‘Thanks for rescuing Snowy,’ said Serena. ‘Did you make the unicorn costume?’
‘Yes,’ said Lulu. ‘I dressed Snowy as a unicorn to cheer Rosie up. You see, it’s her birthday and Snowy did the wickedest thing. Well, actually, it was probably my brother Gus’s fault, but he’s only three.’
Lulu told Serena the whole story. Serena laughed at the thought of Snowy stealing the cake and having his whiskers covered in green icing.
‘I guess it is funny,’ admitted Lulu. ‘But it wasn’t at the time.’
‘Well, Snowy definitely makes a beautiful unicorn,’ said Serena. She stroked his forelock and straightened his horn. Then she looked back at Lulu. ‘You can come and visit Snowy at our place. Any time you’d like.’
‘Do you mean it?’ asked Lulu. Her eyes were shining with excitement. ‘I’d love to.’
‘We could go riding together,’ added Serena. ‘We have a big paddock at home that backs onto the bush trails. I go riding nearly every afternoon after school.’
Lulu grinned at Serena. ‘That would be awesome.’
Mum called the girls over.
‘Rosie, Lulu. Mrs Winters has brought you something. She wants to say happy birthday and thank you for rescuing Snowy.’
Mrs Winters had brought in a large box from her car. It was wrapped in white paper and tied with a giant green ribbon.
‘When I rang the vet hospital, the nurse told me that you were celebrating Rosie’s birthday. So I thought we should bring something along,’ explained Mrs Winters.
‘Help me open it, Lulu?’ asked Rosie. ‘It’s heavy!’
Together they undid the ribbon and tore open the paper. Inside the box was a pile of lovely books. Beautiful picture books with gorgeous illustrations. Thick chapter books with enticing covers. Adventure books and fairytales and all kinds of exciting books in between.
Rosie shrieked with excitement.
‘Serena helped me choose them,’ explained Mrs Winters. ‘I hope you like them.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Winters,’ cried Lulu and Rosie together. They oohed and aahed as they flicked through the pages and read the back covers.
‘We’ll have to keep these away from Gus,’ Lulu warned Rosie. Gus scowled and stuck his thumb in his mouth. ‘But I’ll read them to you, Gus, I promise.’
A buzzer went off in the kitchen.
‘Oh, the sausage rolls,’ cried Mum. ‘I nearly forgot. Would you and Serena like to stay for the mermaid feast, Mrs Winters? I’m just about to serve it.’
Serena looked hopefully at her mother. Snowy cropped the grass, his tail swishing with contentment. His horn had slipped back over one ear.
‘I’ll help you load Snowy in my trailer after the feast,’ offered Dr Bell. ‘Then I can run him home for you.’
‘That would be wonderful,’ replied Mrs Winters. ‘Thank you, Mrs Bell, we’d love to stay.’
‘Thanks, Mum,’ cried Serena. ‘Thanks, Mrs Bell.’
Chapter 11
The Mermaid Feast
Lulu and Molly helped to lay the food out on the feast table. There were steaming sausage rolls and tomato sauce, tiny party pies and, of course, fish bites. A blue platter held sea-grapes, strawberries and sea-watermelon. Another held mermaid-bread topped with blue and green sprinkles.
All the mermaids came to sit around the table. Rosie sat at the head, on a throne draped in purple velvet.
Gus sat at the other end with his mask still covering half his face. He had two bowls right in front of him. One overflowed with crunchy chocolate crackles. The other held crispy, salty chips.
Jessie and Asha sat on either side of him. Their heads followed the movement of Gus’s hand from bowl to mouth and back again.
Gus stuffed two chocolate crackles in his mouth. ‘Mmmm. Dulishus.’
‘Oh, no you don’t, Gussie,’ said Lulu. She rescued the bowl of chocolate crackles before they all disappeared.
Lulu, Serena and Molly sat down next to Gus to share in the feast.
‘You’re right, Gus,’ said Molly. ‘These chocolate crackles are really good.’
