asked Gus.
âOf course you can,â said Dad.
Everyone else went inside to get ready for lunch. Lulu and Gus followed Dad around to the front of the house.
Next door, the workers had also stopped to eat. They were sitting in the shade of a big tree. The bulldozer was parked beside them.
The bush next door looked very different to how it had looked this morning. The bulldozer had smashed down a wide section of trees and scrub.Fallen timber had been pushed into a massive pile. Tyre tracks had churned up the ground to reveal a gash of sandy grey dirt below. The air was filled with the smell of crushed eucalyptus. Lulu thought it looked sad and bare.
Mr OâConnor was talking to the driver of the bulldozer. He pointed to his watch then towards some trees to the left. He looked bad tempered.
âGood afternoon, Mr OâConnor,â said Dad.
Mr OâConnor scowled as Dad walked over. âWeâre a bit busy right now, Dr Bell,â he said. âWeâre running behind schedule.â
âThatâs what Iâd like to talk to you about,â said Dad. âI donât think you should keep clearing right now. There are two koalas in one of those trees.â
Mr OâConnor went red. âWhat do you mean?â he demanded. âWe canât stop work now. There werenât any koalas on this block when we checked yesterday.â
Lulu felt a knot in her tummy. She didnât like it when people raised their voices.
Lulu looked up at Mr OâConnor and swallowed. âItâs ⦠itâs a mother koala with a little baby koala â a joey,â said Lulu. Her voice came out as a squeak.
âWeâre in a hurry,â snapped Mr OâConnor. âThis bulldozer is costing me a fortune.â
The bulldozer driver looked worried. âIâm sorry, Mr OâConnor, but Dr Bell is right. We canât keep clearing while there are koalas in those trees. Weâll need to get someone to catch them and move them away.â
Lulu felt a flash of anger. âYou canât move the koalas away. They live here. This is their home.â
Mr OâConnor opened his mouth to reply. Then he shut his lips into a long thin line.
âBulldozer go BROOOM!â roared Gus. âBulldozer go CRASH!â
Dad lifted Gus onto his shoulders. He hugged Lulu close. âCome on, sweetie,â said Dad. âLetâs go up for lunch.â
Chapter 6
The Patient
The next morning, Lulu was woken by a whimper. The other kids were all fast asleep. Lulu climbed down the ladder of her bunk bed and padded off to investigate.
Asha was downstairs scratching at the back door. She whined and looked up at Lulu. Asha had a worried look on her face.
âDo you need to go outside, girl?â asked Lulu. She clipped Ashaâs lead on.Lulu unlocked the glass sliding door and Asha bounded outside. It was another gorgeous sunny day. Asha raced straight towards the old gum tree next to the house. Lulu ran along beside her.
A few metres from the tree, Asha stopped and gave a loud warning bark. She looked up at Lulu and barked again.
âWhatâs up, girl?â asked Lulu.
Asha whined in response.
Then Lulu saw it. Waddling across the lawn was the koala. Her joey was clinging on tightly, riding on her back.
The mother koala was panting. Her fluffy tufted ears flicked back and forth.
Lulu held on tight to Ashaâs lead. She watched the two koalas with delight.
âHello, koala,â said Lulu. âWhere are you off to?â
The koala looked up Lulu with black button eyes. The joey was adorable, snuggling its mother.
Lulu wanted nothing more than to pick up the joey and cuddle it. But she knew that she mustnât frighten wild animals. She watched as the koala walked over to the big gum tree. The koala sat for a moment at the bottom of the tree. She seemed dazed and confused.
âGo on,â said Lulu. âClimb the tree.â
The koala paused