Lulu Bell and the Magical Garden

by Belinda Murrell

  About the Book

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

  A summer storm has arrived, and the Bell family are eating their dinner and playing games by candlelight. What fun!

  But the next morning a disaster is revealed. The school garden is ruined! Can Lulu and her best friend Molly save the day?

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Sunny Sunday

  Chapter 2: The Storm

  Chapter 3: Destruction

  Chapter 4: Eggs

  Chapter 5: Saving the Garden

  Chapter 6: Hatchlings

  Chapter 7: Mo Munchtime

  Chapter 8: The Magical Garden Club

  Chapter 9: Working Bee

  Chapter 10: A Very Magical Garden

  Lulu Bell and the Pirate Fun

  Read all the Lulu Bell books

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Copyright Notice

  Loved the book?

  For Millie, who creates the most magical gardens in the world.

  Chapter 1

  Sunny Sunday

  It was a sunny, summery Sunday afternoon. The Bell family had spent the morning at the beach swimming, surfing and building sandcastles. Now Lulu, Rosie, Gus and Mum were in The Hidden Garden.

  Lulu loved coming here. The Hidden Garden was a big walled nursery brimming with potted plants of all kinds. Mum always took her time choosing which plants to buy. This left plenty of time for Lulu and her brother and sister to explore.

  There was a pebbled path that led through the nursery. At the very end of the path was a pond filled with huge goldfish and croaky, green frogs. Yellow and pink waterlilies floated on the water. An aviary by the pond held brightly coloured parakeets that swooped and sang.

  To the right was a shady jungle area, with towering palms and ferns. To the left were bushes of native plants, as well as a section of desert cactuses. On either side of the path, right through the middle, were rows and rows of sweet-smelling flowers in a rainbow of colours.

  Dotted among the plants were statues of angels, cherubs, dragons and mermaids. A high wall ran right around the nursery, making the garden feel secret and hidden.

  Mum and Lulu stood before a stand of herb and vegetable seedlings. They were choosing plants for the vegetable garden at home.

  ‘We need some lettuce and some spinach,’ said Mum. She put the pots in the basket she held over her arm. ‘Anything else, honey bun?’

  Lulu picked up a punnet of feathery green seedlings.

  ‘Can we get some carrots? And some sweet corn?’ asked Lulu. ‘The corn we grew last year was the best.’

  ‘Oh, good idea,’ said Mum. ‘And maybe some beans.’ She put the punnets in the basket with the other vegetables.

  Rosie and Gus were playing chasings along the pathways between the plants.

  Millie, the owner of The Hidden Garden, was pushing a wheelbarrow down the main path. She grinned and swerved the barrow around the two children. A black labrador called Mo trotted after her.

  He bounded up to Lulu and pushed his muzzle into her hand. Lulu stroked his back.

  ‘Hello, Mo. Have you been eating any socks lately?’

  ‘No socks, thank goodness,’ said Millie, with a chuckle. ‘Although he did eat a box of crayons last week. He was doing multicoloured poos for days.’

  Mo had a very bad habit of eating things he shouldn’t. He was one of Dad’s regular patients. Last Easter he had to visit the Shelly Beach Vet Hospital after eating three pairs of socks. Another time he had eaten a pair of spectacles and a whole cushion, bit by bit.

  Lulu laughed and ruffled Mo’s ears. ‘Silly boy. When will you learn not to eat everything you see?’

  Mo looked up at her with his big doggie eyes, as if to say, ‘I didn’t mean to be naughty.’

  ‘What gorgeous sunflowers, Millie,’ said Mum. Millie’s wheelbarrow was filled with sunflower plants that were taller than Rosie. The bright yellow flowers danced and bobbed on top of their stalks as if they were little suns.

  ‘Aren’t they divine?’ said Millie. ‘I think they’re my favourite summertime flowers.’

  Rosie and Gus came dashing back from their game of chasings.

  ‘Mum,’ began Rosie, ‘can we buy one to take home? Please?’

  ‘Why not?’ said Mum. ‘It will look gorgeous growing right in the centre of our veggie patch.’

