Lizzie McGiven Goes Bush - Samantha Cochrane (reading well .TXT) 📗

around the tables where the kookaburra had sat and threw open the door to the shower block.
“Bella!” called Lizzie.
The cool room was quiet for a moment.
“Has daddy stopped the fire?” said a small voice from the corner.
Lizzie peered into the dark room. Then she began to laugh. There was her little sister.
Bella was sitting in the clothes sink. It was big, white
and cool and Bella had filled it with water!
“What are you doing there?” Lizzie asked.
“Being a frog.” replied Bella.
“Why?” asked Lizzie. She helped her out of the water.
“Because the frogs got too hot out there so they live in
here. The fire is too hot, so I made myself a frog house.
Do you like it? It’s very cool.”
“Very cool,” laughed Lizzie and handed teddy to Bella.
“Teddy!” she said, and hugged him.
“Teddy doesn’t like the bath,” she said seriously, “so he
stayed to help mummy and daddy.”


Chapter Six
Daddy and mummy had put out the fire. The man scooped lots of sand onto
the fire and that helped to cool down the leaves that had caught alight.
Daddy and mummy were very proud of their two little heroes.
They all sat around a picnic table. The other family joined them. They were called Jill and Murray.
“Bella smelled breakfast!” said Lizzie, “but it wasn’t breakfast, it was the
fire!” she gulped down the real breakfast in front of her.
“So we started to shout for you. Then Bella got lost.”
“But I wasn’t lost, mummy!”
“No, Bella. You were so clever! Where else do you go when it’s too hot? Into a cool bath of course!” Mummy laughed.
“What started the fire, mummy?” asked Lizzie.
“I didn’t put my fire out properly.” said Murray. “The leaves and ground are very dry. Their burnt wood stayed very hot for a long time and the fire started after we all went to bed.” he explained.
“Mummy?” asked Bella.
“Yes, Bella?”
“Do you know what else is good for being too hot?” she said, screwing up her nose.
“What else?” said mummy.
“Ice cream.” she said. “Yeah!” cried Lizzie.

They packed up the next day to go home. Murray shook Lizzie and Bella’s hands and then got down on his knees and shook teddy’s paw. Bella went shy and hid in Lizzie’s shirt.
“If it weren’t for you girls, we could have all been badly hurt.” he said.
“so here, take this.” Murray pressed a fifty dollar note into Lizzie’s hand.
Lizzie gasped! Fifty dollars was lots of money! Mummy only had this much money on grocery day!
“You can buy ice creams all week for this,” he said.

On the way home, they stopped by the beach at Agnes Water.
Mummy ordered four ice creams. They were all huge!
“Where’s teddy’s?” asked Bella. “Teddy helped put out the fire too!”
Daddy laughed and went to get another one. After teddy had a lick, Bella decided to share the rest of it with Lizzie.
Lizzie looked out over the wild, crashing sea. A surfer tried to get up on his board but the waves kept pushing him off.
“I am glad to be at the beach again,” said Lizzie. “It’s so much safer here!”
Daddy and mummy laughed at their two funny, brave girls.


Imprint

Publication Date: 02-07-2011

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To my children, Bea and Ingrid. With love