Phyllis and the Fossil Finders - eBook - PDF Version

Greeting
s
From
the
Jurassi
c
Coast
First published 2020 © Twinkl Ltd of Wards Exchange,
197 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield S11 8HW
Copyright © Twinkl Ltd. 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any
information and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Twinkl Ltd.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents
are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Twinkl is a registered trademark of Twinkl Ltd. Twinkl Educational Publishing
Contents
Chapter 1 1 Chapter 2 13 Chapter 3 23 Chapter 4
33 Chapter 5 42 Chapter 6 52 Chapter 7 65
Chapter 8 75 Chapter 9 85 Chapter 10 96 Chapter
11 105
Chapter One
“At least two good things about a storm: more game
progress online for now, and a better chance of
fossil-finding later,” Jacob said with a grin as he
adjusted the headset on his ears.
“Yeah, I’m with you on the first one of those, Jay.

You’re still on your own for the second, though!”
Faizal chuckled.
“D’you think this rain is ever going to stop?” Nakeisha

moaned as her avatar ransacked the corridors of a
newly discovered stronghold and collected more
glowing fire opal.
Outside Jacob’s window, water ran down the seaside

village road in rapid streams. Below the steep cliffs,
the sea pounded the bay with ferocious waves.
“Doesn’t seem like it! Feels like it’s been chucking it

down for weeks,” said Faizal. He was following
Nakeisha’s character on her path of destruction
through the
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter One
again this morning?”
fortress in their online game, Raider’s Peril. They had “Gone for another hospital check-up with her
been playing for hours that morning already. stepmum,” said Nakeisha. “Said she’s been feeling
really tired and dizzy again this week. Reckoned
“Actually,” Jacob chipped in via his microphone, “the she’d be done by lunch, though, so she’ll probably be
storm arrived on Wednesday night so it’s only been back any time now. I hope we can go outside again
two-and-a-bit days. The TV forecast said it should when she is.”
have passed by now. I’m pretty sure it will stop
eventually.” He glanced out through the window at the “Feels like we’re just not as effective without her on
swirling black sky over the coast. He admired the here. Hope she’s OK,” said Faizal as their characters
view from his ‘den’, where his computer was set up. raided treasure chests in an underground dungeon.
“Anyone thought of a new guild name for us yet?”
Having no brothers or sisters meant that the spare
room in Jacob’s house was something that his friends
all envied. Books lined the shelves along one entire
side, and his dinosaur and fossil posters covered
most of the opposite wall. Every available surface
was crowded with dinosaur models, remains of
science experiment kits or Jacob’s rocks and shells.
His hamsters, Steg and Rex, even had rocks and
shells inside their cage. All three of his best friends
liked playing Raider’s Peril; only Jacob was such a
big fan of science, though.
“OK, Mister Weatherman, we get it.” Faizal’s voice

laughed through everyone’s headphones. “Where’s
Gabi, anyway? Didn’t she say that she’d be online
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stopped. Tentatively, he peeled open one eye then the
Jacob had pitched his idea before but wasn’t ready to other. He slid his hands out from under his
let it drop yet. “I still think ‘Fossil Finders Four’ is the earphones.
coolest,” he said.
Before he had a chance to pick up his controller
Faizal shot him down. “Not that again. Maybe if we again, the screen in front of him crackled and then
were all fossil finders and not just you!” turned black.
Jacob’s thumb was poised over the joystick on his He blinked.

controller, ready to grab a topaz spear from the
stronghold wall. Before he got the chance, however, He tapped the side of the screen. Nothing.
his head spun sideways towards the den window
again. A jagged fork of lightning zipped through the There was no red light showing on the console and
sky and flashed through the blur of midday rain. The no voices coming from his headphones. The power
lightning connected with the headland along the bay must have gone off, he thought. Just when they were
and vanished into the mist again as quickly as it had making such great progress in Raider’s Peril.
arrived.
Within moments, the doorbell rang. Jacob ran
“Woah! Anyone else see that?” shouted downstairs to answer it.
Faizal. “Wicked lightning!” Nakeisha “Nakeisha! How d’you get here so quick?”
responded. “What, from three doors away?” she quipped with a

wide grin as she stepped inside. She gave her
Jacob had dropped his controller into his lap and textured black hair a quick shake. As she was taller
squeezed his hands under his headphones to avoid than Jacob, he got a brief shower from the drips that
hearing the deep rumble of thunder that followed. His were flung from her tightly curled locks. “Power off
eyes were squeezed shut and he pulled his chin into here, too?” His friend closed the door behind herself
his chest. as she breezed
He counted to ten, to be sure that the sound had

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Tried to jump that massive puddle by your front gate
into Jacob’s kitchen and plonked herself on a stool at but didn’t make it, did I?” Faizal stopped by the mirror
the breakfast bar. in the hallway to smooth his jet-black hair back into
place before wandering into the kitchen to join
Jacob followed, taking off the headset that he was Nakeisha. Jacob followed again.
still wearing. “That game probably won’t have saved
properly with the power going off so suddenly, you “That game won’t have saved properly,” Faizal said,
know. The autosave will have happened before we shaking his head.
completed that last raid,” he said.
“Honestly, you two! You’re more alike than you think,”
“Chill, Jacob. We’ll nail it again later,” Nakeisha smiled laughed Nakeisha.
as she flicked through his Young Palaeontologist
magazine on the countertop. Jacob watched her “Did you see the lightning, though?” Faizal asked. “I
glance straight past an awesome article all about think it hit the top of the headland, you know.”
Ichthyosaurs, barely registering it.
“I once read that a lightning bolt can contain a billion
It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang for a second volts of electricity,” Jacob offered.
time.
“It might have taken out a tree!” Faizal continued.
“That’ll be Faiz,” said Nakeisha.
“Nah, I think it hit the side of the cliff. Maybe we
Jacob opened the door. Faizal immediately dived should check it out,” Nakeisha suggested.
inside out of the pelting downpour. He had only come
from a little further up the street but the rain must Jacob thought of the coastline of their village, which
have lashed at him the whole way. He dripped all curved around the edge of the bay. He wondered if
over the rug. the lightning could have caused any damage to the
rocks by the sea. The area was known to visitors as
“Oh man, look at these new trainers! Flippin’ weather! the
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from the lounge. “It’s like Piccadilly Circus.”
Jurassic Coast, but Jacob knew that the local geology
contained just as much history from the Triassic and Jacob opened the door to let in Gabi, thinking that the
Cretaceous periods, too. No one seemed to mention famous Piccadilly Circus in London was not very busy
those as much. if it only had three or four people passing through.
“I ain’t going back out there in a hurry,” Faizal was “I knew you would all be here,” Gabi announced as
saying. she plodded in to join the others. “How come you’re
not in the den? Have you raided that new stronghold
“Oh, come on, you two. It’s only a bit of rain. You yet? Oh, and did you see the lightning?”
won’t dissolve,” Nakeisha pleaded.
Nakeisha filled her in on how they had carried out
Jacob pictured himself and his friends rushing around their raid and found new gems and weapons, then
the beach like zombies as the falling rain started to the power had gone off around the same time as the
dissolve them. People don’t dissolve, he reassured lightning and they’d probably need to do it all over
himself. It’s rocks and soil that are eroded by the rain again. “How are you, anyway, Gabs? Everything OK
and wind, not us. with the check-up?” she asked.
“Actually, it might make for good fossil-hunting “Oh, you know. Still just feeling tired and worn out
conditions after the storm passes,” he suggested. easily. Got another appointment in a couple of weeks.
Neither of his friends seemed to hear him, though. Hey, let’s go up to the den! I’ve got something cool to
Nakeisha was teasing Faizal about the amount of tell you – something really weird happened out there,”
excess hair gel that might wash down his face if they Gabi said.
were to go outside again.
Intrigued, they dashed upstairs after her, Jacob being
The doorbell rang for the third time. the last into his own den. Nakeisha crashed onto the
sofa bed and Faizal spun round in the swivel chair
“What’s going on here today?” called Jacob’s mum
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Phyllis And The Fossil Finders Chapter One
through the window. “The rain is definitely stopping. I
at the desk. Jacob sat on his beanbag as Gabi held can see some blue sky through the clouds now.”
court in the middle of the room. He worried about her
sometimes, always feeling easily exhausted, but he
admired her positivity, too.
“I swear that this is true,” she began.
Faizal groaned and played with the spinning globe on

the desk.
“Honestly, guys,” Gabi continued. “We were just in the

car, coming back down the main road into the village.
We saw the lightning come down from the sky. You
can ask my stepmum if you don’t believe me. It
twinkl.com
zapped somewhere into the side of the cliff in the Phyllis and the Fossil Finders
bay.”
Faizal covered his face with his hands and groaned
“Told you!” shouted Nakeisha.
even louder. He swivelled round to turn his back on
“Yeah, but that’s not all,” said Gabi. “Afterwards, you
the others, giving the globe one more spin.
could see this weird light coming from near where it
had struck. For a few seconds, it was like the cliffside
“Jacob, you up for it?” Gabi looked him in the eye.
was glowing or something. I’m telling you, it was
really strange.”
Jacob considered whether he was being pushed for
the casting vote. He couldn’t quite tell what Gabi’s
The group looked at one another. Jacob eyed Gabi
stare was supposed to mean. He didn’t want to upset
suspiciously, thinking that lightning couldn’t make
anyone. He thought it highly unlikely that they would
rocks glow. But then, he pondered, if it did contain a
see any glowing rocks or frazzled trees. However,
billion volts of electricity...
there might be some fresh ammonites washed up on
the beach or unusual shells uncovered for his
“See? We should check it out!” Nakeisha repeated.
collection.
She jumped up from the sofa bed and looked out
had his hand lens, his binoculars and a miniature
“Those clouds are clearing,” he said, motioning hammer, among other tools. He never went to the
towards the window, “and if the power’s off beach – or anywhere, in fact – without his bag.
everywhere, we can’t do much inside. We may as
well go out for a bit.” Faizal shook out the wet raincoat that he’d arrived in
earlier. He had reluctantly borrowed wellies from
“Ugh. Fine!” said Faizal, as it became clear that he Jacob, taking off his white trainers and placing them
was out-voted. neatly next to each other in the hall. Pulling on the
boots, he tucked in his expensive tracksuit bottoms,
complaining that they had better not get dirty. “It’s
gonna be muddy, you know,” he had warned them
several times.
With everyone decked out in coats and hats, they

