Lulu Bell and the Arabian Nights

by Belinda Murrell

  Mum and Lulu walked over to join Amira and her mother.

  ‘Hello,’ said Mum. ‘My name is Chrissie Bell and this is my daughter Lulu. She’s in Amira’s class.’

  Amira’s mother smiled. ‘Nice to meet you. My name is Leyla,’ she said.

  ‘I’m the class parent for 4N,’ explained Mum. ‘Amira might have told you that next week we are having a special festivity. We’re making an Iranian feast for all the children in the class.’

  ‘Amira was just telling me,’ Leyla said. ‘That’s lovely.’

  Mum explained all about the plans for the day.

  ‘I was hoping you might be able to help me choose the menu,’ said Mum. ‘Amira, perhaps you have some favourite dishes that you would like us to cook?’

  Amira nodded. ‘My mum cooks the best food. She makes mezze and dolma and kabab.’

  ‘That sounds delicious,’ said Mum. ‘A few of the parents have offered to help make the meals. We just need some recipes and directions.’

  ‘Amira and I would be happy to help,’ said Leyla.

  ‘Wonderful,’ said Mum. ‘Perhaps you’d like to come home with us after school tomorrow? We could talk about it over a cup of tea.’

  Leyla beamed at Mum. ‘That would be lovely. My husband has just started a new job so we only moved to Shelly Beach this week. We don’t know anyone here yet.’

  ‘You’ll love it here,’ said Lulu. ‘Shelly Beach is the best.’

  Chapter 5

  Bird Rescue

  At home that afternoon, Lulu sat at the kitchen bench doing her homework. She did her maths first. Then she sat and looked at the photos of Iran that Mum had helped her to find on the internet. There were photos of domes and spires. Of bustling markets and vast deserts. Of musicians playing drums, tambourines, stringed lutes and flutes. Of whirling dancers in colourful robes.

  Just then, Rosie and Gus came rushing in from the garden. They were fighting with swords, clashing the blades together with loud thwacks. Lulu covered her ears.

  ‘Not so loud,’ complained Lulu. ‘I’m doing my homework.’

  ‘Take that,’ yelled Gus.

  Rosie spun around, her cloak flying. She heaved her sword down upon Gus’s blade.

  ‘Be gone, foul knight,’ she cried.

  ‘No swords inside, honey buns,’ called Mum as she came through the door. ‘Sword fights are definitely an outside activity.’

  Rosie and Gus galloped back outside but Rosie’s twirl had reminded Lulu of something. What could it be?

  Then Lulu had it. It was a drawing in the book The Arabian Nights, in the story ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’. The drawing showed the slave girl Morgiana saving her master by fighting off the bandit captain.

  Lulu rushed to her bedroom to find the book. She opened the book to the right page. There it was: a beautiful drawing of the slave girl dancing with a sword in her hand.

  Lulu began to read the folktale again. Then she ran to the kitchen and started to jot down some ideas in her homework book.

  Lulu had just finished when Dad popped his head around the green door that separated their home from the vet hospital in front.

  ‘Where’s my little bird whisperer?’ asked Dad.

  Lulu smiled up at him. ‘Here I am, Dad.’

  ‘Great, sweetie,’ replied Dad. ‘Are you ready to go on a bird rescue mission?’

  Lulu jumped up. ‘Of course I am.’

  ‘Grab a pocketful of birdy treats and let’s go.’

  Lulu took a handful of seeds from the pantry and slipped them in her pocket.

  It was nearly dusk. Lulu met Dad at the garage and they jumped in the car. Dad put a birdcage on the back seat next to her.

  ‘Where are we heading, Dad?’ asked Lulu, as she did up her seatbelt.

  ‘To an apartment up on Tower Hill,’ replied Dad. ‘A man called Mr Capello rang. He said a bird has taken refuge on his balcony. It was being attacked by wild birds.’

  ‘I wonder what sort of bird it is?’ asked Lulu.

  ‘We’ll see if you can pick it,’ said Dad.

  The apartment building was high on the crest of the hill. Mr Capello lived up on the sixth floor. He answered the front door and led them through to the lounge room. Dad carried the birdcage.

