The Adventures of Pipi the Little Lizard

Text/Jia Qingjun

At the foot of Changbai Mountain, there lived a newly married lizard couple. The man is called Shan Ge and the woman is called Shan Mei.

One summer night, the clouds were overcast and there was lightning and thunder. With the last thunderclap, it rained heavily.

The first litter of little lizards broke out of their shells and was born... This litter of cute little lizards consists of three males and two females. The eldest child is called Qiangqiang; the second child is called Zhuangzhuang; the third child is called Niuniu; the fourth child is called Tiantian, and the fifth child is called Pipi.

Baby lizards develop very quickly, and Pippi is already six years old before she knows it. This boy is very good at hunting. Every day he is either climbing trees to dig out birds or going down rivers to catch fish. This makes Shan Ge and his wife worry a lot.

As time went by, they slowly began to pay attention to themselves.

Especially Pippi always pesters Shanniu before going to bed and asks endlessly: "Mom, what kind of animals are we?" Shanniu said with a smile: "Of course we are lizards, also called four-legged lizards. Snakes. Specifically, we call them Changbai Mountain white-striped grass lizards, commonly known as horse snakes.

Our lizards are cold-blooded reptiles, with about 3,000 species distributed on the earth. There are about 150 species known in China, most of which are distributed in the tropics and subtropics, and some in temperate and cold zones. For example, we live in the Changbai Mountain area.

We live in diverse environments, mainly terrestrial. , there are also arboreal, semi-aquatic and soil-dwelling species, most of which feed on insects..."

Pippi nodded while listening intently. He was attracted by his mother's professional narration.

Shan Niu thought that Pippi and the children should go to kindergarten. There will be teachers there to teach you, and you will definitely learn a lot of knowledge.

You must know that Shan Niu is a girl who graduated with honors from the normal school and is born to be a teacher.

It’s just that I didn’t get the ideal job because I didn’t have any opportunities when I was assigned after graduation. Although she is now working odd jobs here and there, Shan Niu still has not forgotten to study.

Countless whys flashed in Pippi’s mind. This world is so wonderful. It seems that there are always endless mysteries waiting for Guoguo to explore.

In the dream, Pippi drove a hot air balloon to travel around the world. First of all, the first stop is Changbai Mountain in eastern Asia.

At this time, the autumn air in Changbai Mountain is crisp and the sun is shining brightly. The mysterious Tianchi is shrouded in clouds and mist, with colorful waves and mist, and is surrounded by peaks. The water of Tianchi Lake is clear and as flat as a mirror.

Sixteen strange and steep peaks stand near the lake, reflecting in the lake, creating a spectacular sight.

The clouds and fog above Tianchi are unpredictable. Sometimes the clouds are flowing and mist is drizzling, and sometimes it is clear and clear.

The waterfall on the north side of Tianchi in Changbai Mountain flies from the cliff. The water flows straight down, contrasting with the natural barrier of jade and golden walls, just like a white stream falling from the sky.

Two jade dragon-like water columns bravely protrude from the stone beach, rushing towards the deep valley bottom, splashing several feet high. The flying waves are like flowers scattered by a goddess, floating down, filled with water vapor, like mist, like clouds, as if "thousands of piles of snow have fallen from the Milky Way, and thousands of wisps of smoke are flowing from the waterfall." ”

The water of the waterfall flows all year round and becomes the source of the Songhua River, Tumen River and Yalu River. The sound of this waterfall is deafening and thunderous, like a mighty silver dragon descending from the sky and rushing towards the bottom of the valley. The entire waterfall is concentrated The soul of heaven and earth is majestic.

Unfortunately, the weather suddenly changed, and the hot air balloon piloted by Pippi lost control during a storm in the sky and plummeted to the ground. < /p>

Pippi was so frightened that he hurriedly jumped out of the hot air balloon to escape. At this time, the strong wind quickly picked up the hot air balloon and threw it to the ground. After a while, the balloon exploded in the air. Explosion.

Pippi's parachute swayed in the wind and rain until it landed on the edge of the mountain forest, almost hanging on the treetops.

A river roared by. . Pippi was anxious and scared, and wanted to escape from this barren mountain as soon as possible. But no matter which direction he walked, he would always return to the same place.

He was getting lost. As it got darker and darker, Pippi was so anxious that while he was walking around in the east and west, Pippi accidentally fell into a cave.

This is a cave in Shentan Mountain near Changbai Mountain. There are ventilation holes in the cave at the bottom, and the mountain spring flows from the cave to the river valley outside the cave. Pippi tried several times but failed to climb up.

