Lulu Bell and the Arabian Nights (2 page)

On Tuesday morning, Lulu was at Shelly Beach School. Her new year four teacher Mr Newbold was sitting at his desk marking the roll.

There was a knock at the door. Mrs Poole from the office came in. Beside her was a girl with very long, straight, dark hair. Lulu thought she looked scared.

‘Good morning, 4N,' said Mrs Poole. ‘We have a student new to Shelly Beach School. Her name is Amira. I hope you all make her feel welcome.'

Mr Newbold stood up and smiled at her. Amira looked down at her toes.

‘Welcome to 4N, Amira,' said Mr Newbold.

He turned to the class. ‘Molly, would you mind moving to sit near Lauren?' he said. ‘Amira, you can sit next to Lulu. She'll look after you and help you settle in.'

Molly gathered up her pencils and books. She moved to sit beside Lauren. Amira sat down beside Lulu.

‘Hi, Amira,' said Lulu. ‘My name is Lulu Bell.'

Amira whispered something as she unpacked her pencil case but Lulu didn't quite hear.

Mr Newbold walked back to his desk. ‘As you all know, next Tuesday is Harmony Day.

‘Today we find out what country our class will celebrate. And the principal has asked me if our class can do the special performance this year.'

A buzz of excitement rippled around the classroom.

‘So we need to come up with a fantastic idea for the show,' said Mr Newbold. ‘But first we need to do some work.'

‘Oooh,' groaned the class.

The morning sped by as the class did reading in groups and then maths. Lulu loved maths. It was one of her favourite subjects.

After maths it was recess. Lulu and her friends went out to where their bags were hanging on hooks. Everyone was laughing and chatting as they found their hats and food. Amira looked around at the commotion.

Lulu took her apple out of her backpack. She turned to Amira and smiled.

‘We usually play handball at recess,' said Lulu. ‘Would you like to join us?'

‘I need something from the office,' whispered Amira.

‘Would you like me to take you?' asked Lulu.

Amira shook her head. ‘I know where it is.'

‘Come and find us afterwards,' said Lulu. ‘We play on the handball courts near the front gate.'

Amira nodded.

Handball was the most popular playground game at Shelly Beach School. A big group of Lulu's friends played handball every day. There was Lulu, Molly, Lauren, Olivia, Jo, Max, Daniel, Zac and Flynn. There were several handball courts painted on the playground.

Lulu made it to king position before getting out. She laughed and skipped off the court. Lauren and Molly were practising next to the court, waiting their turn.

‘Have you seen Amira?' asked Lulu.
‘She doesn't know anyone. I hope she's not feeling left out.'

Lauren shook her head.

‘I think I'll have a quick look for her,' said Lulu. ‘She might be lost.'

Molly went with her. The girls searched the playground. They checked the office and the sick bay. Amira was nowhere to be found.

‘Perhaps she's in the library?' suggested Molly.

The girls went inside. At first glance it seemed to be empty, but Lulu thought she heard a slight sound.

‘Amira?' Lulu called softly. There was no reply. Lulu searched between the bookshelves. Amira was sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked utterly miserable.

‘Are you all right, Amira?' asked Lulu.

Amira looked down at her school shoes. ‘I'm okay,' she said.

‘Why don't you come and play handball?' asked Molly.

Amira gave a watery smile. ‘Thanks, but I don't really feel like it,' she said.

‘Has someone upset you?' asked Lulu.

Amira shook her head. ‘I'm just feeling a bit sad. It's all so strange being at a new school. I miss my old friends and my old house. And –'

Amira rubbed her eyes. Lulu held out her hand.

‘Come on, Amira,' said Lulu. ‘We need to think of ideas for Harmony Day next week. Why don't you come and help us?'

The bell rang and everyone hurried into class. Mr Newbold looked around. ‘Now we'll have some fun getting ready for Harmony Day. I know you're all wondering what culture we'll be celebrating.'

Mr Newbold made a loud drumroll noise, banging his palms on the desk. ‘The country for 4N this year will be …Amira's homeland, Iran.'

Everyone turned to look at Amira. She flushed bright red and looked down at her hands in her lap.

‘That's great, Amira,' whispered Lulu.

Amira nodded.

