Lulu Bell and the Pirate Fun (3 page)

All the cousins – except for Gus – followed Lulu. With gumboots on, they walked back down towards the road. This time they didn't go to the cubby fort. Instead, they crossed the timber bridge and took a shortcut across the paddock to the hay barn.

Lulu slid the door open. ‘Tada!' she cried. ‘
This
is where we can have Gus's party!'

‘In the barn?' asked Meg.

‘Yes,' said Lulu. ‘It's under cover, so we won't get wet. We can make as much noise as we like. And we can build a super-duper pirate ship for Gus!'

Lulu looked around at the large dusty space. Instead of a haystack, she could imagine the hull and sails of a ship – a Spanish galleon, with a carved mermaid on the prow.

‘But how are we going to make a pirate ship?' asked Rosie.

Lulu pointed at the pile of hay bales. ‘We can ask Uncle Nick and Auntie Tor if we can move some of this around. Maybe we can borrow some things from the garage as well.'

Lachie and Tom nodded.

‘Ropes, cushions, crates,' suggested Tom. He ticked the items off on his fingers.

‘And a plank,' added Lulu.

‘Ye'll be walking the plank, matey,' growled Lachie in his pirate voice.

‘It'll be a fine pirate ship for us scallywags,' said Tom, as the cousins headed back to the farmhouse to speak to Uncle Nick and Auntie Tor.

‘Sounds like a great idea,' said Uncle Nick, when the cousins had told them their plan.

‘If you can't find everything you need, let me know and I'll see what I can do,' said Auntie Tor.

Lulu asked Auntie Tor if she could borrow a broomstick and an old white sheet. Meg found string in the craft box. Tom fetched the wheelbarrow, then they all headed to the garage to see if they could find anything else to help build their pirate ship.

In the garage, the cousins picked up some old rope, cushions, crates, bamboo poles, a tarpaulin and a plank of wood. When they had everything they needed, they put it all into the wheelbarrow and took it back to the barn.

Once they had unloaded their goodies, the cousins had a long look around.

‘First we should move the bales of hay,' suggested Lulu. ‘Then we can use
poles and rope to make the masts.'

‘Aye aye, Captain!' cried Lachie. He saluted smartly and scrambled up the haystack.

The cousins worked for an hour. They moved bales of hay to create the base of the ship. Lulu knotted one corner of the sheet to the broomstick. Rosie tied the other corner to a pole to create a sail.

Tom and Lachie balanced the plank of wood between two hay bales, and they all helped to spread the blue tarpaulin out on the ground to make the sea. Finally, Lulu tied one of the Jolly Roger flags to a bamboo pole and hoisted it up high.

The cousins stood back and admired their work.

‘That's a mighty fine pirate ship, me hearties,' said Meg.

‘Gus is going to be super-excited when he sees it,' said Rosie.

‘And there's plenty of room for everyone,' said Lulu.

‘Looks like all our troubles are solved,' said Tom.

‘
Arrr
, you scurvy bilge rat,' said Lachie. ‘There's always trouble with pirates about.'

The next morning Lulu was woken by a slight noise. She rolled over and opened her eyes. Lulu was still a bit tired because she had stayed up late last night, finishing one final thing so that Gus's pirate party would be perfect. She looked around. Huddled together in front of the fire were the cousins, all snug in their sleeping bags. They looked like fat
caterpillars. The dogs were meant to be sleeping on their mats but instead they were curled up at the kids' feet.

‘Lulu?' hissed Gus. He was sitting up, his hair all mussed and on end. His face was bright with excitement.

‘Hey, Gus,' said Lulu with a yawn. She rubbed her eyes.

‘Lulu, guess what? This morning I counted up and I was
four
!'

The dogs and the other cousins quickly woke up at Gus's shout.

Lulu grinned. ‘Of course you are. Happy birthday, Gus. Today we're going to have the best day, with lots of surprises!'

‘Happy birthday, Gus!' cried everyone in turn.

Mum and Dad came in, then Uncle Nick and Auntie Tor. Everyone made
a big fuss of Gus. Mum cooked his favourite breakfast – buttery pancakes with lemon and brown sugar.

Gus ate a huge pile of six pancakes. He held out his plate. ‘Any more?' he asked hopefully. ‘I
love
pancakes.'

Dad grinned. ‘Maybe just a little one,' he said. ‘Only because it's your birthday and you're a big four-year-old now.'

Mum peered out the window. ‘It's still raining,' she said.

‘The creek has risen even higher,' said Dad, looking through the window.

‘But the bridge hasn't washed away, thank goodness,' said Uncle Nick.

‘So we can't go horseriding today?' asked Lulu.

Uncle Nick shook his head. ‘Sorry, Lulu. It's just too soggy.'

Lulu's mouth drooped with disappointment.

‘Luckily we have a good plan for the party,' said Meg.

