Rescue Princesses #3: The Moonlight Mystery

For Teri, who was there on the journey

Princess Lulu grasped the lowest branch of the tree with both hands and swung herself backward and forward. After a few swings, she stretched high enough to curl her legs around the branch above.

Her curly black hair swayed as she climbed. She wore a short yellow dress dotted with tiny golden beads. It was her tree-climbing dress, and it was now extremely dusty. On her left hand she wore a ring with a gleaming yellow topaz, her favorite jewel.

Halfway up the tree there was a long straight branch, almost as straight and smooth as the beam in Lulu’s gym. She loved practicing in the gym, but being out here with the sun blazing down and the breeze on her face was even better.

On her left stood the palace of Undala, with its courtyard and fountain, and on her right was the outer wall, with the golden grasslands beyond. In the distance, an elephant lifted its trunk at the water hole, getting its early-morning drink.

Lulu smiled and turned back to the branch in front of her. She wanted to see if she could do a cartwheel on it. She stood tall and gazed straight ahead, excitement fizzing inside her. Then, pointing one foot, she raised her arms high above her head, ready to cartwheel.

“Achoo!” The ear-splitting sneeze came from below, making Lulu jump. She wobbled and nearly fell off the branch. Grabbing on to the tree trunk, she peered down toward the ground.

Prince Olaf stood under the tree, his spiky blond head looking up at her. Lulu sighed. Olaf was visiting the kingdom of Undala with his parents, the king and queen of Finia, and ever since arriving he’d been following Lulu around. He’d seemed so nice when she’d met him before, at royal balls and banquets. But now she thought he was a know-it-all!

Olaf sneezed again. “Sorry!” he said. “I was just watching. I love learning acrobatics and circus skills. I was practicing them in your gym yesterday. Maybe I can teach you some?”

Lulu swung down from the branch and landed on the ground in front of him, hands on her hips. “You were practicing in
my
gym?”

“That’s right.” Olaf grinned, not noticing Lulu’s frown. “I think I’m getting really good at walking the beam.”

“Really?” Lulu folded her arms. “How many times did you fall off first?”

“A few times.” Olaf didn’t look even the tiniest bit embarrassed. “Would you like me to show you how to do it? I can always hold your hand if you’re nervous.”

Lulu’s eyes flashed. Olaf was the most annoying prince she’d ever met! “No thanks!” she snapped. “I can turn hundreds of cartwheels on my beam, and I certainly don’t need anyone to hold my hand!” She was about to add that she would show him just how good she was, but the low
clang
of the breakfast gong interrupted her.

Lulu rushed inside, with Olaf trailing behind her. She was going out to the grasslands with Walter, the royal ranger, this morning and she didn’t want to be late. She bounded into the palace hallway, with its shelves of beautiful animal carvings. A huge painting of a lion standing at the foot of a mountain hung next to the doorway. Inside the Great Hall, the maids were setting out the breakfast plates. Lulu hurried in and found a seat at the long wooden table.

“Good morning, Lulu. Good morning, Olaf,” said Lulu’s mom, Queen Shani, with a warm smile. “Have either of you seen Lady Malika?”

Lulu shook her head and helped herself to the warm buttered rolls.

“No, I haven’t, Your Majesty,” replied Prince Olaf with a sweeping bow. “But I’ll go and look for her if you want.”

Lady Malika was the queen’s sister, who lived on the other side of Undala. It was a long way away, so she didn’t visit very often. She owned a big circus in the city, which Lulu had visited once when she was little. Like the Finians, Lady Malika had come to stay at the palace for a few weeks.

“Thank you, Prince Olaf. But there’s no need. I just wondered where she was because her room is empty,” said Queen Shani. “Perhaps she had something important to do this morning, so she left the palace early.”

Lulu scowled at Prince Olaf, who was offering the rolls to the queen politely, and wished more than anything that her friends, princesses Emily, Clarabel, and Jaminta, had come to visit instead. She knew they’d love Undala, with its huge grasslands filled with wild animals. She sighed wistfully, just as a horn honked loudly outside the window.

“That’s Walter! He must be ready to leave,” she cried, racing out of the hall and down the front steps.

“Slow down, Lulu! Do you have to rush everywhere?” the queen called after her.

Lulu jumped into the truck, next to Walter, who smiled at her. “Let’s go!” she cried.

They zoomed through the tall palace gates, with the red earth flying beneath their wheels.

Walter drove them across the rough grasslands, circling carefully around a herd of grazing elephants. “I suppose you want to see the lioness’s hollow again?” he said, pushing up the sleeves of his checkered shirt.

“Yes, please!” Lulu’s dark eyes sparkled with delight. “Maybe today the cubs will come out to play.”

Walter slowed the truck down in front of a patch of bushes before coming to a stop underneath a tall tree.