Chapter Two headed down the road to the main part of the village.
From there, they could take the cliff steps down onto
By the time they were heading out of the door, the
the beach. It was fairly quiet at this time of the year;
rain had eased to a misty drizzle. Jacob had stuffed
seaside visitors were few and far between during the
some useful supplies into his rucksack, as usual. He
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Two
that spread from every crack. It just did not seem
winter months. The whole place was a different sight welcoming.
compared with the hustle and bustle when the
summer tourists arrived again. Nakeisha was the first to spot Sam outside. He was in
their class at school.
They reached the crumbling Jurassic Coastal
Museum, which looked as old as some of the exhibits Sam was sitting on a bench outside the museum
inside it. Jacob loved learning about the displays it kicking the toe of his dirty old boots into the ground.
housed but, for some reason, he always found the He jumped up hopefully when he saw the others and
place creepy-looking. Maybe it was something about pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
the stained, old stone, or maybe the dark green moss
“Hey – where are you guys going?” he asked, peering Nakeisha tagged along but looked back at Sam,
out from under a long, messy fringe of hair. pulling an apologetic face. Sam dug his hands into
the pockets of his scruffy-looking jeans, then sat back
“Nowhere,” said Faizal and Gabi at exactly the same down. Jacob saw him watching their group disappear
time. “Jinx!” They both looked at each other and through the community gardens and around the
giggled. corner towards the steep cliff steps.
Sam bowed his head.
“Why don’t you like him?” Nakeisha asked when they
“Just down to the beach –” Jacob began. were out of earshot.
“You’ve probably got stuff to do and we’re in a hurry,” “Well, one – he’s such a loner; two – he pokes his
Faizal butted in. nose in…” Faizal began, counting out the points on
his fingers for effect.
“Yeah, come on, before it rains again,” Gabi agreed
and tugged on Nakeisha’s arm as she followed “...and three – he’s just weird,” added Gabi. “He’s
Faizal’s lead. always hanging around the museum... or sneaking up
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on people… or lurking near those fossil-hunting tourist Jacob adjusted his shoulders uncomfortably under
tours that old Mister Penniket runs...” his rucksack. Admittedly, it annoyed him that Mister
Penniket brought summer tourist groups trampling
“Oh, yeah. That guy creeps me out, too. I heard that over the beach and taking the fossils that they knew
he keeps dead animals in his flat above the museum,” nothing about. He thought about Faizal and Gabi’s
Faizal said, adding a mock shiver. words but didn’t reply. Nakeisha caught his eye and
shrugged.
“Exactly. I heard that he kills them and wears their
skins. Why would anyone want to hang around near *
him?” Gabi said.
After negotiating the steps and a stretch of sodden
beach, they neared the spot that Gabi had described.
The jagged cliffs rose up from the beach. Wild grass She pointed to where the bottom of the cliffs met the
at the top extended down the crags in haphazard ground a little further ahead. More rocks scattered the
places; other parts of the cliff were bare and sand, spreading out from the base as though they’d
crumbling. At the base, there were piles of loose just been dumped there from a great height.
rocks to clamber over.
Occasionally, overhanging ledges obscured crevices All four gazed at a large lump of rock that had been
and even small caves. detached from the cliffside. The roughly spherical
boulder contained a large crack running downwards;
“Look at those layers of sedimentary rock,” Jacob it looked like an upturned jacket potato that had split
enthused. “Isn’t it amazing how you can see them apart. From inside came an eerie, purple glow.
built up over millions of years?”
“That is not normal,” said Jacob, the first to speak.
“Hey, Jacob. D’you know that you sound like one of
Mrs Green’s science lessons?” Faizal teased. “Told you it had glowed,” Gabi beamed, a mixture of
smugness and excitement on her face as she started
“Never mind that,” Gabi interrupted. “Look over there!”
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders
to tell them all about the conversation she and her

stepmum had had about the lightning.
“It’s not just glowing. Listen,” said Nakeisha. “Can you

hear that kind of buzzing sound?”
Jacob stared at the source of the strange light. He

could hear it, too. If he hadn’t known any better, he
would have agreed that the rock seemed to be
vibrating – but it couldn’t be, surely...
“Come on then,” Gabi encouraged them. “Let’s get a
closer look.” She didn’t wait for anyone’s permission.
She was already bounding over the straggling rocks
towards her destination.
“Take it easy, Gabs,” warned Nakeisha.
“Hey – anyone noticing a burning smell?” Faizal

asked. He was now at the back of the group, crossing
his arms, not moving any closer.
“Yeah – smells like when my mum burns the toast,”

Nakeisha replied, trying to keep up with Gabi but
looking back over her shoulder. “Are you not coming?”
“Looks a bit slippy,” Faizal observed. “I might just 18

hazy glow. His mind fizzed with questions.
hang on here and keep a lookout. I think I’ve splashed
wet sand up the back of these trackie bottoms, you Gabi had sprung into action and leapt up beside the
know.” He was twisting to look back at them over his huge rock. “Help me prise this apart. Grab that stick,
own shoulder. will you?”
Gabi had already reached the rock face and was Jacob picked up a thick branch from among the rocks
peering into the mysterious crack. “Guys, you have to and handed it over. Gabi wedged one end into the
see this!” she called. widest part of the crack and pulled the other towards
her. Nakeisha realised the plan and stepped from one
Nakeisha caught up, followed by Jacob. Up close, the rock to the next until she was beside her friend. Gabi
buzzing was definitely louder. The burnt toast smell counted to three and the girls pulled with all their
was stronger and Jacob could feel a warmth from the might.
hammer? Faizal! Are you gonna help us to see what
Snap! this thing is or just stand over there like a turnip?”
The branch broke in two and they both staggered
backwards. Gabi lost her balance and landed on her Jacob rifled in his bag for the hammer. He chuckled
backside with a thud. as he analysed Gabi’s insult and imagined Faizal
planted in the ground like a turnip. Maybe Faizal was
“Um, you know, you have a wet patch on your bum, shamed into action because he was soon stepping
now,” Faizal offered from a distance. cautiously over the rocks, carrying another, thicker
branch. He held it out between his thumb and
“You OK?” asked Jacob. Gabi breathed hard and fingertips as though it were contagious.
rubbed her temple. She winced as she got to her
feet. Knocking wet sand off herself, she scanned the “Nice one!” said Nakeisha as Faizal reached close
ground for a new tool. enough to pass it on. Gabi wrapped her palm around
the middle of the branch and, holding it like a javelin,
“Yeah, I’m OK, thanks, Jay. Did you bring your fossil
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Crack!
wedged it into the crack.
This time, it wasn’t the wood that gave way – it was
This time, Jacob joined in as the girls pulled back on the rock.
the end of the branch. He felt the rock move a little.
“Tap on the other side of the rock,” he told Faizal,

handing him the small hammer.
Faizal pulled his sleeves over his hands to cover

them. He leaned on the rock on the other side of the Chapter Three
crack and gave it a series of whacks with the tool.
Gabi counted to three and then, with Nakeisha and Jacob had found many tiny fossils before, living, as
Jacob, pulled back again on the branch. they did, in a place where it was so common for them
to be uncovered by the elements. However, those
were usually just small ammonites or belemnites. way more incredible than anything Mary had ever
His favourite was a perfectly spiralling mollusc shell discovered – maybe more incredible than anyone had
that sat on the bottom shelf in his den. All of his ever discovered. This was not just a tooth or a bone,
previous discoveries were no bigger than the palm of nor was it just an impression in rock or some
his hand. He had dreamed of finding something hard-to-identify remains.
greater, like the famous fossilist Mary Anning had.
She had lived on the same stretch of coast, two One half of the now-broken rock lay on the ground
hundred years ago. He loved reading about her life like a cracked Easter egg. Pressed into the inside of
and work. the
What appeared before them right now, though, was
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Three
other half was the full skeleton of some kind of ancient

creature.
For a moment, Jacob, Nakeisha and Gabi stood and

stared. Behind them, Faizal inched slowly backwards.
“What. Is. That?” he gasped, peering over the

shoulders of his friends.
The skull atop the skeleton was about the size of a

dog’s head. Instead of a snout, however, it looked like
it had a large, flat beak.
“Is it real?” asked Gabi.
A few thick, short neck bones connected the

creature’s head to its body. A full ribcage of bones
was curving outwards from the stone. Rising above turned to a shroud of mist. It seemed to be growing
were longer, thinner bones, which looked like they thicker and soon, they were peering through a dense
could have formed wings in full flight. fog. The burning smell suddenly seemed stronger,
too, as though they were breathing in toxic fumes.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Nakeisha. Her
eyes followed the skeleton along to the tip of its long, “Guys,” Jacob coughed, “there’s something happening.”
raptor-like tail. Two short legs stuck out below the
body as if it had frozen in time while out for a walk. Faizal stepped further back. Nakeisha and Gabi held
on to each other. Jacob was frozen with fear but, at
The vibrating sound had not gone away. Jacob the same time, fascinated and intrigued enough to
wanted to bang his hand against his own head to want a closer look. He squinted through the swirling
stop it buzzing inside him. The purple glow had purple mist.
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“Am I going crazy or is that thing moving?” asked Soon, the entire body was wriggling free from where
Faizal. There was a slight tremble in his voice. it had been encased. Where the ribs had already
been sticking out from the rock, the body now
“It’s moving,” Jacob confirmed, mesmerised. He seemed even bulkier. A furry outer layer crept over
covered his nose and mouth to keep out the the bones as they watched. One bony wing – now
worsening stench. It was like a triple dose of the stink with fleshy skin stretched across it – popped free
bombs from the joke shop in town. from the rock, then a second wing.
The haze surrounding the rock made it hard to see Last were the tail, legs and feet. The creature peeled
clearly at first, but then it began to thin and clear. itself away from its stone shell. Gradually, it had
become unstuck. Gradually, it had become an actual
At first, the creature was prising its head away from creature again.
the rock – not just a skull any more but a head. It was
furry – or perhaps feathery. It blinked one golf-ball It placed one clawed foot forward onto the rocky
eye and slowly stretched open its beak in a wide ground... then the other... then fell in a clumsy heap,
yawn. beak first onto the sand.
suggested Faizal. “This is even cooler than anything
Faizal let out a squeal. Gabi gave a little snort of on Raider’s Peril.”
laughter at the strange sight. The creature gave a
squawk, looked at the four humans and blinked its “Maybe it was to do with the storm,” Gabi offered.
bulgy eyes. “Maybe the lightning strike has somehow caused
this.”
“O.M.G.,” breathed Gabi. “This is amazing. Did that
really just happen? Did you lot see that?” “Caused what, though?” asked Jacob. “What exactly
has happened here? I don’t understand. This thing
“We’ve set it free from the rock,” said Nakeisha. looks prehistoric. Now, it’s walking around in front of
us.”
“I think we’ve brought the fossil back to life,”
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“I dunno about walking. Seems like it can barely stand

up!”
Faizal was right. The creature shifted its weight

awkwardly from one clawed foot to the other. Each
time, it seemed ready to topple over. It turned and
looked at the assembled group, tilting its head one
way, then the other. Feathery tufts jutted from the
back of its neck. It looked confused.
After a little shuffling, it plonked itself down on the

