Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort Read online

  Uncle Nick untied the rope. The calf shook himself. He trotted off after his mother on wonky legs.

  Lulu laughed.

  ‘Great job,’ said Uncle Nick. ‘It was lucky Lulu found him when she did. He might have been stuck there for days.’

  Lulu glowed with pride. Dad gave her a muddy hug.

  ‘I think we all need a good swim at the waterhole to wash off,’ said Dad.

  ‘Yes, please,’ said Lulu.

  Dad looked at the wet and muddy children. His brow furrowed.

  ‘Where’s Gus?’

  Chapter 10

  Lost

  ‘Gus is with Mum,’ said Lulu.

  ‘Why don’t you fetch him for a swim, Lulu?’ suggested Dad. ‘We’ll take the horses back to the yards.’

  Lulu ran into the garden, where Mum was still painting.

  ‘Gus,’ called Lulu, swinging her helmet by its strap. ‘Gussie.’

  There was so sign of him. Mum looked up from her canvas.

  ‘I thought Gus was with you and Dad,’ said Mum.

  ‘No,’ said Lulu. ‘He wanted to come back here.’

  Mum put her paintbrush down and stood up. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Lulu. ‘He was frightened of the horses.’

  ‘He must be in the house, or maybe he’s in one of the tents?’ said Mum.

  Mum and Lulu began to look for Gus. He wasn’t in the house, or the tents, or the chicken house. Auntie Tor and Kate were in the kitchen mixing dough to make scones.

  ‘Auntie Tor – have you seen Gus?’ asked Lulu. ‘We can’t find him.’

  ‘No,’ replied Auntie Tor. ‘I haven’t seen him for ages.’

  ‘What if he’s wandered down to the creek?’ asked Auntie Kate. ‘He might fall in.’

  ‘He said he wanted to go swimming,’ said Lulu. Her stomach fluttered with nerves. ‘But I told him we’d go later.’

  Mum went pale at the thought of Gus falling into the creek all on his own.

  ‘We’ll send out some search parties,’ said Auntie Tor. She covered the dough with a damp cloth.

  ‘I’m going straight to the creek,’ said Mum. Her voice cracked with worry. ‘Lulu, can you go and ask the dads to help look too?’

  Soon everyone was calling out far and wide. Lulu and Rosie climbed up to check the cubby fort. There was no sign of Gus there. Lulu gazed out over the valley, hoping to see a small boy walking through the paddocks.

  Lulu could see the adults searching along the creek. The cousins were hunting in the scrub at the base of the hill. Polly and Daisy sniffed in the bushes.

  Lulu and Rosie scrambled down the path and found Mum.

  ‘He’s not up there,’ said Lulu. ‘And I couldn’t see him in any of the paddocks.’

  ‘What about the sheds?’ asked Mum. Lulu could tell Mum was frightened. Her face was white and her eyes looked big and scared.

  The children split into groups to search the outbuildings. Dad drove the car out to the road, towards town. Uncle Nick drove towards the cattle yards and Uncle Greg searched the high paddocks.

  Asha trotted beside Lulu. They were heading towards the old dairy where the hay was stored. Where could Gus be?

  Chapter 11

  The Hunt

  Gu-us,’ called Lulu. She climbed the bales of hay.

  Asha sniffed behind the feed bins and the rusted old milk tanks. He wasn’t there.

  ‘Where’s Gussie?’ Lulu asked Asha. ‘Find Gus.’

  Asha whined and looked up at Lulu. Her grey whiskers twitched. Then she began to trot back towards the farmhouse.

  ‘Do you know where Gus is, or are you just looking for dinner?’ asked Lulu.

  Lulu hurried along beside the dog. In the garden, Asha sniffed around Mum’s chair. With her nose to the ground, she snuffled over to the empty vegetable garden. She continued up the steps, onto the verandah, through the laundry and into the kitchen.

  ‘We looked in here, girl,’ said Lulu. ‘He’s not there.’

  Just in case, Lulu glanced around. She checked behind the door and under the table. Asha trotted on, through the lounge room and down the hall to the bedrooms. Lulu searched each room but there was no sign of anyone.

  Asha ran into the last bedroom, the one where Mum and Dad slept. It had a big bed covered in a pretty patchwork quilt. An old-fashioned dressing table with a mirror stood against one wall.

  ‘See – there’s no-one here,’ said Lulu. Asha ran over and stuck her nose under the bed. Her tail wagged madly.

  Lulu felt a quiver of hope. Could Gus really be here? Could he have been hiding all this time?

  Lulu lifted up the edge of the quilt and checked under the bed.

  ‘Squawk,’ came a loud complaint. There were Chook and Griffin nesting on a pile of clothes.

  Right beside them was a little cowboy. He was curled up fast asleep.

  ‘Gussie,’ called Lulu. ‘You’re here. We thought you were lost.’

  Gus stirred and yawned and stretched. He crawled out from under the bed.

  ‘Billy hungry,’ said Gus, rubbing his eyes.

  Lulu hugged her brother. ‘You naughty boy,’ she said. ‘Everyone is so worried about you. We couldn’t find you anywhere.’

  Gus looked at her with disgust. ‘Billy not lost, Billy here.’

  ‘I know. Let’s go and call Mum,’ said Lulu. She took Gus by the hand. ‘Clever Asha! She found you.’

