Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin (2 page)

The summer sun blazed down when the bell rang for the end of school.

Some of the year six boys were having a water fight. They squirted each other with their water bottles. One of them squirted Lulu. She squealed with shock. The icy water
felt lovely and cool down her back.

Lulu's mum and Molly's mum were waiting under the shade of a tree in the playground. Mum looked cool and calm in a blue floral sundress. Molly's brother Sam was standing close beside his mother.

Gus was wearing his Bug Boy suit despite the heat. He ran to the climbing frame with some friends from pre-school.

Lulu and Molly skipped over to meet their mothers. They dumped their school bags beside the pram. It was piled high with towels, beach bags, boogie boards and Rosie's angel wings. ‘Hello there, honey bun,' said Mum. She gave Lulu a hug. ‘How was your day?'

‘It was great, Mum,' said Lulu. ‘Guess what Miss Baxter's surprise was? She has asked us all to draw a design for a mural. Our class is going to do a giant painting on the fence of a new building site.'

Lulu's face shone with excitement.

‘That sounds like fun,' said Mum. ‘Do you have any ideas for it yet?'

‘I'm not sure,' replied Lulu. She chewed her lip. ‘Miss Baxter said that the mural will be up for at least a year, so it needs to be very special. At first I thought about doing some flower fairies. But the building company wants the mural to be about our local community.'

‘Well, perhaps you will get some ideas down at the beach,' replied Mum. ‘I thought we could go there straight away. Where's Rosie?'

Lulu waved her hand towards the hall. Rosie was surrounded by a group of girls. They were all chatting and giggling.

‘Bye, Ruby. Bye, Mia. See you tomorrow,' said Rosie. She ran towards her family. ‘Hi, Mum. Did you remember my angel wings?'

‘Right here, honey bun,' said Mum. She unhooked the feathery white wings from the back of the pram.

Rosie slipped the straps over her shoulders and twirled around happily.

‘Come on, Gus,' called Mum. ‘It's time to go to the beach for a swim.'

Gus ignored her and scrambled higher on the climbing frame. He perched on the top rung. A wicked smile spread across his face and he waved to all the children below.

Lulu tossed a plait over her shoulder.
‘Shall I climb up and get him for you, Mum?' she offered.

‘Thanks, honey bun,' replied Mum with a smile. ‘It's too high for me.'

Lulu swung hand over hand up the rope net.

‘Gussie. Time to come down,' she said.

‘I not Gus, I Bug Boy,' insisted Gus. He scowled at his sister.

‘I know,' coaxed Lulu. ‘But it's time to go on an adventure at the beach. We can catch some crabs and build a huge sandcastle.'

Gus's eyes lit up behind his mask.

‘Do you want to come for a slide on my boogie board?' offered Lulu. ‘I'll pull you along.'

Gus nodded eagerly. Lulu held out her hand.

‘Come on then, Bug Boy.'

Together they climbed down again to join Mum, Rosie, Molly, Sam and Tien.

‘Thanks, honey bun,' said Mum. ‘Let's go to the beach and see if we can find something to inspire your mural design.'

It was a five-minute walk from school to the sheltered cove beach. The sun danced on the blue water of the harbour. It glinted and glittered. Dazzling white sailboats skimmed across the water and a ferry honked its horn. Seagulls swooped and soared, squabbling for scraps. The air smelt of salt and seaweed and hot chips.

The two mums carried the pram and all the gear onto the yellow sand. Lulu
pulled off her hot shoes and socks. She squelched the crumbly sand between her toes.

The mums made a screen of beach towels. The children took turns to duck behind the towels and wriggle into their swimming costumes and rash vests. Mum and Tien slathered them all with sunscreen.

‘Race you in,' called Lulu. She threw her hat on her bag and set off towards the water.

Molly and Rosie squealed and chased her. They splashed through the tiny waves on the shore.

The water was cold and clear and wonderful. It washed away the stickiness of the day. The girls dived and dunked, catching each other by the heel.

Gus ran into the water, still wearing his Bug Boy costume. He wore his floaties over the top. He jumped into the shallows and shrieked with glee. Sam followed more slowly.

