Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort Read Free Page B

with its fingers while the other moaned and wailed.
    Lulu tiptoed slowly towards the shadows. Thump, whack . She hit them both over the shoulders with her pillow.
    â€˜Ouch!’ cried one of the ghosts.
    â€˜Ow – that hurt,’ yelled the other ghost. ‘Lulu! What did you hit me for?’
    Tom and Ben jumped to their feet. Tim sprinted around from the other side of the tent, giggling.
    Lulu put a hand on her hip. ‘Boys, will you please go to bed? None of us can sleep with your terrible singing outside our tent.’
    â€˜We weren’t singing,’ protested Tim. ‘We were moaning, just like ghosts.’
    Lulu shrugged. ‘Oh, I couldn’t tell the difference. I thought you were singing us a lullaby.’

    The boys slunk back to their own tent.
    Inside the girls’ tent, Rosie, Gus, Ella and Meg were all sitting up in their sleeping-bags, giggling. Jessie was smiling her big doggie grin.
    â€˜That was the boys?’ asked Rosie. ‘I thought for a moment it really was a ghost.’
    â€˜No, just the boys trying to scare us,’ said Lulu. ‘Goodnight, everyone – sleep well. See you in the morning.’

Chapter 7
The Water Battle
    The next day dawned bright and fair. It was so exciting to be on holidays at the farm that all the cousins woke up early. They met in the kitchen and ate breakfast.
    â€˜Don’t forget we’re riding this morning,’ Lulu’s dad reminded them. ‘We’ll catch the horses and saddle up while you do your chores.’
    All the children cleared their dirtyplates from the table. Lachie and Tim emptied the compost while Ben and Ella unpacked the dishwasher.
    Lulu, Meg, Ella and Rosie carried the chickens from the henhouse to the vegetable garden. Suddenly, Meg squealed. A squirt of water had hit her in the middle of her back and dribbled down her shirt.
    â€˜Ow,’ yelled Meg. ‘What was that?’
    A giggle came from behind the hydrangea bush. Hidden there were four cowboys with water blasters.
    â€˜Boys,’ warned Lulu.
    A spray of water shot from Tom’s water blaster and drenched Lulu’s jeans. Ella hid behind Meg.
    â€˜Rosie, look at Gussie,’ cried Lulu.
    The girls stared at their brother. He was no longer dressed in his favouritesuperhero suit. He was wearing jeans, a blue-and-white checked shirt, a brown cowboy hat and a red kerchief knotted around his neck.
    â€˜I not Gussie,’ said Gus. ‘I Billy.’
    â€˜But I thought Billy was invisible?’ asked Lulu.
    Gus shrugged and gave a cheeky grin. ‘Billy a cowboy.’
    â€˜Stick ’em up,’ called Tim. He twirled two blasters around his fingers. Then he soaked the girls with water. ‘Gotcha.’
    â€˜Come on, girls,’ yelled Lulu. ‘Revenge!’
    The boys ran for the safety of the hills. They laughed and hooted. The girls ran for the laundry. There they found cowgirl hats and more water blasters. They filled the blasters with water. Then the four girls crept around the house tosee where the boys were hiding.
    There was no sign of the cowboys in the garden or on the hillside sloping down from the house.
    â€˜They’re hiding in the fort,’ guessed Lulu. The girls ran down to the creek and across the bridge. At the base of the hill, the rope was gone.
    â€˜The boys have pulled up the rope,’ whispered Rosie.
    A shot of water sailed over their heads from above.
    â€˜We’ll get soaked if we climb up that way,’ said Meg.
    Lulu pushed her hat back on her head and looked up.
    â€˜I have an idea,’ she said. ‘Follow me.’
    Lulu ran around the hill and towards the cattle yards. Here the ground was not so steep. Lulu found a narrow cattletrack that led up the hillside.
    The other girls followed, huffing and puffing. They climbed higher and higher until they reached the top of the ridge. They crept along the ridge until they found the cubby