Pippi Longstocking Part 3 Chapter 1. Online reading of the book Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking How Pippi settled in the villa “Chicken”

Pippi Langstrump

Pippi Långstrump går ombord

Pippi Långstrump i Söderhavet

Pippi Långstrump © Text: Astrid Lindgren 1945 / Saltkrakan AB

Pippi Långstrump går ombord © Text: Astrid Lindgren 1946 / Saltkrakan AB

Pippi Langstrump i Söderhavet © Text: Astrid Lindgren 1948 / Saltkrakan AB

LLC "Publishing Group "Azbuka-Atticus", 2013

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for private or public use without the written permission of the copyright owner.

How Pippi settled in the Chicken Villa

Before, Pippi had a father, and she loved him very much. Of course, she once had a mother, too, but Pippi no longer remembers her at all. Mom died a long time ago, when Pippi was still a tiny girl, lying in a stroller and screaming so terribly that no one dared to approach her. Pippi is sure that her mother now lives in heaven and looks from there through a small hole at her daughter. That's why Pippi often waves her hand and says every time:

- Don't be afraid, mom, I won't get lost!

But Pippi remembers her father very well. He was a sea captain, his ship plied the seas and oceans, and Pippi was never separated from her father. But then one day, during a strong storm, a huge wave washed him out to sea, and he disappeared. But Pippi was sure that one fine day her dad would return; she could not imagine that he had drowned. She decided that her father ended up on an island where many, many blacks live, became king there and walks around every day with a golden crown on his head.

- My dad is a black king! Not every girl can boast of such an amazing dad,” Pippi often repeated with visible pleasure. - When dad builds a boat, he will come for me, and I will become a black princess. Gay-hop! This will be great!

This an old house, surrounded by a neglected garden, my father bought many years ago. He planned to settle here with Pippi when he grew old and could no longer drive ships. But after dad disappeared into the sea, Pippi went straight to her villa “Chicken” to wait for his return. Villa “Chicken” was the name of this old house. There was furniture in the rooms, utensils hung in the kitchen - it seemed that everything had been specially prepared so that Pippi could live here. One quiet summer evening, Pippi said goodbye to the sailors on her father's ship. They all loved Pippi so much, and Pippi loved them all so much that it was very sad to leave.

- Goodbye, guys! - said Pippi and kissed each one on the forehead in turn. - Don't be afraid, I won't disappear!

She took only two things with her: a small monkey whose name was Mr. Nilsson - she received it as a gift from her dad - and a large suitcase filled with gold coins. All the sailors lined up on the deck and sadly looked after the girl until she disappeared from sight. But Pippi walked with a firm step and never looked back. Mister Nilsson was sitting on her shoulder, and she was carrying a suitcase in her hand.

- She left alone... Strange girl... But how can you hold her back! - said the sailor Fridolf when Pippi disappeared around the bend, and wiped away a tear.

He was right, Pippi really is a strange girl. What is most striking is her extraordinary physical strength, and there is no policeman on earth who could cope with her. She could jokingly lift a horse if she wanted - and you know, she does this often. After all, Pippi has a horse, which she bought on the very day she moved into her villa. Pippi always dreamed of a horse. The horse lives on her terrace. And when Pippi wants to have a cup of coffee there after dinner, without thinking twice she takes the horse out into the garden.

Next to the villa “Chicken” there is another house, also surrounded by a garden. In this house live a father, a mother and two cute children - a boy and a girl. The boy's name is Tommy, and the girl's name is Annika. These are nice, well-mannered and obedient children. Tommy never begs anyone for anything and carries out all his mother’s instructions without arguing. Annika doesn't get capricious when she doesn't get what she wants, and she always looks so smart in her clean, starched chintz dresses. Tommy and Annika played together in their garden, but still they missed the children's company, and they dreamed of finding a playmate. At a time when Pippi was still sailing with her father across the seas and oceans, Tommy and Annika sometimes climbed the fence separating the garden of the Chicken Villa from their garden, and each time they said:

- What a pity that no one lives in this house. It would be great if someone with children could live here.

