Lauren wrote down the answer.
‘And lastly, which is the most popular animal in the zoo?’
Dr Bradley laughed. ‘That’s easy. We did some research and asked thousands of people which was their favourite animal. And do you know what most people said?’
Lulu shook her head. ‘At first, we thought it might be the elephants or the giraffes or the koalas,’ she said. ‘But now, I can’t choose between Linh the leaf monkey and Berani the tiger cub.’
Dr Bradley winked at Lulu. She leaned over and whispered the answer in her ear. Lulu grinned with delight.
Then everyone hurried outside and down towards the park. The other year three students and the teachers and parents were just finishing their lunch. Miss Baxter was relieved to see Lulu’s group finally arrive.
The park was sheltered and warm. The wide grassy lawn was surrounded by a low sandstone wall. Purple lavender blossomed in the flower beds, filling the air with its sweet scent. A turquoise peacock strutted past. He lifted his tail in a gorgeous display, like a green-and-blue patterned fan.
‘Look at those colours,’ said Mum, snapping a photograph. ‘He’s exquisite.’
Max and Daniel went over to a group of boys sitting on the wall. Max immediately began to entertain them all with his monkey impersonation. He leaped and cavorted. He scratched his head and made ‘oooh-oooh-aaah-aaah’ noises. The boys chuckled and giggled as Daniel told them about their adventures at the vet hospital.
Lulu, Molly and Lauren went to sit with Mum in the sun beside the lavender hedge. Everyone opened their lunch boxes except Lulu.
Linh the monkey had destroyed most of Lulu’s lunch, so she shared a lamb-and-tomato sandwich with Mum. Molly gave her some of her spicy noodle salad with lime juice and mint. They finished off the meal by passing around juicy red strawberries. The fruit was sweet and delicious.
‘This is wonderful,’ said Lulu. She leaned back against the grass. ‘Do you think this has been the best excursion ever?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Lauren and Molly together.
Chapter 8
Return to the Zoo
One Friday a few weeks later, Dad organised to finish work early. Mum, Dad and Gus came to pick Lulu and Rosie up from school.
Gus was wearing his all-in-one tiger suit, in honour of the trip. Lulu and Rosie wore their warm jackets and scarves over their school uniforms.
As they got in the car, Lulu wriggled with excitement.
‘Hurray,’ said Lulu. ‘I’m so glad we’re going back to the zoo. I can’t wait to show you Berani and Linh.’
Dr Bradley met them at the zoo entrance. She gave everyone a big hug.
‘Come this way,’ invited Dr Bradley. ‘I want to show you our new François’ leaf monkey enclosure.’
Dr Bradley led the way towards the Asian rainforest trail. Lulu, Rosie and Gus ran from enclosure to enclosure so they could see the different animals on the way. They passed the orang-utans, Asian elephants, gibbons and tapirs.
They stopped at an enclosure surrounded by a glass wall. It was filled with tall trees, vines and fallen logs. Thick leaf litter carpeted the ground. Ten leaf monkeys were inside. Unlike Linh, these monkeys were black with tufts of white whiskers on their faces.
Some were foraging for leaves and fruit. Some were resting and grooming each other high in the branches.
‘Can you see Linh?’ asked Dr Bradley.
Lulu noticed that one black-and-white François’ leaf monkey was sitting on a high branch. Tucked in her arms was a smaller monkey with a bright orange head.
‘There she is,’ cried Lulu. ‘That’s Linh, the baby monkey who escaped.’
‘She has been living with her family for the last few days,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘But we still give her bottles of milk several times a day.’
Linh scrambled out of her mother’s arms. She galloped along the branch, her tail curled above her head.
‘But Linh doesn’t look like the other monkeys,’ said Rosie. ‘She has an orange head.’
‘She will stay orange for a few months, then she will turn black like her mother,’ explained Dr Bradley. ‘She is quite an acrobat these days.’
The monkey grabbed a hanging rope and swung out high above the ground. She leaped through the air and landed safely on another branch. She swung and jumped from pole to tree all the way back to her mother.
‘It’s so wonderful that we can come and watch these rare animals,’ said Dad. He turned to Dr Bradley. ‘You are doing a fantastic job here at the zoo. It’s so important that endangered animals like these can survive.’
