Lulu and the Dog from the Sea by Hilary McKay Read Free Book Online Page A

everyone’s shoes,” said Lulu.
    “Or that house we stayed in that had a ghost in the attic,” said Mellie.
    “Or that place where the chimney was struck by lightning and fell down into the living room,” said Lulu’s father.
    Lulu’s mother groaned and said perhaps they should turn back and not go away after all.
    “They were nice vacations,” said Lulu and Mellie, who had enjoyed the lightning and the ghost and the new shoes very much.
    They were really looking forward to staying in a little seaside town.
    That was what they thought, but the first thing they discovered about the cottage was that it was not near the town at all. It was all on its own, down a bumpy, potholed road. Bumps made Sam sick. So Lulu’s father drove very slowly, trying to dodge the biggest holes, while Lulu’s mother twisted around, watching for the gulps that meant Sam had to be flung out of the car as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Mellie was ignoring both Sam and the bumpy road and saying, “Should I unpack my kite now, now that we’re almost there? I think I could just open it and get out the parts...”
    “No!” said Lulu’s mother and father, but they said it too late. Mellie was already unpacking the kit. When the car fell into another hole, important-looking pieces of kite spilled everywhere, and Mellie began to moan.
    “Just what I didn’t want to happen!” she grumbled, turning herself upside down to try and gather the pieces from the floor.
    “They call this a road?” complained Lulu’s father. “It’s just one giant crater after another!”
    “Now the string’s unwound!” cried Mellie.
    Sam made a noise like a sort of cough.
    “Almost there, Sam!” said Lulu’s mother hopefully, rolling down her window.
    Only Lulu sat quietly, gazing at the view. Ahead, she saw a white cottage and green grass. Every few minutes, she saw glimpses of a sea that gleamed dark gray or silver bright.

    All along the edge of the sea Lulu could see a mountain range of sand dunes. Strange bushes grew on them with dim gray leaves and orange berries. Strange ribbonlike blue-green grasses were combed by the sea wind. Strange narrow sandy paths twisted and climbed and suddenly vanished.
    And all among the bushes and grass and sandy paths a strange animal leaped and ran, watching the car. It moved so quickly that the only thing Lulu could see clearly was its strange, flapping ears.
    They were ears like brown paper bags.
    The owner of the cottage was waiting for them when they arrived. Everyone except Mellie (who was still picking up pieces of kite) tumbled out of the car, all stiff and achy from traveling.
    “Took your time, didn’t you?” said the cottage owner as Lulu’s parents smiled and called hello. “I saw you, dithering along that road, like there was all the time in the world!”
    “Well!” began Lulu’s father. “It’s quite an obstacle course, that road...”
    “You’ve got the wrong kind of car!” said the cottage owner. “You need something much bigger! Hurry up! Come inside and I’ll give you the key. Shoes off!” she added sternly.

    “It’s very kind of you to wait,” said Lulu’s mother, as she and Lulu’s father followed her to the door.
    “Had to,” snapped the cottage owner grimly. “I needed to warn you about that dog!”
    “Sam?” asked Lulu, but the cottage owner had disappeared, with Lulu’s parents after her.
    Bang! went the door in a most unfriendly way.
    “Why’s she so...” began Mellie, staring.
    “Shush!” warned Lulu.
    “...angry?” finished Mellie loudly, dropping pieces of kite all over the ground as she spoke. “Don’t worry! She can’t hear! She shut the door. Why do you think she said that about Sam?”
    Lulu couldn’t imagine. Sam was behaving perfectly. He had survived the bumps without getting sick, and now he was doing what he always did at the end of a car journey: unpacking his food bowl.
    On days when Sam was going for a ride in the car he was only ever given