Free Lulu Bell and the Pirate Fun by Belinda Murrell

Chapter 1
Rain
    The rain poured down. It drummed on the tin roof. All Lulu could see through the window was a shower of water gushing from the gutters.
    â€˜Will it ever stop raining?’ Lulu grumbled loudly.
    The Bell family was away for a long weekend. It would be Gus’s fourth birthday tomorrow. Dad’s brother Uncle Nick had invited them all to Sugarloaf Farm to celebrate.
    â€˜Never complain to a farmer about rain, Lulu,’ said Uncle Nick with a smile. ‘The rain will help the grass grow. Then the cows will get fat on the grass, and fat, healthy cows make me a happy farmer.’
    All six kids were sprawled on the floor in the lounge room of the farmhouse. There was Lulu, her sister Rosie and her brother Gus. Their cousins were Tom, Meg and Lachie. They had been playing Monopoly all morning.
    â€˜But we were going to have a pirate party for Gus tomorrow,’ said Lulu, ‘with a treasure hunt and games and horseriding and lots of pirate fun.’
    â€˜And a big pirate cake,’ added Gus. ‘A choclit cake.’
    â€˜We wanted to eat it up at the cubby fort,’ said Rosie.
    Last year all the cousins had made a fantastic fort that was built into the base of a huge gum tree. It was on a ridge and from the fort they could see out over the farmhouse and the paddocks.
    â€˜You mean the pirate ship,’ said Tom. He shaded his eyes with his hand as though he was staring out to sea. ‘ Arrr , me hearties.’

    â€˜The cubby won’t make a fun pirate ship if it’s raining,’ said Lulu. ‘It’ll be all muddy.’
    Mum and Auntie Tor were sitting on the couch reading. Mum looked up from her book and smiled. ‘A little water won’t hurt you, honey buns,’ she said. ‘Do you think pirates worry about rain?’
    â€˜I think the rain’s getting lighter,’ said Tom. ‘Let’s put on gumboots and go for a walk.’
    â€˜Great idea,’ said Lulu. ‘We can check out the cubby fort.’
    All the cousins jumped up. Out on the verandah by the front door was a big cane basket full of gumboots. Everyone wore boots at the farm because of the mud and snakes. The six kids rummaged through the basket until they found a pair that fit.

    Lulu pulled on her green rain jacket and a cowboy hat. Uncle Nick and Dad came out too, followed by the dogs.
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    Asha and Jessie were the two Bell family dogs. There were also the black farm dogs, Polly and Daisy.
    Everyone stood on the verandah staring out into the rain. The white timber farmhouse was nestled on a slope among old elm trees. The valley was surrounded by misty green hills and patches of bush. The sky overhead was dull with heavy grey clouds.
    â€˜Look!’ said Rosie. She stood on tiptoe, peering over the verandah railing. ‘The creek has flooded!’
    Sugarloaf Creek had overflowed. The flat paddock between the creek and the house had disappeared and turned into a wide, shallow lake.
    â€˜Let’s hope the water doesn’t rise any further,’ said Uncle Nick.
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    He pointed downstream to where a rickety timber bridge crossed the creek, leading towards the front gate. ‘One year the floods washed the bridge away and we couldn’t get out.’
    Tom grinned at the others. ‘It was terrible . We couldn’t go to school for a whole week.’
    Lulu looked up at Dad with shining eyes. ‘Maybe the water will rise that high this time,’ she said. ‘We could stay here instead of going to school on Tuesday. We might even be trapped here for weeks .’
    Lulu couldn’t think of anything more exciting than staying at the farm for weeks and weeks. Lulu loved her home right behind Shelly Beach Vet Hospital, but sometimes she thought it would be fun to live on a farm.
    Dad squeezed Lulu’s shoulder. ‘Good try, sweetie. But that would take many days of heavy rain.’
    Uncle Nick looked serious. ‘It’s okay for