Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn

by Belinda Murrell

  ‘I’ll come back and join the party later on,’ he promised. ‘You don’t expect me to dress up as a merman, do you?’

  Lulu grinned at the thought of her tall, gangly dad dressed as a merman.

  ‘Of course I do,’ joked Mum.

  ‘Rosie and I have made you a perfect outfit. You will be King Neptune, Lord of the Sea.’

  ‘Hmph,’ grumbled Dr Bell. He pulled a silly face. ‘Did I mention that I have lots of animals to see? I may not be back before dinner time.’

  Everyone laughed.

  Lulu, Molly and Mum headed into the house. Rosie was sitting at the kitchen table. She was drawing pictures of mermaids on brown paper bags. Her tongue poked out of her mouth as she concentrated. Mints, chocolate frogs, jelly babies and snakes were on the table, waiting to be packed.

  Pickles the cat was watching from the armchair, her tail curled around her like a comma.

  ‘Look at you, Rosie,’ said Molly. She gave her a hug. You look fantastic.’

  Rosie was now dressed as a mermaid princess. Her mum had made the costume – a shiny purple bikini top and a sparkly green tail. Her brown hair was topped with a silver diamante tiara and her arms were laden with silver bangles.

  ‘Thanks, Molly,’ replied Rosie, with a big smile. ‘I’m still doing the lolly bags.’

  Lulu sighed and crossed her arms impatiently.

  ‘Rosie, you should have finished the drawings by now. It’s time to pack the lolly bags.’

  Rosie looked at the small pile of finished drawings. She had decorated each one with mermaids, fish, shells, underwater creatures and coral. There were still six to do.

  Rosie’s brow wrinkled and her mouth turned down. ‘They’re taking a long time,’ she agreed.

  Lulu picked up one of the drawings.

  ‘Well, they are really pretty,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. Molly and I will get dressed and then we’ll help you. Three of us will get it done much faster.’

  Lulu checked on the morning’s cooking. The beautiful mermaid cake was on the bench. The square brownie tin was cooling on a high shelf, out of Gus’s reach. Lulu opened the fridge and shook one of the jellies.

  ‘We still have to decorate the jelly cups with green snakes,’ she said.

  ‘And set up the games,’ added Molly. ‘But there’s plenty of time.’

  Lulu thought hard. What party games would make Rosie’s party really special?

  Chapter 5

  Disaster

  In the girls’ bedroom, Lulu and Molly changed out of their T-shirts and leggings. They put on the costumes that Mum had made for them. Lulu had a blue top and green tail, while Molly had a silver top and blue tail. Lulu looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look anything like her usual self, except for her long honey-coloured plaits.

  The sparkly material swished around Lulu’s legs. ‘It’s a little hard to walk in a tail,’ she joked. ‘Give me leggings any day.’

  ‘Yes, but it is fun to dress up,’ said Molly. ‘I like being a mermaid.’

  Molly twirled in front of the mirror.

  ‘Your mum is so clever,’ she said. ‘And that cake is so cool. I’m so glad she asked us to help with the party.’

  ‘She is creative,’ said Lulu proudly, ‘but I guess artists have to be.’

  ‘You are creative too, Lulu,’ replied Molly. ‘You have the most wonderful ideas!’

  Lulu felt a thrill of pleasure at Molly’s praise. She smiled at her friend.

  ‘Come on,’ said Lulu. ‘Let’s get those games organised.’

  As Lulu came down the hall, she heard a funny noise coming from the kitchen. It was a thumping, sliding, bumping sound.

  Mum was at the front door. She was hanging green paper streamers to make a curtain of seaweed. Rosie was handing her pieces of sticky tape. Big silver fish made of foil had been stuck along the walls. Mum had also painted two beautiful mermaids on butcher’s paper. They stood guard on either side of the front door.

  Suddenly a loud crash came from the kitchen.

  ‘Gus?’ called Lulu. ‘Are you all right?’

  There was no reply. Then Asha woofed – a loud warning bark.

  Lulu began to run. She threw open the door and gasped. A dreadful sight greeted her.

  The back door was wide open. The little white pony stood in the middle of the kitchen. He had his head down and was nudging something around the floor. Something green and blue and silver. Something smashed and shattered that he was gobbling with glee. Asha stood on guard behind him, her ears pricked and hackles raised.