  ‘I hope it’s still there,’ said Mr Capello. ‘It’s an unusual looking bird that’s been coming and going for a few days.’

  ‘Have you tried to catch it?’ asked Dad.

  Mr Capello shook his head as he opened the sliding door onto the balcony. ‘No. It seems frightened. I’ve called but it wouldn’t come.’

  Mr Capello, Dad and Lulu stood in the doorway and looked out.

  The balcony had a stunning view over the town below, and out to the vast blue sea gleaming in the distance. Lulu could see the golden crescent of sand, the breaking surf and tiny people strolling along the walkway next to the beach. To the west the sun was setting in a blaze of reds, oranges and purples. She looked around the balcony. There was no sign of a bird.

  Dad put the cage down on a table on the balcony. He pegged open the door to the cage. A large cob of corn was inside. ‘We’ll wait a while and see if it comes. Birds usually find a place to roost at sunset. Let’s hope he comes back here.’

  A few minutes later, Lulu spotted a small parrot flying towards them. ‘Look,’ she cried. ‘Is that it?’

  The bird fluttered down and landed on the railing. Its body was grey and white. It had a yellow crest and neck and two orange spots on its cheeks. It looked warily at the humans.

  ‘A cockatiel,’ whispered Lulu. The bird flared its crest with alarm.

  ‘That plumage shows he’s a male,’ said Dad. ‘He’ll be missing his family.’

  The bird hopped away from them, further down the railing.

  ‘Stay still, Mr Capello,’ suggested Dad. ‘Lulu, see if you can tempt our little feathered friend with some seeds.’

  Lulu moved slowly and quietly. She popped a seed onto the railing about two metres away from the bird then stepped back. The bird watched her, its head cocked to the side. When Lulu moved away the cockatiel hopped towards the seed. It pecked up the food then hopped away.

  Lulu repeated the process, placing the seed a little closer to the bird each time. Finally she placed the seed on her outstretched palm and offered it to the cockatiel. The bird watched Lulu warily, its head on its side. Lulu stayed perfectly still.

  At last it hopped across onto Lulu’s hand. It pecked up the sunflower seed. Lulu slowly put up her finger and pressed it gently against his chest. After a few seconds, the cockatiel perched on her outstretched finger. He fluffed up his feathers.

  ‘Good work, sweetie,’ whispered Dad. ‘Now see if you can bring him towards the cage. Just slowly.’

  Lulu crept forwards. She stretched out her hand towards the cage door. Just as Lulu was nearly there, the cockatiel stretched his wings and took flight. He flew straight from Lulu’s hand to the open door of the cage. He perched for a moment on the threshold then hopped inside.

  Dad released the peg to close the door. ‘Great work, sweetie,’ said Dad. The cockatiel nuzzled the corn then looked up at Lulu and whistled. ‘We’ll take him back to the vet hospital.’

  ‘I hope you can track down his owner,’ said Mr Capello.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Lulu with confidence. ‘We often find lost pets. And we nearly always find where they belong.’

  Chapter 6

  Arabian Nights

  The next day was spent preparing for the performance. The class broke up into their groups. Lulu, Amira, Molly, Max and Daniel discussed all their thoughts. They decided to combine their best ideas together.

  Each group had a minute to outline their plan to the class. Some of the groups presented ideas about singing songs, playing traditional musical instruments and reciting poems. Finally it was Lulu’s group’s turn.

  Amira spoke first. She looked around the classroom nervously. ‘I came to Australia from Iran when I was six years old.
The people who live in Iran are part of a very ancient civilisation stretching back nearly seven thousand years. Music and dance have always been an important part of our culture.’

  Amira looked at Lulu. She was a little nervous. ‘I thought we could do a traditional Persian dance,’ she said. ‘We could also play drums and tambourines.

  ‘But then Lulu had an idea, which I really liked,’ continued Amira. ‘It was to combine music and dancing with an old Persian folktale.’

  Amira nodded towards Lulu. ‘Why don’t you tell them about it, Lulu?’ Lulu smiled at Amira. She stepped forward.

  ‘We thought we could act out a play,’ suggested Lulu. ‘At home we’ve been reading The Arabian Nights. There are some wonderful Persian folk stories including “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”.’