Fortunately, the space inside is relatively large, and there is also an underground river. Pippi stayed in it for several days without black and white. When she was thirsty, she drank the river water inside. When she was hungry, Eat wild fruits and grass roots. Brother Shan and Sister Shan were extremely anxious.

I led the children to search for Pippi on Changbai Mountain that day, but found nothing in the end. Brother Shan stood there with his head bowed and sighed, while Sister Shan hid aside and shed tears.

Pippi has been looking for the cave exit every day these days, and is often exhausted. No one knows where this dark tunnel in front of me will eventually lead, and hope seems to be getting slimmer in this endless darkness.

At this time, Pippi suddenly felt a cold wind blowing out from inside, mixed with a fishy smell, which was disgusting.

A faint light emitted from the cave, followed by a strange sound, like a cow braying or a giant salamander.

A big viper, about ten meters long, with its head held high, its core spitting out, and a crest like a rooster, was coming towards him. Pippi was so surprised that she was so frightened that she wanted to run away. But he was soon discovered by the big snake after he made such a fuss.

The big snake's red eyes were as big as compasses, staring at him, and it seemed that he was planning to enjoy Pippi as a midnight snack. This big white-fronted viper opened its mouth wide and crawled towards Pipi.

The cave, which was originally quite large, became less clear after being blocked by it. When Pippi saw that there was no place to hide, he would die anyway, so he might as well fight.

So he grabbed a branch in the cave, made a triangle jump, and used the power of the wall to jump to the top of the big snake's head, and bit the big snake hard.

The big snake felt pain and its head suddenly shrank. At this time, the branch Pipi swung up did not hit the snake's eyes, but only made a shallow mark on its head.

The big snake was angry, roaring, and swept its tail towards Guoguo. He retreated hastily. Although the snake's left side was wider, Pippi was forced to lean against the wall.

The big snake is actually at a disadvantage in the cave. Because its body is too big and the cave does not match its huge body, it is also limited spiritually.

The big snake failed, and its tail swept towards Pippi again. Because he hid in time, he was only hit by the stone swept down by the big snake's tail.

Pippi stood up unsteadily, thinking that if it didn't work, he should attack its weakness. Pipi risked his life, stretched out his body forcefully, opened his mouth, and bit the big snake's right eye. With a bang, the big snake fell to the ground due to severe pain, and the rock that its tail whipped fell to the ground. The big snake temporarily stopped attacking and kept twisting its body and hitting the rocks in the cave.

After struggling for a while, the big snake slowly disappeared into the darkness... At this time, Pippi could no longer hold on, and was thrown out by the big snake, landing heavily on a rock wall. . He struggled to get up, but unfortunately his whole body felt like it was falling apart. It hurt when he moved and he couldn't move at all.

Pippi used her last strength, pushed her feet on the rock wall and tried to stand up, but fell into a crack.

Pipika closed her eyes there. Only those who are waiting for death can experience how good life is: "Mom! Where are you? Come and save me."

Now At this time, Pippi heard a rustling sound and looked up. Above the crack, there was a little guy with horns on his head looking at him.

I saw the little guy turned around and said to Pippi: "Grab my tail, I will pull you up!" Pippi immediately grabbed the little guy's tail and climbed up along the crack. When Pippi fell down, it accidentally got stuck in the crack of the rock wall. The little guy spent a long time pulling Pippi out.

Pippi followed the crack and it became wider and wider, and the light became brighter and brighter... Pippi finally climbed out of the crack, turned a few more turns, went up a few slopes, and finally walked out cave.

As soon as Pippi came out of the cave, she was so dizzy by the noon sun that she almost fell down.

The little guy outside the cave looked at Pippi curiously: "What kind of animal are you? How did you fall into the cracks of the cave?" Pippi said: "I am a white-striped grass lizard, named Pippi. Pippi lives in a small town called Erdaobaihe at the foot of Changbai Mountain.

I have a dream to travel around the world in a hot air balloon, but I accidentally fell into a hole during a storm. I met you and rescued me.

Thank u! "

The little guy seemed a little embarrassed: "You're welcome! You're welcome! Today I met him by chance while playing in the cave. This can be regarded as a kind of fate. It takes a little effort and is not worth mentioning.

I am the White Mountain Dragon on this altar mountain. My name is Yangyang. I am eight years old this year. Nice to meet you today! Yangyang immediately held Pippi's hand. Pippi said excitedly: "Me too." "

Yangyang took Pippi's hand and said, "Pippi, can you go to my house and play for a while first?" Then I'll take you home! Pippi said: "Okay!" "Pippi followed Yangyang, turning left and right, and finally climbed up a large slope. A novel scene suddenly appeared in front of Pippi's eyes.

The foot of the mountain was covered with tall pines and cypresses. Cycads and ferns grow densely in the forest.

