Dennis was a bit of a dotty dinosaur. Well he did have yellow spots all over his body but he was also a bit dotty in other ways.

He preferred munching on the grass beneath his own feet, while the rest of his family ate juicy leaves from tall trees, after all their long necks meant they could reach the best foliage on the high branches.

He preferred exploring cool caves and high mountains, while the rest of the family swam in the lovely warm waters of the local swamp. He loved to do things his dinosaur family thought odd.

“Dennis, where are you going?” his mother would ask.

“I’m going with Mammal to explore a cave he has found” said Dennis. Mammal was a mouse and was Dennis’s best friend and fellow explorer.

“Well make sure you’re back for your tea” his mum would tell him. She had given up trying to get Dennis to behave like the rest of the family. He liked different things to them and as long as it didn’t hurt Dennis, or anyone else, then she had decided he should go his own unique way. She couldn’t help thinking her son was just a bit dotty. She did not know of any other dinosaur exploring caves.

Mammal climbed on Dennis’s back and up into the hills they went to find the cave.

“This is it!” shouted Mammal. “I didn’t go in too far. I saw the high ceiling and thought I’d wait until we could explore it together.”

“Thank you for thinking of me” said Dennis as they entered an enormous cavern.

They’d stepped into a totally different world. Outside it was hot, sunny and green. Inside it was cool, damp and black. Luckily the cavern was faintly lit by glow-worms on the ceiling like thousands of stars.

“Wow, this is amazing!” exclaimed Dennis looking at all the unusual shapes and colours in the cavern.

“Yes, it is!” said a voice. Dennis and Mammal turned around, looking for the owner of the voice. “Over here!” shouted a stranger stepping out from behind a rock.

“Who are you?” asked Dennis.

“Professor Albus Fuzzyface” replied the stranger. The Professor didn’t have a fuzzy face, he was a smooth-skinned dinosaur with short arms and large teeth, a T Rex.

“What are you doing here?” asked Mammal, glad she was with her large friend as the Professor looked a bit scary.

“My laboratory is here” replied Fuzzyface.

“Lab...or…a...tree?” wondered Dennis, looking puzzled.

“A laboratory is the place where a scientist works” explained the Professor. “Come and see!”

Professor Albus Fuzzyface led the two friends to a side cavern, inside they marvelled at all the jars and bottles of so many colours; purple, red, yellow, green, blue and orange. There were all sorts of strange contraptions.

“What are they all for?” asked Dennis.

“I’m a scientist. I’m searching for something” replied Fuzzyface.

Dennis wondered if he was searching for the cure for a sore throat. A sore throat was very painful for his long necked family. Or maybe the Professor was searching for a cure for spots; Dennis had plenty of them.

“I’m searching for the secret of how to fly” said the Professor.

“Why don’t you ask a Pterodactyl? They know how to fly” said Dennis, puzzled why a Professor was searching for something that had already been found.

“I’ve just finished making my latest flying machine. Do want to join me on its maiden flight?” asked the Professor.

“Yes, please” Mammal and Dennis chorused. They helped Professor Albus Fuzzyface to carry two contraptions made of branches and giant leaves, in the shape of two giant wings to the top of the hill.

“I call it Butterfly 5” said the Professor.

“Why 5?” asked Mammal.

“Because it’s my fifth version of the flying machine” replied Fuzzyface.

“What happened to the other four?” Mammal was curious.

“They crashed,” Prof muttered.

“Did he say they crashed?” whispered Mammal to Dennis. Dennis nodded. They had to admit the Professor was persistent.

Albus Fuzzyface fastened his little arms in the straps of the wings and started to flap them as quickly as he could. Then he ran as fast as he could towards the cliff edge, flapping the wings with his little arms and jumped, for a moment the wind caught the giant wings and lifted the Professor up. But try as he might, the Professor’s arms couldn’t flap the wings fast enough to keep him in the air and the scientist dropped to the ground with a thunderous thud.

“Are you all right Professor?” shouted Dennis, as he ran to where Fuzzyface had landed.

“I’m a dinosaur, Dennis. We’re hardy creatures. There could be a bruise or two but it’s nothing for the sake of science!”

As they walked down the hill, Dennis thought how much he admired the Professor for experimenting with inventions. Also it was good to know that there were others who were dottier than he was.

“I mean, fancy trying to fly. Dinosaurs will become extinct if we all carried on like him!” said Dennis. Mammal had to laugh at her friend’s joke, for the idea of a world without dinosaurs was even dottier than a dinosaur trying to fly!