  ‘The cake!’ shouted Lulu in horror.

  Molly ran. Mum ran. Rosie ran. They stood in the doorway and stared at the terrible mess. Gus came from the garden to the back door and peered in. Jessie followed at his heels.

  ‘Horsie ate the cake,’ announced Gus. He popped his grubby thumb in his mouth.

  The pony kept eating, smearing the cake into the floorboards.

  Rosie burst into tears. ‘My cake. My beautiful mermaid cake.’

  The pony looked up innocently. Cake crumbs and green icing were smudged over his lips and whiskers. His brown eyes were large and soft. He whinnied and dropped his head to keep guzzling.

  Mum rubbed her forehead as she surveyed the wreck of her hours of work. She kissed Rosie on top of her head and hugged her close.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Rosie,’ said Mum. ‘That cake is definitely beyond saving.’

  Rosie sobbed and hiccupped.

  Lulu had a terrible thought. She glared at Gus.

  ‘Gus, did you let the pony into the kitchen?’ she demanded.

  Gus tried to change the subject. ‘I not Gus, I Bug Boy?’ he said hopefully.

  ‘Come on, girls,’ said Mum with a sigh. ‘Let’s get that pony outside and clean up this mess. Rosie’s friends will be here soon.’

  ‘It’s all right, Rosie,’ said Lulu. She patted her sister on the shoulder. ‘We’ll think of something.’

  Lulu grabbed Jessie’s lead from the cupboard. Then she caught the pony’s halter. She led him out of the kitchen and into the garden. The pony looked at her sadly. He reminded Lulu of a picture in one of Rosie’s favourite fairytale books. Lulu gently pulled a twig from his mane and wiped the icing from his whiskers.

  ‘Oh, you naughty pony,’ whispered Lulu. ‘You’ve ruined Rosie’s party.’

  The pony whickered and blew warm air on Lulu’s cheek. She stroked his neck.

  ‘But I can’t scold you. You’re too beautiful.’

  Chapter 6

  Another Plan

  Back inside, Mum was on her hands and knees. She was sweeping up the shattered cake with the dustpan and brush. Gus was hiding under the kitchen table with his arm around Asha’s neck. He had his thumb in his mouth and looked rather guilty. Jessie thumped her tail on the floorboards and smiled at Lulu.

  Molly was helping Rosie to finish drawing on the lolly bags. Rosie dropped her pencil in despair, then she sniffed and wiped her eyes.

  ‘Cheer up, Rosie,’ said Molly. She gave the younger girl a hug. ‘It will still be a lovely party.’

  Lulu flicked one of her plaits over her shoulder and looked about the room. She went to the sink and fetched a cloth. Then she dropped down beside her mum and helped wipe up the sticky icing smears.

  ‘Careful of your tail, honey bun,’ warned Mum. ‘We don’t want that covered in cake too.’

  Lulu smiled at her mother and hitched her tail out of the way.

  ‘What will we do about a birthday cake?’ Lulu whispered. ‘We can’t have a birthday party without a cake.’

  Her mum shrugged. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and smeared icing on her cheek. She checked the kitchen clock.

  ‘The local bakery shuts at two o’clock on Saturdays, so we can’t get a cake there,’ said Mum. She tipped the dustpan of lolly shards and cake crumbs into the bin. ‘Perhaps I could get something at the supermarket?’

  ‘But it wouldn’t be a mermaid cake,’ said Lulu. ‘It wouldn�
��t suit Rosie’s theme.’

  Lulu thought carefully while she wiped the floor. A cake. A cake … How can we make a special cake for Rosie?

  Chapter 7

  Lulu to the Rescue

  Lulu ran to the bedroom she shared with Rosie. Pepper, the ginger cat, was curled up on her bed. The cat yawned and stretched in greeting.

  In the corner of the room was a big wooden castle. It was crowded with toy knights, princesses, elves and animals. Lulu searched the figures carefully. She picked out a handful and ran back to the kitchen.

  ‘Mum, Mum,’ called Lulu. ‘I have an idea for the cake.’

  Mum was mopping the floor. Rosie and Molly stopped stuffing lollies into bags and looked up. Gus crawled out from under the table and pushed back his Bug Boy mask. Jessie pricked up her ears.

  Lulu set out the figures on the kitchen bench. She had chosen an elf princess and elf prince, a tree and a white unicorn with a golden horn.

