Lulu Bell and the Christmas Elf Read online

  About the Book

  Meet Lulu Bell. Where there’s Lulu, there’s family, friends, animals and adventures galore!

  The Bell family are preparing for the best Christmas ever. There are presents to wrap, yummy food to cook and costumes to sew.

  But Lulu’s friends Olivia and Jo are too sad to sing in the school concert because their little cat Bonnie is missing. Can Lulu cheer them up and help find Bonnie before Christmas Eve? Maybe a special letter to Santa will help.

  Look for Lulu’s bonus Christmas craft activities and recipes at the end of the book

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  The Tree

  Chapter 2

  Preparations

  Chapter 3

  A Plan

  Chapter 4

  Where Are The Twins?

  Chapter 5

  The Christmas Spectacular

  Chapter 6

  The Phone Call

  Chapter 7

  Treatment

  Chapter 8

  Bonnie Goes Home

  Chapter 9

  Beach Party

  Chapter 10

  Christmas Eve

  Lulu’s Christmas Craft

  Lulu’s Favourite Recipes

  Read all the Lulu Bell books

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Copyright Notice

  Loved the book?

  For Olivia and Jo, Amy and Roy, Lindy and Brett in memory of a very special Australian Christmas

  Chapter 1

  The Tree

  It was Saturday morning, a few days before Christmas. The Bell family was putting up the Christmas tree in the lounge room. Lulu Bell felt her tummy fizz with excitement. Today was going to be a very big day. There was so much to do!

  Mum huffed as she and Dad hauled the tall pine tree upright. Mum stood back to check if it was straight. The top branch curled against the ceiling. The air was filled with the scent of pine resin from the tree and mangoes in the bowl on the table. It was the smell of Christmas.

  ‘A little to the left,’ said Mum, waving her hand.

  Dad corrected the angle.

  ‘Perfect,’ Mum said.

  Lulu and her little sister Rosie opened a cardboard box that was sitting on the floor. It was like a treasure chest filled with sparkling baubles. There were glass balls, silver stars, wooden animals, home-made paper chains and coloured lights.

  ‘Who wants to put the first decoration on the tree?’ asked Dad.

  ‘Me, me, me,’ shrieked Lulu, Rosie and their little brother Gus.

  Mum smiled and covered her ears. ‘Why don’t we each choose one? Then we can all hang a decoration at the same time.’

  Lulu peered into the box. Gus chose a tiny baby Jesus asleep in a nutshell. Rosie selected a gold heart. Lulu hesitated. Which ornament should she choose? Perched on top of the pile was a silver rocking horse.

  Lulu held it up. ‘Ready?’ she asked. Together they each hung a decoration on the tree. Then another and another. Soon the tree glowed and twinkled with a rainbow of colours and lights.

  Pepper, the ginger cat, was fascinated. She sat back on her hind legs. With her front paw she batted a sparkly gold ball hanging from one of the lower branches. The ball flew through the air and rolled across the floor.

  ‘Oh, no you don’t, Pepper,’ scolded Lulu. She scooped Pepper up and carried her from the room. ‘I know you. You’ll be up to all sorts of mischief if I let you stay in there.’

  Pepper purred and rubbed her head against Lulu’s chin. Lulu purred back and cuddled her. She put Pepper down on the kitchen floor and closed the door.

  Rosie was crawling under the couch to rescue the ball.

  ‘I think we should put the best ornaments up high,’ suggested Mum. ‘I don’t want the cats smashing any of them.’

  Dad hung the gold ball safely near the top.

  At last there was just one special ornament left in the bottom of the box. It was a white-and-gold angel on a scarlet ribbon. The three children gathered around expectantly.

  ‘This year I think it’s Rosie’s turn,’ said Mum. ‘Come on, honey bun.’

  Rosie picked the angel out of the box with gentle hands. Her face shone with excitement. Dad lifted her high, high into the air. Rosie looked like she was flying. She stretched up and popped the angel on top of the tree. Dad helped Rosie to loop the ribbon securely to a branch.

  ‘There,’ said Mum. ‘It’s finished.’

  Lulu examined the tree. She smiled with satisfaction.

