Stella the Stegosaurus was the best skater in the whole valley, and tonight — TONIGHT — was the Great Dino Skate Jam. The moon hung low and bright, and Stella's pink helmet sparkled as she rolled toward Rumble Ramp, the Golden Wheel tucked under her arm, glittering like a spinning star. Stomp, roll, stomp, roll. Her wheels hummed on the smooth dirt path. Everyone was waiting. The crowd was already cheering from the top of the ramp. Stella grinned so wide her cheeks squished against her helmet straps. She was almost there. Almost.
Then — BONK. A root. A big, lumpy, sneaky root. The Golden Wheel flew out from under her arm, hit the ground with a CLANG, and went bouncing — boing, boing, boing — rolling away into the dark Fernwood Forest. Gone. Stella stared at the empty space under her arm. Her eyes went very wide. Her mouth made a shape like a surprised potato. Then she tightened her helmet strap, took a deep breath of cold pine air, and stomped after it.
Stomp, roll, stomp, roll. Into the forest she went. The ferns were tall and tickly, brushing her knees as she skated through. Somewhere above her, a bug was clicking. The trees blocked the moonlight, and everything smelled like wet leaves and mud. Then — a glow! Something round! Something golden! Stella zoomed forward and found Archie the Ankylosaurus, standing proudly in a small clearing, holding a very large, very round mushroom above his head. He beamed. "I FOUND IT," he announced. The mushroom had a little glitter on it from where he'd polished it with his tail.
Stella squinted. "Archie… that's a mushroom." Archie squinted back. Then he looked at the mushroom. He patted it gently. "It's an excellent mushroom," he said, with great dignity. Stella smiled, pointed him toward the ramp — he could lead the parade! — and skated deeper into the trees. Stomp, roll, stomp, roll. A sound rang through the forest — a long, loud HOOOONK, like someone blowing into a very large horn. That was Penelope the Parasaurolophus. She was singing. Her head-crest honked with every note, and she couldn't help it, not one bit. "Did you see a wheel roll past?" Stella called. Penelope stopped singing and pointed with great confidence down a mossy path to the left. Stella took a different path this time.
The forest got quieter. The clicking bugs stopped. Stella's wheels crunched over a patch of dry twigs, and then — she saw a tiny golden glow between two big fern leaves. She skated slowly, slowly closer. There sat the tiniest dinosaur she had ever seen. A Microraptor, no bigger than a loaf of bread, with bright orange eyes and neat little feathers. She was sitting inside the Golden Wheel like it was a throne, her small feet dangling over the side. She looked up at Stella and blinked once, very slowly. "Oh," said the Microraptor. Her voice was the size of a raindrop. "Is this yours? I thought someone left me a chair." Stella crouched down very carefully. "It's okay," she said. "Would you like to come to the Skate Jam instead?" The Microraptor considered this. She patted the wheel once, said goodbye to it, and climbed onto Stella's back.
Stomp, roll, stomp, roll. Stella skated back through the ferns, Microraptor clinging to her back plates, Archie stomping behind with his excellent mushroom, Penelope honking a victory song. The crowd at Rumble Ramp erupted in cheers as the whole parade rolled in — right on time. Stella skated one perfect run down the ramp in the moonlight, wheels humming, helmet flashing. And when it was over, all the dinosaurs settled at the bottom of the ramp in one happy heap — helmets off, breathing slow, the little Microraptor curled between Stella's back plates, watching the stars come out one by one.
