The Tyrant of the Primeval Isle

Every evening at the camp on the Primeval Isle, Dr. Fernwhistle puts the kettle on the fire, opens her battered notebook, and tells whoever is listening about the island's queen.

"Tyrannosaurus rex," she says, rolling the name round her mouth like a sweet. "Tyrant lizard king. Although she's not a lizard, and she's not a king, and on this island she's definitely a queen."

The island's Tyrannosaurus is the biggest animal that lives there: as long as a bus, heavier than an elephant, with a head as big as a bathtub and teeth as long as bananas. When she walks through the ferns, the ground trembles and the birds go quiet.

"People think she was a slow, stomping monster," says Dr. Fernwhistle. "Nonsense. She was a careful animal. She had a wonderful nose, better than almost any other dinosaur; the part of her brain for smelling was enormous. She had good eyes that looked forward, like ours, so she could judge distances. And those little arms everyone laughs at? Each one was about as long as a grown-up's arm, and strong enough to lift a heavy person."

She taps her notebook. "And her bite. Scientists have worked out that a Tyrannosaurus bit harder than almost any land animal that ever lived. Hard enough to crunch through bone. When one of her teeth broke, a new one grew in to replace it, all her life."

On the island, the Gloom has made the old queen cross and restless. She stalks through the ferns, and when she sees someone, she crouches low and lunges with those enormous jaws.

"No one person can calm her," says Dr. Fernwhistle firmly. "I've watched people try. Bring friends. Back away when she crouches, then go in while she's recovering from the bite. Energy and holy light help. And please, once she's calm again, leave her in peace."

She pauses. "Well. She's not quite the biggest. On the far side of the island there's an old male with a scar across his jaw. The rangers call him Scarjaw. When the ground shakes with heavy steps, that's him. I have measured his footprints, from a very safe distance, and I do not recommend visiting."

Then she closes her notebook. "Do you know the best part? Tyrannosaurus lived right at the very end of the age of dinosaurs. She was one of the last of the giants. But some of her cousins are still here." She points up at a sparrow on the camp fence. "That one, for instance."