sand. Jacob wondered if it had just got tired of trying
to stay upright. It almost gave a sigh as it sagged to she reached out her hand in slow motion. The whole
the floor, and its neck drooped. time, she was pursing her lips and making soft
cooing sounds.
“Maybe it’s just a baby if it can’t walk properly. Look,
it has cute fluffy tufts on its front like a baby penguin. With her first touch, the creature jerked its head a
Do you think it’s friendly?” Nakeisha pondered aloud. little. Gabi persevered and stroked the back of its
neck. After a few seconds, the creature angled its
“I don’t think it has the energy to attack us, even if it head towards her and produced a throaty, warbling
wanted to. I’m going to try stroking it,” said Gabi. sound. Jacob thought that it sounded like a cat
purring.
“Be careful,” warned Jacob.
“I think it likes you,” he said, before noticing the rock
She crept cautiously towards it. The creature behind. “Wow! It’s left a fossilised impression behind!”
observed her warily. When she was close enough,
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found on some faraway island before they became
The inside of the boulder now contained a perfectly extinct,” Nakeisha said.
preserved mould of the creature’s skeleton, as though
it had been pressed into modelling clay. “I’m not saying it is a dodo. Anyway, they were alive
way more recently than dinosaurs – and there are not
“You must know what type of creature it is, Jay. Don’t thought to be any known similar-looking creatures,”
you always know about this kind of thing?” asked Jacob replied.
Faizal.
“Yet here we are,” said Faizal, gesturing towards the
“Not this! This is different to anything else ever! It’s a waddling, wobbling, warbling oddity in front of them.
bit like an Anchiornis, but the legs are too short. It’s The creature cocked its head and squawked, as if in
similar to a Geminiraptor, but with more of a beak. It’s some kind of agreement.
like… like a dodo’s prehistoric cousin or something!” “So, what do we do with it? Should we just leave it
here?” said Nakeisha.
“I thought Mrs Green said that dodos were only ever
“No! It might not survive! Let’s keep it as a pet,” Gabi “Yeah – imagine what old Mister Penniket would say!
blurted out. He’d love to get his hands on it,” said Nakeisha
darkly.
“Don’t be daft,” said Faizal. “Where would it live? How
would you look after it? There’s no way my dad would “He’d want it for the museum for sure! Probably put it
let me bring it into the house!” in a glass case.”
“I don’t think any of us can keep it,” said Jacob “More like skin it alive!” said Faizal.
solemnly. “Maybe we should report it to the RSPCA.”
“I’m telling you – there’s no way it’s going in that
“What would they do?” asked Gabi. “It’s not hurt or in weird museum.”
danger, and that might draw too much attention to it.”
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders her head. “We’re all going to head back along the
beach. Keep to the edge where the sand meets the
“Then, I guess we need another plan,” said Nakeisha. cliffs, because the tide is on its way in. Let’s see if she
will follow us. Agreed?”
The creature sat comfortably on the ground between
them, taking in its new surroundings. It pecked at the “She?” asked Jacob.
sand, cocked its head at the seagulls flying above and
blinked brightly up at them all. “Yeah, I reckon it’s a girl,” she shrugged.
“How can we get her to follow us, though?” asked

Nakeisha. “We could try offering her some food, I
suppose. I bet she’s hungry if she’s been set in stone
for thousands of years.”
Chapter Four “Millions, more likely,” Jacob corrected her.

“Right,” said Gabi, after some discussion among the
“Good idea. What do you think she eats, though?”
group. She took a couple of deep breaths and rubbed
asked Faizal.
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Four
“One way to find out,” said Gabi. She marched over “Ugh! What did you do that for? It nearly touched
to the base of the cliff and started pulling at clumps of me!” Faizal shrieked. Then, his face lit up. “Hang on.
wet grass. The others watched as she tramped back I’ve got one of these!” He pulled out a
towards them, a fistful of grass in her right hand. squashed-looking cereal bar from his pocket.
Nearing the creature, she crouched and spoke softly,
holding out her grass-filled palm. Unwrapping one end, he held the snack out at arm’s
length towards the creature, which craned its feathery
“Here’s some nice grass. Come on,” she cooed. neck towards it. Was it sniffing? Jacob wondered.
Was it able to sniff? As he pondered, the creature
The creature looked at Gabi inquisitively. It jerked its showed what it thought of Faizal’s offering. It gave a
head from side to side. It looked down at her hand. loud squawk and rose up, batted its wings and
There was a moment of pause. stamped its feet, then turned around and looked out
towards the sea instead.
Suddenly, it snapped its beak at the grass on Gabi’s
palm. Snap-snap-snapping away, it flung the grass “Pretty sure that prehistoric creatures didn’t eat cereal
up in the air in all directions. Gabi fell backwards, bars,” Jacob said.
giggling.
“Worth a try,” Faizal replied. “I don’t remember seeing
“I don’t think that went down too well,” laughed any books on your shelf telling you what to feed a
Nakeisha. fossil creature that comes back to life after millions of
years.”
“What about some seaweed?” Jacob suggested. He
picked some up and dangled it in front of the creature. That was a fair point, Jacob supposed.
It was greeted with disinterest. Nakeisha grabbed it
and flung it towards Faizal instead. “If we can get her to follow us, there’ll be more stuff
to try nearer the village,” said Gabi. “There might be
some fishing bait around the harbour, or we could try
things from home, or we could...”
34 35 twinkl.com
gently.
She continued to come up with ideas as they The creature shuffled a little more on the spot. Then it
discussed the possibility of returning to the village placed one foot forward.
with their discovery. The spot where they had found
the creature was slightly sheltered from view on “She’s definitely moving!” cried Nakeisha.
either side by the shape of the cliffs. The village
would be much riskier. Jacob and Faizal joined in. All four friends stood in a
row, bending their knees slightly, patting their thighs
“What if someone sees us? What if Mister Penniket is and making strange cooing noises.
out near the museum?” asked Faizal.
“We must look flippin’ ridiculous,” said Faizal.
“He’s right,” agreed Nakeisha. “We do need to be
careful until we decide what to do with her.” Nevertheless, he carried on. Inching along, the
creature began to follow unsteadily. Little by little,
“We don’t even know if it will follow us yet, anyway,” they all moved along, separated by a few feet of wet
Jacob pointed out. “It might fly away. It might not want sand.
to move at all.”
Then, from high in the sky above, a seagull swooped
“Let’s see,” said Gabi. She started to back slowly down. It flew low along the beach, cawing loudly,
away, still facing the creature. She tapped on her before perching on the side of the cliff. Startled, the
thighs. “Come on,” she beckoned softly. She edged creature stopped and watched. It looked up longingly
back a little further and called the creature again. and gave a feeble squawk back of its own.
It looked at her and shuffled slightly. “She looks sad, now,” said Gabi.
“She’s moving,” whispered Nakeisha. She tiptoed to The seagull set off again in flight. The fossil creature
Gabi’s side and joined in with the beckoning. “Here, watched, then stretched its own wings with a
flappy girl,” she sang as they both tapped their legs half-hearted flap. It hopped into the air but barely left
the ground.
36 37 twinkl.com
the beach onto the sand where the creature stood.
“I think it’s trying to fly,” said Jacob. The further away he shone it, however, the more the
light faded. The creature didn’t even notice it.
“I don’t want her to fly away,” said Gabi. “I want to
look after her!” “Try again!” said Faizal, recognising the plan.
“You might not have to worry about the flying,” said Again, Jacob pointed the torch down near their feet
Faizal doubtfully. They looked on as the creature and gradually teased the light along the beach
flapped and hopped again, failing miserably to towards the creature, which was gazing casually
produce anything that resembled flight. around at more passing seagulls. On the third
attempt, it suddenly snapped its head in the direction
“She’s not following us any more, though,” Gabi moaned. of the light. Two wide eyes focused on the ground
ahead, it lunged forwards like a cat pouncing on a
“I’ve got an idea!” Jacob announced suddenly. He mouse. It stopped and looked around to see where
took off his rucksack and placed it on the ground. its prey had gone; as soon as it spotted Jacob’s light
After a quick rummage around, he triumphantly held on the ground, it hopped towards it again.
up what he’d been looking for.
“Yes! It’s working,” called Gabi as the creature began
“A torch?” said Nakeisha. “But it’s the afternoon. It’s to close the gap between them. The group stepped
not even dark.” backwards as Jacob continued to tempt it forwards
with his torchlight.
Despite the daylight, the storm had left behind a dull,
cloudy sky. Jacob hoped that it was gloomy enough “She thinks she’s going to catch it,” chuckled Nakeisha.
for his idea to work. He pointed the torch down at the
dark, damp sand near their feet and flicked it on. They laughed and took turns flicking the torch on and
off, moving it nearer to the creature then jerking it
The light hitting the ground was dim but noticeable. away again. Each time, it hopped or jumped forwards
Slowly, Jacob raised the torch so that it shone along
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Chapter Four
only to miss out on capturing the elusive prey.
Before long, they realised that they had rounded another section of rocks and were no longer
sheltered by the cliffside. Ahead, the open beach stretched towards the steep steps to the village.
“What now?” asked Nakeisha. “We’ll get spotted if we go much further.”
“Mister Penniket is bound to be out somewhere,” added Gabi.
“It doesn’t even need to be him. If anyone sees us with this, we’ll have blown it. They’ll whisk her
away in no time,” said Faizal.
Jacob smiled. “I think I have another idea.” 41 twinkl.com
Chapter Five
Jacob had explained his plan thoroughly.
The girls stayed where they were with the creature.

Gabi said that she wasn’t sure if she’d have the where they had last seen him. How much did he just
energy to run, and Nakeisha offered to stay with her. hear? Jacob wondered in a momentary panic.
Faizal and Jacob set off running along the beach.
They reached the steps leading back up to the “Nothing,” Faizal responded. Jacob cast a cautionary
community gardens and then steadied their pace. look over his shoulder, back down towards the beach.
Sam seemed to follow his gaze.
“What d’you reckon that thing is, then?” Faizal asked,
panting as they climbed the steps. “We’re just heading back to Faizal’s house for a bit,”
Jacob said, trying to make his lie as close to the truth
“I have no idea,” Jacob replied, equally out of breath. as he could.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Even if it had turned
out to be just a fossil, it would have been amazing – “Where are the girls? You were with Gabi and
but it came back to life before our eyes! It doesn’t Nakeisha earlier,” Sam quizzed.
make any sense.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool that we found it,” Faizal agreed

as they rounded the top of the steps back into the
gardens.
Chapter Five
“Found what?” came an unexpected voice.
“S-S-Sam!” Jacob gasped. Neither of them had

