Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort

by Belinda Murrell

  About the Book

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

  Lulu and her family are visiting their uncle’s farm for the Easter holidays. There are horses to ride, a creek to swim in, and they can even sleep outside in a tent. What fun!

  Lulu loves being a cowgirl on the farm, especially when all the cousins decide to build the best cubby fort ever. But when she sees a calf get stuck in the mud, Lulu has to find help – fast!

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Packing

  Chapter 2: Where’s Billy?

  Chapter 3: Sugarloaf Farm

  Chapter 4: The Cubby Fort

  Chapter 5: Cuzzie Fun

  Chapter 6: The Ghost

  Chapter 7: The Water Battle

  Chapter 8: The Calf

  Chapter 9: The Rescue

  Chapter 10: Lost

  Chapter 11: The Hunt

  Chapter 12: The Feast

  Lulu Bell and the Moon Dragon

  Read all the Lulu Bell books

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Copyright Notice

  Loved the book?

  For my brother, Nick, and his wife, Victoria,

  for many, many happy adventures at

  Sugarloaf Farm. And for Tom, Meg and Gus for

  making them so special.

  Chapter 1

  Packing

  The Easter holidays had arrived and the Bell family was busy packing. They were going to the country to visit Uncle Nick’s farm. Lulu Bell and her little sister Rosie were checking that they had packed absolutely everything they would need.

  ‘Swimming costume?’ asked Lulu.

  Rosie peered into her bag. ‘Check!’ she replied.

  ‘Jodhpurs and riding boots?’

  ‘Check,’ confirmed Rosie.

  ‘Lots of books!’ Lulu patted another bag, which was crammed full of books.

  ‘Check,’ agreed Rosie.

  ‘Good, then we have everything we need for a perfect holiday,’ said Lulu. She zipped her backpack closed.

  ‘No,’ said Rosie. ‘I haven’t packed my angel wings and sparkly thongs.’

  Lulu put her hand on her hip. ‘You’re already wearing them, silly,’ she said.

  ‘Although I’m not sure you’ll need them at the farm.

  It gets pretty muddy up there, remember?’

  Rosie twirled around and admired her sparkly silver shoes and white dress.

  The hall was filled with piles of sleeping-bags, inflatable mattresses, backpacks and boxes of food.

  Asha, the family’s oldest dog, lay right on top of the pile of sleeping-bags. She was watching the preparations anxiously. She hated to see her people packing until she knew whether or not she was included in their adventure.

  Mum staggered in from the kitchen. She was carrying a blue esky laden with food.

  ‘Are you packed, girls?’ asked Mum. She placed the esky by the front door.

  ‘Yes, all done,’ said Lulu. ‘Did you remember to pack the marshmallows, Mum?’

  ‘Oh, no,’ replied Mum. ‘I knew I had forgotten something. Would you mind fetching them from the pantry please, honey bun?’

  At that moment, Gus came charging down the hall.

  He had a pack on his back and a toy plane in each hand. As usual, he was wearing his favourite outfit – the green-and-red superhero suit that Mum had made him for his third birthday. He loved it so much he never took it off.

  ‘Bbbrrrooooooommmmmm,’ shouted Gus. He brought the planes in for a perfect landing on Asha’s back.

  ‘Let me see what you have packed, honey bun,’ said Mum.

  Gus dropped his backpack to the floor and zoomed to the front door. Mum opened the bag.

  ‘Six superhero action figures, seven toy cars, a bar of chocolate that I’m sure I hid in the esky, three water pistols and a spare Bug Boy mask. Hmmm – do you think perhaps we should take some clean undies for you, Gus?’

  Gus paused to think, then shook his head. ‘No room,’ he said. Gus zoomed back towards the kitchen.

  Mum laughed and shook her head too. ‘He’s adorable.’

  ‘I not ’dorable,’ Gus shouted from the kitchen.

  Lulu and Rosie raised their eyebrows at each other and giggled.

  ‘Right, well – I’ll get the marshmallows,’ said Lulu. She threw one honey-coloured plait over her shoulder. ‘Do we need anything else, Mum?’