On that clear summer evening when Pippi first crossed the threshold of her villa, Tommy and Annika were not at home. Mom sent them to stay with their grandmother for a week. Therefore, they had no idea that someone had moved into the neighboring house. They returned from their grandmother in the evening, and the next morning they stood at their gate, looking at the street, still not knowing anything, and discussing what they should do. And just at that moment, when it seemed to them that they would not be able to come up with anything funny and that the day would pass boringly, just at that moment the gate of the neighboring house opened and a girl ran out into the street. This was the most amazing girl Tommy and Annika had ever seen.

Pippi Longstocking was going for a morning walk. This is what she looked like: her carrot-colored hair was braided into two tight braids that stuck out in different directions; the nose looked like a tiny potato, and besides, it was speckled with freckles; White teeth sparkled in his large, wide mouth. She was wearing blue dress, but since she apparently didn’t have enough blue material, she sewed red patches into it here and there. She pulled long stockings onto her very thin and thin legs different colors: one is brown and the other is black. And the huge black shoes seemed about to fall off. Dad bought them for her to grow in South Africa, and Pippi never wanted to wear others.

And when Tommy and Annika saw that a monkey was sitting on the shoulder of an unfamiliar girl, they simply froze in amazement. The little monkey was dressed in blue trousers, a yellow jacket and a white straw hat.

Pippi Longstocking

Pippi moves into the villa "Chicken"