noticed that the boy was still lurking near the bench
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Five
Then, he understood what Faizal’s wide eyes meant.
“Uh... they had something else to do,” said Faizal. It was like that time when he had tried to stop Jacob
“Come on, Jay. We need to get back to do that thing.” from reminding Mrs Green they hadn’t been given
He tugged Jacob’s arm and widened his eyes. their spelling homework. It meant: stop talking and
get moving!
At first, Jacob wondered what was wrong with him.
white fur collar; the rest of it was a red tartan design,
They both headed off, away from Sam. When they like a Scottish kilt. Wrapped around it was Alfie’s
were just about to round the corner at the opposite extendable lead with a collar and harness. Faizal
side of the gardens, Jacob looked back. He saw Sam passed them behind his back to Jacob, to stuff into
giving them one last glance before turning in the the rucksack. At the same time, he shouted into the
direction of the steps to the beach. lounge to his dad’s girlfriend, who didn’t look round
from watching TV.
“He’s going down there,” Jacob whispered urgently to
Faizal. “Hi, Vicky. Just forgot something. Going back down to
the beach with Jacob. Is that OK?”
“Told you – he’s so flippin’ nosy. If he finds out where
the girls are, he’ll be telling everyone about the “Yes, but be back for when your dad gets home,”
creature – probably old Mister Penniket, too. We came the reply.
need to hurry up if we’re going to get back to them in
time.” Faizal and Jacob were soon back out of the house
and hurrying down the hill the way they had come –
The boys passed the coastal museum and ran up the towards the village, past the museum and turning
hill. Through one of the museum’s grimy windows, a through the gardens before finally hurtling down the
bearded, weather-beaten face watched them go. steps to the beach. Just when they thought that there
* was no sign of Sam poking his nose in, he appeared
at the bottom of the steps.
As quickly as they could, they dashed into Faizal’s
house. Faizal grabbed a fancy-looking dog coat “Oh, you’re like a bad smell,” Faizal said to him. “You
belonging to his pet poodle, Alfie. The coat had a
44 45 twinkl.com
Sam even though Faizal was his friend?
always seem to be hanging around.”
Before he was able to decide, Sam spoke instead.
Sam looked at Jacob. Jacob knew that it was a mean Turning away from Jacob with a look of
thing for Faizal to have said. Should he stick up for disappointment, he fixed his eyes on Faizal.
“I’ve seen what you found,” he said. “Then, it’s even more important for us to get back to it
first,” Jacob reasoned.
Sam’s words exploded between the three of them like
silent fireworks. Jacob felt the air fizz with a charge of Faizal was finally persuaded and the pair set off,
energy. Faizal clenched his fists. quicker than ever, along the sand. When they reached
the area where they had left Gabi and Nakeisha, the
Jacob tried to muster the words to help the situation. girls were nowhere to be seen.
Ask Sam to keep quiet? Pretend they didn’t know
what he was talking about? “They were supposed to wait for us here, where they
were out of sight,” said Jacob.
His thoughts didn’t catch up in time. Sam cast his
eyes from Faizal back to Jacob again. Then the boy “I know but that flippin’ meddler, Sam, obviously
ran up the steps, taking them two at a time. Faizal found them. They might have gone to try and catch us
turned as if to follow but Jacob stopped him. up,” Faizal answered.
“We need to get to the girls and find out what “No, we’d have seen them,” Jacob countered. “We
happened,” Jacob said. couldn’t have missed them, the way we came. Plus,
“What if he tells everyone, though? You heard what they’ve got a walking, squawking fossil in tow.”
he said. He’ll have half the village down here –
probably old Mister Penniket, too. They’ll whisk the “Then, where are they?” Faizal asked, spinning his
creature away to a museum or a science lab or head from one side to the other and searching the
something.” empty beach around them.
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steps to the village. In the opposite direction, to their
“Maybe Sam frightened the creature away,” Jacob left, the steep cliff sides became more irregular,
suggested. creating nooks and caves that were blocked from
view. Further along that way was where they had
The pair stood and looked around. To their right, the discovered the creature. The strip of sand was
sweeping curve of the cliffs led back towards the narrower than earlier due to the incoming tide. The
waves of the English Channel stretched to infinity in
the distance. Behind them, the cliffs rose up to the “Is the coast clear? Has Sam gone?” called
sky.
Nakeisha. “Yes, but he knows all about the creature,”
A faint whistle travelled through the air from behind
them. Both boys’ heads snapped round and looked said Faizal.
up in the direction of the noise. Jacob scanned the
gradual slope. Tufts of grass jutted out from bare “No, he doesn’t,” Gabi chimed in as she carefully
sandstone. Other sections were covered in green. started to edge her way back down the slope of the
The trees at the top looked so far away, they were cliff, leaving Nakeisha behind. When she reached the
like a row of broccoli. bottom, she began to fill the boys in on what had
happened.
Hidden in one patch of undergrowth, less than
halfway up the slope, he spotted a head popping up, The girls had spotted Sam walking along the beach in
then another: Gabi and Nakeisha. Gabi whistled their direction. Before he could see them or the
again. Jacob pointed them out to Faizal, who was still creature, they had led it as quickly as they could up
turning left and right, looking for the source of the the cliff to their precarious hiding place.
noise.
“What are you doing up there?” Faizal called. “Sam walked right past, below where we were hiding.
He never even noticed us!” Gabi beamed. “He went
“Is it safe to come back down?” Gabi shouted in reply. back again not long afterwards and still never thought
She cupped her hands around either side of her to look up at where we were.”
mouth and emerged further into view.
“Safe from what?” asked Jacob.
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“I can’t believe you managed to stay out of sight and “I thought you’d never ask,” Gabi said with a smug
not be noticed,” Faizal enthused, “but hang on a grin. “Check this out!”
minute – where’s that thing actually gone?”
She called up to Nakeisha, who had been holding on
to their new fossil friend in anticipation. Once out of
Nakeisha let it go, Gabi started to wave and call out. its feathers and gave its head a little shake.
It came waddling into sight halfway up the cliff, trying
to keep its balance on the slope, on two unsteady Nakeisha was the last to arrive back on the flat of the
legs. Then, with a flap of its wings, it made a beach, following the creature’s path.
half-jumping, half-flying kind of leap. Skidding and
bouncing in a zigzag down the cliffside, it reached the “Did you get the harness and coat?” she asked.
beach in an untidy, sandy bundle. Finally, it shook its
fur and announced its arrival near Gabi’s feet with a “Yep! And it looks like we need the lead even more if
squawk. she is finding her wings,” said Faizal. “Let’s try and
get these on her before we risk heading back up to
“She’s getting better at the flying,” Gabi announced the village again.” A hint of fine rain seemed to be
proudly. “We were just teaching her to flap her wings blowing through the air once more and the tide was
before we had to hide. And she’s totally following us swallowing up the beach rapidly.
and listening to us, aren’t you? Clever girl!” she cooed
and gushed. “There’s just one more thing, though,” said Jacob. The
other three turned to look at him. “Sam told us that he
Jacob and Faizal looked at each other. “Hmm. I think knew what we’d found. If he didn’t actually see you or
a few more lessons are needed yet, Gabs!” said the creature... what did he see?”
Faizal with a smirk, as the creature flapped the sand
50 51 twinkl.com
“I wish she could come to mine but there’s no room to
hide in our flat,” said Nakeisha.
“I wish we could use my place, too, but there are

always too many people around at the B&B. It would
Chapter Six be too risky,” said Gabi.
“We can’t stay down here for much longer. Let’s try to
get the creature back to one of our houses. Then, we All three of them looked at Jacob, who was untangling
Alfie’s lead. When he sensed their gaze, he looked
can decide what to do with it,” Jacob said. He pulled
up. He wondered why they were just staring at him.
out the dog coat and harness from his rucksack.
“What?” he asked, confused.

“What to do with her,” Gabi corrected.
“Your house, Jacob!” said Faizal, rolling his eyes.

“We should give her a name,” added Nakeisha, “and
then we can make her an avatar in the game and she
“My house?” he said, his voice rising noticeably
can be like our guild mascot.”
higher than usual. “My mum would go mad! I’ve got
Steg and Rex. I’ve got too much stuff!”
The creature looked at them, cocked its head to one
side and then the other, and squawked in agreement.
“Yeah, but just think about it,” said Faizal. “More stuff
means more hiding places. The hamsters mean
“Not sure she’d be any good at raiding another guild’s
there’s a bit of noise and mess, anyway. Plus, you
stronghold, Keisha… but Jay’s right. We need to get it
could do some research on what type of creature it
– her – whatever – somewhere we can think,” said
is.”
Faizal. “There’s no chance at mine, though. Alfie
might only be a poodle but he’s got the nose of a
bloodhound. He’d sniff out a strange creature in the Jacob thought about Faizal’s last point. He did like
the idea of a real-life project – a fossil creature from
house in no time.”
Chapter Six history to study. He was itching to look through his
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Six
it danced around in circles before giving up and
books for anything that looked like the creature. His looking
mum usually left him to it in the den because she at them with a mix of confusion and annoyance.
knew that he didn’t like anyone moving or tidying his
stuff. “It’s for your own good,” said Gabi softly, as she
clipped the lead on to the harness. Her reassuring
“Fine,” he said. “Help me get this coat on her and let’s voice seemed to calm the creature. “Now, what are
get her back to my place before anyone sees us.” we going to call you?”
“Yay!” smiled Nakeisha, clapping her hands together. The group set off walking.
“And you called her ‘her’.”
“Look at how she waddles as she walks,” said
Gabi crouched down and began to stroke the back of Nakeisha, looking down at the creature as they
the creature’s head. She made the clucking and ambled along. “She reminds me of my granny and
cooing noises again as a distraction while, from her friend who go shopping together.”
behind, Faizal prepared the tartan dog coat over the
harness. He mouthed a countdown to Jacob – “Is your granny’s friend the one with the big eyes?”
asked Gabi.
“Three… two… one…”
Nakeisha laughed. “Yeah. Have you noticed, too? It’s
– and then lunged to wrap them around the creature’s like she’s always staring at you!”
back and wings. As he held them in place, Jacob
grabbed at the straps underneath and quickly clipped “That’s it, then,” said Faizal. “They’ve got the same
them together under the chest. big, bulgy eyes; they both waddle when they walk;
and they’re both really, really old! We need to name
The creature squawked and hopped. It tried to flap but her after your granny’s friend!”
found its wings fastened to its side under the coat and
harness. Cornered against the cliff by the gang of four, “What’s she called?” asked Jacob.
54 55 twinkl.com
when Phyllis pulled on the lead even more than she
“Phyllis,” said Nakeisha. had been doing already. Gabi struggled to hold on.
Beak in the air, Phyllis barrelled into one tower of
They all burst out laughing. “Phyllis the fossil,” said cardboard boxes, toppling them over and scattering a
Jacob. few bits of rubbish that had been left inside them.
“Perfect,” said Gabi. “What is she doing?” Gabi moaned. Phyllis still had
her head in the boxes, pushing things aside with her
When they reached the bottom of the steps, they beak. Finally, the answer to Gabi’s question became
knew they had to be on their guard. Jacob and Faizal clear.
went up first to see if anyone was around. Gabi
guided Phyllis with the lead. The creature hopped up “I think we’ve found what she eats,” said Nakeisha.
the first couple of steps, following Nakeisha. Faizal
headed back down part of the way to shout that the Phyllis was gulping down the stinky leftovers from
coast was clear. At the top, they gathered together behind the fish and chip shop.
again.
They let her eat for a few moments, staying crowded
Avoiding the main path through the gardens and the around her and desperately trying to keep watch.
coastal museum would take them away from where
they had bumped into Sam so, this time, they decided “We need to keep going,” Jacob said eventually.
to take a different route. The other exit from the “Someone could come out of a back door any
gardens took them past the back of the arcade and second.”
then behind a row of shops, where big metal bins
stood with empty cardboard boxes stacked beside Heading through the alleyway, there was still no sign
them. However, this was risky because anyone could of anyone around. They skirted the edge of the
come out of the back of one of the shops. harbour car park, getting closer to the road leading
out of the main village. Two more corners to
The alley at the end of the backstreet was in sight navigate… then, a voice called out from behind them.
56 57 twinkl.com
your business. We’re just walking my
dog.” Faizal’s words were sounding a
“Hey!” bit garbled.
with you earlier, though.”
“We had the dog with us,” Gabi blurted out. She was
“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen you with your dog in that coat
struggling to keep Phyllis at her feet as the lead
before,” Sam replied slowly. “You didn’t have the dog
strained and the creature wriggled impatiently.
They turned, keeping Phyllis between them all.
“But I saw all of you earlier. There was no dog…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Where did you spring
Sam mused. “Wait! What’s wrong with its paws?
from this time?” said Faizal as Sam hurried into view.
They look weird.”
“Just walking around. So, you guys are all together
“No, they don’t,” Faizal said, defensively. “It’s just my
again?” Sam replied.
dog. He’s been on the beach. Always gets things
“Yeah. Sorry, Sam. We’ve got to get back now,
though,” Nakeisha said. Sam craned his neck to one
side then the other, trying to catch a glimpse between
them. Jacob made sure that he was blocking the
view of Phyllis’ head and beak. Gabi
was shuffling into position herself, to
block her two feathered legs and
clawed feet. Faizal was shielding her
tail behind his legs, looking wary.
“What’s that you have with you?”

