Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort (2 page)

‘They're here,' came a shout from the verandah. Six children and two black dogs began to run down the hill.

Dad parked the car by the shed. The six cousins mobbed around it, laughing and chattering. The family spilled out of the car and stretched. There were hugs and kisses all round. Everyone was shouting over the top of one another.

‘Hi, Meggie. Hi, Ella,' called Lulu.
She gave her cousins a hug. ‘It's
sooo
good to be here.'

Asha and Jessie jumped out of the car. They sniffed and woofed to greet the farm dogs, Daisy and Polly. All four dogs wagged their tails madly.

‘Hello, hello,' boomed Uncle Nick.

‘Come in,' called Auntie Tor. ‘Did you have a good trip?'

Everyone grabbed bags and pillows and sleeping-bags. Within a minute the car was empty.

There were three families staying at the farm for the holidays. Dad's brother, Nick, owned the farm with his wife, Auntie Tor. They had three children – Tom, Meg and Lachie.

Then there was Auntie Kate and Uncle Greg with their three children – Ben, Tim and Ella. They had arrived from
the city early the day before.

‘Do you want to come and see our fort?' asked Tom. He dropped a backpack on the verandah. ‘We've been building the best fort. It's so well hidden
that no-one would ever find it. Would they, Ben?'

‘It's awesome,' agreed Ben. ‘We can play battles and raids.'

‘It's like a cross between a tree house, a cubby and a fort,' added Tim.

Lulu threw down her load of sleeping-bags. ‘Sounds great. Let's go!'

The nine cousins started to run for the hills, keen for adventure.

‘Not so fast,' called Dad. ‘Before you disappear, we need to put up the tents and make the beds. Why don't we get that done first so we can all enjoy ourselves later?'

‘Aawww,' moaned the cousins in unison. They set to work carrying the sleeping-bags and gear into the back garden, where the tents were to be pitched.

There was not enough room in the little farmhouse for all three families. The parents were to sleep inside. The nine cousins were to sleep outside. There was a big tent for the five boys, and a smaller tent for the four girls.

The dads set up the two tents. The nine children blew up mattresses with the air pump and rolled out the sleeping-bags. Gus kept crawling inside the tents when they were still flat on the ground, then jumping on the mattresses while they were half blown up.

‘Gus, why don't you go and help Mum make the bed for us inside?' suggested Dad, after the tent collapsed for the second time.

Gus pouted and pulled his Bug Boy mask down over his face.

‘Maybe we could go and feed the chooks?' said Lulu. ‘Remember the chickens, Gus? You love them.'

Lulu, Meg, Ben and Gus went to the kitchen to fetch the pail of kitchen scraps. The chickens were let out during the day to scratch and peck in the fenced vegetable garden. At night-time they were locked in the henhouse to keep them safe from foxes.

‘Chicken,' said Gus. He pointed to a red speckled hen. ‘Bug Boy like him.'

‘They're girl chickens, Gus,' explained Lulu. ‘They're called hens. Roosters are the boys.'

‘That one's Chook,' said Meg. ‘And that's Griffin.'

‘Bok, bok, bok,'
cackled the hens.

‘Can they lay eggs yet?' asked Lulu. She scooped Griffin up for a cuddle.

‘Just little ones,' answered Meg. ‘We'll look for them later.'

Lulu showed Gus how to scatter some scraps for the chickens to peck at.

The other kids came running around the side of the house.

‘Come on,' called Tom. ‘The tents are all up, so get your boots and we'll go to the fort.'

Everyone had to wear sturdy boots at the farm because of the mud and the snakes. The snakes usually slithered away if they heard people, but the mums said you could never be too careful.

Mum had already unpacked. The boots were lined up in the laundry. Hats, oilskins and coiled-up stock whips hung on hooks on the wall. Lulu pulled on her favourite cowgirl boots and jammed on her hat. She was ready for anything.

Gus looked at his big cousins. Tom and Lachie were both wearing checked shirts, jeans and cowboy hats.
Gus pushed back his superhero mask and followed them out onto the verandah.

‘Race you,' called Lulu.

She charged down the hill to the creek, with the cousins and four dogs chasing after her.

It was muddy down by the creek. The banks were churned up from the hooves of the cattle. Lulu picked her way carefully around the sticky clods.

The cousins crossed the narrow wooden bridge over the creek. A moment later, Tom put up his hand. It was a signal for everyone to be quiet. Tom looked around carefully. There was no-one nearby except a cow and her calf.
The parents were all back at the house.

‘Follow me,' Tom whispered.

They were gathered at the base of a steep hillside, beside a patch of thick, low scrub. Tom led the way into a low tunnel formed by the branches of the bushes. Lulu ducked under the leaves. Ahead of her, the path cleared.
She saw a dirt track leading up the hill.

‘Up we go,' said Tom. He grinned at all the cousins.

