Lulu Bell and the Pirate Fun

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

The farm is one of Lulu's favourite places. It's perfect for a pirate party to celebrate Gus's birthday. If only it would stop raining!

Where can the kids build the pirate ship they've promised Gus? Put your gumboots on, everyone, because Lulu has the answer. But where is that naughty dog, Jessie?

Cover

About the Book

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter 1: Rain

Chapter 2: The Flood

Chapter 3: Paddock Pirating

Chapter 4: Pirate Preparations

Chapter 5: A Brilliant Idea

Chapter 6: Happy Birthday

Chapter 7: Where's Jessie?

Chapter 8: The Hunt for Jessie

Chapter 9: The Rescue

Chapter 10: The Treasure Map

Lulu Bell and the Magical Garden

Read all the Lulu Bell books

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Copyright Notice

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The rain poured down. It drummed on the tin roof. All Lulu could see through the window was a shower of water gushing from the gutters.

‘Will it
ever
stop raining?' Lulu grumbled loudly.

The Bell family was away for a long weekend. It would be Gus's fourth birthday tomorrow. Dad's brother Uncle Nick had invited them all to Sugarloaf Farm to celebrate.

‘Never complain to a farmer about rain, Lulu,' said Uncle Nick with a smile. ‘The rain will help the grass grow. Then the cows will get fat on the grass, and fat, healthy cows make me a happy farmer.'

All six kids were sprawled on the floor in the lounge room of the farmhouse. There was Lulu, her sister Rosie and her brother Gus. Their cousins were Tom, Meg and Lachie. They had been playing Monopoly all morning.

‘But we were going to have a pirate party for Gus tomorrow,' said Lulu, ‘with a treasure hunt and games and horseriding and lots of pirate fun.'

‘And a big pirate cake,' added Gus. ‘A
choclit
cake.'

‘We wanted to eat it up at the cubby fort,' said Rosie.

Last year all the cousins had made a fantastic fort that was built into the base of a huge gum tree. It was on a ridge and from the fort they could see out over the farmhouse and the paddocks.

‘You mean the pirate ship,' said Tom. He shaded his eyes with his hand as though he was staring out to sea. ‘
Arrr
, me hearties.'

‘The cubby won't make a fun pirate ship if it's raining,' said Lulu. ‘It'll be all muddy.'

Mum and Auntie Tor were sitting on the couch reading. Mum looked up from her book and smiled. ‘A little water won't hurt you, honey buns,' she said. ‘Do you think pirates worry about rain?'

‘I think the rain's getting lighter,' said Tom. ‘Let's put on gumboots and go for a walk.'

‘Great idea,' said Lulu. ‘We can check out the cubby fort.'

All the cousins jumped up. Out on the verandah by the front door was a big cane basket full of gumboots. Everyone wore boots at the farm because of the mud and snakes. The six kids rummaged through the basket until they found a pair that fit.

Lulu pulled on her green rain jacket and a cowboy hat. Uncle Nick and Dad came out too, followed by the dogs.

 

Asha and Jessie were the two Bell family dogs. There were also the black farm dogs, Polly and Daisy.

Everyone stood on the verandah staring out into the rain. The white timber farmhouse was nestled on a slope among old elm trees. The valley was surrounded by misty green hills and patches of bush. The sky overhead was dull with heavy grey clouds.

‘Look!' said Rosie. She stood on tiptoe, peering over the verandah railing. ‘The creek has flooded!'

Sugarloaf Creek had overflowed. The flat paddock between the creek and the house had disappeared and turned into a wide, shallow lake.

‘Let's hope the water doesn't rise any further,' said Uncle Nick.

 

He pointed downstream to where a rickety timber bridge crossed the creek, leading towards the front gate. ‘One year the floods washed the bridge away and we couldn't get out.'

Tom grinned at the others. ‘It was
terrible
. We couldn't go to school for a whole week.'

Lulu looked up at Dad with shining eyes. ‘Maybe the water will rise that high this time,' she said. ‘We could stay here instead of going to school on Tuesday. We might even be trapped here for
weeks
.'

Lulu couldn't think of anything more exciting than staying at the farm for weeks and weeks. Lulu loved her home right behind Shelly Beach Vet Hospital, but sometimes she thought it would be fun to live on a farm.

Dad squeezed Lulu's shoulder. ‘Good try, sweetie. But that would take many days of heavy rain.'

