Lulu Bell and the Circus Pup (2 page)

Rosie and Lulu walked beside the pram. Asha and Jessie trotted along beside them, sniffing all the smells. They came to the end of the park.

‘Spangles!' cried a voice. ‘Spangles!'

Everyone turned around.

A girl was running towards them. She had tangled black hair, a big, sloppy jumper and bare feet. Her face was streaked with tears.

‘Are you all right?' asked Mum. ‘Have you hurt yourself?”

The girl shook her head. She wiped her hand across her cheek. It left a grubby smear.

‘I've … lost my dog,' she said. Her voice cracked. ‘Have you seen her? She's cream and fluffy with a black face.'

‘You mean the cute one with the pink cloth tied around her neck?' asked Lulu.

The girl nodded. She looked hopeful. ‘Did you see her? Where was she?'

‘We saw you walking a big group
of dogs earlier,' said Lulu. She pointed back towards the circus tent. ‘The little dog was following you.'

‘She
was
,' said the circus girl. ‘But she must have wandered off. I put all the other dogs away in their kennels. When I called Spangles she didn't come.' A tear rolled down her cheek.

‘Don't worry.' Mum pulled a tissue out of her handbag and handed it to the circus girl. ‘I'm sure Spangles won't be too far away.'

The girl wiped her face and blew her nose.

Lulu tossed her honey-gold ponytail over her shoulder. ‘We can help you find Spangles. Can't we, Mum?' asked Lulu.

Mum smiled at the girl. ‘Of course we can. Why don't we search back through the park? You girls look down this side. Gus and I will search along the lagoon bank.'

Lulu, Rosie and the girl set off across the grass.

‘Hi, I'm Lulu Bell,' Lulu told the circus girl. ‘This is my sister Rosie. These are our dogs Asha and Jessie.'

‘I'm Stella,' the girl replied. She patted Asha and Jessie.

The girls called and whistled as they walked along. They asked several people if they had seen a small lost dog. No-one had. Lulu glanced towards the lagoon. She could see Mum and Gus walking beside the rushes.

‘Do you live in the circus?' asked Rosie.

Stella nodded and pointed back towards the camp. ‘I live in the little blue caravan on the end with my mum and dad.'

‘Wow. That must be so exciting,' said Lulu.

‘It is fun,' agreed Stella. ‘We're all trick riders. We also train the dogs. Spangles is my very own dog. I've had her since she was a tiny puppy.' Stella's voice wobbled. ‘Mum and Dad are going to be so upset if we can't find Spangles. She is the star of our new act.'

Lulu patted Stella on the shoulder. ‘We'll find her,' said Lulu. But the longer they searched, the less certain she felt.

At last they joined up with Mum and Gus at the beach end of the park.

‘No luck?' asked Mum.

‘No luck at all,' answered Lulu gloomily.

Stella blinked and looked away.

‘Doggy
gorn
,' said Gus helpfully. He shrugged his shoulders.

Spangles seemed to have disappeared. Where could the circus pup possibly be?

‘We'll walk back to the camp with you,' said Mum. ‘Perhaps we missed Spangles along the way. But then we need to head home. It's getting late.'

Stella nodded. Her eyes darted back and forth. But there was still no sign of the dog. Lulu was getting very worried.

Finally they reached the camp. The workers had finished setting up the big circus tent. Most of them had returned to their caravans to cook dinner.

The crowd of onlookers had gone home too. It was getting dark.

The acrobat who had been turning somersaults walked past. He was carrying buckets of water for the camels. The camels peered over the fence.

‘Rory,' called Stella, ‘is Spangles back yet?'

Rory shook his head. ‘Sorry, Stella. No sign of her. But your mum wants you to go back to the caravan now.'

Stella kicked a clod of earth with her foot. She looked like she might cry again.

‘Don't be sad, Stella,' said Rosie.

Asha licked Stella on the hand to comfort her.

‘Spangles will probably come home at dinnertime when she gets hungry,' said Mum. ‘Our dogs wouldn't miss dinner for anything.'

‘Or someone might find her and bring her to our vet hospital,' Lulu told Stella with a smile. ‘We live just up the hill at the Shelly Beach Vet Hospital. My dad is the vet there. People often bring lost animals to us.'

