour tout le monde.

Ce sont toutes les chansons que nous avons chantées ce soir-là. Nous étions tellement pleins de joie.

Apportez une torche, Jeannette Isabella

Le chant Huron

Le chant de Sussex

Le chant de Wexford

Le cerisier Carol

Je vous salue Marie, pleine de grâce

Le premier Noël

Le chant du Bellman

En bas dans la forêt

Ô Sainte Nuit

Que Dieu vous accorde la clé, Messieurs

L’ancienne année maintenant loin

Nuit silencieuse

Après une délicieuse soirée de piétinement à New York et de chants, lorsque le soleil s’est de nouveau levé, nous avons tous piétiné franchement la grotte du stégosaure à Boulder, au Colorado. Nous sommes arrivés la veille de Noël, assez commodément.

Nous avons constaté qu’il ne faisait pas plus chaud au Colorado qu’à New York quand nous sommes arrivés, mais vous savez que nous, les stégosaures, pouvons encore nous souvenir d’un monde subtropical plus chaud sans calottes glaciaires polaires, et vous savez comment la saison de Noël rend nostalgique les jours quelque part entre la semaine dernière et il y a 140 millions d’années, lorsque nous étions tout juste sortis de nos coquilles et que le froid n’était pas une chose inventée jusqu’au Crétacé supérieur. Ma femme et moi avons d’abord été choqués par la deuxième surprise de Noël de Stégosaurus, qu’il nous a révélée dès notre arrivée dans sa grotte.

« Regarde, cousin !! Voici une surprise de Noël pour vous et Loricatosaurus !! C’est mon frère Allosaurus qui vient profiter du dîner de Noël avec nous !! » dit Stégosaurus.

« Vous devez plaisanter !! » s’est exclamé ma femme alarmée. Je savais qu’elle avait une queue fraîche et hérissée tout à fait efficace, mais mon amour et mon affection pour elle m’ont dicté de marcher devant elle afin de la protéger d’un mangeur de viande affamé.

« Ne t’inquiète pas, » dit Allosaurus avec un sourire aux dents. « Je suis sur les manières de Noël et je ne vous mangerai pas, vous ou votre charmante femme. Je le promets.

« Je ne sais pas si je le crois », m’a dit ma femme. Prenant un moment pour regarder Stégosaurus, encore choqué. C’était une très mauvaise blague.

« Je suis désolé que ma surprise vous ait alarmé », a déclaré Stégosaurus. « Je ne voulais pas vous alarmer, mais croyez-moi, je sais par expérience avec Allosaurus dans les Noëls passés qu’il tiendra parole. Je voulais juste que la famille soit ensemble pour les vacances. »

Ma femme, étant éduquée, savait que Stégosaurus n’était pas réellement lié à un Allosaurus, mais elle n’a pas insisté sur la question, elle voulait juste passer à autre chose et profiter des vacances, tout comme moi.

« Regardez, je vais vous prouver que j’aime Noël », a déclaré Allosaurus. « C’est pourquoi j’ai apporté avec moi un arbre de la famille des Cycadales et je vais vous prouver à tous les deux que j’essaie seulement de m’intégrer en le mangeant. »

« Oh, ce sera nouveau », ai-je dit. Il l’a fait, à la surprise de tout le monde, même de Stégosaurus. C’était un miracle de Noël. Certes, il n’a pas mangé tout l’arbre, mais il a mangé toutes les feuilles de Cycadales.

« Tu vois, je te l’ai dit. Maintenant, je ne peux rien garantir le 26 décembre, mais pour Noël, je promets de ne pas ruiner le vôtre en mangeant l’un d’entre vous », a déclaré Allosaurus.

« S’il vous plaît, donnez-moi une chance. »

« S’il vous plaît, soyez gentil », demanda Stégosaurus. « Frère Allosaurus a piétiné depuis l’Utah pour être ici avec nous aujourd’hui. »

Et c’est ainsi que nous avons donné l’exemple à Noël du Lion couché avec l’Agneau, ou plus précisément du Stégosaure avec l’Allosaurus.

C’était vraiment remarquable qu’aucun d’entre nous ne se soit éteints, mais c’est la saison des miracles après tout.

“Joyeux Noël à tous !! “

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