‘Iran is a country in the Middle East that was once part of the vast Persian empire,' explained Mr Newbold. ‘Most people in Iran speak Persian and much of their culture comes from its ancient traditions. It's a fascinating culture – so let's see what we can discover.'

The class was split up into five groups to research Persian food, music, dress, dance and history. Lulu was in a group with Amira, Molly, Max and Daniel.

After lunch, the students discussed ideas for the performance. They looked up photos and information on the class computers.

‘It says here that wrestling and martial arts are traditional Iranian sports,' said Max. ‘We could have a giant wrestling match.'

Max began tussling with Daniel. Daniel fell off his chair.

‘Did you know the Persians invented polo?' added Daniel. He wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Maybe we could play polo?'

Lulu giggled. ‘You need to ride horses to play polo,' she said.

‘It would be cool if we could ride camels,' said Max. ‘Did you ride camels when you lived in Iran, Amira?'

Amira shook her head. ‘I lived in a big city called Tehran. There were definitely no camels there.'

Daniel shrugged. ‘That's a shame. We could have dressed up as camels.'

Lulu laughed and shook her head. The ideas seemed to be going from bad to worse. ‘No camels! Our performance has to be something really special. All the parents are coming to watch it.'

Molly frowned. ‘This is really hard.'

Just then the final bell rang. Lulu raced out into the playground. Mum was there, chatting to some of the other parents. Gus was climbing on the monkey bars with his friends. Lulu gave Mum a hug.

‘So do we know the theme for our food stall yet?' asked Mum.

‘Yes,' said Lulu. ‘It's Iranian. We have a new girl in our class called Amira, and she's from Iran. She's over there.'

Lulu pointed. Amira was talking to her mother. The two of them were standing alone near the fence.

‘Come on, honey bun,' said Mum. ‘I think we should introduce ourselves. I need to talk to Amira's mother about some ideas for our feast.'

Mum and Lulu walked over to join Amira and her mother.

‘Hello,' said Mum. ‘My name is Chrissie Bell and this is my daughter Lulu. She's in Amira's class.'

Amira's mother smiled. ‘Nice to meet you. My name is Leyla,' she said.

‘I'm the class parent for 4N,' explained Mum. ‘Amira might have told you that next week we are having a
special festivity. We're making an Iranian feast for all the children in the class.'

‘Amira was just telling me,' Leyla said. ‘That's lovely.'

Mum explained all about the plans for the day.

‘I was hoping you might be able to help me choose the menu,' said Mum. ‘Amira, perhaps you have some favourite dishes that you would like us to cook?'

Amira nodded. ‘My mum cooks the best food. She makes
mezze
and
dolma
and
kabab
.'

‘That sounds delicious,' said Mum. ‘A few of the parents have offered to help make the meals. We just need some recipes and directions.'

‘Amira and I would be happy to help,' said Leyla.

‘Wonderful,' said Mum. ‘Perhaps you'd like to come home with us after school tomorrow? We could talk about it over a cup of tea.'

Leyla beamed at Mum. ‘That would be lovely. My husband has just started a new job so we only moved to Shelly Beach this week. We don't know anyone here yet.'

‘You'll love it here,' said Lulu. ‘Shelly Beach is the best.'

At home that afternoon, Lulu sat at the kitchen bench doing her homework. She did her maths first. Then she sat and looked at the photos of Iran that Mum had helped her to find on the internet. There were photos of domes and spires. Of bustling markets and vast deserts. Of musicians playing drums, tambourines, stringed lutes and flutes. Of whirling dancers in colourful robes.

Just then, Rosie and Gus came rushing in from the garden. They were fighting with swords, clashing the blades together with loud thwacks. Lulu covered her ears.

‘Not so loud,' complained Lulu. ‘I'm doing my homework.'

‘Take that,' yelled Gus.

Rosie spun around, her cloak flying. She heaved her sword down upon Gus's blade.

‘Be gone, foul knight,' she cried.

‘No swords inside, honey buns,' called Mum as she came through the door. ‘Sword fights are definitely an outside activity.'

Rosie and Gus galloped back outside but Rosie's twirl had reminded Lulu of something. What could it be?

Then Lulu had it. It was a drawing in the book
The Arabian Nights
, in the story
‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. The drawing showed the slave girl Morgiana saving her master by fighting off the bandit captain.

