Sunday proved to be bright and sunny and Din Din awoke at the crack of dawn. He had gotten used to waking up in the unfamiliar surroundings of Old Rex’s cave. It had been three weeks since the digging of the stepwell had started in the Orange Orchard and Din Din was one of the supervisors who had been chosen to oversee the group of young dinosaurs who were digging the well.

But things had turned sour when they had begun to receive ominous notes threatening to sabotage the stepwell project. Stannis, the triceratops who was the engineer executing the project, and Din Din were living in the Orange Orchard in Old Rex’s cave and together they had been keeping watch every night to see whether someone would dare to create trouble.

“It’s been a few days since we received the second menacing note threatening to disrupt the digging of the stepwell, but thankfully, nothing unpleasant has occurred,” said Old Rex addressing the group of supervisors early Sunday morning.

“Today we might hit the ground water table,” said Stannis. “We must be prepared for a gush of water.”

And that’s exactly what happened. It was midday when the first spurts of water were seen and soon the entire area which had been dug for the well was filled with water. The dinosaurs who had volunteered to dig and had been toiling for three weeks whooped with joy! There were tears of joy and the youngsters danced around in merry circles.

“Now for the bricking of the insides of the well,” guided Stannis. “Carrying the bricks down is a task the younger dinosaurs will have to do. Their placement and cementing will be done by the older lot and personally supervised by me.”

That night, as Din Din lay in a loft stacked with soft hay in Old Rex’s cave, he smiled to himself as sleep wrapped its tentacles around him. Suddenly, a noise startled him. He saw that Old Rex and Stannis were snoring peacefully. Din Din padded softly to the mouth of the cave that opened into the Orange Orchard. In the light of the waning moon he saw a pack of jackals dumping dirt into the water of the well.

Din Din let out an enraged battle cry and rushed towards them. “Stop it!” he hollered as he lunged to attack the jackals. Taken aback by the sudden attack the jackals stopped dead in their tracks.

Din Din’s loud hollering awakened Old Rex and Stannis. Both rushed out of the cave. Din Din had grabbed the three jackals fiercely by the neck.

“Let them go,” Old Rex strode towards them. “Tell me why you are doing this. This stepwell will benefit the community. It will save and protect water for every creature in Fruit Park. What will you get out of disrupting this?”

The jackals were young yet scrawny. They had a hungry, deranged look and refused to speak. “Has Jacko, your leader sent you?” demanded Old Rex. “We have a treaty with the jackals. You are not supposed to venture into our part of Fruit Park. Now that you are here we must imprison you.”

The jackals snarled but there was fear in their eyes. “Jacko hasn’t sent us. We don’t even live with the other jackals. It is one of your own that has sent us,” one of the jackals finally spoke up.

“Is is Tazzo?” gasped Din Din. The jackal only smirked. “One must be afraid of enemies within before worrying about outside foes.”

Suddenly, one of the jackals bit into Din Din’s leg. He let out an agonising yelp and loosened his hold on the jackal’s neck. Old Rex and Stannis, distracted by the sound of pain, turned to Din Din and in that spilt second the jackals fled.

“They’re getting away!” bellowed Din Din. But his leg was throbbing with pain and did not allow him to chase them. “Let them go,” Old Rex advised. “Let us check your wound, Din Din. Your leg is bleeding.”

Inside the cave, Stannis cleaned the wound and applied a herbal paste Old Rex had with him. “So now we know who is sabotaging us,” said Din Din when the pain subsided. The sky had begun to lighten and soon it would be morning.

“No, my dear,” said Old Rex wisely. “Do you think we can trust what these devious jackals say? They might have told us the truth but, there is always a chance they might not have.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Din Din. “We must continue with our stepwell project and continue to guard it,” replied Old Rex logically. “That’s all we can do.”

In the next few weeks bricks had lined the well and a few experienced adult dinosaurs had been chosen to lay down the spiral steps which lead down to the water level. Din Din’s wounded leg had healed quickly and he guided the younger dinosaurs to carry the bricks in laying the steps.

“Today is a happy day for us all” Stannis announced. “The stepwell has been completed. The water level is high and from tomorrow we shall all be able to use it.” Cheers filled the Orange Orchard as the dinosaurs who had volunteered to build the stepwell hugged each other.

“But now we must take care to keep the water clean,” instructed Old Rex.

“And because there is a threat, we must continue to have shifts to stand guard at the well especially at night,” said Dr. Trish, the elected leader of the dinosaurs. “May we all continue to work together so that we can work on many such projects to improve our lives.”That evening, Din Din returned to his own cave home after two months. His family had prepared a feast to celebrate his return.

“We are so proud of you, Din Din,” announced his father as the family sat around the dining table made of rock. “For us it is a double celebration — the opening of the stepwell and your return home!”

“It’s good to be back home,” Din Din admitted. “But it’s an even greater feeling to know that I have made a difference.”

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