  Lulu held up the book she had brought to school and showed her class the illustrations.

  ‘In the story, Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter,’ said Lulu. ‘One day, Ali Baba discovers a cave filled with wonderful treasure. It’s the hideout for a gang of forty thieves. The entrance can only be revealed by saying the magical words “open sesame”. There are lots of adventures when the forty bandits try to find out who has discovered their lair.’

  Lulu jiggled on her toes.

  ‘It’s an exciting story, full of action, twists and turns, and wicked villains. Ali Baba and his family are saved by a brave and clever slave girl called Morgiana. She outwits the captain of the thieves and reveals his identity.’

  ‘There are lots of characters,’ said Amira. ‘So everyone would have a part to play.’

  ‘Thanks, Amira and Lulu,’ said Mr Newbold. ‘That sounds great. Now it’s time to vote on our favourite ideas.’

  Mr Newbold asked everyone to write down which idea they liked best. All the slips of paper were put into a bucket then counted.

  ‘Well done,’ said Mr Newbold. ‘Everyone had such great ideas. But it looks like Amira’s group has come up with a winner. So a play it is!’

  Lulu and Molly grinned at Amira with delight.

  Mr Newbold looked around at all the kids. ‘We need to get cracking! This afternoon we will allocate a role to everyone and start practising. We want this to be a fabulous performance.’

  Lulu’s mind started ticking over. Who would play the main parts? What costumes would they need? Could they possibly get everything done in time?

  Chapter 7

  Taj

  That afternoon, Lulu and Amira ran out together after school. Mum was standing talking to Amira’s mum in the playground. Rosie and Gus were already waiting, together with Amira’s two younger sisters, Zahra and Mina.

  They all walked up the hill towards home. Mum and Leyla sat at the kitchen table, drinking tea. They talked about different ideas for the feast.

  Leyla wrote out the recipes of some of Amira’s favourite dishes. Rosie played with Amira’s sisters.

  Lulu showed Amira around. She saw Lulu and Rosie’s bedroom and met all the pets. There were Asha and Jessie, the family dogs. The two cats, Pepper and Pickles, were sleeping curled in the sun. In the garden was Flopsy, the bunny, and the ducklings. Mika the orphan wallaby was also staying with the Bells for a while.

  Amira gave Flopsy a big cuddle. ‘You’re lucky to have so many pets,’ said Amira. ‘I don’t have a pet. We did have one, but …’ Amira looked sad.

  Lulu felt sorry for Amira. It sounded like something bad had happened. She tried to think of something to cheer her up.

  ‘Do you want to go next door to see our vet hospital?’ asked Lulu. ‘There’s always something fun happening there.’

  ‘I’d love to,’ replied Amira.

  Lulu led Amira through the green door that separated their house from the vet hospital. Lulu showed Amira the operating theatres, the hospital ward and the X-ray room. Then she led Amira into the reception. Kylie, the vet nurse, was weighing a golden retriever on the dog scales.

  ‘Hello, girls,’ called Kylie. ‘Did you have a good day at school?’

  ‘Hi, Kylie. It was great,’ said Lulu. ‘I’d like you to meet my friend Amira.’

  Kylie and Amira said hello. Suddenly a loud chirping came from the corner.

  Amira swung around. There in the corner of the waiting room was a tall, white birdcage. Inside was a smoky grey parrot with a yellow crest and orange cheeks.

  ‘That’s our mystery cockatiel,’ said Lulu. ‘We rescued him last night. But we haven’t found his owner.’

  Amira hurried to the cage. She pressed her face against the bars.

  ‘Taj?’ she cried. ‘Is that you?’

  The little bird chittered and chattered. He hopped over towards Amira and gently nibbled her finger through the bars. Amira began to cry.

  ‘Oh, Taj,’ said Amira. ‘I thought I’d never see you again.’

  Lulu looked at Amira in astonishment. ‘Do you mean the cockatiel is yours?’

  Amira nodded, beaming a huge smile through her tears.

  ‘Yes,’ said Amira. ‘You see, I always used to let Taj fly free around our flat. But we moved to a new flat at Shelly Beach and he didn’t know his way around.’