Uncle Nick looked serious. ‘It's okay for you kids to play around the paddock by the house. It'll be a bit wet but it's shallow enough. I just don't want any of you to go further downstream. Past the bridge, the creek can get a bit dangerous when it's flooded.'

Everyone nodded to show that they understood.

‘Did you hear that, Gus?' asked Dad. ‘You can't go wandering off by yourself. You might get lost again.'

Once Gus had gone missing at the farm. Lulu and Asha had found him curled up asleep under a bed with Griffin and Chook, the chickens.

‘Pirate captains
never
get lost,' insisted Gus.

‘We'll look after him,' said Tom.

‘Can we go check out the cubby fort?' asked Rosie.

Uncle Nick nodded. ‘Sure. But don't forget you promised to help me feed the animals later.'

Dad winked at the kids. ‘And we might need to start preparing for a certain special celebration. We don't want to forget about that.'

Lulu grinned. ‘What are we celebrating, Dad?'

Gus jumped up and down with excitement. ‘Me! Tomorrow it's my
birsday
!'

The cousins trudged along the muddy driveway in their gumboots. The four dogs ran along beside them. The driveway curled down the slope to meet the road near the creek. To the left, the road led to the cattle yards and back paddocks. To the right, the road led across the wooden bridge to the dairy and the front gate.

Straight ahead was a steep hill covered in thick scrub. One of the best things about the cubby fort was that it had a secret entrance. Only the cousins knew where it was.

Meg led the way. The six children turned off the road and tramped through the long, wet grass. Tom pulled back a low-hanging branch. Behind it was a tunnel through the scrub. One by one, the cousins pushed through the opening. Beyond, the hill rose up steeply. It was so steep that
when they'd made the fort, the cousins had tied a rope around the gum tree on top of the hill. They used the rope to help haul themselves up the track.

This time, instead of a path, there was a cascade of water.

‘Oh no!' cried Lulu. ‘The path's turned into a waterfall!'

Everyone stood, staring.

‘I'll give it a go,' said Tom, who was the oldest cousin. He picked up the sodden rope and hauled himself up. The others waited below.

A few minutes later, Tom slithered down the slope.

‘It's no good,' he said. ‘The base of the fort is a big muddy puddle.'

‘So we can't have Gus's pirate party up there,' said Rosie.

‘We'll just have to have the party at the house,' said Meg.

Lachie shook his head. ‘That's not much fun.'

The little farmhouse was rather crowded with two families staying there. Often the cousins would camp out in tents. But because of the rain, they were all sleeping on mattresses on the lounge room floor.

Gus screwed up his face and pouted. ‘But I want my party in a pirate ship.'

Jessie licked him on the hand.

‘Don't worry, Gussie,' said Lulu. ‘We'll think of something. Maybe we can build
a pirate ship in the lounge room using mattresses and pillows.'

Gus looked at Lulu in disgust. ‘Not a
pillow
ship. A really cool
pirate
ship.'

The cousins trudged back towards the house. As they walked, Lulu thought hard.
What can we do to make Gus's pirate party really special?

Lulu glanced out across the flooded paddock beside the driveway. It seemed so strange to have a lake appear where there was usually a grassy field. Tom picked up a stone and skimmed it across the water. It skipped a couple of times and then sank.

‘Let's splash through the paddock,' said Meg. ‘Dad said it would be okay.'

The cousins set off down the bank. Lulu's gumboots squelched in the mud. The two younger dogs, Jessie and Polly, ran ahead. Polly was always leading Jessie on adventures. Daisy and Asha, who were older and calmer, stayed with the kids. Lulu called and the younger dogs came galloping back.

The six cousins stood at the edge of the new lake. Bits of green grass popped up in the areas that were particularly shallow.

‘Ready, set, GO!' yelled Gus. He jumped into the water. Droplets spurted up around him in a silvery spray, soaking everyone – including the dogs. Asha ran up the slope, her tail between her legs. She didn't like getting drenched.

‘
Gus
!' shouted all the kids.

Gus didn't mind. He charged through the water, churning up ripples and waves.

‘Come on,' said Lulu. She stomped into the water after Gus. Raindrops dripped off the brim of her hat. The water lapped halfway up her gumboots, sucking and squelching around them. It was a funny feeling.

‘Bombs away!' yelled Lachie. He launched himself into the shallow water.

Soon the cousins were chasing and calling, squealing and splashing with delight. Everyone's clothes were soaked but the water was warm.

‘This is
fun
!' cried Lulu. ‘Maybe we can still have a great time for Gus's birthday – even with all this rain.'