Dr Bradley smiled. ‘For a while there, we thought we’d lost one baby leaf monkey. Luckily, Lulu found her before she wandered too far.’
Mum hugged Lulu. ‘Our Lulu has an amazing knack for finding lost and injured animals.’
Lulu felt a thrill of pride.
Gus was impatient to be off. ‘Go see tigey.’
Dr Bradley laughed. ‘You make a great tiger yourself, Gus.’
The vet led the way to another rainforest enclosure. Inside, the mother tiger was lying in a patch of wintry sunshine. Three roly-poly tiger cubs tumbled all over her.
‘The biggest one’s Berani,’ cried Lulu. ‘Look, he’s hardly limping at all.’
‘I checked his leg this morning and it’s healing beautifully,’ said Dr Bradley.
‘The cubs are gorgeous,’ said Rosie. ‘I love the littlest one with the white patch on her tummy.’
Gus galloped around pretending to be a tiger cub. He butted into Mum’s leg and growled ferociously. Dad scooped him up and swung him high in the air. Gus sat up on Dad’s shoulders and looked down at the real cubs.
Berani noticed the humans and lolloped towards them. He rubbed his furry face against the window. He jumped up, resting his front paws against the glass. Lulu pressed her hands against the window and pretended to rub his tummy. She imagined she could feel the warmth of his body through the cool glass.
Lulu turned towards Mum and Dad. ‘Can you guess which animals in the zoo are the most popular?’ she asked.
‘The pandas?’ guessed Dad.
‘The monkeys?’ guessed Mum.
Lulu shook her head. She gave Dr Bradley a big smile.
‘The tiger cubs,’ announced Lulu.
Lulu’s Zoo Treasure Hunt Trivia
Which is the largest mammal that lives on land?
Which is the tallest animal that lives on land?
How many Sumatran tigers are left in the wild?
How big is a kangaroo when it’s born?
What is the sleepiest animal?
What do pandas eat?
Which animal has a pouch that faces backwards?
Name one of the few animals that can use tools?
Why are flamingos pink?
How many insects can an anteater eat in a single day?
Which is the fastest animal on land?
Answers
The African elephant can weigh up to 12,000 kilograms.
The giraffe can grow to six metres tall. That’s the height of a two-storey building.
There are only about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. They are extremely endangered.
A newborn kangaroo is about the size of a human thumbnail.
Koalas sleep about 18 to 22 hours per day.
Ninety-nine per cent of the panda’s diet is bamboo.
The wombat’s pouch faces backwards. This is so their joeys are protected from flying dirt when the mother digs burrows.
The chimpanzee uses tools.
The flamingo’s pink colouring comes from the food they eat.
An anteater can eat up to 30,000 insects in a single day.
The cheetah is the fastest animal on land. It can reach speeds of more than 100 kilometres per hour.
Lulu Bell and the Pyjama Party
Molly, Sam and Ebony the kitten are staying the night for a pyjama party. Yay! Lulu is looking forward to stories and games and snacks.
&n
bsp; But it’s a busy night for Dad’s vet hospital. An orphaned wallaby joey needs care and when a mother dog arrives at the vet hospital ready to have her puppies, Dad needs Lulu and Molly’s help – even if they’re still in their pyjamas!
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
Lulu Bell and the Sea Turtle
Lulu Bell and the Tiger Cub
Lulu Bell and the Pyjama Party
Lulu Bell and the Christmas Elf
November 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. When she was a teenager, Belinda spent a week working with the vet at Western Plains Zoo, a close family friend. 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, The River Charm and The Sequin Star. Belinda is also an ambassador for Room to Read and Books in Homes.
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 Tiger Cub
9780857983022
Copyright © Belinda Murrell 2014
Illustrations copyright © Serena Geddes 2014
The moral rights of the author and illustrator have 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 2014
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Murrell, Belinda
Title: Lulu Bell and the tiger cub/Belinda Murrell; illustrated by Serena Geddes
ISBN: 978 0 85798 302 2 (ebook)
Series: Murrell, Belinda. Lulu Bell; 7
Target audience: For primary school age
Subjects: Zoos – Juvenile fiction
Tiger cubs – Juvenile fiction
Monkeys – Juvenile fiction
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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