Lulu Bell and the Arabian Nights

Lulu Bell is about to make a new friend!

It's Harmony Day at Shelley Beach School, and Lulu's class is going to star in the school play. What will be the special theme this year?

Lulu is sure that the new girl in her class will have good ideas. How can she make Amira feel welcome? The answer is a happy surprise for everyone!

Cover

About the Book

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter 1: Sword Fights

Chapter 2: Feathered Friends

Chapter 3: The New Girl

Chapter 4: Performance Preparations

Chapter 5: Bird Rescue

Chapter 6: Arabian Nights

Chapter 7: Taj

Chapter 8: Ali Baba

Chapter 9: Morgiana

Chapter 10: The Feast

Lulu Bell and the Koala Joey

Read all the Lulu Bell books

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Copyright Notice

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It was a drizzly kind of day. It was after school on a Monday and a perfect afternoon for making play swords. Lulu and Rosie Bell were working with their grandfather down in the garage. Gumpa had on a pair of protective goggles. He was using an electric saw to shape a piece of wood. Dust flew up from the whirring saw as it chewed through the timber.

Gumpa had cut out two flat wooden blades. They were slightly curved like Arabian scimitars. He shaped the bottom end of the blade into a rounded handle, the hilt. The top end was shaped into a blunt point.

Lulu hammered a nail to fasten a bar across the blade to make the guard. Rosie was using sandpaper to smooth the wood on one sword. Gumpa kept an eye on their progress.

It was hard work. Sawdust drifted from the bench to the floor. Lulu had to concentrate to make sure she hit the nail straight.

‘Good work, girls,' said Gumpa. He tested the guard to make sure it was firmly attached. ‘They're just about finished.'

Lulu used the sandpaper to smooth the hilt of her sword. Gumpa ran his
finger along the blade to make sure it was blunt. He held the sword up in front of his face in a salute.

‘Here you go,' said Gumpa. ‘What do you think?'

‘Great! Thanks, Gumpa,' said Lulu. ‘They're just what we needed for our game.'

Gumpa handed her the sword. Lulu weighed it in her hand. It felt strong. Lulu used both hands to swing the sword. She swung it over her head, around, down and up again to make a perfect figure-eight shape in the air.

Lulu grinned at Rosie. Both of the girls were wearing green velvet cloaks. ‘A perfect sword for battling ghouls.'

‘And
evil
wizards,' added Rosie.

‘And at least forty bandits,' said Lulu.

Mum had been reading them a collection of Persian folktales called
One Thousand and One Nights
. Most people knew the stories as
The Arabian Nights
.

Lulu, Rosie and their little brother Gus had been playing games based on some of the old stories. They especially liked ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', ‘Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp' and ‘The Ebony Horse'.

‘Well, I hope we don't have too many ghouls around here,' joked Gumpa. ‘I don't need any frights.'

‘Let's go and show Gus,' said Rosie. She hurtled out the door.

Gumpa started to sweep up the sawdust.

‘I'll help you pack up,' said Lulu. She hung the hammer back on the wall and put the sandpaper in the toolbox.

‘That's okay, Lulu,' said Gumpa. ‘I'll finish tidying up. You go and practise with that sword.'

Lulu raced out into the garden. The rain had stopped and Rosie and Gus were zooming around in circles. The two dogs ran with them.

Gus was wearing the new knight costume that Mum had made him for Christmas. The tunic was made of shiny silver material. A lion rearing up on its hind legs was drawn on the front. Underneath he wore grey leggings and a long-sleeved T-shirt. He had a red sash tied around his waist. On his head was a helmet made from an ice-cream container covered in silver foil.

The three children had been playing sword fights since the summer holidays. At first they had made flimsy swords from
bamboo. Then Gumpa had promised to make them some proper wooden play swords. Lulu loved her new toy.

Gus already had a sword from Gumpa. He waved it in the air. ‘On guard!' yelled Gus.

Lulu ran to meet the challenge. Her cloak swirled around her shoulders. Loud clangs rang though the air as Lulu and Gus fought with their swords. Lulu danced back and forth. Every few minutes she would spring into a cartwheel then lunge back to hit Gus's sword.

‘Got you,' cried Lulu, as her sword clashed against Gus's. Gus tumbled into a forward roll.

‘My turn,' called Rosie. Gus wheeled away. Rosie swooped in to take his place, with a loud, ‘Take that!'

The two dogs sat and watched. They knew not to get in the way. Jessie smiled her big doggy smile.

Rosie spun around in a circle then dashed forward to attack. Lulu sprang into another cartwheel to escape. Rosie darted in, swinging her sword. ‘You're down,' she yelled.

