Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin (3 page)

In a few minutes, Lulu spied the familiar sight of her tall, gangly Dad. He was carrying his black medical bag and a cardboard box. Lulu ran towards him.

‘Dad. Dad. It's over here,' called Lulu.

Dad swooped her up over his head and kissed her. ‘That's my precious girl,' he said. ‘Show me this little penguin of yours.'

Dad ran his hands carefully over the
penguin. He listened to its heartbeat with his stethoscope. Carefully, he lifted the bird. He wrapped it in an old towel and tucked it into the cardboard box.

‘I think this little guy is coming home with us,' said Dad. He hoisted the box and tucked it under one arm. ‘I'll give him a proper check at the vet hospital.'

‘Do you think he'll be okay?' asked Lulu. Her voice wobbled again.

Dad gave her a squeeze with his free arm. ‘I think he'll be fine,' he replied.

Lulu's dad had driven from the vet hospital to the beach. Mum had found the car and packed all the gear into the boot. Finn and his mother were waiting with Mum.

‘I'm so sorry,' said Finn's mother. ‘Will the penguin be all right?'

‘I think so,' replied Dad. ‘But he's a lucky bird. I'm glad that Lulu and Molly stopped the dog. In another few minutes the penguin could have been dead.'

Finn's mother looked upset.

‘Scruffy's never done anything like this before,' she said. ‘He's just so strong.'

‘I'm sure Scruffy's a lovely dog,' said Dad. He gave the dog a pat. ‘But as his
owner you need to make sure he learns good manners.

Perhaps you and Finn should take him to training lessons. Then he can learn how to walk to heel.'

Finn looked up, his eyes shining.

‘That would be great,' he said. ‘Maybe I could teach him some tricks too.'

‘Rosie and I taught our dog Asha how to roll over and play dead and how to beg,' said Lulu.

‘And Jessie helps vacuum the floor after dinner,' added Rosie. ‘She gobbles up all the crumbs.'

‘How did you teach her to roll over and play dead?' Finn asked Lulu.

Lulu laughed. ‘She'll do anything for a treat. Come over to the vet hospital one day after school and I'll show you. It's easy to train a dog when you know how.'

Back home, Mum put Gussie in the bath. He was
still
wearing his Bug Boy suit. Then she prepared a quick meal of baked beans on toast. Fish and chips would have to wait for another day.

Lulu went with Dad through to the vet hospital. She wanted to help him look at the injured penguin more closely.

In the consulting room, Dad lifted the bird out of the box. The penguin yelped and flapped his dark flippers in protest.
His silver-grey eyes blinked rapidly in the bright light.

‘He's a noisy little fellow,' said Dad. ‘That's a good sign.'

Lulu smiled with relief.

‘Look, Lulu,' said Dad. ‘His back is blue-grey to make him hard to see from the sky. And his tummy is white. That's so he looks like foam from underneath the water. Isn't that clever?'

‘It is,' agreed Lulu. ‘He's really cute.'

Dad checked the bird closely. He moved its flippers gently and ran his hands over the feathers.

‘Can you pass me that tube, please, sweetie? It's antibiotic ointment,' said Dad. ‘There's a slight graze on his side.'

Lulu handed Dad the tube and he smeared the graze with ointment.

‘Nothing's broken,' Dad decided, ‘but I think he's suffering from shock and bruising. I'll give him a shot of antibiotics. Then we'll take him back to the cove and release him.'

‘Oh, no,' said Lulu. ‘Can't we keep him, at least for a few days?'

‘Sweetie, this little guy probably has a mate. She will be worried about him. Plus she'll have a burrow full of little chicks. They will be hungry,' explained Dad. ‘You know, if Scruffy had killed this penguin, all his chicks could have died as well. The chicks need one parent to stay and look after them.
The other parent goes out hunting for food.'

Lulu nodded. ‘Then of course he needs to go home,' she agreed.

‘Do you want to come with me to let him go?' asked Dad.

‘Yes please, Dad. That would be great.'

‘We'll need to check with Mum,' warned Dad.

Mum was reading with Gus and Rosie. They were all snuggled up together in Mum and Dad's bed,
with their heads resting on each of Mum's shoulders. Gus was wearing fresh Bug Boy pyjamas and Rosie was wearing a long white nightdress. They smelt warm and soapy.

‘Mum, can I go with Dad to set the penguin free?' asked Lulu.

Mum checked her watch. ‘It's getting late and you have school tomorrow,' she objected.

