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Chapter 1
Gymnastics
    It was Tuesday afternoon after school. Lulu Bell and her sister Rosie were at gymnastics class. There were seven girls and six boys, and they were all practising their cartwheels.
    Lulu swung sideways from her feet to her hands and over again. She did twenty cartwheels in a row. Her best record yet. On the last one she wobbled but landed safely on her feet.
    â€˜Beautiful cartwheels, Lulu,’ said Miss Carolina. ‘I like the way you are keeping your legs nice and straight.’
    Lulu felt a glow of pride. ‘Thanks, Miss Carolina. I’ve been practising every day in the garden at home.’
    Mum sat watching with the other mothers. Lulu’s little brother Gus was doing forward rolls with his friends. He was too young to do classes yet, but he liked to copy his older sisters. The only problem was that he refused to take off his cowboy hat and boots. This made it hard to roll in a straight line.

    The last part of the class was walking on the balance beam. Lulu concentrated hard, and held her arms out to the side. She felt like a tightrope walker. Lulu loved doing gymnastics.
    â€˜Okay, gang,’ said Miss Carolina. ‘Great work. I’ll see you all next Tuesday. Keep practising!’
    â€˜Goodbye, Miss Carolina,’ chorused the children. ‘See you next week.’
    The kids milled around, chatting and laughing. Lulu’s friend Jessica skipped over. Her twin brothers Jack and Toby were great friends with Gus.
    â€˜Have you heard the news, Lulu?’ asked Jessica. ‘The circus is coming to Shelly Beach. Mum said we can go on Friday night.’
    â€˜The circus?’ said Lulu. Her eyes shone with excitement. ‘We went to thecircus when it came two years ago. It was fantastic.’

    â€˜Will they have lions and elephants and monkeys?’ asked Rosie.
    â€˜There’s a poster on the noticeboard,’ said Jessica. ‘Let’s take a look.’
    The children crowded around the noticeboard. The poster showed a clown with a white-painted face, a smiling red mouth, a huge red nose and a curly blue wig.
    â€˜Starlight Circus,’ read Lulu. ‘A dazzling show with acrobats, jugglers and crazy clowns.’
    â€˜Starring camels, horses and performing dogs,’ added Rosie.
    Mum came over to join them. ‘Time to head home, honey buns.’
    â€˜Look, Mum,’ said Lulu. ‘The circus is coming. Can we go? Pleeease?’
    â€˜Pretty please with cherries on top?’ said Rosie.
    Mum read the poster and smiled. ‘We’ll see. Come on.’
    The three Bell children called goodbye to their friends. The girls slipped their school uniforms over their blue leotards. Rosie also pulled on her angel wings. Gus climbed into the pram.

    Outside, the family dogs Asha and Jessie were tied up in the shade of a tree. They jumped up and wriggled with excitement to see the children.
    â€˜Good girls. Did you miss us?’ Lulu asked. She untied the dogs’ leads.
    â€˜Woof,’ said Asha. Jessie smiled her big doggy smile.
    â€˜You know, I think we might walk home the long way today,’ said Mum. ‘It would be a nice change to walk back through Lagoon Park.’
    Lulu turned around. ‘The long way?’ she asked. ‘Why?’
    Mum had a cheeky smile on her face. ‘Oh, who knows what fabulous sights we might see if we go the long way?’
    Mmmm , thought Lulu. Mum’s up to something. I wonder what it could be?

Chapter 2
Lagoon Park
    Lagoon Park was a long, narrow stretch of grass beside a wide lagoon. The late afternoon sun glinted on the water. Wispy rushes fringed the banks. Fat brown ducks waddled on the shore.
    Gus climbed out of the pram.
    â€˜Don’t go too close to the water, Gus,’ warned Mum.
    Gus grinned and ran towards the ducks. The ducks scattered, squawking in disgust. Gus jumped in a puddle.
    Lulu thought the park seemed very quiet today. Normally there were lots