Lulu Bell and the Tiger Cub Read Online Free Page B

grassy lawn was surrounded by a low sandstone wall. Purple lavender blossomed in the flower beds, filling the air with its sweet scent. A turquoise peacock strutted past. He lifted his tail in a gorgeous display, like a green-and-blue patterned fan.

    â€˜Look at those colours,’ said Mum, snapping a photograph. ‘He’s exquisite.’
    Max and Daniel went over to a group of boys sitting on the wall. Max immediately began to entertain them all with his monkey impersonation. He leaped and cavorted. He scratched his head and made ‘oooh-oooh-aaah-aaah’ noises. The boys chuckled and giggled as Daniel told them about their adventures at the vet hospital.
    Lulu, Molly and Lauren went to sit with Mum in the sun beside the lavender hedge. Everyone opened their lunch boxes except Lulu.
    Linh the monkey had destroyed most of Lulu’s lunch, so she shared a lamb-and-tomato sandwich with Mum. Molly gave her some of her spicy noodle salad with lime juice and mint. They finished off the meal by passing around juicy red strawberries. The fruit was sweet and delicious.

    â€˜This is wonderful,’ said Lulu. She leaned back against the grass. ‘Do you think this has been the best excursion ever?’
    â€˜Absolutely,’ said Lauren and Molly together.

Chapter 8
Return to the Zoo
    One Friday a few weeks later, Dad organised to finish work early. Mum, Dad and Gus came to pick Lulu and Rosie up from school.
    Gus was wearing his all-in-one tiger suit, in honour of the trip. Lulu and Rosie wore their warm jackets and scarves over their school uniforms.
    As they got in the car, Lulu wriggled with excitement.
    â€˜Hurray,’ said Lulu. ‘I’m so glad we’re going back to the zoo. I can’t wait to show you Berani and Linh.’
    Dr Bradley met them at the zoo entrance. She gave everyone a big hug.
    â€˜Come this way,’ invited Dr Bradley. ‘I want to show you our new François’ leaf monkey enclosure.’

    Dr Bradley led the way towards the Asian rainforest trail. Lulu, Rosie and Gus ran from enclosure to enclosure so they could see the different animals on the way. They passed the orang-utans, Asian elephants, gibbons and tapirs.
    They stopped at an enclosure surrounded by a glass wall. It was filled with tall trees, vines and fallen logs. Thick leaf litter carpeted the ground. Ten leaf monkeys were inside. Unlike Linh, these monkeys were black with tufts of white whiskers on their faces.
    Some were foraging for leaves and fruit. Some were resting and grooming each other high in the branches.
    â€˜Can you see Linh?’ asked Dr Bradley.
    Lulu noticed that one black-and-white François’ leaf monkey was sitting on a high branch. Tucked in her arms wasa smaller monkey with a bright orange head.
    â€˜There she is,’ cried Lulu. ‘That’s Linh, the baby monkey who escaped.’
    â€˜She has been living with her family for the last few days,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘But we still give her bottles of milk several times a day.’
    Linh scrambled out of her mother’s arms. She galloped along the branch, her tail curled above her head.
    â€˜But Linh doesn’t look like the other monkeys,’ said Rosie. ‘She has an orange head.’
    â€˜She will stay orange for a few months, then she will turn black like her mother,’ explained Dr Bradley. ‘She is quite an acrobat these days.’
    The monkey grabbed a hanging rope and swung out high above the ground.She leaped through the air and landed safely on another branch. She swung and jumped from pole to tree all the way back to her mother.

    â€˜It’s so wonderful that we can come and watch these rare animals,’ said Dad. He turned to Dr Bradley. ‘You are doing a fantastic job here at the zoo. It’s so important that endangered animals like these can survive.’
    Dr Bradley smiled. ‘For a while there, we thought we’d lost one baby leaf