  Out on the verandah, the dinner bell hung under the eaves. Lulu stepped up on a stool. She rang the clapper against the bell so that the sound pealed out across the valley. She rang the bell long and loud to summon everyone home.

  Soon the boys came running from the garage. The mums ran back from searching the waterhole. The girls came in from the machinery shed and the dads drove back.

  Mum hugged Gus until he squirmed. Her eyes were wet with tears.

  ‘I’m so glad Lulu found you. We were so worried,’ said Mum.

  ‘I didn’t find him. Asha found him,’ said Lulu. She stroked Asha between the eyes. ‘She just sniffed his scent right under the bed.’

  Dad swung Gus high up in the air over his head and kissed him. He swung Lulu up too. Gussie squirmed again, and put his cowboy hat firmly on top of his head.

  ‘Billy hungry,’ repeated Gus. He scowled, tired of all the fuss.

  Everyone laughed with relief.

  Chapter 12

  The Feast

  ‘I can solve that problem,’ said Auntie Tor.

  She whipped off the cloth from the bowl of creamy-white dough and displayed it with a flourish.

  ‘We were making scones for afternoon tea,’ said Auntie Tor. ‘But perhaps we can have them for lunch instead? I’ll pop them in the oven and they’ll be ready in a few minutes. That will give you all a chance to have a good wash under the hose.’

  The kitchen soon filled with the delicious aroma of baking scones. Lulu’s mouth began to water. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was.

  ‘Mum, do you think we could take our scones up to the fort?’ asked Tom. The other children gathered around the table. They looked up at Auntie Tor with hopeful eyes.

  ‘Please, please?’ begged Meg.

  ‘What a lovely idea,’ replied Auntie Tor. ‘I’ll pack you a picnic basket. Do you think you can carry it all that way?’

  ‘Yes, yes,’ chorused the children.

  The mums packed a basket with icy cold lemonade, a pot of berry jam and a bowl of whipped cream. Auntie Tor added a pile of hot scones straight from the oven.

  The children took turns to carry the basket across the paddock to the hillside. It was torture. The scones smelled so good. Everyone promised they wouldn’t sneak a nibble until they reached the fort.

  At the base of the hill, Tom took the basket in one hand. He pulled himself up the track by the rope with his free hand.

  At last everyone was safely up the path. The nine children sat on the crates. Lulu poured out cups of lemonade. Everyone spooned jam and cream onto their sc
ones. It was a feast.

  ‘Happy eating,’ said Meg. She smothered her scone with cream.

  Gus had a moustache of jam and cream smeared around his mouth. He clutched a whole scone in each fist. Jessie looked up at him hopefully, just itching to clean his face.

  ‘Mmmmm,’ said Rosie, licking the jam off her fingertips. ‘These are the best scones I’ve ever eaten.’

  Lulu looked around at her six cousins, her brother and sister all sitting in their own private cubby fort. Then she looked out at the valley far below, bathed in a warm, golden glow. She smiled.

  ‘This is the best holiday ever,’ said Lulu. ‘We rescued the calf that was stuck in the mud. We rode horses, and found three little chickens roosting under the bed. And on Sunday we have the Great Easter Egg Hunt …

  ‘Happy Easter, everyone.’

  Lulu Bell and the Moon Dragon

  Lulu’s best friend, Molly, is preparing for the Moon Festival. But there’s so much to do!

  There are dragon costumes and paper lanterns to make, and yummy mooncakes to bake, too.

  Lulu and her mum offer to help out, and soon everyone gets involved. This will be a Moon Festival to remember!

  Out now

  Read all the Lulu Bell books

  Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn

  Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin

  Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort

  Lulu Bell and the Moon Dragon

  Lulu Bell and the Circus Pup

  January 2014

  Lulu Bell and the Sea Turtle

  January 2014

  About the Author

  Belinda Murrell grew up in a vet hospital and Lulu Bell is based on some of the adventures she shared with her own animals. After studying Literature at Macquarie University, Belinda worked as a travel journalist, editor and technical writer. A few years ago, she began to write stories for her own three children – Nick, Emily and Lachlan. Belinda’s books include the Sun Sword fantasy trilogy, timeslip tales The Locket of Dreams, The Ruby Talisman and The Ivory Rose, and Australian historical tales The Forgotten Pearl and The River Charm.

  www.belindamurrell.com.au

  About the Illustrator

  Serena Geddes spent six years working with a fabulously mad group of talented artists at Walt Disney Studios in Sydney before embarking on the path of picture book illustration in 2009. She works both traditionally and digitally and has illustrated eighteen books, ranging from picture books to board books to junior novels.

  www.serenageddes.com.au

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort

  9781742758800

  Copyright © Belinda Murrell 2013

  Illustrations copyright © Serena Geddes 2013

  The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.

  A Random House Australia book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at

  www.randomhouse.com.au/offices

  First published by Random House Australia in 2013

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Author: Murrell, Belinda

  Title: Lulu Bell and the cubby fort/Belinda Murrell; Serena Geddes, illustrator

  ISBN: 978174275880 0 (ebook)

  Series: Murrell, Belinda. Lulu Bell; 3

  Target audience: For primary school age

  Subjects: Families – Juvenile fiction

  Children’s playhouses – Juvenile fiction

  Children’s stories

  Other authors/contributors: Geddes, Serena, illustrator

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover design by Christabella Designs

  Internal design and typesetting by Anna Warren, Warren Ventures

  eBook production by First Source

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