Lulu grinned. She couldn't wait to see Gus's face when he saw the pirate ship they had built.
And
the special treasure map she had drawn for him last night…

After breakfast, everyone had jobs to do. Meg and Tom were on dishwasher
duty. Lachie and Rosie fed the four dogs. Lulu and Gus went to feed the chickens.

Normally Chook and Griffin liked to peck around in the vegetable garden. But today they were huddled in their henhouse with their feathers fluffed up. Lulu opened the gate, waited for Gus to charge through, then carefully latched it behind them. She changed the water
while Gus filled up the bowl with grain. When he finished, Gus sat down and cuddled Griffin. He loved the chickens.

Asha and Jessie sat outside the chicken yard, watching. Jessie smiled her big doggy grin. Lulu always thought Jessie was the smiliest dog in the world.

‘There's no more food for you, girls,' scolded Lulu. ‘You've had your breakfast already. I saw you gobble it down!'

Both dogs wagged their tails.

Polly came over. She nudged Jessie with her nose then the two dogs raced away. They squeezed under the farm gate and ran off through the paddocks, towards the creek.

Lulu watched the dogs bounding along together. ‘Come on, Gus,' she said. ‘Time to leave the chickens. We need to help Mum make your party food.'

Gus gave Griffin one last cuddle. Asha followed Lulu and Gus back inside.

In the kitchen, Lachie and Meg were making the cake batter. Auntie Tor was cutting up oranges and Mum was scooping flesh from a watermelon. Tom and Rosie were making blue jelly cups. Lulu started greasing the cake tin.

Gus peered into the mixing bowl. ‘More
choclit
. It needs lots of
choclit
.'

Lachie grinned and added another teaspoon of cocoa. ‘Aye aye, captain,' he said.

Meg poured the cake batter into the greased tin and Auntie Tor popped it in the oven.

‘That needs about half an hour,' said Auntie Tor, turning on the oven timer. ‘That will leave plenty of time for it to cool down before we put the icing on.'

‘How would you like us to decorate your cake, honey bun?' Mum asked Gus.

Gus frowned. ‘How 'bout a really big sea monster?' he asked. ‘With big
goggly
eyes!'

‘Hmmm,' said Mum. ‘That sounds a little tricky.'

‘How about a shark cake?' suggested Tom.

‘Or a deserted island?' said Rosie. ‘With palm trees and a coral reef.'

Mum's eyes twinkled with laughter. ‘How about something a bit simpler, or we won't be eating this cake for days!'

The buzzer went and Auntie Tor set the chocolate cake on the bench to cool. Mum stacked the jelly cups in the fridge to set.

Lulu was helping Lachie and Rosie make mini pirate ships. They took the tiny Jolly Roger flags they had glued onto toothpicks the day before and stuck one in the middle of each orange wedge. The orange ships would then float on the blue jelly sea.

A scratching sounded at the door. Tom opened it and let Polly in. He patted her head. Polly flopped down in the corner beside Asha and Daisy. Her long coat was soaked from the rain. Tom picked up a towel and gave her a quick rub to dry her off.

Asha whined. She came over to Lulu and butted her on the leg with her head.

‘What's up, girl?' asked Lulu. She put down her orange wedge.

Asha looked up at Lulu with her big brown eyes. She whined again then padded over to the back door and turned her head to look at Lulu.

‘Do you want to go outside?' asked Lulu. She opened the door. ‘Out you go.'

Asha ran outside. But instead of bounding off to play, she looked back at Lulu again. It was if she was trying to tell Lulu something.

‘Mum, I think something's wrong with Asha,' said Lulu.

‘You know Asha hates the rain,' said Mum, coming over to the door. ‘Maybe she just needs to go outside but doesn't want to get wet.'

Lulu stood at the door and looked out. Asha came back and nudged Lulu's hand with her nose.

‘No,' said Lulu, shaking her head. ‘I think it's something else.'

Suddenly Lulu had a thought. A little shiver ran up her spine. ‘Has anyone seen Jessie? I saw her go out with Polly this morning but I haven't seen her since.'

Mum frowned. ‘I wonder where she could be? Jessie doesn't normally wander off.' Mum whistled loudly. ‘Jessie!' she yelled. ‘Jessie!'

Everyone went out onto the verandah.

Asha gave Lulu's hand one more nudge then she trotted off into the rain.

Lulu felt worried.

Where could Jessie be?
she thought.
She
never
wanders off by herself.
Lulu flicked one of her honey-coloured plaits over her shoulder. ‘I'm going to look for Jessie.'

‘I'll come too,' said Rosie.

‘Me too,' said Gus.

‘Let me just grab my jacket, honey buns,' said Mum.

Soon, Mum and all the kids were pulling on their gumboots, hats and jackets. They set off to follow Asha. Asha was running across the paddock towards the flooded creek. She had her nose to the ground, as if she was trying to sniff out a scent. She paused and looked
back. She barked loudly. It was her warning bark.

Lulu felt a heavy lump in her tummy.
Where could Jessie be? Could something have happened to her? What if she's lost or hurt?