Stella cheered up again. ‘Thanks so much for your help. I'd better go before Mum gets worried about me.' Stella waved and ran off.

‘Bye Stella,' chorused Lulu, Rosie and Gus.

The Bell family waited while Stella ran up the steps of the little blue caravan. With a final wave, she disappeared inside.

‘Wouldn't it be fun to live in a caravan?' asked Lulu. ‘We could travel all over the countryside with our dogs and horses.'

Lulu's mind filled with exciting images of living in a circus. She would train Asha and Jessie to walk on their hind legs. She would dress in spangled tutus and walk the tightrope. She would stand up on a bareback horse and gallop around the ring. The audience would go wild!

‘But I'd miss my friends,' said Rosie. ‘And home.'

‘Yes, but think of the adventures we'd have!' said Lulu. ‘I'd love to be a circus performer.'

The far end of Lagoon Park was next to a busy road. The family stopped to check for traffic. Cars whizzed past. Lulu held Asha's lead tightly.

‘I'd better take Jessie's lead for a while,' Mum said to Rosie. ‘There's a lot of traffic along here.'

Rosie handed Mum the lead.

‘Let's hope Spangles didn't run onto the road,' said Lulu. ‘I'd hate her to be in an accident.'

‘We would have heard something if that had happened,' said Mum. ‘I'm sure Spangles will be all right.'

Once they had crossed, the girls walked in front. They chatted about the circus. Asha trotted along, her nose twitching. It was almost completely dark now. The cars had switched on their headlights.

There was a short gap in the traffic. In the sudden quiet, Lulu heard a funny noise. A soft, low sound.
What could it be?
Lulu wondered. The faint noise came again.

Asha began to run, her nose to the ground. She strained against the lead. Lulu pulled back, then decided to run with her. Asha bolted into a dark side street.

‘Lulu?' called Mum. ‘Where
are
you going?'

‘We heard something,' Lulu called over her shoulder.

The sound came again. This time Lulu recognised it. A whimper. Somewhere in the darkness a dog was hurt or frightened.

Asha stopped abruptly. She thrust her nose under a thick bush. Lulu crouched down and peered into the shadows.

A car zoomed past. In the sudden glare of its headlights, Lulu saw a dark shape. She could just see a splash of pink cloth.

‘Spangles?' asked Lulu. The shadow whined softly. Asha wagged her tail. Lulu slowly held out her hand to the little dog. Dad had always warned her to be careful when approaching injured animals. Sometimes they could bite if they were frightened.

The dry leaves rustled. The shadowy dog was thumping its tail. Lulu stroked the dog's side. It was damp and sticky.

‘It's all right, Spangles,' said Lulu in a soothing voice. ‘We'll get you home soon.'

Spangles whimpered again.

‘Mum, Mum,' called Lulu. Her voice squeaked with excitement. ‘We found Spangles.'

Mum, Rosie, Gus and Jessie arrived just a moment later. Gus scrambled out of the pram. They crowded around the bush, straining to see.

Mum ran her hand over the dog gently. Spangles wagged her tail again. Asha licked the smaller dog on the face.

‘Is she all right?' asked Lulu.

‘I think so, but we'll take her home to make sure,' said Mum. ‘Well done, Lulu. It's so lucky you found her.'

Lulu gave a big grin. She patted Asha on the head.

‘It was Asha, really,' said Lulu. ‘We heard a whimper. Then Asha followed her scent.'

Mum carefully lifted Spangles out of the leafy hollow. Spangles winced.

‘Doggy sore?' asked Gus. He pushed his cowboy hat back on his head.

‘Can she walk?' asked Rosie.

‘I think we might give her a lift in the pram,' suggested Mum. ‘You hop in, Gus. Then you can cuddle Spangles on your lap.'

Gus climbed into the pram. ‘Gussie cuddle doggy!' he demanded.

Mum wrapped Spangles in Gus's blanket. She then placed the dog carefully on Gus's lap.

Lulu put her hand on her hip. ‘Be gentle with Spangles,' she warned.

Gus grinned at Lulu. ‘Gussie like doggy.'

Lulu smiled back. ‘I can't wait to see Stella's face when we take Spangles back to her. She will be so excited!'