  Amira opened the cage door a little and slipped her finger through the crack. The cockatiel hopped straight on her finger. He bent over and rubbed his beak against her hand.

  ‘I didn’t know that one of the windows was open,’ said Amira. ‘Taj flew around in confusion then escaped out the window. I was so worried.’

  ‘Oh, no,’ said Lulu. ‘You must have been terrified.’

  ‘I called and called his name,’ explained Amira. ‘I asked all our neighbours if they’d seen him. By night-time there was still no sign of him. Dad said he could have flown kilometres away by then, so I thought I would never see him again.’

  Taj chirruped and put his head to one side. It was as though he knew they were talking about him.

  ‘I’m so happy for you,’ said Lulu. ‘Isn’t it lucky that you came over this afternoon?’

  Amira took her finger out from the cage. Taj hopped onto his perch.

  ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am,’ said Amira. ‘Thanks, Lulu.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Lulu. ‘Let’s go and show Taj to your mum.’

  Chapter 8

  Ali Baba

  The next few days were a blur of planning, preparing and rehearsing. There were costumes to organise, props to find and a set to create. The children practised the play over and over again until they remembered their lines. Mum and Leyla worked hard to help get everything ready.

  At last it was Harmony Day.

  Amira’s mum had brought rugs, cushions and copper pots and platters to use as decorations. Mum had painted a backdrop on an old sheet. It showed palm trees, village houses and a thin crescent moon.

  Best of all were the costumes. Mum had made a Persian-inspired costume for Lulu in gorgeous colours. It had lilac pants and a purple jerkin with gold trimming. Lulu stuck her wooden sword into the wide yellow sash around her waist.

  Amira wore a long, flared dress with narrow trousers underneath. Her costume was hot pink and turquoise. Her dark hair hung loose to her waist and was covered by a floating veil and, on the top of her head, she wore a headdress of jangly silver coins. The other kids wore an assortment of bright tunics, veils and turbans.

  After recess, the students of Shelly Beach School filed into the assembly hall. The kids sat cross-legged on the floor, all wearing their national costumes. Parents sat up the back on chairs.

  The stage had been transformed into an ancient Persian landscape. Lulu peeked out onto the stage. She felt a thrill of nerves. She hoped everyone would love their performance.

  Mr Newbold started the music player. The hall filled with the striking sound of Persian song.

  Amira walked up and took her place on the side of the stage. She was the narrator.

  ‘The students of 4N would like to present the story of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, from The Arabian Nights,’ began Amira. ‘This is a collection o
f folktales from all over the Middle East, but particularly from the ancient empire of Persia. The Persian culture is still celebrated by many people from my homeland of Iran.’

  The audience clapped and cheered. Amira looked graceful and proud in her traditional costume.

  ‘Once there lived a poor woodcutter called Ali Baba,’ said Amira. Zac strolled onto the stage, dressed as Ali Baba. He was carrying a pile of sticks.

  ‘He lived with his wife and son in a small town. While Ali Baba was very poor, his brother Cassim had a rich wife. Cassim lived next door to Ali Baba.

  ‘One day Ali Baba was collecting firewood in the forest when he heard a terrible commotion,’ continued Amira. ‘Fearing for his life, Ali Baba hid so he was out of sight. It was lucky he did, because a gang of forty ferocious thieves appeared.’

  Lively music began. A swarm of kids ran onto the stage. Some of the children held drums or tambourines. They stood at the back and began playing their instruments. Some of children were carrying bulging sacks. They dropped their sacks in a large pile and began a dance. They twirled and jumped and kicked, circling their swords high in the air. The dance finished with a fierce yell from all the children.

  Daniel, dressed as the captain of the thieves, swaggered up to a large rock on the side of the stage. ‘Open sesame,’ he bellowed.

  The rock slid aside to reveal a dark space.

  ‘Behold our treasure cave,’ said Daniel. ‘We have gold and silver, rubies and emeralds. We’ll hide them here and be rich forever.’

  ‘Hooray!’ yelled the children. They stuffed the sacks into the cave. When all the treasure was safely stowed, Daniel stood in front of the cave.

  ‘Close sesame,’ he roared. The rock slid back across the cave entrance and the children ran off the stage, brandishing their weapons.