  ‘The tree looks amazing,’ said Lulu. ‘I can’t wait for Christmas.’

  ‘Do you think Santa will bring us lots of presents?’ asked Rosie.

  ‘Want presents now,’ said Gus. He looked up at his big sisters hopefully. ‘Want Santa come now.’

  Lulu put her hand on her hip. ‘Santa doesn’t come for another week, Gus. First we have the Christmas concert and we finish school. Then there’s the Christmas Eve party and then Santa comes.’

  ‘We haven’t even written our letters to Santa yet,’ said Rosie. ‘I can’t make up my mind what to ask for. A ballerina doll? Or maybe a tutu?’

  ‘A piggy,’ said Gus.

  Mum threw her arms up in the air. She kissed Gus on top of his head.

  ‘Definitely no pigs,’ said Mum. ‘Let’s get a wriggle on. We have lots to do today. First we’ll bake shortbread for the teachers.’ She ticked the list off on her fingers. ‘Then make Christmas decorations and props for the school concert on Monday. And we have to finish making the costumes.’

  ‘Lucky we have lots of helpers coming over for the working bee,’ said Lulu.

  Dad looked at everyone in horror. He didn’t enjoy craft as much as the rest of the family. ‘I’d love to help but I think it’s time I went to work.’

  He hurried off next door. Lulu’s dad was a vet. The family lived in a rambling old house right behind the Shelly Beach Vet Hospital. Saturday mornings were always busy with lots of animal patients to see.

  Usually Lulu loved to help there. But not today. This Saturday morning Lulu was very excited about helping Mum instead.

  Mum picked up the empty cardboard box. She tucked it under her arm. ‘Let’s get cracking, honey buns.’

  Chapter 2

  Preparations

  Soon the kitchen was filled with delicious smells. The spicy scent of nutmeg and cinnamon from the apple sauce. The buttery sweetness of choc-chunk shortbread baking.

  Rosie and Gus were cutting out more dough with star-shaped biscuit cutters. Jessie, the smiley dog, sniffed around the floor searching for crumbs.

  Lulu juiced a pile of lemons. She poured the juice into a saucepan with butter and sugar.

  Mum stirred the mixture on the stovetop until it was hot and thick. Then she poured the syrupy lemon butter into several clean jars. The golden liquid glowed and steamed in the sunlight.

  ‘Nearly done,’ said Mum.

  ‘I can’t wait to give our present to Miss Martin,’ said Rosie. ‘She will love it.’

  Miss Martin was Rosie’s year one teacher. For Christmas they would give each of their teachers a thank-you present of home-made goodies. There would be jars of apple sauce and lemon butter, plus home-made jam and choc-chunk shortbread.

  ‘So will Miss Baxter,’ said Lulu. ‘She deserves a delicious present. She has been the best teacher.’

  ‘I don’t want a new teacher next year,’ said Rosie. Her voice wobbled. ‘I wish I could have Miss Martin forever and ever.’

  Mum smoothed Rosie’s hair back from her forehead. ‘You�
��ll have a lovely new teacher next year, honey bun,’ said Mum. ‘Won’t she, Lulu?’

  Lulu nodded. ‘All the teachers are nice, Rosie. You’ll see.’

  Rosie stuck out her lip and shook her head.

  When the cooking was finished, Mum cleaned up.

  Lulu and Rosie sat at the kitchen table making Christmas star bunting. They cut out stars from brown cardboard recycled from old boxes. Then the girls painted each star with a wash of purple watercolour.

  Gus was sitting on the floor and sticking glitter on his star. There seemed to be more glitter on the floor than on the cardboard. Jessie tried to lick it up. She ended up with a sparkly blue muzzle.

  Lulu used the hole puncher to cut holes in the stars. Then she strung the stars on a long piece of string.

  ‘Look, Mum,’ said Lulu. ‘What do you think?’

  Lulu and Rosie held up one end of the string each. The stars fluttered in the breeze from the open door.

  ‘Good work, honey buns,’ said Mum. ‘That will look gorgeous on the tree for the concert.’

  At ten o’clock, Lulu’s best friend Molly came over to help. She arrived with her brother Sam and mother Tien. Molly’s mum was good at sewing and often helped to make costumes for the school.