In addition, there are beech, banyan, magnolia, maple, oak, poplar, camphor, walnut, sycamore, etc. There are several iguanodons eating trees. On the leaves, the pterosaurs in the sky are looking down at the prey on the ground. In the distance, Tyrannosaurus rex and Ceratops are fighting at the edge of the ravine.

An endless sea with the same color, rays and sharks, waiting on the water. Swimming upstream. There were ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs crawling on the shore.

Pipi asked in surprise: "What is this place?" Yangyang looked back at Pippi and said: This is the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era 150 million years ago, which lasted for 79.5 million years and ended 65.5 million years ago. "Yangyang, you know so much!" "

Pippi looked envious. Yangyang said: "My grandma told me all this knowledge, but I don't really understand it either. ”

According to scientific research, in the early Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era, the continents were separated by oceans, and the earth became both warm and dry.

Dinosaurs still dominate the land, and pterosaurs dominate the sky. During the Cretaceous, giant marine reptiles dominated the shallow seas, and the first snakes, moths, and bees appeared, as well as many new small mammals. The most famous dinosaur is Tyrannosaurus Rex, the largest carnivore that has ever appeared on land. At the end of the Cretaceous Period, life on earth experienced another major extinction event: the dominant reptiles on the surface disappeared in large numbers, and the dinosaurs were completely extinct. ; More than half of the plants and other land animals also disappeared at the same time.

What caused the sudden extinction of dinosaurs and large numbers of creatures? This question has always been a difficult mystery in geological history.

The generally accepted view is the meteorite impact theory. Strikingly, mammals were the biggest beneficiaries of this extinction event. They survived this crisis and occupied the subsequent Cenozoic era. The ecological environment in which dinosaurs and other reptiles exited quickly evolved and developed into new rulers on the earth.

Pipi and Yangyang walked through a dense maple forest again, and a wide grassland immediately appeared in front of them. Yangyang happily said to Pippi: "This is where Baishanlong lived, about 93 million years ago, and we still have part of it unearthed in Mongolia.

Baishansaurus only eats leaves and grass, and is often attacked by carnivorous dinosaurs. From a distance, it is more than six meters long and has horns on its head. "Pippi was confused by the scene in front of him. Every time he passed by a White Mountain Dragon, he looked carefully.

At this time, Yangyang led Pippi to an old White Mountain Dragon and shouted loudly Shouting: "Grandma, I'm back!" "The old white mountain dragon lowered his head and glanced at Yangyang, and suddenly his anxious expression began to relax: "Yangyang, where have you been? It took so long to come back, what if we encounter a carnivorous dinosaur along the way? Yangyang made a face: "Grandma, I'm fine!" "Then Yangyang turned around and pulled Pippi over and said to Grandma Laobaishanlong: "Grandma, this is my new friend named Pippi. He fell into the cave just now and I saved him." "

Grandma Lao Baishanlong looked at Pippi and said: "Welcome Pippi to my house as a guest. We don't have anything to entertain, just some leaves and grass. "

Pippi smiled and said: "Thank you, grandma. Although we lizards mainly eat small animals and insects, plants can also satisfy our hunger. "

Grandma Lao Baishan Long sighed: "Yes! Our Baishansaurus is different from your lizards. Baishansaurus is a large herbivorous dinosaur from Mongolia. It is 6.5 meters long, about the same size as Siamese Tyrannosaurus and Anselosaurus. It lived between 100 million and 93 million years ago. of the Early Cretaceous.

But we are easily attacked by other dinosaurs. Not long ago, Yangyang's parents were eaten by Tyrannosaurus rex. "

In fact, Baishansaurus belongs to the order Ornithischia. It is a medium-sized ankylosaurid dinosaur. Because it grows in the Changbai Mountain area, it is named Baishansaurus, which means "from the White Mountains." "Dragon".

The skull of Baishansaurus is 30 centimeters long and 25 centimeters wide at its widest. Experts found that Baishansaurus is not similar to other ankylosaurs in that the decorations on their heads are not made of polygons. Rather, it has an irregular shape.

Compared with other ankylosaurs, the bumps on the yoke and squamous bones of Baishansaurus are not well developed, and the skull is long and flat, with small horns.

Then Grandma Lao Baishanlong said to Pipi: "You lizards are different from us. Lizards are commonly known as four-legged snakes and aunt snakes. They are cold-blooded reptiles. There are many types of them, mainly terrestrial. There are also arboreal, semi-aquatic and soil-dwelling species.

Most feed on insects, but a few species also eat plants. The ancestors of your lizards were not dinosaurs and were probably related to snakes.