I. How Pippi settled in the “Chicken” villa

On the outskirts of a small Swedish town you will see a very neglected garden. And in the garden stands a dilapidated house, blackened by time. It is in this house that Pippi Longstocking lives. She was nine years old, but imagine, she lives there all alone. She has neither a father nor a mother, and, frankly, this even has its advantages - no one makes her go to sleep right in the middle of the game and no one forces her to drink fish oil when she wants to eat candy.
Before, Pippi had a father, and she loved him very much. Of course, she once had a mother, too, but Pippi no longer remembers her at all. Mom died a long time ago, when Pippi was still a tiny girl, lying in a stroller and screaming so terribly that no one dared to approach her. Pippi is sure that her mother now lives in heaven and looks from there through a small hole at her daughter. That's why Pippi often waves her hand and says every time:
- Don't be afraid, mom, I won't get lost!
But Pippi remembers her father very well. He was a sea captain, his ship plied the seas and oceans, and Pippi was never separated from her father. But then one day, during a strong storm, a huge wave washed him out to sea, and he disappeared. But Pippi was sure that one fine day her dad would return; she could not imagine that he had drowned. She decided that her father ended up on an island where many, many blacks live, became king there and walks around every day with a golden crown on his head.
- My dad is a black king! Not every girl can boast of such an amazing dad,” Pippi often repeated with visible pleasure. - When dad builds a boat, he will come for me, and I will become a black princess. Gay-hop! This will be great!
My father bought this old house, surrounded by a neglected garden, many years ago. He planned to settle here with Pippi when he grew old and could no longer drive ships. But after dad disappeared into the sea, Pippi went straight to her villa “Chicken” to wait for his return. Villa “Chicken” was the name of this old house. There was furniture in the rooms, utensils hung in the kitchen - it seemed that everything had been specially prepared so that Pippi could live here. One quiet summer evening, Pippi said goodbye to the sailors on her father's ship. They all loved Pippi so much, and Pippi loved them all so much that it was very sad to leave.
- Goodbye, guys! - said Pippi and kissed each one on the forehead in turn. Don't be afraid, I won't disappear!
She took only two things with her: a small monkey whose name was Mr. Nilsson - she received it as a gift from her dad - and a large suitcase filled with gold coins. All the sailors lined up on the deck and sadly looked after the girl until she disappeared from sight. But Pippi walked with a firm step and never looked back. Mr. Nilsson was sitting on her shoulder, and she was carrying a suitcase in her hand.
- She left alone... Strange girl... But how can you hold her back! - said the sailor Fridolf when Pippi disappeared around the bend, and wiped away a tear.
He was right, Pippi really is a strange girl. What is most striking is her extraordinary physical strength, and there is no policeman on earth who could cope with her. She could jokingly lift a horse if she wanted - and you know, she does this often. After all, Pippi has a horse, which she bought on the very day she moved into her villa. Pippi always dreamed of a horse. The horse lives on her terrace. And when Pippi wants to have a cup of coffee there after lunch, she, without hesitation, takes the horse out into the garden.
Next to the Villa “Chicken” there is another house, also surrounded by a garden. In this house live a father, a mother and two cute children - a boy and a girl. The boy's name is Tommy, and the girl's name is Annika. These are nice, well-mannered and obedient children. Tommy never begs anyone for anything and carries out all his mother’s instructions without arguing. Annika doesn't get capricious when she doesn't get what she wants, and she always looks so smart in her clean, starched chintz dresses. Tommy and Annika played together in their garden, but still they missed the children's company, and they dreamed of finding a playmate. At a time when Pippi was still sailing with her father across the seas and oceans, Tommy and Annika sometimes climbed the fence separating the garden of the Chicken Villa from their garden, and each time they said:
- What a pity that no one lives in this house. It would be great if someone with children could live here.
On that clear summer evening, when Pippi first crossed the threshold of her villa, Tommy and Annika were away. Mom sent them to stay with their grandmother for a week. Therefore, they had no idea that someone had moved into the neighboring house. They returned from their grandmother in the evening, and the next morning they stood at their gate, looking at the street, still not knowing anything, and discussing what they should do. And just at that moment, when it seemed to them that they would not be able to come up with anything funny and that the day would pass boringly, just at that moment the gate of the neighboring house opened and a girl ran out into the street. This was the most amazing girl Tommy and Annika had ever seen.