  Mum checked the pile of bags, boxes and sleeping-bags. Asha looked up at her with big brown eyes. She whined, thumping her tail against the wall.

  ‘The dogs!’ said Mum. ‘Can you and Rosie get their beds, bowls and food, please? I’m going to grab some clothes for Gus.’

  At the word ‘food’, Asha jumped to her feet. She galloped down the hall towards the kitchen, her tail wagging madly. She looked back over her shoulder with her tongue hanging out, as if to say ‘hurry up!’

  Asha’s daughter Jessie was already waiting in the kitchen. She sat right beside the pantry, her mouth spread in a wide grin. Jessie was definitely the smiliest dog in the world.

  ‘It’s not dinnertime yet,’ said Lulu. She rummaged in the pantry for the box of dog food and the marshmallows. ‘It’s just packing time – we’re going on holidays!’

  Asha cocked her ears.

  ‘Holidays, holidays – I love holidays,’ sang Rosie.

  She dragged the two dog mats along the floor. Jessie thought it was a game. She tried to jump on and off the mats as they were pulled along. She was much too heavy for Rosie to drag, so they made hippity-hoppity progress.

  ‘Jessie, off,’ commanded Lulu in her sternest tone.

  Jessie looked up at Lulu, then she slunk off the mat and sat by the door.

  Lulu and Rosie added the dog gear to the pile in the hall. Mum was carefully checking her list. She added an easel, a huge box of paints and four large canvases.

  ‘Goodness, I don’t know how we’ll fit it all in the car,’ said Mum. ‘Lulu, could you pop next door and see if Dad’s finished yet? Remind him he needs to help pack everything into the car.’

  Lulu’s dad was a vet. A thick green door was all that separated their house from the vet hospital in front.

  Kylie, the vet nurse, smiled at Lulu as she came into the waiting room.

  ‘All set?’ Kylie asked. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll feed all the animals while you’re away.’

  ‘Thanks, Kylie,’ replied Lulu. ‘Is Dad finished yet? Mum says it’s time he started packing the car.’

  ‘He’s just seeing his last client,’ said Kylie. ‘It’s a Labrador puppy that ate three pairs of socks. The poor thing has a nasty tummy ache.’

  Lulu couldn’t help laughing. ‘Labradors will eat anything,’ she said.

  ‘He’ll be all right,’ said Kylie, ‘but the poor owners will be watching him all Easter to make sure the socks come out the other end!’

  Lulu wrinkled her nose. ‘Eeew,’ she said. ‘I’m glad we won’t spend Easter that way. We’re going to have so much fun at the farm. We’ll go horseriding and swimming in the creek and we’ll sleep in a tent. And we’ll get to play with our cousins and feed the cows and the chickens. I hope Dad hurries up because I can’t wait another moment!’

  Chapter 2

  Where’s Billy?

  Lulu helped Dad pack the car. They pushed and heaved the bags around to make room for the dogs. Finally they were ready. Molly came over to say goodbye and wish them all a happy holiday. Everyone climbed into the car and snapped on their seatbelts.

  ‘Righto,’ said D
ad. ‘Off we go.’

  Dad steered the car down the driveway.

  ‘No,’ shouted Gus. ‘Go back!’

  Dad stopped the car. Everyone turned around and looked at Gus. He started to cry.

  ‘What’s wrong, honey bun?’ asked Mum, stroking his leg.

  ‘Billy,’ shouted Gus. ‘Forgot Billy!’

  Lulu and Rosie exchanged glances and smiled a secret smile.

  ‘Billy?’ asked Dad. ‘Who’s Billy?’

  Dad turned around and looked at the three children sitting along the back seat.

  Gus frowned and pouted.

  ‘Billy is Gus’s friend,’ said Lulu. ‘Gus’s invisible friend.’

  ‘Oh, for goodness sake,’ said Dad impatiently.

  Mum looked at Dad and raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Come on, Gus,’ said Mum. ‘Let’s go back and get Billy.’

  Mum unclicked Gus from his booster seat and took him inside the house. A few minutes later they reappeared. Both of them were smiling.

  ‘I can’t believe we had to go back for an invisible friend!’ whispered Dad.