asked Sam, still angling his head for
a better look.
“It’s just my dog – not that it’s any of

58 59 twinkl.com
confronted Sam.
stuck to him.”
“I – I went down the beach, to the rocks in the cove,”
Phyllis was still moving and pulling. She bumped the stammered Sam. He was trying to look past Faizal but
back of Gabi’s legs. Gabi bumped into Faizal and tried the girls were a blur as they dashed out of sight. Gabi
to cover it like she was doing some kind of weird tugged Phyllis along on the lead while Nakeisha ran
dance move. behind, continuing to block Sam’s view. “Are you sure
that was your dog? Why are they running away?”
“Hang on – stop moving. Why are you all hiding the
dog? I can only see two legs. Where’s its other legs?” “I’ve told you it’s my dog. Now, what do you mean,
you ‘went to the rocks’?” Faizal persisted. Sam looked
Jacob started to sweat. Phyllis let out one of her squarely at him. Jacob shuffled uncomfortably a few
squawks. Nakeisha coughed loudly in an attempt to paces away.
cover it up.
“You guys found that rock with the fossil imprint,
“What was that noise?” asked Sam, getting more and didn’t you? I saw it. The rock had split apart.”
more animated.
Jacob’s breath caught in his throat.
Faizal whispered to Nakeisha. Then, he stepped
forward, closer to Sam, blocking his view even more. “I haven’t told anyone about it,” said Sam. “If you
“Never mind my dog. What did you mean earlier when guys found it, it’s your discovery. You should, though.
you said you ‘knew what we had seen’?” he asked. It might be important. It’s a whole skeleton. It would
be amazing for the museum – think of all the tourists
Nakeisha spotted the cue and turned to run up the who would pay to come and see it!”
hill, grabbing Gabi as she twisted. Gabi followed,
understanding the plan. Jacob hovered between It took a few moments for Jacob to piece together the
running and staying, not really sure why the girls had puzzle. By this time, Faizal had already beaten him
suddenly bolted. He took a few steps away as Faizal
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behind him, willing Phyllis to stay quiet.
to the realisation. What Sam had seen was not the
creature itself. He had just seen the fossilised imprint “Hey, Mum. Is it OK if we go back to up the den?”
in the rock.
“Yes, if your friends don’t mind the mess!” came the
“Oh, yeah,” Faizal said. “It was the rock. OK… well, reply. “The power has come back on if you want to
you’re right. Just, uh, don’t tell anyone about it just play on your games again.”
yet, all right? We’ve got to catch up with the others.”
Faizal stepped backwards a few paces as he spoke, “Thanks,” said Jacob, before closing the lounge door
keeping his eyes on Sam. He tapped Jacob’s arm and and whispering to the others, “Bring Phyllis quietly!”
nodded his head in the direction of Jacob’s house.
They turned and ran up the hill after the others. They all made their way up the stairs, Phyllis hopping
heavily onto each step. When everyone was safely
* inside the den, Jacob closed the door behind them.
When they reached the front garden, Nakeisha and “Phew! That was close. What did Sam say after we’d
Gabi were waiting. The boys arrived and Faizal left?” Gabi asked.
splashed through the puddle by the gate. Phyllis
popped her head out from behind the girls and gave “He doesn’t know about Phyllis,” Jacob replied. “He
a squawk. Tufts of fur on her head and neck stuck up, thinks we just found the impression fossil.”
making it look as if she’d just got out of bed. Her head
was being drawn in every direction as she took in the “Well, that buys us some time,” said Gabi. “I’m going
new sights and sounds around her. to have to go really soon, though. I told my stepmum
I’d be back to help with some of the weekend B&B
Jacob opened the door and ushered them all inside. jobs.”
He checked that his mum wasn’t in the hallway, then
put his head around the door to the lounge to find her “Me too,” said Faizal. “My dad will wonder where I
there, still working on her laptop. The others stayed
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am, once he’s home. Now that the power is back on,
we can all talk online.”
Chapter Seven
“Right. Let’s all meet up again in the morning and we
After all the others had left, Jacob sat on the beanbag
can decide what to do,” suggested Nakeisha.
in his den. Phyllis had hopped up onto the desk,
sending the globe toppling. They had relieved her of
“Wait. W-What? You’re all leaving? Meet in the
the coat and harness. There wasn’t much room to fly
morning?” stammered Jacob. “Where’s Phyllis gonna
in the den but it didn’t stop her stretching her wings.
stay overnight?”
“What actually are you?” Jacob whispered to the
The three of them looked back at him, as though the
creature. She blinked blankly back at him and shuffled
answer were obvious. Faizal opened out his hands to
her feet, knocking a pencil to the floor.
indicate the room they were in.
Jacob picked up one of his dinosaur guides that he’d
“Here? Overnight? No one said anything about
started leafing through earlier. Nothing in there
overnight!” cried Jacob.
matched exactly with the thing standing in front of
him. Most of the prehistoric creatures were made to
They all looked down at Phyllis, who looked back at
look quite mean in the illustrations that appeared in
them, blinking her big, round eyes. She already had
books. He knew that no one knew for certain about
some torn paper sticking out one side of her beak. On
the colours and coats of dinosaurs. Phyllis didn’t look
the floor, Jacob’s Mary Anning book was now missing
mean, though – mainly just cute and confused.
half a page. He flopped backwards onto his beanbag,
covering his eyes with his hands.
He still couldn’t believe the events of the day: the
lightning and the storm; the cracked-open rock; the
“This is going to be a long night,” he said.
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Seven
“I wonder what you’re thinking,” he mumbled.
fossil that appeared to have come alive in front of his
eyes. Now what? Where did this creature belong? Phyllis responded with a sad, gurgling noise. It wasn’t
a squawk this time; if Jacob hadn’t known better, he
He considered the thought. He couldn’t bear the idea would have sworn that he had seen Phyllis sigh.
of Phyllis being poked and prodded in a science lab
and having tests performed on her – even though it “Maybe you need a drink after your fish supper
would be interesting to find out where she had come earlier,” he muttered. Slipping out of the door, he
from. dashed to the kitchen and filled a bowl with water.
The coastal museum was full of fossil finds from the He wasn’t gone long but, when he got back, Phyllis
local area. There were huge displays showing the had moved from the desk to the bookshelves
changes in the rocks and cliffs over thousands and opposite, on top of which sat Jacob’s hamster cage.
millions of years. Jacob was sure that old Mister She was staying perfectly still with her eyes locked
Penniket would love to get his hands on the on Steg, who was running inside his wheel.
creature… but what would he do with her? She
couldn’t live in a museum. “Woah there, Phyllis!” he called softly. “Let’s not scare
Steg or Rex, shall we?”
He thought of the bearded old man and what
everyone said about him. Jacob mainly disliked that With difficulty, he picked her up and placed her on the
he took all the tourist groups trampling over the floor next to the bowl of water. She stuck her beak into
beach, taking the fossils and shells that he’d like to the bowl then shook her head, splashing water
find himself. There were also the rumours, though. If around. Then, she hopped up onto the windowsill and
he was an animal killer, then maybe he’d want to stuff tried to get onto the chest of drawers, despite there
Phyllis and put her in a glass case! being nowhere near enough room. Amid the mess
that she was making, she knocked off Jacob’s
His mind had wandered. He looked back at Phyllis, favourite spiral mollusc fossil and chipped the
still on the desk. She was looking out of the window, smooth, round edge.
staring at the sky.
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Chapter Seven
“Agh! Phyllis!” he said through gritted teeth and put
his hands to his head again.
The next few hours were spent frustratingly trying to

keep Phyllis calm and quiet. Jacob logged on to
Raider’s Peril and told the others about the water, the
hamsters and the general destruction of his den.
“It’s starting to look more ransacked in here than the

stronghold we raided earlier,” he said.
The others laughed as if that were a joke. Everyone

had some advice and suggestions on what to do. It
wasn’t the same as them being around to actually
help, though.
Jacob asked his mum if he could sleep in the den, as

he did sometimes. Meanwhile, Phyllis hopped from
desk to drawers to windowsill to shelves until Jacob
couldn’t cope any longer. He pulled the duvet cover
over his head as he sat on the sofa bed and pulled his
knees into his chest. He closed his eyes to block out
the constant pecking sound. In his mind, Jacob
started to list all the dinosaur names he could think
of, hoping that it would distract him. Maybe it would
remind him of something resembling Phyllis, too.
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landing somewhere.
Pterodactyl – had longer wings and pointy head;
Velociraptor – no beak or wings and much meaner “Um… nothing, Mum. Just getting up. I’m OK. I didn’t
looking; Anchiornis... say anything. I mean, I didn’t mean to… I’ll be down
in a minute!”
*
“Right. Well, you need to think about tidying up that
“Morning, sleepy head! Are you awake yet?” den afterwards. It’s worse than ever!”
Jacob stirred, hearing his mum’s voice. He opened Frantically, he scanned the room. He had fallen
one eye and peered out from under the duvet. He asleep and slept all night. His mum had just
saw her poking her head around the door. After he wandered in. Where was Phyllis? Surely, Mum had
chose not to respond, he felt her giving his toes a not seen her, or she would have probably screamed!
wiggle before disappearing again. If Mum hadn’t seen Phyllis – and he couldn’t see the
creature now – then where was she?
His mind felt a bit foggy. With a yawn and a stretch,
he peeled open a second groggy eyelid. In his brain, He threw the duvet off the sofa bed – no sign there.
strange events and images bounced around. The first
thought that clearly formed was that he had slept in He crawled under the desk (and found the missing
the den. That was not unusual, though the sofa bed tripod leg which had meant that his telescope had not
was not as comfortable as his actual bed and he felt a been able to stand up for weeks) – but no sign of
little ache in his back. Immediately after that thought, Phyllis there, either. His headset hung off the side of
however, came the memory of why he had slept on the chair with some foam spilling out of the inside. It
the sofa bed this particular time. definitely hadn’t looked like that the night before.
“Phyllis!” he shouted, jumping up. Mum was right. The den was definitely even messier
than usual.
“What did you say?” called his mum from out on the
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opened her big, round eyes and squawked her
He peered out of the doorway to the landing, just in familiar squawk.
case – but he told himself that there was no way that
Phyllis could have got out with the door closed. “Thanks for not eating Steg and Rex,” Jacob said to
her.
Jacob turned back to face his den. His heart was
pounding out of control. He scanned the devastation Phyllis looked at him quizzically. She blinked a couple
in his room, his forehead creasing in confusion. Then, of times. Then, she let out a loud screech which made
his eyes fell upon the large beanbag in the corner of Jacob stumble backwards in surprise.
the room. It seemed to be raised slightly higher than
usual, moulded in an odd, humped shape. “What was that?” shouted Mum from downstairs.
He stared. Jacob mustered the quickest excuse he could think