  Millie pointed out the tallest sunflower with a big yellow face. ‘How about this one, Rosie? It’s a good, strong plant. And it’s so tall already!’

  Rosie beamed up at Millie. ‘It’s beautiful. I’ll water it every day.’

  ‘Maybe just every third day,’ said Millie, with a smile.

  ‘Millie! Millie! Can we feed the fishies?’ asked Gus.

  ‘Of course, Gus,’ said Millie.

  Millie gave the kids a scoop of fish pellets from a jar on a shelf. Lulu, Rosie and Gus ran to the pond. They each sprinkled one pellet at a time into the water. It was fun to watch the goldfish as they thrashed and splashed about, gobbling up the food.

  After they had finished feeding the fish, Lulu, Rosie and Gus talked to the parakeets in the aviary. Then they went to the front counter, where Mum was chatting to Millie. They were packing up the plants.

  ‘You might want to plant these tomorrow,’ suggested Millie. She patted the cardboard box full of plants. ‘I think we’re in for a wild summer storm this evening.’

  Mum looked up at the sky. ‘I think you’re right. There’s a big bank of clouds rolling in.’

  Lulu shivered. ‘And it suddenly feels colder.’

  The air definitely felt a lot cooler than it had that morning at the beach.

  ‘We’d better get home before the rain starts,’ said Mum.

  Lulu helped carry the box of seedlings to the car. Mum lifted the tall sunflower in its pot. She slid it carefully into the back of the station wagon.

  The first plops of rain fell as they were driving home. The thick clouds on the horizon rolled in like gigantic black waves in the sky. The grey ocean churned and tossed with white froth. Trees bowed and thrashed their branches.

  ‘Look at that wind,’ said Mum. ‘I think it’ll be a nasty southerly buster.’

  Chapter 2

  The Storm

  By the time they reached home, the wind was howling. Thunder boomed. Lightning crackled and flashed.

  ‘I’d better put the car away in the garage,’ said Mum. ‘We don’t want it to get damaged.’

  Everyone ran from the garage to the house. Lulu carried the box of seedlings. Mum nursed the sunflower so that the stem didn’t snap in the wind. They put the new plants in the laundry, where they would stay until the weather was better for planting.

  Asha and Jessie came bounding up to the back door, keen to come inside. Lulu let them in and they cuddled up together on their dog bed.

  ‘We’d better get the other animals in safely,’ said Mum.

  Lulu and Rosie ran outside to hunt for the cats. They were shivering together under a lavender bush. The girls carried them inside and put them in their basket.

  Lulu made sure that Mika the wallaby was hiding inside the shelter in her run. Then it was Flopsy the bunny’s turn. Lulu and Rosie took her from her hutch in the garden and locked her in the laundry. Lulu made sure the new plants were safe up high on a shelf, away from a cheeky bunny.

  Lastly, Lulu helped Dad move the ducks safely into the garage. By this time, the rain was pelting down and the wind was blowing even harder. Lulu felt a little scared
. Dad took her hand.

  ‘Come on, sweetie,’ said Dad. ‘Let’s run for it.’

  Holding Dad’s hand, Lulu felt much braver. She imagined it to be a fun game, dashing through the garden back to the house.

  Inside, Mum had to turn on the lights. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, it was nearly dark.

  ‘Let’s watch a movie,’ said Mum. ‘That will be a special treat.’

  ‘With popcorn?’ asked Gus.

  ‘Sure, honey bun,’ said Mum.

  ‘Let’s watch Cinderella!’ cried Rosie.

  ‘We’ve seen that a thousand times,’ objected Lulu. ‘Why don’t we watch something new?’

  Rosie pouted.

  Dad took a DVD from the pile. ‘Luckily, I have just the thing: The Secret Garden.’

  Everyone cuddled up together on the lounge. Mum made some popcorn to eat. But the movie had barely started when the screen went black. All the lights went out, too.

  ‘It’s very dark,’ whispered Gus.

  Mum scrabbled around in a drawer for some matches. She lit a candle. The flame flickered warm and bright. Mum smiled. ‘A change of plan,’ she said. ‘I think it’s time to play some games.’