‘Please, Mum?' begged Lulu. ‘It won't take long and I promise I'll go straight to bed when we get back.'

‘Oh, all right then, honey bun,' agreed Mum. ‘You make sure the penguin gets home safely.'

Lulu held the box on her lap as Dad drove back to the cove. She could feel the penguin moving around inside. He squeaked and yelped. He smelt fishy.

Dad parked the car near the wharf and came around to open the door for Lulu. He lifted the box off her lap so she could climb out. The beach was completely dark now. Only the footpath was lit by streetlights.

‘Dad, can I carry him, please?' she asked.

‘Sure, sweetie. Just be careful not to drop him.'

Slowly and carefully, Lulu carried the box down the steps and onto the beach.

‘I think we'll let him go right where you found him,' said Dad.

Lulu's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Finally she could just see the scuff marks from the struggle in the damp sand. ‘There!' she said.

Lulu knelt down and placed the box on the sand. Dad slowly turned the box on its side and opened the lid. The penguin paused for a moment. Then he scuttled out of the box. He ran up the sand towards his burrow under the jetty.

‘Welcome home,' murmured Lulu. ‘Sleep well, little penguin.'

‘Let's go home and get you to bed, little sweetie,' said Dad. He lifted Lulu up and carried her on his shoulders, high, high above the ground.

In the morning, Lulu slept in. She was tired after her late-night adventures. When she finally woke, Rosie was already up and dressed.

Lulu yawned and stretched and then she climbed out of bed. Her school uniform was lying on the floor. It was all salty and sandy from the day before. She went to the cupboard, but her clean uniform wasn't there.

‘Mum, where's my uniform?' called Lulu. ‘It's not hanging up.'

‘I'm just ironing it,' replied Mum. Her voice came from the direction of the laundry. ‘Can you please feed Pickles and Pepper? And ask Rosie to feed the rabbit?'

‘Sure, Mum,' Lulu replied.

She padded out into the kitchen wearing her pyjamas. Sitting in the middle of the floor was Gus. His mask was pushed back off his face. Between his legs was a giant tin of chocolate Milo. He was eating great mouthfuls with a spoon. His face had a beard of sticky chocolate and the floor around him was sprinkled with brown dots.

‘Gus!' cried Lulu. ‘What are you doing? You're not allowed to eat that straight from the tin.'

At the sound of Lulu's voice, Jessie bounded into the kitchen. She was very happy to help clean up the mess. She licked the floor with her long pink tongue.

Lulu picked up the tin, found the lid, and returned it to the cupboard.

‘Not Gussie,' insisted Gus. ‘Jessie did it.'

Lulu tried hard not to laugh.

‘Yes – Jessie is very naughty,' said Lulu. ‘Come on, let's clean you up.'

Lulu went to the sink to get a cloth. She wiped Gus's face.
Jessie licked the brown sprinkles off Gus's Bug Boy suit.

Next, Lulu opened a tin of sardines to feed the two cats. Pepper, the ginger cat, came at once. She meowed and rubbed her back against Lulu's legs. She gobbled up her food straight away.

‘Pickles. Pickles,' called Lulu. ‘Fishy time.'

Pickles didn't come. Lulu searched all the usual spots – on her bed, under the lavender bush, on the window seat, in Dad's shoe cupboard. Asha padded along beside her, her nose twitching.

‘Pickles,' Lulu called again.

Rosie helped. Mum helped search as well.

Lulu went through to the vet hospital, even though Pickles didn't like visiting there.

‘Kylie – have you seen Pickles?' Lulu asked the vet nurse.

‘No,' replied Kylie. ‘She's due to have kittens, isn't she? Perhaps she's run away to make a little nest for them.'

Lulu frowned. She looked out the front window of the waiting room. The vet hospital was on a busy road. If Pickles had escaped out there, she could be catnapped or run over by a car.

Kylie smiled at Lulu's anxious face.

‘Don't worry,' Kylie said. ‘We'll find her. I'll help you look.'

Lulu, Kylie, Rosie, Mum and Gus
looked in all the likely places again. They tried lots of unlikely spots too. Jessie the dog was keen to help. She sniffed under the kitchen table and all around the base of the fridge. But Pickles was nowhere to be found.

‘Do you think someone might have opened the gate?' asked Lulu. She looked at the high gate that separated the back garden from the side street. ‘Could Gus have opened it?'

‘Bug Boy didn't,' said Gus. ‘Maybe Jessie did?'

‘Oh, no,' wailed Lulu. She rushed to check outside the gate. But there was no sign of Pickles. Where could she be?