of. “Oh, just something in my game. Sorry, I had the
It was rising and falling ever so slightly in a slow, speakers turned up too loud!”
steady rhythm. Stepping across the room to it and
peering over the top, Jacob saw the reason. Covering his lie, he quickly switched on his console
and went straight to Raider’s Peril to see if anyone
Phyllis was curled up like a sleeping dog. She had was online. Gabi was there so he pulled on his
wedged herself comfortably under the beanbag headset, flicked away some loose bits of foam and
against the wall, and was still soundly snoozing away. joined her.
“I guess this felt a little bit like being squashed back in “Gabi, can you hear me OK?” he whispered urgently.
your rock,” Jacob whispered in relief. He gave the
back of her feathery neck a gentle stroke and peeled “Yeah, I can but you’re quiet. I was waiting for you to
back the beanbag from on top of her. come online. I was so excited last night, I could barely
sleep! I told my stepmum we had plans to meet again
Phyllis pulled her head out from the cosy space. She today because she wanted me to help out around the
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B&B. I don’t think she suspected anything. Anyway,

how are you? Is Phyllis OK?” she replied at speed. stairs after answering the door.
“She’s fine but she’s nearly just given herself away “Can you send them up?” Jacob answered.
with a noise so loud I’m surprised you didn’t hear it
down the street. And my den is looking more trashed “Well, it wouldn’t have hurt to come down and greet
than ever!” them,” Mum said briskly. “Go on up, kids. You know
where the den is. You’ll have to excuse his mess. You
“We need to meet!” said Gabi. know what he’s like!”
They filed upstairs and knocked on the door to the

den before entering. Inside, it was obvious what
Jacob and his mum had meant. Model dinosaurs and
bits of science experiment kits were littered around
the floor. The globe was lying on its side on the desk.
Chapter Eight A couple of torn posters were hanging limply from the
wall.
Gabi, Nakeisha and Faizal arrived together at Jacob’s
house.
Jacob had his back to them. His arms were spread out
“Jacob, your friends are here,” Mum called up the
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Eight
if she’s excited or annoyed or just wants to get out of
wide, holding his duvet like it was a big barrier. He this room. We can’t keep her here much longer,
shuffled and danced from side to side. He didn’t turn though. She’s going crazy!”
around or explain, but he was sure that they could
guess what was being contained behind the duvet. “Right,” said Nakeisha. “Faizal’s brought the dog coat
The squawking and flapping gave Phyllis away easily. and extendable lead again. Let’s get Phyllis out and
back down to the beach. We can decide what to do
“What’s going on?” asked Faizal. when we’re somewhere out of the way.”
“She keeps trying to jump or fly or whatever. I dunno “But we’ll be seen,” said Gabi. “It’s too risky.”
“I don’t think we have much choice,” Faizal observed. Not long later, the four had made it out of the house
Phyllis flapped again behind the duvet. Jacob tried to without Jacob’s mum spotting Phyllis. As a precaution,
use it to keep her in the corner. One wing caught a jar they had bundled her up in the duvet and then
full of Jacob’s favourite shells, sending them all abandoned it at the bottom of the stairs as they left.
crashing to the floor. Two landed in the bowl of water Jacob supposed that he’d get told off for that later.
but most of the water had already been splashed out.
It had formed a soggy patch on the He had grabbed his rucksack again, still partially
carpet – at least that was what Jacob hoped the wet packed from the day before. They had made it
patch was... through the village, the gardens and down the steps
to the beach without passing close enough to anyone
“Come on,” Nakeisha continued. “We’ll keep to the to be noticed and, thankfully, there was no sign of
bottom edge of the cliffs and head past the spot Sam.
where we found her. There are the little crags and
caves along there where we’ll not be seen. Plus, it’s On the beach, they came to the rock which still had
drizzly and cold again outside. There’ll be hardly the impression of Phyllis’ skeleton. To everyone’s
anyone down on the beach today.” horror, it was now encircled with brightly coloured
tape.
*
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It was a miserable Sunday morning and, until that

point, they had hardly seen another soul. Jacob took
another cautionary look through the binoculars. No
one was ahead of them, where the beach curved out of
sight around the cliff. No one was out at sea – not even
“Old Mister Penniket must have claimed it as his own group picked up their pace. Every now and then,
already!” Faizal said. Jacob put his binoculars to his eyes and cast a
glance around, like he was the official lookout.
Gabi led the way with Phyllis on the lead and the
All the way, Phyllis tried to pull towards the lapping “What?” Faizal asked.
waves of the sea. She flapped and wriggled. Luckily,
her wings were pinned down by the dog coat and “It’s Sam,” said Jacob, “and he’s walking this way
harness. At one point, she managed to poke the with old Mister Penniket. Run!”
wings free from the coat for a proper attempt. She
just about took off for a few metres before crashing They all broke into a sprint.
back to the sand. She hadn’t conquered the skill of
flying just yet, but it looked like she was learning fast. “I knew it – the traitor!” Faizal grumbled as they ran.
If anyone had seen them from a distance and been Gabi and Phyllis still led the way. Faizal, wearing his
fooled into thinking that the gang were out walking a own trainers unlike the day before, was close behind,
dog, they would have been mightily surprised to see dodging the waves lapping along the shore. Nakeisha
the ‘dog’ leave the ground for a short distance and splashed through the edge of the water each time it
suddenly appear to grow a pair of wings from under crept into their path. Jacob followed clumsily with his
its coat. rucksack bouncing up and down on his back.
the occasional boat appeared on the horizon. Then,
he looked back behind them. Ahead, a large section of cliff rock jutted out onto the
“Uh-oh,” he muttered.
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beach and sprawled into the water like a jetty. They Clouds had started to swirl in the sky and a fine rain
clambered up onto it and continued around the face of was falling. The overhanging rock and protruding
the rock formation. Each step took them further out of sides of the cave meant that they were unlikely to be
sight of Sam and Mister Penniket, and they were now seen, but there wasn’t a lot of room. At the end of the
raised up above the sand. By the time they reached a rock formation, the waves lapped at the stones. Gabi
shallow opening in the side of the rock, only just big pinned the handle of the lead under a large rock and
enough to be considered a cave, they were hidden wheezed as she tried to catch her breath.
well enough.
“Do you think he spotted us?” asked Nakeisha.
we do now?” Gabi said between breaths. All four pairs
They all sat to gather their thoughts. Each of them of eyes turned to Phyllis as they struggled to come up
perched on some wet rocks while Faizal stood and with a plan.
inspected his sand-splashed footwear.
“She keeps trying to pull towards the sea, you know,”
“I think we were out of sight before they had a chance Nakeisha observed. Phyllis craned her neck out in the
to notice us,” said Jacob. “We were far enough away. direction of the water, as if to reinforce the point. Not
I only saw them because I had the binoculars. We for the first time, Jacob thought she looked like her
should be OK now.” beak was in the air to catch a scent.
“I can’t believe he was with that evil old man,” said
Nakeisha. “Maybe she wants to swim,” suggested Faizal.
“I can,” sneered Faizal. “I told you – they’re both as “Maybe she wants to fly away somewhere,” added
weird as each other.” Nakeisha.
“I wonder where they were going,” Jacob thought out “I don’t want her to go,” Gabi chipped in gloomily.
loud. Then, there was a silence.
“Probably back to Phyllis’ rock. But what exactly do
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the open water. Her usual squawking was reduced to
Jacob considered their options. There was no way more of a whining noise.
they could keep Phyllis – not after the events of the
night before. There was no way they could keep her “I think she wants to be free,” said Jacob quietly. The
a secret, either. What does Phyllis want to do? he others looked at him and looked at Phyllis. They knew
thought. He looked at her, wishing that she could it, too. Gabi nodded slowly, a look of acceptance on
somehow share her thoughts. her face.
Phyllis was staring out at the sea. She raised her “If we could let her go somewhere away from here, at
beak again, definitely appearing to catch a scent from least she’d be far from the fossil hunters, the
museum, the tourists...” Jacob went on. cliffs adjoining them were too high to climb and the
strip of beach that they had used to climb up from
“Away from here would be great,” agreed Nakeisha, had vanished under churning waves. Everything on
standing up and peering round the headland to the their rock was getting wetter, more slippery and more
beach, “but I think we have a bigger problem.” She dangerous.
nodded in the direction of the rocks they had come
over. Gabi paced as far as she could across the small
The others rushed to her side to look. Jacob felt a patch of rock that they were left with. “This is not
cold shiver run from his head to his toes. good at all.” She spun round to look at the others.
The end of the rock jetty was now covered by lapping “The tide’s coming in. What are we going to do?”
waves and, beyond it, the sea water was becoming asked Jacob. “We’re trapped!”
deep and choppy. To either side of their cave, the
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Chapter Nine
Jacob felt panic rising inside him. He tried to squash
it down and quietly practised spelling dinosaur names
to stay calm.
At low tide, the jagged cliff rocks either side of them

were passable. Now, the water had crawled onto the
beach and risen up them. There was no way out with
the tide already in this far. At high tide, the large
formation on which they stood might disappear under
water completely.
Faizal was pacing around in the small area of rock in

front of the cave. He was clearly starting to become
anxious. “Help!” he shouted out, then again in the
opposite direction. “Help! Anyone! Can anyone help
us?”
Jacob recited the letters even louder in his head to