  ‘How about cards?’ said Lulu. She fetched a pack of cards from the sideboard.

  ‘Snap!’ called Gus.

  ‘Go Fish,’ said Rosie.

  ‘Rissole,’ said Lulu.

  ‘We can play them all,’ said Mum. ‘It could be hours until the electricity comes back.’

  The whole family sat at the kitchen table and played cards. Mum found some more candles and popped them into jam jars. They cast a flickering warm light. It was fun to play cards by candlelight.

  At dinnertime there was still no electricity to use to cook. Instead, Mum prepared a picnic of cheese, tomato, avocado and ham on crackers.

  ‘Nearly time for bed,’ said Mum, when dinner was finished.

  ‘I’ll clean up,’ said Dad.

  Lulu, Rosie and Gus sat at the table and listened. Outside, the wind howled around the house. Rain pelted against the windows and doors. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The storm sounded much louder with all the lights off.

  ‘I’m fwightened,’ said Gus. ‘It’s so loud.’

  Lulu threw one golden plait over her shoulder. ‘There’s nothing to be frightened of, Gus,’ she said. ‘It’s just a storm.’ Lulu tried to sound much braver than she felt.

  ‘Can we sleep with you, Mum?’ asked Rosie.

  Mum smiled. ‘Why don’t you all get into your pyjamas and clean your teeth? Then I’ll tuck you all up in my bed. We can read stories together until you fall asleep.’

  Chapter 3

  Destruction

  Monday morning dawned sunny and hot once more. The sun sparkled on the ocean. Rosie and Lulu raced down the footpath on their way to school. Asha and Jessie ran along beside them. Mum followed, pushing Gus in the pram. People whizzed by on bicycles, skateboards and scooters, dodging the fallen twigs on the ground.

  The Bell family arrived early at Shelly Beach School. Lulu tied the dogs to the fence outside the school grounds. The girls charged through the gate. Rosie ran straight to her favourite part of the playground, which was near the back fence. This was where she usually met her friends in the morning. Lulu followed.

  Both girls stopped and stared.

  ‘Mum!’ cried Lulu. ‘Look at the garden. It’s ruined.’

  Gus jumped out of the pram. Mum and Gus came over.

  ‘Big mess,’ said Gus. He stuck his thumb in his mouth.

  ‘Oh, what a shame,’ said Mum. ‘It must have been the storm last night.’

  Last week, in this corner of the playground there had been a small garden. Low beds had held herbs and flowers. It had been a place where Rosie, Lulu and their friends loved to play.

  Now it was a jumble of dirt, stones and fallen branches. Several plants had been blown over and the pots they had been nestled in were smashed. The heavy rain had washed away most of the soil.

  ‘It looks terrible,’ said Lulu.

  Rosie prodded a crushed daisy stem with her toe. ‘All the flowers are gone,’ she said.

  Mum put her arm around Rosie’s shoulder.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Mum. ‘I’m sure the garden will be fixed so that it will look beautiful again.’

  Lulu’s best friend Molly soon arrived, with her brother Sam and their mother Tien. More and more families gathered to look at the damage.

  The principal came over. Mrs Fisher was a grey-haired woman with a very imposing presence. She had a delightful smile, but when she wanted to, she could silence a group of several hundred children and adults with a single glance. Right now, she looked concerned.

  ‘Please be careful, children,’ called Mrs Fisher. ‘Everyone needs to stay out of this area. We have some workmen on their way to clean up the mess.’

  ‘Will they be replanting the garden soon, Mrs Fisher?’ asked Mum.

  Mrs Fisher shook her head. ‘No. We won’t be able to replant for quite some time. Unfortunately it’s very expensive to build a new garden.’

  Rosie looked upset. ‘But we have to fix it. This is the best place to play. It’s where we play hopscotch and chasings. And fairies and witches.’

  ‘Perhaps some of the parents could help out by bringing in some plants?’ suggested Mum.

  ‘We have lots of herbs and veggies growing at home,’ said Lulu.