  ‘What if we iced the brownie cake? Then we could decorate it with the elves and the unicorn. We could put the blue jelly all around the base to make a sea. Then Rosie could draw some mermaids and we could cut them out and make them swim in the sea.’

  Mum stood the mop in the corner. She glanced at the clock. Rosie looked at her hopefully.

  ‘We only have half an hour,’ said Mum. ‘We’d have to work fast …’

  She took the cooled chocolate brownie cake down from the shelf.

  ‘Mmmmm.’ Mum smiled at Lulu. ‘Brilliant idea, honey bun. Okay – I’ll make the icing and you girls get to work on some mermaids.’

  Mum started mixing up a new batch of icing. Gus stood beside her on a stool. He helped by sticking a teaspoon in the icing mixture, stirring, and then licking the spoon. Jessie helped by waiting beside the bench in case any crumbs fell and needed to be cleaned up.

  Molly and Rosie went back to work at the kitchen table. They finished the lolly bags and began to sketch mermaids on white paper. Lulu went to the craft cupboard. She pulled out some cardboard, scissors, the stapler, a purple ribbon and some paint. She checked to make sure nobody was watching her. Then she crept off to her bedroom to work on a secret project.

  ‘We’ve got twenty minutes,’ called Mum. ‘We’ll have to go faster.’

  A little while later, Lulu came back to the kitchen. The cake was now iced a pale shade of green. Gus was sitting on the floor. His mask was pulled back and his face was in the mixing bowl. His Bug Boy suit was speckled with chocolate and icing. Jessie tried to clean him up by licking the goo from his clothes.

  Mum was cutting up jelly snakes. She pressed the pieces into flower shapes around the edge of the cake. She had already chopped out small fish shapes.

  ‘I’ll get the jelly and start spooning out the sea,’ offered Lulu. She scooped out the blue jelly. Then she arranged it around the base of the cake to form waves and ripples.

  ‘Ten minutes,’ warned Mum. She scattered golden fish on the jelly sea.

  Lulu helped Molly and Rosie to cut out the paper mermaids. Gus helped by licking out the empty jelly cups.

  ‘Five minutes to go …’ cried Mum. She placed the unicorn under the tree on top of the cake. ‘And it’s finished!’

  Everyone crowded around.

  ‘It’s fantastic,’ said Molly. ‘Take some more photos.’

  ‘Is ’dorable,’ declared Gus, his face smeared blue and green.

  ‘I love it,’ sighed Rosie. Her face was shining with relief. ‘You’re so clever, Mum – and you too, Lulu. It was a really good idea.’

  Lulu felt a warm glow spread through her body. She looked up at her mum. Mum looked tired. She had a new stripe of green icing across her cheek and speckles on her shirt. Lulu picked up a damp tea towel and climbed up on the stool. She gently wiped the icing from her mother’s cheek.

  ‘Now it’s time for you to get ready, Mum,’ urged Lulu. ‘You’re the only one not dressed up.’

  Mum kissed Lulu on the forehead.

  ‘Thanks, honey bun,’ said Mum. ‘You’ve been a great help.’

  Lulu smiled with happiness.

  ‘Come on, Molly,’ said Lulu. ‘We’ve still got to set up the games in the garden. Rosie, you stay in here with Gus. The games have to be a surprise.’

  Chapter 8

  A Mob of Mermaids

  The front doorbell rang and Rosie’s friends began to arrive. The girls were all dressed as mermaids. They wore long fishy tails and jewels in their hair. They carried mysterious coloured packages under their arms.

  The girls giggled as they ducked under the seaweed curtain. They oohed and aahed when they saw that the hall was swimming with silvery fish.

  Mum waved her wand in greeting. She was dressed as a regal fairy princess. She wore a long velvet cloak over her sparkly dress and a tiara on her head.

  ‘Welcome to the underwater kingdom of Princess Rosie the Mermaid,’ cried Mum. ‘Please place your kind offerings on the kitchen table for the princess to peruse at her pleasure.’

  Rosie giggled with excitement as she greeted her friends.

  ‘Hi, Mia. Hi, Gracie. Hello, Ruby … come in … come in.’

  ‘Happy birthday, Rosie,’ called Ruby. ‘You look so pretty.’