Lulu paused, glancing at Gus and Ella. ‘That track looks pretty steep,' she said. ‘It might be a bit hard for Gus. He's only little.'

Gus scowled fiercely. ‘Bug Boy not little. I big.'

Lulu tried hard not to smile. ‘Yes, you're a big three-year-old. But it still looks a bit slippery.'

‘It's easy,' said Lachie. ‘I'll show you.'

Lachie stooped down. He picked up the end of a rope that was lying in the grass. He let the rope take his weight and then scrambled up the path. He quickly disappeared over the top.

‘See?' called Lachie from up high. ‘Send the next one up.'

One by one all the cousins climbed up the path. Lulu found it much easier than she had expected. Gus scrambled up on his hands and knees. The four dogs scrabbled up behind him.

Soon they were all standing on a flat clearing at the top of a ridge. Below them was a wide view over the valley. Paddocks stretched away as far as they could see. The white farmhouse looked like a doll's house. The two tents and sheds huddled behind it. Lulu could see her mum. She was sitting on a camp chair in front of her easel and painting.

Down below, Lulu could see the cow grazing by the creek. Her calf slept in the shade nearby.

‘Wow,' said Lulu. ‘We're up high.'

‘Look at the fort,' said Tom. ‘We've been working on it for days.'

Near the edge of the clearing was a fallen log from an old tree. It was embedded in the dirt and formed a natural wall. The boys had dug a shallow ditch behind the log. They could lie down, completely hidden, and peer over the edge.

Behind this was a huge gum tree. It had a thick low branch, which made a handy seat. The rope was firmly knotted around the trunk.

‘We pull up the rope to make it harder for people to climb after us,' said Lachie. He hauled up the rope and coiled it neatly.

‘We've been making weapons too,' said Tim. Leaning against the fort wall was a pile of bows and arrows. They were made from sticks and string. Tim picked up a curved bow and twanged the tight string.

‘It's wonderful,' said Lulu. She glanced around with shining eyes. ‘Wouldn't it be great if we could bring up some furniture?'

‘I don't think Mum would let us have furniture,' said Meg. ‘She's always worried about us putting muddy boots on the sofas.'

‘Not
real
furniture,' said Lulu. ‘We could make furniture out of old crates or boxes.'

‘There are some wooden crates in the shed,' said Tom.

‘And some cushions,' added Lachie.

‘Let's see what we can borrow,' Lulu said. ‘This will be the best cubby fort ever.'

The cousins raced back to the farmhouse to find Auntie Tor. She told them they could borrow any bits and pieces they found lying around.

Gus wandered off to round up Chook and Griffin. The rest of the kids set off on a treasure hunt. They found wooden crates and old cushions to use as seats. Tim found a packet of biscuits, a bottle of water and some plastic cups
for emergency snacks. They carried everything back to the cubby fort. Gus stayed behind.

‘Wow, that was hard work,' huffed Lulu.

She and Rosie set the crates in a circle and dropped the cushions on top.

‘That's better,' said Rosie.

‘Yes,' agreed Lulu. ‘It looks fantastic.'

Then the cousins began to play a complicated game of cowboys and raiders. Different teams patrolled through the bushes and scrub, and then came sneaking back.

Jessie was the best guard dog. She whined madly and wagged her tail every time any of the raiders came close to invading the fort. Then she licked them all over the face.

It was great fun.

Finally, the sun began to slip below the horizon in the west, streaking the sky with vivid colour. A loud bell sounded from the farmhouse.

‘That's Mum calling us for dinner,' explained Lachie. ‘We'd better head back.'

‘Yes,' agreed Tom. He winked at Tim and Lachie. ‘Before it gets dark and the ghost comes out.'

‘Ooooooh,'
wailed Tim in a spooky voice.

Rosie glanced around fearfully at the darkening shadows. The boys grinned.

‘I'll go first, Rosie,' offered Lulu. ‘Then you follow me.'

One by one the children clambered down the hill and headed back to the farmhouse.

The mums were in the kitchen, slicing onions and tomatoes. The dads had chopped a big pile of firewood. The kids gathered twigs and dry branches to use as kindling in the camp fire.

Uncle Nick had built a fireplace with a circle of rocks. Round logs were placed around it to be used as benches.

Dad lit the fire. He carefully added larger branches as the flames flared up.

It was now dark. The sky glowed with thousands of stars. They shone far more brightly than at home in the city. Everyone sat around the fire, chatting and laughing.

Uncle Greg and Lulu's dad barbecued sausages on a grill over the coals. Lulu's mouth watered at the delicious smells. Everyone grabbed a bread roll each, and piled on a crispy sausage, cooked onions and tomatoes, and lettuce leaves from the garden.

These were followed by gooey pink marshmallows toasted on sticks over the flames.

Finally, one by one, the children began to yawn.