  ‘And flowers,’ added Rosie.

  ‘We would be happy to buy some plants for the garden,’ said Tien. ‘We live in an apartment so Molly and Sam don’t have an outside space of their own to play in. They love the school garden.’

  Mrs Fisher smiled. ‘That would be wonderful. But we really need to put in new beds and fresh soil, as well. There would be a lot of work to do even before we start to plant. The old garden was pretty, but if we wait to raise some funds, it could be so much lovelier.’

  Right then, two workmen arrived with their wheelbarrow and tools. People parted to let them through.

  ‘Thanks for coming,’ said Mrs Fisher.

  ‘That’s all right,’ said one of the men. ‘We’ll soon get rid of all this rubbish, and we’ll block off the area so that the children can’t come in.’

  ‘How long will the garden be blocked off for?’ asked Lulu.

  ‘Just a few months,’ said Mrs Fisher.

  ‘A few months?’ said Rosie. ‘That’s such a long time.’

  Mrs Fisher smiled at her. ‘I’m sorry, Rosie. You and your friends will have to find somewhere else to play for a while.’

  The bell went. Lulu and Rosie gave Mum a hug and a kiss. Then they ran off to join their class lines for morning assembly.

  Chapter 4

  Eggs

  The kids whispered and chatted as they sat in their class groups, outside in the playground. Many of the parents stood up the back to hear the announcements.

  Mrs Fisher walked to the front and everyone fell silent.

  ‘Good morning, parents, teachers and students,’ said Mrs Fisher.

  ‘Good morning, Mrs Fisher,’ chanted the students.

  ‘Most of you will have seen the disaster that has befallen our garden,’ said Mrs Fisher.

  Most of the children nodded and murmured among themselves. Lulu wriggled on her bottom.

  ‘Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to fix this yet,’ said Mrs Fisher. ‘But I welcome suggestions from our school community on what should be done with the space, so that we can plan ahead.’

  The parents whispered among themselves. Mrs Fisher paused until everyone was quiet.

  ‘If students, parents or teachers have any ideas, please drop a note with your suggestions into the box in the office.’

  Lulu and Molly exchanged glances.

  ‘On a brighter note,’ said Mrs Fisher, ‘I have a very exciting surprise for you today.’

  Everyone was silent. What could it be? wondered Lulu.

  ‘We are taking part in a science exp
eriment that the whole school can share,’ announced Mrs Fisher. ‘Today the school will be receiving a dozen eggs.’

  ‘Eggs?’ whispered Lulu to Molly. ‘Why would we want a dozen eggs at school?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ replied Molly. ‘Egg sandwiches for the canteen?’

  Lulu giggled. Mrs Fisher stared at Lulu and Molly. Lulu stopped wriggling and sat up straight.

  ‘The eggs will be kept in a special incubator in the hall outside the office,’ continued Mrs Fisher. ‘We are hoping that they will hatch into baby chicks.’

  ‘Oooh,’ said Lulu. It was a whisper echoed by children all around the playground.

  ‘Students are welcome to visit the eggs during the day, at recess and at lunch,’ said Mrs Fisher. ‘You will all help take care of the chicks as they grow. It will be a fascinating experience for everyone.’

  Mrs Fisher smiled. ‘And when the chicks have grown a little, some of you might be able to take them home as pets!’

  Lulu swung around to try to catch Mum’s eye. It will be wonderful to see the chicks hatch! she thought. But wouldn’t it be even more amazing to have pet chicks to raise?

  Mum was standing with the other parents at the back of the playground. Lulu raised her eyebrows and grinned. Mum screwed up her face in mock horror.

  Lulu turned back around to face the front. She started to imagine a marvellous, multistorey chicken house that she could build in the backyard for her new chicks.

  Chapter 5

  Saving the Garden

  At recess, Lulu and Molly went to watch the workmen in the playground. Rosie and her friend Mia were already there. They stood at the barricade with Max, Daniel, Lauren and lots of the other children. The two men were piling the last of the rubbish into a wheelbarrow. One of them guided it over to their truck, which was parked just outside the school gate. They loaded everything into the back.