[Trade] An Improvised Performance

Rosethorn, though unaccustomed to this type of food, immediately began to eat the red cabbage she had won during the race. She had to admit that she would have eaten anything that came her way as a reward with gusto – the best part was the mere knowledge that she had managed to reach the finish line first.

Even though evening was slowly approaching, her foster parents allowed her to walk around the museum for a while longer. The female eagerly took advantage of this tempting opportunity - the carnival was an extremely interesting event for her. Under the watchful, constant supervision of Rei and Seri, the chick wandered through the winding corridors of the building and explored the various rooms the museum had to offer.

Initially, the tour took place mainly in the wing dedicated to the history of aviation, but she quickly began to find it a little boring. The sights Rose encountered here were relatively monotonous – most of the rooms had the same decor and a similar layout of exhibits and displays. Before the race, when everything around her was new and exciting, strange, huge, multi-shaped and multi-coloured machines intrigued her greatly, but this feeling was only temporary. To tell the truth, the young parasaurolophus did not know what these human machines could be used for at all. She also had too little knowledge to appreciate the different types of construction or details that distinguished the various types of aircraft, so all the exhibits looked deceptively similar to her. In addition, the complicated construction of these machines did not encourage her to take an interest in them - no matter how hard she tried, Rosethorn was unable to climb on or inside most of them.

The change of direction she wanted to take happened quite quickly – instead of continuing deeper into the aviation museum, she decided to return to the main hall and then head towards the natural history museum. This change seemed to please both her parents. All three parasaurolophus felt more comfortable in conditions closer to nature - the environment crawling with machines built by human hands made them feel uncomfortable.

The way to the opposite wing of the building was not long, but it was made difficult by the number of dinosaurs in the museum. This was not surprising. The carnival quickly became famous throughout the archipelago, so hordes of curious reptiles flocked to it even from the most remote parts of the island. The crowd that gathered in the building was therefore unimaginable, and while Seri and Rei had no major problem overcoming it (especially Seri, whose unusual appearance aroused distrust and did not encourage closer contact; in addition, the spikes on his shoulders and hips were perfect for dispersing the crowd and pacifying all those who carelessly pushed their way under their feet with well-aimed thrusts), it was quite different with Rosethorn. The young hatchling was rather pathetic in size compared to the rest of the carnival participants and had to be constantly careful that a larger one of her kind did not simply trample her.

Finally, after a surprisingly long struggle, the three managed to push their way through the crowded main hall, and the path to the left wing of the museum lay open before them. History was about to repeat itself - a long, slightly curved corridor led to the first room, with a huge metal sign above the entrance. This time, however, the sign was surrounded by silhouettes of animals and simplified symbols representing variously shaped leaves.

Rosethorn rushed into the corridor with growing excitement (resulting both from what she could see there and from the fact that, finally, for the first time in several minutes, she could breathe freely – the overwhelming crowd no longer prevented her from doing so). It immediately became clear that this place would impress her much more than the aviation museum. The very first exhibit she managed to see in the dim light of the corridor (a huge rhinoceros skull, slightly yellowed by time) took her breath away. It only got better from there – behind the display case with the skull was a small diorama, styled to resemble a savannah landscape, with a whole herd of stuffed, cute-looking meerkats in the middle. Excited, Rose kept pointing at things, eagerly showing her new discoveries to her parents. It was a really great trip!

The initial plan was for Rosethorn to just look around the carnival-filled building, and then the whole family would return home (Seri had made it very clear that he didn't feel particularly comfortable in crowds, and besides, such a gathering of all kinds of reptiles did not bode well and was not very safe), but that changed too. It wasn't just the excited hatchling that was the reason for this sudden change of plans - Rei was also to blame, who, true to her lively, sociable nature, quickly got caught up in the spirit of the carnival and was in no hurry to return to the grim reality of a day to day life.

As was already known, the wing housing the natural history museum offered completely different entertainment than the opposite part of the building. In the section devoted to aerospace, various games and activities took centre stage – races, hide and seek, searches for hidden objects, aim & reflex competitions... basically everything you could dream of. The games were mainly dominated by young dinosaurs eager for movement and physical exertion. In the natural history museum, on the other hand, a talent contest was taking place, supervised by a truly eccentric judge - the oviraptor Cheron.

Rosethorn was one of the go-getting, confident and adventurous hatchlings, so she had no problem with public performances. Quite the contrary - the opportunity to show off in front of an audience and then proudly listen to the ovation in her honour was a dream come true for her. While Rei could agree with her adopted offspring in this regard, Seri, as was easy to guess, did not understand these desires at all - for this male, being the centre of attention seemed like a real tragedy, reminding him of years of being rejected and ridiculed for his appearance. Due to these negative memories, Seri tried very, very hard to dissuade Rose from this idea, but the young hatchling was adamant (and Rei, who was having fun in the carnival hustle and bustle, did not make this task any easier). In the end, the volcanic parasaurolophus had to give in, overwhelmed by the strong personalities of both females.

The three of them held a brief meeting, trying to figure out what they could possibly present in the talent contest. Seri did not participate much in the conversation (except for occasional groans of fear and reluctance, ‘NOT THAT!’), Rosethorn, on the other hand, although undeniably creative, proposed some truly crazy performances. Her dream repertoire included jumping through burning hoops, synchronised swimming, and even trampoline gymnastics (how did this young dinosaur even know what a trampoline was?!). Fortunately for everyone involved, thanks to Rei's diplomatic skills, all these ideas were nipped in the bud. In addition, the adult female had a plan - a kind of compromise between the interests of all of them; something that would allow them to take part in the competition, but at the same time not expose themselves to any health risks.

The plan involved a subtle dance performance with elements of singing – the simplest strategy that could satisfy Rose. It was the young parasaurolophus who was to be the centre of attention at the event, captivating the audience with his skilful singing. Rei's role was to be an occasional, rather minimalist backing vocalist, and in between, to perform a not-too-dynamic dance to support the young artist's performance. Seri's role would therefore be to sway to the rhythm and not stand out too much.

The ubiquitous skeletons, models, mock-ups and stuffed animals also ceased to impress Rosethorn after a while, so the rest of the journey towards the centre of events took place without any attractions.

To the delight of all three, it turned out that most of today's performances had already taken place (no wonder, after all, the sun had already set and night was drawing near), so they could take the stage almost immediately.

Cheron, The Ringmaster, greeted them and then briefly explained the rules of the competition. Then the oviraptor (like the rest of the audience in the room) sincerely wished the participants good luck.

As soon as the starting signal was given, the female part of the group immediately took on their roles - Rosethorn, swaying rhythmically and spinning around, began to sing a song known only to herself. Rei, waving her arms as if she were holding maracas in her hands, stood behind her descendant, acting as a supporting dancer. Seri, as agreed, stood in the back and mainly served as a backdrop (this was the best the stressed male could do, and it must be admitted that none of the parasaurolophs expected much more out of him). After a dozen or so seconds of performance, when the movements of the three had become completely coordinated and finally looked like a synchronised, planned show, the first cries of admiration rang out from the audience. Hearing this, the improvised dance and singing group put even more effort into the talent contest.

When they finished, Cheron smiled and handed them some treats to make the wait for the results more pleasant. Delighted, Rosethorn ran to the corner of the room, leading her parents to a spot lined with soft materials found in the museum – the perfect place to spend some time. Seri and Rei looked at each other with blissful smiles on their faces - despite everything, it had been a rather pleasant day spent with the family.