  The girls crowded into the kitchen. They admired each other’s outfits and compared the size and shapes of the presents on the table. Pickles took one look at all the guests and stalked away to find a quiet place to sleep.

  Jessie bounded over to welcome all the mermaids. She smiled broadly and wagged her tail wildly. Rosie had dressed the dog in a pink tutu and wings. The wings had slipped off to one side.

  Gus crawled out from under the table. He was still dressed in his Bug Boy suit but Lulu had wiped his face clean.

  One of the mothers smiled at Gus. ‘Hello, who’s this little mermaid?’ she asked.

  ‘I not mermaid,’ declared Gus in disgust. ‘I Bug Boy!’

  ‘Yes, you are Bug Boy, honey bun,’ replied Mum. She kissed the top of his masked head. ‘And you’re adorable.’

  ‘I not …’ began Gus.

  Lulu grabbed him by the hand and dragged him towards the door.

  ‘Come on, Gussie,’ she said. ‘Let’s show Rosie her birthday surprise.’

  Chapter 9

  The Underwater Kingdom

  Lulu threw open the door and everyone crowded around. The garden had been transformed into an underwater pleasure ground. Balloons and coloured lanterns and seaweed streamers were strung in the trees.

  Silken cushions were scattered on a blue tarpaulin ‘sea’ and soft music played. A mermaid piñata hung from a broad branch and the shallow paddle pool was filled with fragrant bubbles.

  And best of all, in the very centre was a unicorn. His white coat had been brushed until it shone. His mane and tail rippled like silk in the sunlight. In the centre of his forehead was a golden horn tied with purple ribbon.

  ‘A unicorn,’ shrieked Rosie. ‘You’ve turned the pony into a unicorn!’

  Lulu winked at her sister. Molly laughed in delight.

  ‘Who’d like a unicorn ride?’ cried Lulu, flicking a plait over her shoulder. ‘Who will ride upon Stardust, the noble unicorn steed?’

  The little mermaids clamoured around Lulu. ‘Me! Me!’ they squealed.

  ‘Princess Rosie, the birthday girl! You shall have the honour of the very first ride upon Stardust the unicorn,’ pronounced Lulu.

  She led the way into the underwater garden.

  First Rosie, then all the other mermaid friends rode around and around the garden. Lulu led the pony.

  ‘Stardust the unicorn’ behaved beautifully. He didn’t go near the unicorn cake – but he did take a bite from the pink daisy bush on his way past.

  After the rides, the girls had their faces painted by Lulu and Molly.

  Then they searched for hidden treasure and chocolate eggs in the flowerbeds. They cuddled Flopsy, the pet rabbit, played musical cushions on the tarpaulin sea and danced like mermaids. There was a pass-the-pa
rcel and smash-the-piñata and splashing races through the bubble pool.

  Lulu laughed as she joined in. So far, the party was a success!

  Chapter 10

  Serena and Snowy

  Dr Bell arrived at the side gate. The girls were throwing handfuls of bubbles at each other and screaming with glee. Behind him came a woman and a girl. The girl was dressed in jodhpurs and riding boots. Her dark hair was tied back in two plaits, just like Lulu’s. The girl looked pale and red-eyed, as though she had been crying.

  ‘Snowy!’ she shrieked. She ran and threw her arms around the unicorn’s neck. She buried her face in his mane.

  ‘This is Mrs Winters, and this is her daughter Serena,’ introduced Dr Bell. ‘As you might have guessed, Snowy the pony belongs to them. Mrs Winters, this is my wife Chrissie, and my daughters Lulu and Rosie. All the other mermaids are her friends.’

  Mum came over to say hello.

  ‘I can’t thank you enough, Dr Bell,’ said Mrs Winters. ‘We’ve been so worried. Snowy was missing from his paddock this morning when Serena went to feed him. We think somebody let him out deliberately. The gate was closed last night.’

  Mum shook her head in dismay.

  ‘Who would do such a dreadful thing?’ she said. ‘Snowy could have been killed on the road or broken a leg.’

  ‘Poor Serena has been so upset,’ Mrs Winters whispered. ‘She’s been crying all morning. We rang the police, the fire department, the radio station – everyone we could think of. We were so relieved when the police rang to say that Dr Bell had found Snowy.’

  Lulu went over to Serena and Snowy. Serena looked up from Snowy’s neck and smiled a watery smile.

  ‘Hi, Serena – I’m Lulu.’