drown him out but nothing was really working. He
was not feeling at all calm.
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Nine
which shielded them from view of the main beach.
Nakeisha looked up at the towering cliff face. The She was almost waist deep and couldn’t see where
steep overhanging rocks made any upwards route she was putting her feet. Halfway through spelling
impossible. She jumped as high as she could reach, ‘Tyrannosaurus’, Jacob saw her being pushed by the
grabbing at the rock, but it was pointless. There was waves.
nothing she could grip and no way up.
He stopped mid-word and shouted her back.
Phyllis watched them all with keen interest.
He was too late. Gabi’s feet slipped out from under
Gabi was clambering around the side of the headland her and she seemed to fall in slow motion, toppling
like a tower of building bricks. She’s right, you need to be more careful. We’ll find a
way out of this.”
As though his brain had gone into autopilot,
everything happened before he had time to think Suddenly, Jacob felt his brain switch back out of
about controlling his actions. Jacob dashed across autopilot and the panic returned. The sea was closing
the rocks and into the water until he, too, was almost in on them. The exertion of having to help Gabi had
up to his waist. He grabbed Gabi, who was clutching already sent his head spinning. Faizal was still
the side of the cliff and struggling to get back to her shouting, Phyllis was squawking, the ocean was
feet. He guided her crashing against the rocks and all the noise seemed
up the craggy rocks to the platform, where Nakeisha to echo around Jacob’s brain.
grabbed her hand and helped to sit her down.
He sat down in the sheltered cave opening and
“What happened?” Jacob asked Gabi. covered his ears, trying to block out the noise. Even
when Nakeisha left Gabi’s side to quieten Faizal,
“I just lost my footing,” Gabi muttered in reply. She put Jacob’s head throbbed with fear. He lowered his chin
her hand to her head. “Everything went a bit blurry.” to his chest and kept his hands over his ears.
Everything was going on around him in a blur and it
“You’ve done too much, Gabs,” said Nakeisha. “You was hard to take
know what your stepmum says about overdoing it.
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allow. She watched seagulls fly overhead. She
it all in. He felt like curling up into a ball and hoping wiggled and waddled and stamped her two clawed
that it was all over and that he was back safe in his feet.
den. He didn’t care any more if his mum was angry at
him for the mess or for leaving the duvet in the hall. Meanwhile, Nakeisha grabbed Faizal by both arms.
He just wanted to pull that soft, warm bed cover over “Listen,” she said to him. “I have an idea but I need
his head and make everything quiet. your help!”
Phyllis was anchored to the rocks by the lead. She Faizal looked around at them all. Gabi was propped
hopped from place to place as far as the reins would up against the rocks, exhausted. Jacob sat huddled
just inside the cave with his knees pulled up to his able to either.”
chest. Faizal looked at Nakeisha.
Under all the noise, Jacob heard her but didn’t say
“What if one of us wades out into the sea, with Phyllis anything.
attached to the lead?” she continued. “She’s already
trying to fly. If we can get her that bit further out and “Then, it’s you or me,” Faizal said to Nakeisha.
she starts flying up into the air, there’s a chance that
she’ll be seen from the main beach. It could attract “But I can’t swim,” said Nakeisha.
someone’s attention to help us.”
“No way, Keisha,” Gabi coughed. She tried to sit up. Faizal gaped at her in surprise. She had never told
“That’s like using her as bait. If someone sees her, them this before.
they’ll take her away, not set her free.”
“I’m so scared I'll drown. I just don’t think I can go out
“I think Keisha’s right, Gabi,” said Faizal. “It could be there,” she continued.
our only chance. If this tide comes in much further,
we’ll all be in the sea.” Faizal looked out at the approaching waves. He
glanced down at his not-so-pristine-looking trainers.
“There’s no way Gabi should risk it again, though,”
said Nakeisha, “and I don’t think Jacob is going to be
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Phyllis And The Fossil Finders Chapter Nine
picturing his fossils on the shelf of the den and
Finally, he cast his eyes from Gabi to Jacob and back counting them. He watched as Nakeisha handed
to Nakeisha. Faizal the lead and removed Alfie’s coat from Phyllis.
Phyllis flapped her wings and seemed excited to be
“OK,” he said. “Let’s untie the lead from the rock. I’ll allowed the chance to move.
give it a try.” Gabi propped herself up on her elbows and watched
through bleary eyes. Faizal and Nakeisha scrambled
Blinking away the fuzziness and understanding what gradually around the rocks towards the beach, with
Faizal was agreeing to do, Jacob began to unfurl Phyllis on the end of the lead. At first, she hopped
himself. He tried to keep his breathing steady, across the wet cliffside behind them. Then, she
flapped into the water and bobbed around as they
made their way further around the edge. Without
warning, she surged into the air and Faizal struggled
to stay attached to the land as the waves crashed
against him, threatening to knock him off balance. He
clicked a button to allow the lead to extend as Phyllis
pulled further away from him.
twinkl.com
She flapped up into the air again and landed back on The waves jostled Faizal around on the rocks. He
the surface of the water, repeating her effort again clung to the handle of the lead with both hands as it
and again. Her squawking could be heard over the rose up into the sky with their living fossil on the end
crashing waves. Finally, she stayed airborne for a few of it, and Nakeisha held the back of Faizal’s jacket
more seconds. It was her best bit of flying so far! with one hand as she clung to the cliffside. As he
wrestled with the lead, extended to its full length, he
shouted again and dared to quickly wave one arm.
shipwrecked or survived some kind of brutal storm –
“Help! Help us!” His shouts were caught in the waves. only they hadn’t survived yet. They were still stranded.
Phyllis plummeted back to the surface and looked as The water level was now even higher on the rocks at
exhausted as Gabi. either side and the sea was making its way towards
them along the rough jetty.
“Faiz!” Nakeisha screamed as a wave washed over
Faizal, covering his head. Quickly, he popped back up Maybe they were not going to get out of this at all.
through the surface of the water and desperately Jacob felt hot tears creeping into his eyes.
began to scramble back onto the land. His usually
neatly combed hair was now flattened across his Suddenly, there was a shout from above.
brow.
“Who’s down there? Faizal? Jacob? Is that you guys?
Eventually, with Nakeisha’s help, he made it and Are you OK?”
collapsed onto the shrinking patch of uncovered rock
that they had left. Phyllis squawked and flapped in The voice was Sam’s. It was coming from somewhere
protest as he pulled her to shore; Gabi grabbed hold above them, out of sight.
of her and stroked her head gently, hushing her and
giving her a comforting cuddle. “We’re stranded here. We need help!” shouted
Nakeisha in reply.
Jacob looked around. Between the four of them (or
five, including Phyllis), they looked like they’d been “No, don’t answer him,” warned Faizal, gasping. “It’s
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Sam and he was with Mister Penniket, remember?” “Who’s there with you?” Sam shouted down. They
couldn’t see him and perhaps he couldn’t see them.
“Don’t be an idiot!” Gabi snapped. “It doesn’t matter “What was that thing you had hold of, Faizal? We saw
who it is. We need rescuing now. We need the help you in the water. Was it a bird?”
of whoever is there to help – Sam, Mister Penniket or
whoever! They must be on the headland at the top of They looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.
the cliff.”
There was no immediate reply.
“It’s a long story, Sam,” Jacob shouted back. He felt
like his autopilot brain was taking over again but this “Sam?” Jacob shouted again. He wondered whether
time, he made the choice to let it continue. “There are or not he had been heard. Was Sam still there?
four of us down here. Keisha and Gabi are here, too.
We really need some help. The thing you saw is… “Yeah, we can help!” came a reply. “We can come
well, it’s like a fossil… but it’s come back to life. She’s down the steps further around the coast. They lead
called Phyllis. We need to release her, but we’re straight to the water but my uncle has a boat there.
stuck. Can you help?” We’ll be as quick as we can!”
Faizal, Nakeisha and Gabi looked at Jacob. He hoped Jacob looked at the others again. He wondered if they
that they weren’t angry. He couldn’t always be sure of were thinking the same things as him. A boat? His
people’s expressions. He hoped that he had done the uncle? Well, at least help was on its way – but what
right thing. did it mean for Phyllis?
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wearing
Chapter Ten
a scruffy, green cap. There was no doubt that it was

Mister Penniket.
Chapter Ten Faizal stepped in front of Phyllis protectively, as the

boat slowed a little way out from the shore.
“Perhaps we should just let her go now, before they
reach us,” suggested Faizal. “We can’t come any closer because of the rocks,”
Sam shouted to them. “Can you wade into the water
Gabi was quickest to respond. “No! We can’t! She and we’ll throw some life jackets and a rope for you
can’t fly properly. Even if she survived the tide coming to hold on to?”
in, then what? She’d be found by someone else. We
need to get her somewhere further away – Jacob glanced at Faizal, who was standing with his
somewhere safe.” feet planted firmly on the ground and his arms
crossed like a bodyguard. Nakeisha, who had just
Phyllis cocked her head and looked at them. She admitted her fear of the sea, seemed to wobble with a
stretched and lifted up her wings in what looked like a new wave of panic. Jacob looked across at Gabi,
shrug. fearing the worst. Instead, he saw a fresh look of
determination in her eyes.
“We might not have any choice, Gabs,” said
Nakeisha. As she spoke, she nodded out towards the “I’m ready,” Gabi announced. “Keisha, you need to be
sea. The others followed her gaze. They watched the brave. And Faiz, you need to be more trusting and
swell of the water and, before long, a boat loomed less stubborn. Jacob, you’re the one we look up to.
into view. Almost immediately, it was within shouting You always know the right thing to do. We’re
distance of them, having come from just along the following your lead. Whatever else is going to
coast. happen, we need to get on that boat, we need to take
Phyllis and we need to stick together.”
At the front of the boat, Jacob could clearly see Sam.
Next to the boy was a man with a bushy beard
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Ten
Mister Penniket had not said a word yet – or taken
They look up to me? Jacob heard those words above his eyes off Phyllis. As the group got closer, he
all others repeating in his head. He wasn’t prepared to heaved a thick coil of rope into the air. It unfurled and
let his friends down. landed on the surface, a few metres ahead of them.
When Jacob was close enough, he grasped the rope
Gabi’s rallying call had the desired effect. Jacob stood with his free hand and instructed Nakeisha to kick
up taller, pulled on his rucksack, grabbed Phyllis’ lead while they pulled themselves along the rope to the
and stepped along the rocks into the water. He tied side of the boat.
the end of the lead around his waist, then reached his
arm out behind him and beckoned for Nakeisha to join Jacob helped the others up and over the edge, one at
him. Everyone’s feet were already paddling; the sea a time. Miraculously, Phyllis got the idea and
had covered their patch of rock. The boulders to either propelled herself out of the water and onto the boat,
side were just peaks, everything else under water. too. Sam and Faizal leaned over and helped to yank
Jacob up last of all. Mister Penniket told them to lift
“Grab hold of each other,” he instructed. “I’ll lead. the seats and put on the bright orange life jackets
Keisha, hold my arm. I won’t let go of you.” that were stored there. He passed them a blanket
each, which they wrapped around themselves as
Gabi shot him a smile. “Faizal, go next. Hold on to they sat down. No one had yet said anything about
Nakeisha and I’m holding on behind you. We can do the flapping creature that was attached to the lead.
this!”
Sam broke the silence. “Are you all OK? What is that
Under Jacob and Gabi’s instructions, they filed into creature, then?”
line and began to wade further into the sea, feeling
their way cautiously with every step below the water. They each chipped in with details as they recounted
Phyllis flapped wildly on her lead at the front. She the tale – from finding Phyllis as a fossil to seeing her
bobbed on the surface, took off for a second or two come back to life before their eyes and everything that
every now and then, and splashed down again. had happened leading up to this point.
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Penniket is your uncle?”
Through it all, Mister Penniket stood and listened as
the boat bobbed from side to side. Occasionally, he “Yeah,” said Sam. “I’ve lived with Uncle Alan since I
shook his head. Numerous times, his tiny eyes was little. I never really knew my mum or dad.”
widened and seemed to pop out from underneath his
bushy eyebrows. At one point, he took off his cap “So, that’s why you’re always around the museum
and scratched his head. Phyllis hopped from the seat and the fossil tours,” Faizal said, as though his brain
to the floor to the side of the boat, looking at everyone were struggling to keep up properly with what he was
in turn. hearing.
“So, you see, Sam,” Jacob finished off, “we just don’t Phyllis seemed to sense that a decision was about to
want to see Phyllis end up in the museum or get be made and let out a squawk. She wore her cutest
poked and prodded by scientists or archaeologists. expression and looked – as they all did – to Mister
She’s real and she’s alive and we just want to set her Penniket. Gabi gave her a reassuring stroke.
free somewhere safe.”
“Well, well, well.” His deep voice rumbled as he
Faizal chipped in. “Yeah, but obviously you’ve brought rubbed his beard.
him from the museum for some reason,” he said
angrily, motioning towards Mister Penniket, “so I Gabi bowed her head and looked prepared for the
guess that’s not going to happen now, is it?” worst.
Sam looked at the man. “What do you think we should “You kids have found yourselves something pretty
do, Uncle Alan?” special, by the looks of it. She’s quite a beauty. I’ve
never seen anything like it before. Sam showed me
It took a moment to register with Jacob, then seemed the rock with the fossilised impression but I certainly
to dawn one by one on the faces of them all. wasn’t expecting this.”
“‘Uncle Alan’?” Nakeisha said. “You mean, Mister