‘Let's dive down to the bottom like mermaids and find shells,' suggested Rosie. ‘Maybe we'll find a magical pearl.'

‘Or a dolphin baby,' added Lulu.

The two mums dropped their sundresses onto the sand. They were already wearing their swimming costumes underneath. They swam out into the deep water and back. Then they sat on the beach, watching and chatting.

For afternoon tea, Mum had cut up
an icy cold watermelon and a juicy sweet pineapple, and added some pale green grapes. Everyone sat with their legs in the water as they shared the sticky, crunchy fruit.

‘This pineapple is divine,' said Mum. ‘It tastes of sunshine and summer.'

‘Mmmm,'
agreed Molly.

Lulu sucked a wedge of yellow pineapple and let the juice dribble down her throat.

‘Dulishus,'
said Gus, his mouth full of pink watermelon.

‘
You're
delicious, Gus,' said Mum. She smiled at him fondly.

‘I not
dulishus
,' said Gus seriously. ‘I'm boy.'

Everyone laughed.

True to her word, Lulu put Gus on her boogie board. She charged up and
down the beach, skimming Gus along the wet sand.

‘Faster,' called Gus. ‘Faster.'

When they tired of that game, the children wandered along the shore. They collected treasure in their hats: shells, feathers, driftwood, twigs and sea glass washed up by the tide.

Together the five children built a huge fairy house in the sand. It had lots of rooms, towers, fences and walkways. Twigs and sticks were arranged to make a bridge. Gus dug a deep fairy swimming
pool, showering sand everywhere. Sam surrounded it with gardens of seaweed.

The girls decorated the sand walls. They used pink-and-white shells and polished green sea glass. The towers were topped with feather flags.

‘Look, Mum,' called Rosie. ‘Do you like our fairy palace?'

‘It's beautiful,' agreed Mum. ‘I wish I could live in a palace like that.'

She pulled her camera from her bag and walked over.

‘Come on, smile for the photo,' said Mum.

The children gathered around the sand sculpture. They smiled up at the camera.

‘Gus, don't you want to be in the photo?' asked Mum.

Gus pouted, but then his eyes took on
a wicked glint. ‘Bug Boy to the rescue,' shouted Gus.

He stood up and took a running leap. He landed right in the middle of the fairy palace. It smashed to pieces. Sand spattered all over everyone.

‘Gus,'
shouted Molly, Lulu and Rosie together.

‘Oh, never mind, honey buns,' sighed Mum. ‘I think it's time for another swim.'

They jumped in the water to wash off the sticky sand. Lulu and Molly had a boogie board race. They paddled out into the deep water and back. On the shore, Mum helped Sam, Rosie and Gus to build a new sandcastle.

The sun was sinking on the western horizon. It streaked the sky with brilliant hues of crimson, gold and purple.

Lulu, Rosie, Gus, Molly and Sam were exploring the rock pools. They peered at crabs and periwinkles. They poked at the sea anemones with their fingers to make them close up.

‘Lulu,' called Mum. ‘Rosie, Gus. It's time to leave. Let's go and buy some fish and chips for dinner.'

The mums packed up. The children dried off and put on their school uniforms. Their skin felt crusty with salt and sand and fun.

‘If we're very lucky we might see a fairy penguin,' said Mum. ‘They have a colony in this cove. Their burrows are at the foot of those cliffs and under the wharf. They go out fishing all day and come back at dusk.'

‘We learned about the penguins at school,' said Lulu. ‘Miss Baxter said they don't call them fairy penguins any more – they call them little penguins.'

‘I know,' said Mum. ‘But I love the name fairy penguins. It seems to suit them.'

The group started walking towards the fish and chip shop on the wharf.

Lulu suddenly felt hungry. It had been a long afternoon of swimming, running and playing. Her tummy rumbled at the thought of crunchy, hot fish and salty, crispy chips.
Yum
.

‘Look,' said Rosie. ‘Is that a fairy penguin?'

Everyone craned their heads to see where Rosie was pointing. Among the dim shadows, the waves broke on the beach. A darker shadow was waddling up the sand.

‘Yes,' cried Lulu. ‘I think it is. Can we go down and look at it?'