Lulu rushed to her bedroom to find the book. She opened the book to the right page. There it was: a beautiful drawing of the slave girl dancing with a sword in her hand.

Lulu began to read the folktale again. Then she ran to the kitchen and started to jot down some ideas in her homework book.

Lulu had just finished when Dad popped his head around the green door that separated their home from the vet hospital in front.

‘Where's my little bird whisperer?' asked Dad.

Lulu smiled up at him. ‘Here I am, Dad.'

‘Great, sweetie,' replied Dad. ‘Are you ready to go on a bird rescue mission?'

Lulu jumped up. ‘Of course I am.'

‘Grab a pocketful of birdy treats and let's go.'

Lulu took a handful of seeds from the pantry and slipped them in her pocket.

It was nearly dusk. Lulu met Dad at the garage and they jumped in the car. Dad put a birdcage on the back seat next to her.

‘Where are we heading, Dad?' asked Lulu, as she did up her seatbelt.

‘To an apartment up on Tower Hill,' replied Dad. ‘A man called Mr Capello rang. He said a bird has taken refuge on his balcony. It was being attacked by wild birds.'

‘I wonder what sort of bird it is?' asked Lulu.

‘We'll see if you can pick it,' said Dad.

The apartment building was high on the crest of the hill. Mr Capello lived up on the sixth floor. He answered the front door and led them through to the lounge room. Dad carried the birdcage.

‘I hope it's still there,' said Mr Capello. ‘It's an unusual looking bird that's been coming and going for a few days.'

‘Have you tried to catch it?' asked Dad.

Mr Capello shook his head as he opened the sliding door onto the balcony.
‘No. It seems frightened. I've called but it wouldn't come.'

Mr Capello, Dad and Lulu stood in the doorway and looked out.

The balcony had a stunning view over the town below, and out to the vast blue sea gleaming in the distance. Lulu could see the golden crescent of sand, the breaking surf and tiny people strolling along the walkway next to the beach. To the west the sun was setting in a blaze of reds, oranges and purples. She looked around the balcony. There was no sign of a bird.

Dad put the cage down on a table on the balcony. He pegged open the door to the cage. A large cob of corn was inside. ‘We'll wait a while and see if it comes. Birds usually find a place to roost at sunset. Let's hope he comes back here.'

A few minutes later, Lulu spotted a small parrot flying towards them. ‘Look,' she cried. ‘Is that it?'

The bird fluttered down and landed on the railing. Its body was grey and white. It had a yellow crest and neck and two orange spots on its cheeks. It looked warily at the humans.

‘A cockatiel,' whispered Lulu. The bird flared its crest with alarm.

‘That plumage shows he's a male,' said Dad. ‘He'll be missing his family.'

The bird hopped away from them, further down the railing.

‘Stay still, Mr Capello,' suggested Dad. ‘Lulu, see if you can tempt our little feathered friend with some seeds.'

Lulu moved slowly and quietly. She popped a seed onto the railing about two
metres away from the bird then stepped back. The bird watched her, its head cocked to the side. When Lulu moved away the cockatiel hopped towards the seed. It pecked up the food then hopped away.

Lulu repeated the process, placing the seed a little closer to the bird each time. Finally she placed the seed on her outstretched palm and offered it to the cockatiel. The bird watched Lulu warily, its head on its side. Lulu stayed perfectly still.

At last it hopped across onto Lulu's hand. It pecked up the sunflower seed. Lulu slowly put up her finger and pressed it gently against his chest. After a few seconds, the cockatiel perched on her outstretched finger. He fluffed up his feathers.

‘Good work, sweetie,' whispered Dad. ‘Now see if you can bring him towards the cage. Just slowly.'

Lulu crept forwards. She stretched out her hand towards the cage door. Just as Lulu was nearly there, the cockatiel stretched his wings and took flight. He flew straight from Lulu's hand to the open door of the cage. He perched for a moment on the threshold then hopped inside.

Dad released the peg to close the door. ‘Great work, sweetie,' said Dad. The cockatiel nuzzled the corn then looked up at Lulu and whistled. ‘We'll take him back to the vet hospital.'

‘I hope you can track down his owner,' said Mr Capello.

‘Don't worry,' said Lulu with confidence. ‘We often find lost pets. And we nearly
always
find where they belong.'