  Lulu and Rosie giggled.

  Mum clicked Gus into his seatbelt and handed him his favourite puppy soft toy. Gus popped his thumb in his mouth.

  It was a long drive to the farm. Mum had packed a chilled picnic lunch. There were egg-and-lettuce rolls, crunchy green apples and frozen fruit juice boxes. After their meal, Gus and Rosie fell asleep while Lulu read.

  Three hours later, they finally crossed a clankety bridge and passed through the wooden gate of Uncle Nick’s farm. Gus and Rosie woke up and rubbed their eyes.

  It was mid-afternoon and the valley was bathed in a warm glow. Black cows grazed on the hillsides. A few young calves twitched their tails as they suckled. Two chestnut horses hung their heads over the paddock gate. A wisp of smoke wafted in the air from the chimney of the little white farmhouse nestled among the old elm trees.

  ‘Sugarloaf Farm,’ said Dad.

  ‘We’re here,’ cried Lulu. ‘Where are the cuzzies? Can we go riding today? Oh, please hurry, Dad.’

  Chapter 3

  Sugarloaf Farm

  ‘They’re here,’ came a shout from the verandah. Six children and two black dogs began to run down the hill.

  Dad parked the car by the shed. The six cousins mobbed around it, laughing and chattering. The family spilled out of the car and stretched. There were hugs and kisses all round. Everyone was shouting over the top of one another.

  ‘Hi, Meggie. Hi, Ella,’ called Lulu. She gave her cousins a hug. ‘It’s sooo good to be here.’

  Asha and Jessie jumped out of the car. They sniffed and woofed to greet the farm dogs, Daisy and Polly. All four dogs wagged their tails madly.

  ‘Hello, hello,’ boomed Uncle Nick.

  ‘Come in,’ called Auntie Tor. ‘Did you have a good trip?’

  Everyone grabbed bags and pillows and sleeping-bags. Within a minute the car was empty.

  There were three families staying at the farm for the holidays. Dad’s brother, Nick, owned the farm with his wife, Auntie Tor. They had three children – Tom, Meg and Lachie.

  Then there was Auntie Kate and Uncle Greg with their three children – Ben, Tim and Ella. They had arrived from the city early the day before.

  ‘Do you want to come and see our fort?’ asked Tom. He dropped a backpack on the verandah. ‘We’ve been building the best fort. It’s so well hidden that no-one would ever find it. Would they, Ben?’

  ‘It’s awesome,’ agreed Ben. ‘We can play battles and raids.’

  ‘It’s like a cross between a tree house, a cubby and a fort,’ added Tim.

  Lulu threw down her load of sleeping-bags. ‘Sounds great. Let’s go!’

  The nine cousins started to run for the hills, keen for adventure.

  ‘Not so fast,’ called Dad. ‘Before you disappear, we need to put up the tents and make the beds. Why don’t we get that done first so we can all enjoy ourselves later?’

  ‘Aawww,’ moaned the cousins in unison. They set to work carrying the sleeping-bags and gear into the back garden, where the tents were to be pitched.

  There was not enough room in the little farmhouse for all three families. The parents were to sleep inside. The nine cousins were to sleep outside. There was a big tent for the five boys, and a smaller tent for the four girls.

  The dads set up the two tents. The nine children blew up mattresses with the air pump and rolled out the sleeping-bags. Gus kept crawling inside the tents when they were still flat on the ground, then jumping on the mattresses while they were half blown up.

  ‘Gus, why don’t you go and help Mum make the bed for us inside?’ suggested Dad, after the tent collapsed for the second time.

  Gus pouted and pulled his Bug Boy mask down over his face.

  ‘Maybe we could go and feed the chooks?’ said Lulu. ‘Remember the chickens, Gus? You love them.’

  Lulu, Meg, Ben and Gus went to the kitchen to fetch the pail of kitchen scraps. The chickens were let out during the day to scratch and peck in the fenced vegetable garden. At night-time they were locked in the henhouse to keep them safe from foxes.

  ‘Chicken,’ said Gus. He pointed to a red speckled hen. ‘Bug Boy like him.’