  Mum and Tien started cutting up old white sheets. They were making angel dresses for all the kids in Rosie’s class.

  Rosie was the model. She wore a halo of gold tinsel on her hair and gold tinsel around her waist. Lulu and Molly made more tinsel haloes and belts.

  Sam and Gus practised forward rolls in the kitchen. As usual, Gus was wearing his favourite superhero outfit.

  ‘I wonder where Roy is?’ asked Mum. ‘He said he’d come over early to help with the props. He’s usually so punctual.’

  Roy was the father of Lulu’s friends Olivia and Josephine. They were twins in Lulu’s class. Olivia was the oldest by just a few minutes. She was a beautiful singer, while Jo was a talented piano player. They would be performing a duet together at the Christmas concert.

  ‘Perhaps something came up,’ suggested Tien. ‘Everyone is busy at the end of the year. He should be here soon.’

  Tien and Mum finished the angel dresses and started on the elf costumes for Lulu’s class. Mum cut out the green material while Tien stitched pieces together on the sewing machine.

  ‘Come and try this on for me please, honey bun,’ said Mum. ‘I want to see how it looks.’

  Lulu changed into her elf costume. She wore a red-and-white striped t-shirt with stripy tights. Over the top she wore a green tunic. On her feet were green curly-toed slippers with golden bells.

  Mum popped a red elf hat on her head. ‘Perfect,’ she said.

  Gus looked at Lulu in her costume. He pulled a silly face. ‘Lulu funny. Lulu Christmas elf.’

  Lulu laughed. ‘Not as funny as you, Gus.’

  Rosie skipped across the kitchen. Her halo slipped over one ear.

  ‘I can’t wait for the school concert,’ said Rosie. ‘It will be so much fun.’

  The two dogs were lying on their beds in the corner. Suddenly Asha woofed and ran to the door. She wagged her tail and sniffed. A moment later someone knocked.

  ‘That must be Roy and the girls,’ said Mum.

  Lulu ran to open the door. The bells on her slippers jingled and tinkled.

  It was Olivia and Jo with their dad. Although the girls were twins, they were not alike. Olivia had dark hair and dark eyes, like her mum. Jo had fair hair and blue eyes. Lulu smiled at the girls.

  But something was wrong.

  Usually Olivia had a happy, smiling face with two deep dimples in her cheeks. Not today.

  ‘Sorry we’re late,’ said Roy. He spoke with a soft Dutch accent. He was a tall man, with dimples just like Olivia’s. ‘We had a problem at home.’

  Roy came in, carrying a pile of cardboard boxes and a big roll of canvas.

  ‘Never mind,’ said Mum, waving her hand. ‘We’re making good progress.’

  Roy put the boxes on the floor. ‘I’ll get to work covering these boxes,’ he said. ‘Then I have some last-minute touch-ups to our sleigh.’

  The parents chatted as they set to work. The girls stood near the door. Molly came to join them.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ asked Lulu. ‘You both look so worried.’

  Jo stared at the ground as though she was trying hard not to cry.

  Olivia sighed. ‘Bonnie is missing,’ she said. ‘We’ve looked everywhere for her.’

  Bonnie was the girls’ fluffy tri-colour cat. She sometimes came for check-ups at the vet hospital. Lulu knew that the girls adored her.

  ‘Oh no,’ said Lulu. ‘I’m so sorry. How long has she been gone?’

  ‘Since yesterday morning,’ said Olivia.

  ‘We thought Bonnie would come for dinner last night,’ said Jo. ‘We called and called.’

  ‘Mum said not to worry,’ said Olivia. ‘She thought Bonnie would probably be home for breakfast. But she wasn’t. We’ve searched everywhere.’

  Jo wiped her eyes. Lulu gave her a hug.

  ‘She’s been missing so long,’ said Olivia. ‘We just don’t know what to do.’

  ‘We need to make a plan to find her,’ said Lulu. ‘Come with me.’

  Chapter 3

  A Plan

  Lulu led the girls into her bedroom. They all sat on the rug.

  Lulu pushed one honey-coloured plait behind her ear and started to speak. ‘First, we need to let people know that Bonnie is missing. That way, if anyone finds her they will know who to call.’