“I’m going to check the animals at the water hole,” he told her. “Remember what I said about staying in the truck. It’s not safe for you to walk around on your own.”

Lulu nodded. But as soon as he’d disappeared down the slope, she leapt up from her seat and out of the open-air truck as if waiting one more second would make her burst. She grabbed on to the lowest branch of the tree above her. Hauling herself up, she reached for the next branch and the next, climbing swiftly. At last she stood at the very top, able to see the beautiful kingdom of Undala spread out below her.

Miles of tall golden grass rippled in the wind, and in the distance the black-and-white blur of a zebra herd moved slowly across the plain. But Lulu wasn’t interested in zebras. She’d seen them hundreds of times. Her eyes were fixed on a hollow in the sun-baked red earth. A bush right next to the hollow quivered, and a small paw stuck out.

Lulu grinned in delight and crouched down on her branch, hanging on to the tree trunk with one hand. She’d been waiting for this moment for six long weeks, ever since the lioness had made the hollow into her den. Lulu knew all about the animals that roamed near her palace, and she knew that the cubs would be almost ready to come out for the very first time. She was so excited at the thought of actually seeing them!

A low growl came from the hollow, and the lioness sprang into view. She padded out of the bush, sniffing the air in all directions. Satisfied that there was no danger near, she settled down on the dusty earth and gave another growl. Five little lion cubs skipped out of the hollow, bounding all around their mother. Their golden fur gleamed in the sun. The smallest cub struggled to climb up onto his mother’s back. He slipped off over and over again, but finally managed to scramble up and then fell right to sleep at the top.

Lulu smiled as she watched them. Five cubs was a really good-sized litter, and they were so cute. She settled more comfortably on her branch, until footsteps below reminded her that she hadn’t come here alone. Walter was shading his eyes as he looked up into the tree.

Lulu waved to him, clambered quickly back down, and dropped into the seat of the truck.

Walter got into the driver’s seat and drove off jerkily. “I thought you were going to wait in the truck. It can be dangerous out here,” he said.

“I know, I’m sorry, Walter,” said Lulu. “But don’t worry. I didn’t walk around, I just climbed right up the tree. And guess what?” She grinned at the ranger happily. “The lion cubs came out to play and there are five of them!”

Walter grunted. “But you could have fallen out of the tree. What would the king and queen say?”

“I’d never fall out!” said Lulu, laughing. “It’s a really easy tree to climb, and it was worth it to see the little cubs. Thanks for letting me come with you.”

Walter grunted again and looked at her from under his bushy eyebrows. “You didn’t just come along to avoid that prince, then?”

Lulu looked at him solemnly. “It was all about seeing the lion cubs, I promise you.”

Walter snorted with laughter and swung the truck around. As the royal ranger, he looked after a vast area of grasslands and the animals that lived there. Lulu knew that he liked her company on the long drives. But he was also right that she was glad to get away from Prince Olaf.

Later on, she would write and tell the other princesses all about the cubs. Together, the four girls had made a secret promise always to help any creature in trouble and had already performed two daring animal rescues. Lulu missed her friends a lot and she knew they’d love to hear about the baby lions. She wished they could see the cubs for themselves.

“We’re driving around to the other side of the water hole next,” said Walter. “I need to check the number of hippos living there. After that we’ll take a look at how far the bison herd has moved.”

They spent a long day driving around checking the numbers of animals in the area and making sure that they all looked healthy. As the sun dipped in the sky, they headed back toward the palace for dinner.

“Could we please take one more look at the lion cubs?” begged Lulu. “Just for a minute.”

“All right,” said Walter. “It’s on our way.”

They stopped underneath the tree near the lioness’s den. The orange sun was setting now, and the bushes next to the hollow were completely still.

Walter took out his binoculars and peered through them. “That’s strange,” he said. “There’s no sign of them at all.”

Lulu took the binoculars and took a look. “I’ll climb the tree again. I can see the whole den from the top.” She swung quickly up the tree, but even from there she saw no sign of the lioness or the cubs.

Frowning, Walter climbed out of the truck and walked toward the bushes. He peered over them for a few moments. Then, shaking his head, he returned to Lulu. “It looks like they’re gone,” he said.

“Gone?” repeated Lulu. “You mean they’ve moved to another den?”

“Maybe. But …” His frown deepened. “There have been far fewer animals around here lately. There aren’t as many zebras or leopards as there should be. I haven’t seen them leave. It’s almost as if they just disappeared.”

“Why would they disappear?” she asked, but Walter shook his head again.

Lulu felt a cold dread grow inside her. Surely nothing bad had happened to the cubs? Surely the lioness would have protected her babies from danger?

Just then there was a faint cry, almost like a cat meowing, and a scrabbling noise came from behind a rock. Lulu’s heart thumped. What could be hiding there? Was it an animal in trouble?