Suddenly Mum jumped up and ran inside. She came back with a mysterious bulging bag.
‘I nearly forgot,’ confessed Mum. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. ‘Here are your royal robes, King Neptune.’
‘Oh, no,’ groaned Dad. He stepped backwards with his hands raised. ‘I’m not dressing up.’
‘Come on, Dad,’ called Lulu and Rosie together.
‘Please,’ Rosie added, jiggling up and down.
Dad looked around at all the mermaids. He rolled his eyes in mock horror and sighed. ‘Well, all right.’
‘Here you are, Your Highness,’ offered Mum.
She pulled a white sheet over his shoulder and fastened it with a safety pin. Then she slipped a long blue cloak around his neck. She had made a white wig and beard from wispy cotton wool. This was topped with a gold cardboard crown.
Last of all, Mum handed him a golden trident made from an old broomstick.
‘Let the feast begin,’ thundered King Neptune. He flourished his trident.
Lulu and Rosie giggled with delight. Mum snapped photographs of King Neptune and Princess Rosie and all the girls in their sparkly costumes.
The girls chattered and laughed and ate. Mum served plastic goblets filled with blue lemonade, with orange ‘fish’ bobbing in the bubbles.
‘Mmmmm – melonade,’ said Gus. ‘Bug Boy like melonade.’
Then Mum carried out the unicorn cake. The jelly sea wobbled and joggled, making the paper mermaids dance. The candles flared and sputtered. Everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Rosie.
The tiny unicorn stood proudly on top of the cake. In the garden, Snowy whinnied loudly.
‘Blow out the candles and make a wish, honey bun,’ said Mum.
Rosie closed her eyes. She took a big deep breath and blew. The candles flickered and fizzled. Mum cut up the cake and put a piece in each bowl. Lulu added wobbly blue jelly and vanilla ice-cream.
‘What did you wish for?’ asked Molly.
‘I can’t tell you or it won’t come true,’ replied Rosie.
She beamed around the table at all her friends. Then she looked up at her parents.
‘Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Dad. Thanks for all your help, Molly.’
Then she turned and smiled an extra-big grin at her sister.
‘Thanks for finding me a birthday unicorn, Lulu,’ Rosie said. ‘This has been the best birthday party ever!’
Lulu grinned back. She flicked one of her plaits over her shoulder.
‘It was a pleasure, Rosie. Maybe we can get our own snow-white pony to keep in the backyard?’
She looked up hopefully at her parents.
‘No!’ cried Mum and Rosie and Molly together.
Dad rubbed his chin, then winked at Lulu.
‘Mmmm,’ he said. ‘Maybe.’
Lulu and her dad exchanged a secret smile.
‘Fantabulous!’ said Lulu.
Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin
It’s a hot day and the Bell family is going for a swim. But when a runaway dog chases a little penguin that is waddling up the beach, Lulu has to leap into action!
Is the little penguin hurt? And as if that’s not enough for Lulu to worry about, where is Pickles the cat, who’s about to have her kittens? Let the search begin!
Out now
Read all the Lulu Bell books
Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn
Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin
Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort
August 2013
Lulu Bell and the Moon Dragon
August 2013
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Version 1.0
Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn
9781742758763
Copyright © Belinda Murrell 2013
Illustrations copyright © Serena Geddes 2013
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
A Random House Australia book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060
www.randomhouse.com.au
Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices
First published by Random House Australia in 2013
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Murrell, Belinda
Title: Lulu Bell and the birthday unicorn [electronic resource]/Belinda Murrell; Serena Geddes, illustrator
ISBN: 978 1 74275 876 3 (ebook)
Series: Murrell, Belinda. Lulu Bell; 1
Target audience: For primary school age
Subjects: Ponies – Juvenile fiction
Birthday parties – Juvenile fiction
Children’s fiction
Other authors/contributors: Geddes, Serena
Dewey number: A823.4
Cover and internal illustrations by Serena Geddes
Cover design by Christabella Designs
Internal design and typesetting by Anna Warren, Warren Ventures
eBook production by First Source
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