  ‘We could put an ad in the newspaper,’ said Olivia.

  ‘Yes,’ said Jo. ‘And we could make an announcement in assembly at school.’

  ‘Fantastic,’ said Lulu. She jumped up and fetched the art box from the corner. ‘We should make some posters too. We can stick them up in the vet hospital and on the power poles near your house.’

  ‘That’s a great idea,’ said Jo. ‘We could put some up at the bus stop too.’

  ‘And the noticeboards at the shops,’ said Molly.

  Olivia smiled. Her dimples were back. ‘Let’s get to work,’ she said.

  Jo took a piece of paper from the box. She sketched out a rough poster. ‘What do you think?’

  The girls read the wording. ‘Add in that she’s friendly,’ suggested Olivia.

  ‘Don’t forget to say when she disappeared,’ said Molly.

  ‘And that if someone finds her they can bring her to Shelly Beach Vet Hospital,’ added Lulu.

  Jo made the changes. When they were happy with the wording, the girls started making copies of the poster.

  When the girls had made a big pile of posters, Lulu led the way next door. The girls pushed through the green door into the vet hospital.

  Kylie the vet nurse sat at the reception desk. She was talking to a client with a cockatiel perched on his shoulder. The bird shrieked at them. He raised his crest of feathers high.

  ‘Hello, girls,’ said Kylie, smiling at them. ‘I like your elf costume, Lulu. It’s very Christmassy.’

  ‘Thanks, Kylie,’ said Lulu. ‘It’s for our school concert.’

  ‘Oh, I’m looking forward to it,’ said Kylie. She turned to Olivia and Jo. ‘I hear you two are giving a special performance?’

  The girls nodded. ‘We’re the very last act,’ said Jo.

  Kylie noticed the pile of posters that Olivia carried. ‘What are you girls up to?’ she asked.

  ‘We made some posters to put up,’ said Lulu. ‘Bonnie is missing.’

  Kylie frowned. ‘That’s terrible news,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry. But putting up posters is a great idea. I’m sure she’ll be found really soon.’

  Kylie handed Lulu some sticky tape.

  Olivia and Jo stuck a poster in the window. Molly and Lulu put one on the front of the reception desk.

  ‘Now we need to put posters around the neighbourhood,’ said Lulu.

  ‘Let’s ask Dad if he can take us,’ said Olivia.
‘Would you and Molly like to come too?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Molly and Lulu together.

  The girls went back to the house. The parents were still working hard. Mum was pinning material. Tien was sewing a tunic. Roy was covering empty cardboard boxes in silver paper. These would be props to decorate the stage.

  ‘Dad,’ called Olivia. ‘We made some posters to let people know that Bonnie is missing.’

  ‘What a great idea, meisje,’ said Roy. Roy often called the girls meisje. It was a Dutch word that meant ‘little girl’.

  ‘We want to stick them up on power poles and on noticeboards,’ added Jo. ‘Could you take us?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Roy. ‘Let me finish wrapping this box. It’s the last one.’

  Roy and the four girls walked around the streets. They stuck posters on power poles, noticeboards and bus shelters. Every time they met someone, they asked if they had seen a lost tri-colour cat. But no-one had.

  Olivia and Jo stuck the last poster up on the noticeboard outside the bakery.

  ‘I hope this works,’ said Jo. ‘I hope someone rings today.’

  ‘I don’t know what we’ll do if we can’t find Bonnie,’ said Olivia. ‘It would be the saddest Christmas ever.’

  Roy walked the girls back to Lulu’s house. Lulu gave both twins a big hug to give them courage. Inside, Mum and Tien had just finished the last elf costume.

  Rosie jumped up, waving a sheet of paper. ‘Come on, Lulu. I’ve been waiting for you for ages. We need to write our letters to Santa. I know exactly what to ask for.’

  Lulu smiled at Rosie. ‘A new tutu?’

  ‘No,’ said Rosie. ‘I’ve thought of something much better than that.’

  Molly, Sam and Tien went home. Lulu, Rosie and Gus sat down at the kitchen bench to write their letters to Santa. All three of them had something very special to ask for.