  ‘They’re girl chickens, Gus,’ explained Lulu. ‘They’re called hens. Roosters are the boys.’

  ‘That one’s Chook,’ said Meg. ‘And that’s Griffin.’

  ‘Bok, bok, bok,’ cackled the hens.

  ‘Can they lay eggs yet?’ asked Lulu. She scooped Griffin up for a cuddle.

  ‘Just little ones,’ answered Meg. ‘We’ll look for them later.’

  Lulu showed Gus how to scatter some scraps for the chickens to peck at.

  The other kids came running around the side of the house.

  ‘Come on,’ called Tom. ‘The tents are all up, so get your boots and we’ll go to the fort.’

  Everyone had to wear sturdy boots at the farm because of the mud and the snakes. The snakes usually slithered away if they heard people, but the mums said you could never be too careful.

  Mum had already unpacked. The boots were lined up in the laundry. Hats, oilskins and coiled-up stock whips hung on hooks on the wall. Lulu pulled on her favourite cowgirl boots and jammed on her hat. She was ready for anything.

  Gus looked at his big cousins. Tom and Lachie were both wearing checked shirts, jeans and cowboy hats. Gus pushed back his superhero mask and followed them out onto the verandah.

  ‘Race you,’ called Lulu.

  She charged down the hill to the creek, with the cousins and four dogs chasing after her.

  Chapter 4

  The Cubby Fort

  It was muddy down by the creek. The banks were churned up from the hooves of the cattle. Lulu picked her way carefully around the sticky clods.

  The cousins crossed the narrow wooden bridge over the creek. A moment later, Tom put up his hand. It was a signal for everyone to be quiet. Tom looked around carefully. There was no-one nearby except a cow and her calf. The parents were all back at the house.

  ‘Follow me,’ Tom whispered.

  They were gathered at the base of a steep hillside, beside a patch of thick, low scrub. Tom led the way into a low tunnel formed by the branches of the bushes. Lulu ducked under the leaves. Ahead of her, the path cleared. She saw a dirt track leading up the hill.

  ‘Up we go,’ said Tom. He grinned at all the cousins.

  Lulu paused, glancing at Gus and Ella. ‘That track looks pretty steep,’ she said. ‘It might be a bit hard for Gus. He’s only little.’

  Gus scowled fiercely. ‘Bug Boy not little. I big.’

  Lulu tried hard not to smile. ‘Yes, you’re a big three-year-old. But it still looks a bit slippery.’

  ‘It’s easy,’ said Lachie. ‘I’ll show you.’

  Lachie stooped down. He picked up the end of a rope that was lying in the grass. He let the rope take his weight and then scrambled up the path. He quickly disappeared over
the top.

  ‘See?’ called Lachie from up high. ‘Send the next one up.’

  One by one all the cousins climbed up the path. Lulu found it much easier than she had expected. Gus scrambled up on his hands and knees. The four dogs scrabbled up behind him.

  Soon they were all standing on a flat clearing at the top of a ridge. Below them was a wide view over the valley. Paddocks stretched away as far as they could see. The white farmhouse looked like a doll’s house. The two tents and sheds huddled behind it. Lulu could see her mum. She was sitting on a camp chair in front of her easel and painting.

  Down below, Lulu could see the cow grazing by the creek. Her calf slept in the shade nearby.

  ‘Wow,’ said Lulu. ‘We’re up high.’

  ‘Look at the fort,’ said Tom. ‘We’ve been working on it for days.’

  Near the edge of the clearing was a fallen log from an old tree. It was embedded in the dirt and formed a natural wall. The boys had dug a shallow ditch behind the log. They could lie down, completely hidden, and peer over the edge.

  Behind this was a huge gum tree. It had a thick low branch, which made a handy seat. The rope was firmly knotted around the trunk.

  ‘We pull up the rope to make it harder for people to climb after us,’ said Lachie. He hauled up the rope and coiled it neatly.

  ‘We’ve been making weapons too,’ said Tim. Leaning against the fort wall was a pile of bows and arrows. They were made from sticks and string. Tim picked up a curved bow and twanged the tight string.

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ said Lulu. She glanced around with shining eyes. ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring up some furniture?’