Читать книгу Dinosaur Patrol: The First Journey - G. A. Tupper - Страница 5

As we pulled into the driveway, I could see my mom and April had returned from dance practice. April approached the parked car and saw everyone squashed into the front seat. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the dinosaur painting in the back. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's a great painting," Dad explained as he squeezed out of the car. April had a very disbelieving expression on her face.

Dad eased the painting out of the car and held it up for April to see clearly.

"You don't have to look like that!" Dad said, staring at April. "This is nothing to sneeze at!"

"Don't say that!" I gasped. "She'll start sneezing and blow out the volcano in the painting."

Amy and Fred laughed under their breath while we held the front door for Dad.

He took the painting into the kitchen, where Mom was unpacking groceries.

"What's that?" Mom exclaimed, tipping her head to the side. Dad was as calm and collected as I had ever seen him.

"It's our new masterpiece!" Dad explained. "It's a one-of-a-kind painting of prehistoric life. You know, we've been looking for something to put on the living room wall. This will be a wonderful new addition to our household. Plus, it was free."

"Free!" Mom said as she circled the painting Dad was holding. "If it's such a valuable work of art, why was it just given away?"

"I think the people at the flea market thought that we'd appreciate it,” Amy explained. Mom's eyes danced over the many finely painted dinosaurs. She folded her arms and stared at Dad.

"That's right," he said. "The brother and sister at the market just wanted to give the painting a good home."

"Well—there's a place in the little room," Mom said, shaking her head. She motioned for all of us to follow her. We marched to the last door in the hallway and entered the room.

Mom pointed to a large, blank wall. "Right here would be just fine," she said confidently. The room was very small, and I don't think Dad had quite figured out what to do with it. It was too little to be a bedroom, and too large for a closet. We mostly used it for temporarily storing things before they went in the cellar or up in the attic. The painting would sure be the centerpiece of this room, I thought. Besides an old desk and a clock, the painting would be just about the only thing in there.

"Get the hammer and nails," Dad exclaimed. "We're going to hang the painting!" Fred helped me gather the tools from the cellar. It wasn't an easy task because Dad's tools were always getting lost. He said that he would no sooner find one than another two would disappear. Dad would kid us by saying that the house liked to eat his hammer and screwdrivers. According to him, if you waited long enough, the house would give them back. Sure enough, the missing tools would suddenly be found the next day. Maybe Dad was right!

We helped Dad center the nail on the wall and lowered the painting carefully until the hanger wire caught hold. Everyone stood back for a few quiet moments to fully appreciate the marvelous painting. The room glowed with the bright colors of the exploding volcano and running dinosaurs. It suddenly made the little room a very interesting place!