Lulu Bell and the Pirate Fun Read Online Free Page A

scrubby bushes that were half-submerged by the floodwaters. The rain plopped and splatted down. It drizzled onto Lulu’s face. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.
    â€˜Jessie,’ called Lulu. ‘Jessie!’
    Asha whined.
    Lulu shut her eyes so that she could concentrate on listening. With her eyes closed, she thought she heard something. Lulu tucked a wet plait behind her ear. She listened as hard as she could. There it was again! It was a very faint sound. Was it a bird? Or could it be a very faint whimper?
    Asha must have heard it, too. She barked loudly and darted down the bank towards the water.
    â€˜Dad! Dad!’ yelled Lulu. ‘I think I heard Jessie!’

Chapter 9
The Rescue
    Dad ran up the slope and stopped beside Lulu.
    â€˜Did you see Jessie? Where?’ he cried.
    â€˜Shhh,’ said Lulu. She closed her eyes again and cupped her hand around her ear. ‘There it is again.’
    â€˜I can’t hear anything,’ said Dad.
    Lulu kept her eyes closed and turned her face towards the faint sound. She pointed. Lulu’s ears told her that the noise was coming from the far bank.But she couldn’t see anything there except a tangled thicket of branches and brambles.
    Then she saw something. A small black shape was sticking out of the water. It was half-hidden among the undergrowth. Was it a submerged stone? Perhaps it was a log … But was it moving?
    â€˜There, Dad!’ cried Lulu. ‘What’s that? Is it Jessie?’
    â€˜It couldn’t be,’ said Dad. ‘What would she be doing down there?’
    Asha barked once more. She darted back and forth anxiously then jumped into the water with a loud splash. She started swimming for the opposite bank.
    â€˜It must be,’ said Lulu. ‘Asha wouldn’t go in unless she thought Jessie was there. She hates swimming.’
    The shape moved again and finally Lulu could see it clearly. The dark shape was Jessie’s black muzzle. Her brown head was nearly invisible against the muddy water and the thicket of wood. Her eyes turned to Lulu. She whined pitifully.

    â€˜It is Jessie,’ yelled Lulu. ‘She must be trapped.’
    Dad took his phone out of his pocket. ‘Ring Mum and Uncle Nick and ask them to come straight away. Please stay up here on the bank, sweetie. I don’t want you to go down near the water.’
    Lulu took the phone. She punched the buttons to ring Mum then Uncle Nick, to tell them what had happened.
    Meanwhile, Dad made his way down the bank. He slowly and carefully waded out into the lagoon. The water came up over his knees, then to his waist as he splashed out across the floodwater. He reached Jessie at the same time Asha did. Asha paddled to the shallows where she could stand. Lulu could see Dad struggling with the tangle of branches.
    â€˜Jessie’s stuck in the brambles,’ he called.
    Lulu felt her tummy knot. What can I do to help Dad? Then she remembered something. At the farm, Dad always carried a sturdy pocket knife. He had used it to cut the twine on the hay bales yesterday.
    â€˜What about your knife, Dad?’ called Lulu. ‘Maybe you could cut her free?’
    Dad checked his belt. The knife was safely stowed in its leather pouch. With one arm he cradled Jessie’s body, taking her weight. With the other, he sawed at the branches that had caught her. Lulu could hear the snap and crack of the timber splitting.
    â€˜Got her!’ yelled Dad. He lifted Jessie up in his arms and carried her back safely across the creek. Asha swam back beside him.

    Dad clambered up the bank. He lay Jessie down gently on the ground.
    Â 
    Dad ran his hands over her legs and back. Jessie lay still. She was exhausted.
    Lulu felt the sting of tears against her eyelids. ‘Oh Jessie,’ she cried, as she stroked Jessie’s side. ‘Are you all right?’
    Jessie looked up at Lulu. She smiled her big doggy smile and licked Lulu on the