Lulu Bell and the Pyjama Party (4 page)

Dad lit a fire in the fireplace and everyone sat around it. The kids were cross-legged on the mattresses on the floor. Dad had grilled meat patties on the barbecue to make burgers. They ate around the fire, as if they really were camping. Asha loved lying as close to the heat as she could get.

Dad told corny jokes.

‘Why can't the elephant use a computer?' asked Dad.

‘
Ellypant's
got no hands,' said Gus.

‘No, because he's scared of the mouse,' said Dad.

‘Ooooh,' groaned Mum and Lulu together.

Afterwards, they toasted marshmallows on long sticks over the flames. Dad looked after the fire. Sam and Gus toasted two marshmallows at a time until they were soft and gooey.

‘Dulishus,'
said Gus. He had pink and white streaks all over his face.

Molly wriggled back against the sofa. ‘This is so much fun,' she said.

Sam yawned. Soon Rosie and Gus were yawning too. Dad put the fireguard over the fireplace. The flames had died away so there was just a pile of gently glowing coals. Asha turned around on her bed three times. She flopped down, her head on her paws.

Ebony chased her tail around and around until she fell over.

‘I think it's time to clean your teeth. Then we can tuck you all into your sleeping bags,' said Mum. ‘You've had a big day.'

Lulu felt disappointed. It couldn't possibly be bedtime yet. There was still so much fun to be had.

‘I'm not tired,' complained Lulu. ‘I can stay up for hours yet.'

‘Me too,' said Rosie. She rubbed her eyes. Her circlet of roses slipped sideways.

‘Time for bed, girls,' said Mum with a smile.

She took the circlet off Rosie's head and put it on the sideboard.

‘Can you read us a story first, please, Mum?' begged Rosie. ‘Can you read us the one about Fergus the frog?'

‘All right, honey bun,' said Mum. ‘Teeth first, then meet back here for a story and a kiss.'

All the kids raced off to the bathroom. Mum read them all a story and then another one and another one.

‘Just one more,' begged Rosie, as Mum finished the last page. ‘Pleeease Mum, best-mum-in-the-world?'

Mum laughed. ‘Oh Rosie, you are incorrigible.'

‘Incorra-what?'
asked Rosie.

‘Incorrigible,' replied Mum, stroking back Rosie's hair. ‘Very,
very
cheeky and naughty.'

Mum kissed them all. Sam looked around at everyone with big eyes. He took his glasses off. Mum put them safely up on the mantelpiece.

‘Are you all right, Sam?' asked Mum.

Sam nodded, so Mum turned out the light and crept out.

There was silence for a moment. Lulu could hear the comforting sound of Mum and Dad talking in the kitchen through the open door.

‘Goodnight, everyone,' whispered Lulu.

‘Goodnight, Lulu,' chorused Molly, Rosie and Gus.

Lulu thought she heard a sniffling, snuffling sound coming from Sam's bed. She sat up.

‘Sam, would you like me to tell you a story?' asked Lulu.

There was a stifled sob and a hiccup. ‘Yes, please, Lulu,' said Sam.

So Lulu whispered a story in the darkness. A story of dragons and a brave warrior princess who set off on a quest to save her tiger brother from the clutches of an evil witch.

Lulu finished the story. She thought everyone was asleep but she heard a funny little sound. She looked around in the soft glowing light from the fireplace,
wondering what it was. Finally she saw Ebony curled up next to Sam, purring loudly. Lulu smiled and closed her eyes.

Lulu woke up to the sound of the phone ringing in the kitchen. It was pitch-dark.
Who could be ringing this late?
wondered Lulu. It must be an animal emergency.

After hours, the vet hospital phone rang through to the kitchen. It was just in case someone urgently needed help.

Lulu heard Dad's voice answer the phone.

‘Hello, Shelly Beach Vet Hospital. Dr Bell speaking,' said Dad.

There was a pause while Dad listened to the caller. ‘I see,' said Dad. ‘And is Maisie distressed?'

There was another pause. ‘I think you had better bring her straight in. She may need a caesarean. I'll meet you at the vet hospital. See you soon.'

Dad tiptoed through the lounge room.

‘Dad?' whispered Lulu sleepily. ‘Is Maisie all right?'

Dad stopped. ‘She's having trouble delivering her puppies. I need to take a look at her. You go back to sleep.'