Pippi Longstocking was going for a morning walk. This is what she looked like: her carrot-colored hair was braided into two tight braids that stuck out in different directions; the nose looked like a tiny potato, and besides, it was speckled with freckles; White teeth sparkled in his large, wide mouth. She was wearing a blue dress, but since she apparently didn’t have enough blue material, she sewed red patches into it here and there. She pulled long stockings of different colors onto her very thin and thin legs: one was brown and the other was black. And the huge black shoes seemed about to fall off. Dad bought them for her to grow in South Africa, and Pippi never wanted to wear others.
When Tommy and Annika saw a monkey sitting on the shoulder of an unfamiliar girl, they simply froze in amazement. The little monkey was dressed in blue trousers, a yellow jacket and a white straw hat.
Pippi walked along the street, one foot on the sidewalk, the other on the pavement. Tommy and Annika kept their eyes on her, but she disappeared around the bend. However, the girl soon returned, but now she was already walking backwards. Moreover, she walked like that only because she was too lazy to turn around when she decided to return home. When she reached Tommy and Annika's gate, she stopped. The children looked at each other in silence for a minute. Finally Tommy said:
- Why are you backing away like a cancer?
- Why do I sag like a lobster? – asked Pippi. – It’s like we live in a free country, right? Can't every person walk as he pleases? And in general, if you want to know, everyone walks like this in Egypt, and it doesn’t surprise anyone at all.
- How do you know? – asked Tommy. – You haven’t been to Egypt.
- How?! I have not been to Egypt?! – Pippi was indignant. – So, get it out of your head: I was in Egypt and generally traveled all over the world and saw plenty of all sorts of miracles. I've seen funnier things than people who back away like crayfish. I wonder what you would say if I walked down the street on my hands, as they do in India? Pippi thought for a minute.
“That’s right, I’m lying,” she said sadly.
- A complete lie! – Annika confirmed, finally deciding to insert a word.
“Yeah, a complete lie,” Pippi agreed, becoming more and more sad. “But sometimes I start to forget what happened and what didn’t happen.” And how can you demand that a little girl, whose mother is an angel in heaven, and whose father is a black king on an island in the ocean, always speaks only the truth? And besides,” she added, and her whole freckled little face shone, “in all the Belgian Congo there is not a person who would say even one truthful word.” Everyone lies there all day long. They lie from seven in the morning until sunset. So if I ever accidentally lie to you, you shouldn't be mad at me. I lived in this same Belgian Congo for a very long time. But we can still make friends! Right?
- Still would! - Tommy exclaimed and suddenly realized that this day would certainly not be called boring.
“Why don’t you, for example, come and have breakfast with me now?” – asked Pippi.
“Really,” said Tommy, “why don’t we do that?” Went!
- That's great! – Annika screamed. - Let's go quickly! Let's go!
“But first I must introduce you to Mr. Nilsson,” Pippi realized.
At these words, the little monkey took off his hat and bowed politely.
Pippi pushed the dilapidated gate, and the children moved along the gravel path straight to the house. There were huge old mossy trees in the garden, made for climbing. All three went up to the terrace. There was a horse standing there. With her head in the soup bowl, she chewed oats.
- Listen, why is your horse standing on the terrace? – Tommy was amazed. All the horses he had ever seen lived in stables.
“You see,” Pippi began thoughtfully, “in the kitchen she would only get in the way, and in the living room she would be uncomfortable - there is too much furniture there.”
Tommy and Annika looked at the horse and entered the house. In addition to the kitchen, there were two more rooms in the house - a bedroom and a living room. But, apparently, Pippi didn’t even think about cleaning for a whole week. Tommy and Annika looked around cautiously to see if the Negro king was sitting in some corner. After all, they had never seen a black king in their lives. But the children found no signs of either dad or mom.
– Do you live here all alone? – Annika asked with fear.
- Of course not! There are three of us living: Mr. Nilsson, the horse and me.
– And you have neither a mother nor a father?
- Well, yes! – Pippi exclaimed joyfully.
- And who tells you in the evenings: “It’s time to go to bed?”
– I’m telling myself. First, I say to myself in a very gentle voice: “Pippi, go to bed.” And if I don’t obey, then I repeat it strictly. When this doesn’t help, I feel really bad about myself. It's clear?
Tommy and Annika couldn't understand it, but then they thought that maybe it wasn't so bad.
The children entered the kitchen and Pippi sang:

Get the frying pan on the stove!
We will bake pancakes.
There is flour, and salt, and butter,
We'll be eating soon!

Pippi took three eggs from the basket and, throwing them over her head, broke one after the other. The first egg flowed right onto her head and covered her eyes. But she managed to deftly catch the other two in a saucepan.
“I’ve always been told that eggs are very good for hair,” she said, rubbing her eyes. – You will now see how quickly my hair will begin to grow. Hear, they are already creaking. In Brazil, no one goes out into the street without thickly smearing egg on their head. I remember there was one old man there, so stupid, he ate all the eggs instead of pouring them on his head. And he became so bald that when he left the house, there was a real commotion in the city, and they had to call police cars with loudspeakers to restore order...
Pippi spoke and at the same time picked out an eggshell that had fallen into it from the saucepan. Then she took off the long-handled brush that was hanging on a nail and began to beat the dough with it so hard that it splattered all over the walls. She poured what was left in the saucepan into a frying pan that had been on the fire for a long time. The pancake immediately browned on one side, and she tossed it in the frying pan, so deftly that it turned over in the air and plopped back down with the uncooked side. When the pancake was baked, Pippi threw it across the kitchen straight onto the plate standing on the table.
- Eat! - she shouted. - Eat quickly before it gets cold.
Tommy and Annika did not have to ask themselves and found that the pancake was very tasty. When the food was finished, Pippi invited her new friends into the living room. Apart from a chest of drawers with a huge number of small drawers, there was no other furniture in the living room. Pippi began to open the drawers one by one and show Tommy and Annika all the treasures she kept. There were rare bird eggs, outlandish shells and colorful sea pebbles. There were also carved boxes, elegant mirrors in silver frames, beads and many other little things that Pippi and her father bought during their travels around the world. Pippi immediately wanted to give her new friends something to remember. Tommy received a dagger with a mother-of-pearl handle, and Annika received a box with many, many snails carved on the lid. The box contained a ring with a green stone.
“Now take your gifts and go home,” Pippi suddenly said. “After all, if you don’t leave here, you won’t be able to come to me again tomorrow.” And that would be a great pity.
Tommy and Annika were of the same opinion and went home. They walked past the horse, which had already eaten all the oats, and ran out through the garden gate. Mr. Nilsson waved his hat at them in farewell.