New research suggests that the common ancestor of all lizards and snakes may have been born 257 million years ago, earlier than the dinosaurs. ”

Pippi listened with gusto and seemed to have forgotten his hunger and thirst, and the pain he had suffered these days had also flown to the sky.

In the afternoon, Pippi declined the enthusiastic invitation of Baishan Longzu and his grandson to stay. , after eating, they hurriedly started home.

Fortunately, Yangyang followed behind and insisted on sending them away. The two of them were alert to their surroundings as they walked.

Not long after they descended from Shentan Mountain, the sky suddenly became dense with dark clouds, followed by several lightning strikes, a loud noise, and a large fireball instantly fell on Shentan Mountain.

Smoke and ashes gradually fell on the Shentan Mountain. After dissipating, violent storms mixed with blood continued to spread around.

A group of alien monsters fell from the sky and rushed to every corner of the earth like a tide.

This is the Milky Way. Another prehistoric dinosaur from Planet >Although the alien monsters are ferocious, they will eventually be defeated by humans born on Earth in the future.

The arrival of alien monsters is like a flood in the world, destroying all kinds of dinosaurs and small animals on land. They all ran away. Even the normally arrogant Tyrannosaurus rex chose to retreat and ran away in fear, but in the end he still couldn't escape the monster's mouth.

Yangyang was worried about her grandma's safety and said something. : “I’m going to save grandma! " Then he went back alone.

Pippi hurriedly said: "I'm going too! "Follow closely.

Yangyang's home has been trampled by monsters and turned into ruins. Yangyang called her grandma's name as she walked, but after searching for a long time, she found nothing. Found her grandma.

Yangyang turned to the left side of the house and suddenly heard someone moaning behind the tree. She ran over and saw her grandma struggling in the monster's mouth.

Yangyang was furious and shouted loudly: "Monster! Put down my grandma quickly, or I will fight you! "At this time Yangyang's grandma also saw Yangyang, and immediately shouted to Yangyang: "Yangyang, please leave quickly!" Leave me alone! "But Yangyang didn't listen to grandma's words. Instead, he rushed forward and bit the monster's neck. The monster threw Yangyang away hard, and the pain made the boy grit his teeth.

The monster held the monster in its mouth. Yangyang's grandma was about to leave, but unexpectedly, Yangyang hugged her hind legs tightly. At this time, three or four monsters ran over, one bit Yangyang's left leg, and the other bit Yangyang's right leg. , the two monsters tore Yangyang in half alive with all their strength.

Pippi watched Yangyang and Yangyang's grandmother die tragically at the mouth of the monster, feeling extremely sad and using her hands. Wiping away his tears, he bowed deeply, then turned around and ran away. Pippi was exhausted and wanted to lie down and rest for a while. Unexpectedly, a burst of pain in the back of his buttocks cheered him up again. When he looked back, it turned out that his tail was bitten by a monster.

Pippi struggled to free his tail, enduring the violence. He ran desperately down the mountain in pain.

The monster with Pippi's tail in its mouth was chasing after him. What he didn't expect was that the pursuers were running more and more. In panic, Pippi ran up a cliff by himself. The trouble was behind him. The monsters have arrived one after another, and Pippi is as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

At this time, five or six alien monsters pushed Pippi to the edge of the cliff, waving their sharp claws, letting out a shocking roar, opening their bloody mouths and rushing towards Pippi... Pi was desperate and glanced down into the abyss, which was bottomless.

He felt weak all over and sat in a heap. He stood up hard, mustering up the last of his courage to glare at the alien monsters and smile at them.

Then Pippi turned around and shouted "Mom!" and jumped down... Pippi woke up, opened his eyes and looked around, and found that his father, mother, and Qiangqiang, Zhuangzhuang, and Niuniu , Tiantian are all around him.

Qiangqiang said: "Brother Pippi, you finally woke up. Did you have a nightmare? You've been tossing and turning all night calling mommy!"

Tiantian held Pippi's hand. : "Are you okay? You scared me to death!"

Mom gently touched his forehead: "Pippi, don't be afraid! Mom is by your side..."

Personal profile

Jia Qingjun, male, Han nationality. Born on August 5, 1968, in Dunhua City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province.

Member of Jilin Science Popularization Writers Association and Changchun Science Popularization Writers Association.

Member of Jilin Provincial Writers Association, member of Jilin Provincial Poetry Association, director of Yanbian Poetry Association, executive director of Dongliao County Writers Association.

Member of the Chinese Poetry Association, member of the Chinese Poetry Association. He is a member of the Flash Fiction Committee of the Chinese Fable Literature Research Association and a member of the Chinese Short Literature Society.

His written works have been published on China Writers Network, Guandong Poetry Array, Changbai Mountain Poetry, etc.