Lulu tried to sleep. But now she was worried about Maisie and her puppies. At last, Lulu climbed out of her sleeping bag. She pulled on her bunny slippers and padded towards the vet hospital.

She pushed open the green door.
In the vet hospital, all the lights were burning brightly. Lulu blinked in the sudden light. The vet hospital seemed strangely quiet at night-time.

Lulu checked each room. Dad was not in the waiting room or the consulting rooms. She heard a low murmur of voices coming from the operating theatre. Lulu peeked her head around the door.

Dad was there, in the sterile green gown and cap that he wore during operations. He had thin plastic gloves on his hands and a surgical mask over his mouth. There were strong, warm lights shining down.

Maisie was lying on the operating table. She was unconscious and had a breathing tube in her mouth. Her stomach had been shaved and painted with antiseptic.

Lauren and her mum were standing by, looking anxious. Like Lulu, Lauren was wearing her pyjamas.

‘Perfect timing, Lulu,' said Dad. Lulu could hear the smile in his voice. ‘Can you please scrub up, then fetch me a pile of sterile towels?'

Lulu washed her hands carefully, using the anti-bacterial soap at the sink. She fetched a pile of sterile towels from a cupboard and placed them on the benchtop. A moment later, Molly popped her head around the door.

‘Sorry,' she said. ‘I couldn't sleep either so I followed Lulu.'

‘Come in, Molly,' invited Dad. ‘We'll need all of you to help in a moment. I want to deliver the puppies as quickly as I can. Lulu will show you all what to do. She's done it before.'

Dad clamped a sterile cloth over Maisie's tummy. Beside the operating table was a trolley. On top, medical
instruments were laid out neatly.

Dad explained to Molly and Lauren. ‘This operation is called a caesarean,' he said. ‘I make a small cut in Maisie's tummy so I can pull out the puppies. We need to do it quickly so that the puppies are not affected too much by the anaesthetic.'

Dad turned to Lulu. ‘Are you ready to take delivery of the first pup?'

Lulu picked up a clean towel and held it out flat. Dad pulled a slippery puppy from Maisie's belly. He cleared away the sac and membranes, and cut the cord to detach it from its mother. Dad passed Lulu the first puppy. It was plump and black and lying perfectly still.

‘This one's a fattie,' said Dad. ‘A beautiful, healthy pup.'

‘Hello, baby,' whispered Lulu.

Lulu's job was to rub the puppy with the towel to dry it and help it to breathe. She had to wipe the mucus from around its nose and mouth. It was important to work fast to get the puppy breathing as quickly as possible.

Dad passed another wrinkly puppy to Lauren, and then one to her mum Kyra.

Lulu rubbed her puppy. It lay unmoving and quiet in the towel. Lulu rubbed some more.

‘Come on, little puppy,' whispered Lulu. ‘Breathe. You have to breathe.'

Lulu rubbed a little harder. There was a tiny squeak. The puppy sucked in air. Lulu rubbed again. The puppy cried loudly, its eyes firmly shut.

‘It's breathing,' squealed Lulu. Soon the pup was wriggling and squirming, its paws scrabbling in the air.

‘Good work, Lulu,' said Dad. ‘Pop it in the warming box. I have another one ready to go.'

Lulu laid the puppy in a special box under a heat lamp to keep it warm.

Dad passed her another puppy to rub. This one was smaller and a pale gold colour. The others were also
working hard to revive their puppies.

‘Mine's not breathing,' said Lauren. She sounded like she might cry.

‘Just rub a little bit harder,' suggested Lulu. Lulu showed Lauren what to do, and the puppy took a sharp breath.

Soon the operating theatre was filled with the sound of squeaks and cries as the Labrador puppies began to breathe on their own.

‘Eleven puppies,' said Dad. ‘No wonder Maisie was looking so big.'

Dad started work on sewing up the cut in Maisie's tummy. Lulu worked on her third puppy. Soon that pup was breathing too.

Lulu gazed down at the warming box. There were eleven fat puppies lying side by side. Seven were golden Labradors like their father and four were black
like Maisie. They mewled and whined, searching for their mother.

Lauren, Molly and Lulu grinned at each other with delight.

‘Look at them,' said Lulu. ‘Aren't they gorgeous? I'm sooooo glad the puppies were born in the middle of our pyjama party.'