‘No, honey bun,' replied Mum.
‘You can look from here. The penguins are wild animals. You need to stay well away or you'll frighten them. He's probably on his way home to feed a nest full of baby chicks.'

‘Ooh,' cried Lulu. ‘I'd like to see them.'

The five children clustered at the side of the footpath. The penguin waddled faster, heading away from the water.

A noise made Lulu look up. Coming towards them was a scruffy dog. It was running wildly and dragging a boy behind it.

Suddenly, the boy tripped on a bump in the footpath and sprawled face first on the ground.
He dropped the leash and the dog bounded away. The boy started to cry.

‘Lulu, see if you can catch that dog,' called Mum. She hurried to help the fallen boy. ‘There now, sweetie, have you hurt yourself?'

The boy had a nasty graze on his left knee.
He had more on his left elbow and on his chin. The grazes oozed blood, which made the boy cry louder.

The dog had jumped down onto the beach. It yapped with delight as it raced towards the little penguin.

Lulu and Molly sprinted down the stairs to the beach. The penguin waddled faster.

‘Good dog,' coaxed Lulu. ‘Come on, boy. Come here.'

The dog took no notice. It jumped on the penguin and knocked it over. The dog yapped and woofed. Then it tossed the penguin in the air with its snout.

‘No,' screamed Lulu. She ran faster. ‘Bad dog. Stop that at once.'

The penguin squeaked with terror. The dog picked the seabird up in its mouth and dropped it again like a toy.

Lulu reached the dog and grabbed its trailing lead. She dragged the dog away. The little penguin stayed huddled on the sand.

‘Bad dog,' she cried. ‘Molly, can you hold the dog for me, please?'

Molly took the lead. She strained to hold the bouncy dog back.

‘He's strong!' complained Molly.

Lulu dropped to her knees in the sand. She was careful not to touch the little bird. It was breathing heavily. Tears filled her eyes so she could hardly see.

Mum came racing over. Rosie, Sam and Gus followed.

‘Is it okay?' asked Mum.

‘I don't know,' hiccuped Lulu.

The penguin was making low squeaking sounds. Lulu couldn't see any outward signs of injury. The dog yapped,
lurching and trying to escape.

‘I think the penguin is in shock.' Mum rummaged in her handbag and pulled out her phone. She passed it to Lulu. ‘Lulu, can you call Dad, please? Tell him what's happened and ask him to come at once.'

Mum helped Molly pull the dog away and made everyone stand back.

Lulu dialled her dad's number. Her fingers were shaky.

‘Hi, Dad,' said Lulu. Her voice wobbled. ‘It's me. We're down at the cove. A dog attacked a little penguin. It might be injured. Mum says can you come straight away?'

‘Of course, sweetie, I'm on my way. Where exactly are you?' asked Dad.

The sound of Dad's familiar, confident voice made Lulu feel better.
Dad would know what to do. Dad would make the penguin better.

‘On the beach, near the wharf,' replied Lulu.

‘Don't worry – just make sure no-one touches the penguin. I'll be there soon,' said Dad.

The rest of the group had gathered around Mum and the dog. There was Rosie, Gus, Molly, Sam, Molly's mum, the boy who'd fallen over and now his mother.

‘Dad's coming,' said Lulu.

Mum brushed Lulu's hair back and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Good work, honey bun,' said Mum. ‘You've done well.'

‘Scruffy, you bad, bad dog,' said the boy's mother. ‘I can't think what came over him.' She looked at her son. ‘Poor Finn, are you feeling better now?'

Finn still looked shaken, but his grazes had stopped bleeding. Scruffy looked dejected now. His tail was between his legs and his ears were down.

‘My husband is a vet and he's on his way,' explained Mum. ‘I think we should go up on the footpath and wait for him there. Lulu, perhaps you and Molly could wait here with the penguin. Make sure he stays safe.'

Molly and Lulu squatted on the damp sand. The penguin lay still, a dark hump on the paler sand. Lulu could see her mum up above the seawall. She was talking to the other mothers.

‘It'll be okay, little fella,' murmured Lulu. ‘My dad will be here soon.'