Lulu pretended to fall. She dropped to the ground and rolled over. Both dogs came to lick her back to life.

Mum came to the back door. She smiled as she watched them play. ‘Careful, you little warriors.'

Mum waved a piece of paper in the air. ‘Lulu, can you please tell Gumpa that the tea is ready? And I've just checked the note from your teacher. It looks like we have a
huge
week coming up.'

Everyone came up into the house. Nanna was already sitting at the kitchen table. The table was set with teacups and a milk jug. Mum had made a pot of tea for the adults. There was a fruit platter for the kids.

‘Check your weapons at the door, honey buns,' joked Mum. ‘No sword fights in the kitchen.'

Lulu, Rosie and Gus propped up their swords in the corner. Mum poured out the tea for Nanna and Gumpa. Everyone sat around the table.

‘So what did the note say?' asked Lulu. ‘What exciting things are happening at school?'

Mum picked up her teacup and took a sip. ‘It's Harmony Day next week,' said Mum. She turned to Nanna and Gumpa. ‘I'm the class parent for year four. So it's my job to organise the food stall and the decorations.'

‘Oooh,' said Rosie. ‘I love Harmony Day.'

‘It sounds like fun,' said Nanna, ‘but what is Harmony Day?'

‘Everyone dresses up in national costumes,' said Lulu. ‘At lunchtime there's lots of yummy food from different countries. One of the classes is chosen to do a special performance.'

Mum put her teacup down in her saucer. ‘It's a celebration of the many countries around the world where different families come from,' said Mum. ‘Every class is allocated a culture based on the background of one of the kids in the class.'

‘It's one of the best days of the year,' said Rosie. ‘I think my class is celebrating India.'

‘So will you wear a sari to school?' asked Nanna.

Rosie shook her head. ‘The food and decorations will be Indian – and I
could
wear a sari – but most kids wear a
costume that shows where their family came from,' she said.

‘For our family that would be Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English, French and Spanish,' said Mum.

Gumpa laughed. ‘Lots to choose from there. What country is your class celebrating, Lulu?'

‘We don't know yet,' said Lulu. ‘It won't be Holland because we did that last year.'

Last year, Jo and Olivia's dad had cooked
poffertjes
. These were puffy Dutch pancakes, served with sugar and butter. The year before it had been Sri Lanka and Lauren's dad had made egg hoppers and roti.

‘It might be Vietnam this year,' said Mum. ‘Tien could help us make lots of rice paper rolls.'

Gus nodded happily as he crunched his pear. ‘
Dulishus
. Gussie loves Tien rolls.'

Lulu's best friend Molly lived next door. Her mum Tien had originally come from Vietnam and she made the most wonderful Vietnamese food.

Suddenly there was a loud noise from outside. It was a cawing, squawking sound. Lulu jumped up and looked out the window.

‘The cockies are here,' said Lulu. She ran to the pantry, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from a container, and slipped them into her pocket.

Outside were three sulphur-crested cockatoos perched on the branches of a tree. They raised their yellow crests and screamed in greeting.

Lulu stood out on the deck. She put a sunflower seed flat on the palm of
her hand. Then she stretched her arm out wide.

‘Cocky,' called Lulu. One of the cockatoos hopped from foot to foot. Then he spread his wings and flew towards Lulu. He landed on Lulu's arm. Gently he took the seed in his curved beak and crunched it.

Another cockatoo flew over and landed on Lulu's shoulder. He had a scarred foot with a missing toe. Lulu fed him a seed.

The rest of Lulu's family came to the door to watch. Mum closed the back door so the dogs wouldn't scare away the birds.

‘Wow,' said Nanna. ‘Lulu, you are amazing. You have wild cockatoos eating out of your hand!'

Lulu took the rest of the seeds and held them in the palm of her hand.

The third cockatoo joined the party. He perched on the heel of Lulu's hand, his head on one side, begging for a seed. Lulu held her arms still so they could peck up the rest of the seeds.

‘They come to visit us most afternoons,' said Lulu. ‘They love eating sunflower seeds or nuts. We've given them all names. Let me introduce Rocky, Cocky and Locky.'

Nanna laughed. ‘And can you tell them apart?'

Lulu nodded. ‘Yes. Rocky is the oldest so he's looking a bit scarred. Cocky is the boldest and Locky is the handsomest.'

‘Hello, Cocky,' yelled Gus. He stretched his arms wide and rushed forward. The cockatoos flew into the air with a screech. They wheeled up in the grey sky and flew away.

‘Gus,' scolded Lulu with one hand on her hip. ‘How many times have I told you not to frighten the birds?'