100 101 twinkl.com
with the skeletal impression... I’ve never seen
“Please, sir,” Nakeisha pleaded, “don’t put her in the anything like that in all my years of fossil-hunting.
museum.” Now, that will be a major catch for the museum. It’ll
bring more people to our door – goodness knows we
“Save your breath,” Faizal said to her. could use the attention. Maybe then, poor old Sam
here won’t have to stick around helping me so often.”
“The museum?” asked Mister Penniket. “A museum is
not a place for living creatures. I think you kids are There was a brief moment of quiet while everyone
absolutely right. I think she needs to be free.” thought about the man’s words. Jacob thought that
he saw Faizal and Gabi glance at one another.
“What? Really?” Gabi’s eyes lit up.
“In that case,” he asked, “what shall we do with her?”
“Of course,” he replied. “I don’t know how this thing
here has come to be, but that’s not my business. I Mister Penniket rubbed his chin. “It seems to me that
deal with fossils. I say let living creatures stay living in this little lady keeps looking out towards the sea.
the present – even if this thing has come on a Maybe that’s the direction she fancies.”
first-class ticket straight from the past.”
The friends leapt out of their dripping wet seats,

cheering and hugging each other. Phyllis joined in
with the excitement with some hopping and
squawking of her own.
The activity made the boat rock wildly. Jacob quickly

dropped to his seat and clung on to it so as not to fall
overboard.
“As for that exquisite bit of rock along the beach, there,
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders behind them in the distance as the boat powered
through the waves. Phyllis seemed to become more
“She does keep doing that,” Jacob added. “It’s like and more animated as they travelled. Eventually,
she’s catching a scent or sniffing for something.” Jacob held onto her while Faizal and Sam worked
together to fasten the lead to one of the seats.
“Maybe she can sense freedom,” Gabi smiled.
When Jacob let go of Phyllis, she used the full
Sam’s uncle tugged on the peak of his cap and then extension of the remaining lead to flap her way up to
took to the wheel of the boat. “No time to waste, then, the front of the boat. She hopped around and flew in
if we’re going on a mercy mission and then getting short bursts. Each time, she landed back down on
you kids all back onto dry land. Keep those blankets the front of the boat, prevented from going further by
wrapped around you and hold on tight.” the dog lead but apparently approving of the
direction.
“But where can we set her free?” Sam asked his
“Where are we going?” asked Faizal.
uncle. Mister Penniket smiled. “I know just the place.”
“There are some islands out there,” replied Mister
Penniket over the hum of the boat’s engine. “A couple
of them have no inhabitants. Just greenery and
nature.”
It was not long before an island came into view. It

Chapter Eleven
The rocky coastline became smaller and smaller
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Eleven
green peak in the middle. There was no beach or
was like a small mountain rising from the sea to a much of a shore. It just seemed to be edged with
rocks and covered in plantlife.
agreement. The man took off Phyllis’ harness and
The boat began to slow as they got closer. Phyllis was placed her on the side of the boat. She shook all her
so excitable, it was like she was trying to pull the boat feathers and stretched her wings. Just as she was
closer to the island. about to leap, she looked behind. Looking at the
group, she gave one last blink of her big, bulging
“I think she’s found her destination,” said Sam’s uncle. eyes and launched herself into the air.
“I guess we have to say goodbye, then,” Jacob said Up she went, then sideways a bit, then – splash –
sadly. down onto the water. Straight away, she was up and
airborne again, like a pebble that had been skimmed
Gabi gently put her arms around Phyllis, whispering to along the surface.
her. Faizal and Nakeisha followed, giving the creature
a ruffle of her feathers and a stroke at the back of her Jacob took out the damp pair of binoculars from his
neck. sodden rucksack. He watched Phyllis reach the rocky
edge of the island and passed the binoculars to Gabi.
Jacob was last. “I’m gonna miss you, Phyllis – even if
you did trash my den! I hope you’ll be safe and happy, “She’s made it,” Gabi announced. The group cheered
though. We’ve been really lucky to meet you and we’ll again, but with mixed emotions now. A cloud of
definitely never forget you.” sadness hung over them at the thought of not seeing
their new friend again.
They stepped back together and put their arms – and
blankets – around each other. Faizal took the next turn with binoculars. “Flippin’
“Ready?” asked Sam’s uncle, as he held onto Phyllis heck!” he yelled. “Am I seeing things or what?” He
and gave her a final inspection.
Through a snivel and a tear, they all nodded their
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Chapter Eleven
passed them to Nakeisha as the others

squinted into
the distance and wondered what he thought he’d seen.
“O.M.G.,” Nakeisha gasped. “There’s two of them!

Phyllis has a mate!”
Everyone took a turn looking through the binoculars,

including Sam and his uncle.
“I don’t believe it,” said the man as he passed them

back to Jacob.
Sam’s uncle took off his cap again and scratched once
“Maybe that’s why she was so excited about this more at the top of his head.
direction!” said Gabi, breathlessly.
“In all my days…” he began, but tailed off, shaking
“Maybe that’s what she was sniffing out all this time,” his head instead. “I think we’d better get you lot back
suggested Jacob. home before you catch your death.” He pulled the
peak of his cap back down over his forehead and
“Maybe they’ll live happily ever after!” Nakeisha gushed. turned back to the wheel of the boat.
“Just when we thought these couple of days could not *

get any crazier,” said Faizal with a chuckle. Through
the lenses of the binoculars, Jacob watched Phyllis Before the friendly sight of the mainland came back
rub her neck against the mate that she had found. It into view, the adventurers sat in the back of the boat,
had the same feathery neck and the same bulgy huddled together to keep warm.
eyes. Both of them padded their clawed feet up and
down and wiggled their bodies from side to side. “Thanks for your help, Sam,” said Jacob.
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Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Eleven
“Yeah, thanks… and sorry for being hard work “S’alright,” said Sam.
earlier,” added Faizal.
own.”
“I gotta ask, though,” Faizal went on, lowering his
voice a little. “Does your uncle actually kill animals Faizal looked at the others for any sign of objection.
and keep them in your flat? Does he wear the skins None came.
after he’s killed them?”
“We’re all on there, too, and we’ve found the fire
Sam laughed. “No, of course not. That’s just a stupid opal,” he announced proudly to Sam. “Do you want to
rumour. He does create the museum exhibits. They join our guild?”
might look like dead animals but they’re just models –
and I’ve never seen him hurt a living thing in all my “Definitely!” beamed Sam.
life. The only animal skin is the one that’s hanging on
the wall in the museum.” “Welcome aboard, then.” Gabi patted him on the
back. “You can join our adventures online as well as
“So, that’s why you hang around the tours, then? in real life. We still need a new guild name, though.”
‘Cause it’s your uncle as the guide?” Faizal pressed.
“What d’you think, Jacob? How about we call it ‘Fossil
“Well, yeah, and there’s not much else to do when Finders Five’?” suggested Faizal.
you don’t have any friends. I always wondered what
you guys were doing. You always look like you’re Jacob’s eyes lit up. “Fossil Finders Five!” he repeated
having an adventure. I didn’t mean to poke my nose in agreement. “And when we’ve finished building our
in.” It was as though he had read Faizal’s thoughts. own stronghold, it can be ‘The Fort of Phyllis’.”
“You ever played Raider’s Peril online?” Faizal asked. They all laughed as the familiar cliffs of the Jurassic
“Yeah, I love it!” Sam replied. “I just can’t seem to find Coast welcomed them back towards home.
any fire opal weapons and it’s hard raiding on your
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Greeting
s
From
the
Jurassi
c
Coast We’ve created a wide range of materials
to support teaching on this book.
Visit twinkl.com/originals
"Is it real?" asked Gabi.
"I ve never seen anything like it,"

said Nakeisha.
"Am I going crazy or is that

thing moving?" asked Faizal.
"It s moving," Jacob

confirmed, mesmerised.
The Jurassic Coast is famous for its fossils
of prehistoric creatures and, when Jacob
and his friends aren’t playing their
favourite online game, they love to
explore the cliffs and beaches
surrounding their village.
One day, though, the four friends stumble
upon something the likes of which the
village – and the world – has never seen
before. Can they keep their discovery a
secret long enough to find it a safe home?
Follow Jacob, Gabi, Nakeisha and Faizal
as they learn an important lesson about
trust and friendship, and make an unusual
new friend along the way.
We provide educators around the world with entire

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Greeting

Copyright © Twinkl Ltd. 2020

Twinkl is a registered trademark of Twinkl Ltd. Twinkl Educational Publishing

Chapter 8 75 Chapter 9 85 Chapter 10 96 Chapter

“Yeah, I’m with you on the first one of those, Jay.

“D’you think this rain is ever going to stop?” Nakeisha

Outside Jacob’s window, water ran down the seaside

“Doesn’t seem like it! Feels like it’s been chucking it

“OK, Mister Weatherman, we get it.” Faizal’s voice

Jacob’s thumb was poised over the joystick on his He blinked.

responded. “What, from three doors away?” she quipped with a

He counted to ten, to be sure that the sound had

“I swear that this is true,” she began.

Faizal groaned and played with the spinning globe on

“Honestly, guys,” Gabi continued. “We were just in the

With everyone decked out in coats and hats, they

to tell them all about the conversation she and her

“It’s not just glowing. Listen,” said Nakeisha. “Can you

Jacob stared at the source of the strange light. He

“Take it easy, Gabs,” warned Nakeisha.

“Hey – anyone noticing a burning smell?” Faizal

“Yeah – smells like when my mum burns the toast,”

“Looks a bit slippy,” Faizal observed. “I might just 18

Phyllis and the Fossil Finders Chapter Two

“Tap on the other side of the rock,” he told Faizal,

Faizal pulled his sleeves over his hands to cover

What appeared before them right now, though, was

other half was the full skeleton of some kind of ancient

For a moment, Jacob, Nakeisha and Gabi stood and

“What. Is. That?” he gasped, peering over the

The skull atop the skeleton was about the size of a

“Is it real?” asked Gabi.

A few thick, short neck bones connected the

“I dunno about walking. Seems like it can barely stand

Faizal was right. The creature shifted its weight

After a little shuffling, it plonked itself down on the

“How can we get her to follow us, though?” asked

Chapter Four “Millions, more likely,” Jacob corrected her.

only to miss out on capturing the elusive prey.

“What now?” asked Nakeisha. “We’ll get spotted if we go much further.”

“Mister Penniket is bound to be out somewhere,” added Gabi.

Jacob smiled. “I think I have another idea.” 41 twinkl.com

The girls stayed where they were with the creature.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool that we found it,” Faizal agreed

“Found what?” came an unexpected voice.

“S-S-Sam!” Jacob gasped. Neither of them had

“Safe from what?” asked Jacob.

“I wish we could use my place, too, but there are

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Your house, Jacob!” said Faizal, rolling his eyes.

“But I saw all of you earlier. There was no dog…”

“What’s that you have with you?”

“It’s just my dog – not that it’s any of

The next few hours were spent frustratingly trying to

“It’s starting to look more ransacked in here than the

The others laughed as if that were a joke. Everyone

Jacob asked his mum if he could sleep in the den, as

He stared. Jacob mustered the quickest excuse he could think

B&B. I don’t think she suspected anything. Anyway,

They filed upstairs and knocked on the door to the