II. How Pippi gets into a fight

The next morning Annika woke up very early. She quickly jumped out of bed and crept up to her brother.
“Wake up, Tommy,” she whispered and shook his hand. - Wake up, let's quickly go to that strange girl in big shoes.
Tommy woke up immediately.
“You know, even in my sleep I felt that something very interesting was waiting for us today, although I didn’t remember what exactly,” he said, taking off his pajama jacket.
They both ran to the bathroom, washed and brushed their teeth much faster than usual, got dressed instantly and, to the surprise of their mother, a full hour earlier than usual, went downstairs and sat down at the kitchen table, declaring that they wanted to drink chocolate immediately.
-What are you going to do this early? - Mom asked. – Why are you in such a hurry?
“We are going to the girl who has settled in the neighboring house,” Tommy answered.
“And maybe we’ll spend the whole day there!” – Annika added.
Just that morning, Pippi was getting ready to bake some flatbread. She kneaded a lot of dough and began to roll it out right on the floor.
“I think, Mr. Nilsson,” Pippi turned to the monkey, “that it’s not worth taking on the dough if you’re going to bake less than half a thousand cakes.”
And, stretching out on the floor, she again began to work with fervor with the rolling pin.
“Come on, Mr. Nilsson, stop fiddling with the dough,” she said with irritation, and at that moment the bell rang.
Pippi, covered in flour, like a miller, jumped up from the floor and rushed to open it. As she warmly shook hands with Tommy and Annika, a cloud of agony enveloped them all.
“How kind of you to stop by,” she said and pulled down her apron, causing a new flour cloud to rise.
Tommy and Annika even coughed - they had swallowed so much flour.
- What are you doing? – asked Tommy.
“If I tell you that I’m cleaning a pipe, you still won’t believe me, because you’re such a cunning person,” answered Pippi. - Of course, I’m baking cakes. This will become even clearer soon. In the meantime, sit down on this chest.
And she took up the rolling pin again.
Tommy and Annika sat on the chest and watched, as if in a movie, how Pippi rolled out the dough on the floor, how she threw the cakes on the baking sheets and how she put the baking sheets in the oven.
- All! - Pippi finally exclaimed and slammed the oven door, pushing the last baking sheet into it.
– What are we going to do now? – Tommy asked.
– I don’t know what you are going to do. In any case, I won’t be idle. I’m a dealer... And a dealer doesn’t have a single free minute.
- Who are you? – Annika asked.
- Dillector!
– What does “dealer” mean? - asked Tommy.
– A dillector is someone who always puts everything in order. “Everyone knows that,” said Pippi, sweeping the remaining flour on the floor into a pile. - After all, there is an abyss of all sorts of different things scattered on the earth. Someone must keep order. This is what a dealer does!
- The abyss of what things? – Annika asked.
“Yes, very different,” Pippi explained. - And gold bars, and ostrich feathers, and dead rats, and multi-colored candies, and small nuts, and all sorts of others.
Tommy and Annika decided that tidying up was a very pleasant activity, and they also wanted to become dealers. Moreover, Tommy said that he hoped to find a gold bar, and not a small nut.
“Let's see how lucky we are,” said Pippi. – You always find something. But we need to hurry. And then, just behold, all sorts of other dealers will come running and steal all the gold bars that are lying around in these places.
And the three lecturers immediately set off. They decided first of all to put things in order near the houses, since Pippi said that the best things are always lying around near human habitation, although sometimes it happens to find a nut in the thicket of the forest.
- As a rule, this is so. - Pippi explained, - but it happens differently. I remember once, during one trip, I decided to restore order in the jungle on the island of Borneo, and do you know what I found in the thicket itself, where no human foot had ever set foot? Do you know what I found there?.. A real artificial leg, and a completely new one at that. I later gave it to a one-legged old man, and he said that he couldn’t buy such a beautiful piece of wood for any money.
Tommy and Annika looked at Pippi with all their eyes to learn to behave like real dealers. And Pippi rushed along the street from sidewalk to sidewalk, every now and then putting the visor of her palm to her eyes to see better, and searched tirelessly. Suddenly she knelt down and stuck her hand between the fence slats.
“It’s strange,” she said disappointedly, “it seemed to me that a gold bar sparkled here.”
– Is it true that you can take everything you find for yourself? – Annika asked.
“Well, yes, everything that lies on the ground,” Pippi confirmed.
On the lawn in front of the house, right on the grass, an elderly gentleman was lying and sleeping.
- Look! - Pippi exclaimed. “He’s lying on the ground, and we found him.” Let's take him! Tommy and Annika were seriously scared.
“No, no, Pippi, what are you... You can’t take him away... It’s impossible,” said Tommy. - And what would we do with him?
– What would they do with him? – asked Pippi. - Yes, he can be useful for a lot of things. You can put him, for example, in a rabbit cage and feed him dandelion leaves... But since you don’t want to take him, then fine, let him lie there. It’s just a shame that other dealers will come and pick up this guy.
They moved on. Suddenly Pippi let out a wild scream.
“But now I’ve actually found something!” – and pointed to a rusty tin can lying in the grass. - What a find! Wow! This jar will always come in handy.
Tommy looked at the jar with confusion.
– What will it be useful for? - he asked.
- Whatever you want! - Pippi answered. - Firstly, you can put gingerbread in it, and then it will turn into a wonderful Jar of Gingerbread. Secondly, you don’t have to put gingerbread in it. And then it will be a Jar Without Gingerbread and, of course, will not be so beautiful, but still not everyone comes across such jars, that’s for sure.
Pippi carefully examined the rusty jar she found, which also turned out to be full of holes. and, after thinking, said:
– But this jar is more like a Jar Without Gingerbread. You can also put it on your head. Like this! Look, she covered my whole face. How dark it became! Now I will play into the night. How interesting!
With a can on her head, Pippi began to run back and forth along the street until she sprawled on the ground, tripping over a piece of wire. The can rolled into the ditch with a crash.
“You see,” said Pippi, picking up the can, “if I hadn’t had this thing on me, I would have bloodied my nose.”
“And I think,” Annika noted, “that if you hadn’t put the jar on your head, you would never have tripped over that wire...”
But Pippi interrupted her with a jubilant cry: she saw an empty spool on the road.
- How lucky I am today! What a happy day! - she exclaimed. - What a small, small reel! Do you know how great it is to let go of her? bubble! And if you thread a string through the hole, then this reel can be worn around your neck like a necklace. So, I went home to get some rope.
Just at that moment, the gate in the fence surrounding one of the houses opened, and a girl ran out into the street. She looked extremely frightened, and this is not surprising - five boys were chasing her. The boys surrounded her and pressed her against the fence. They had a very advantageous position for attack. All five immediately took a boxing stance and began to hit the girl. She began to cry and raised her hands to protect her face.
- Hit her, guys! - shouted the largest and strongest of the boys. – So that she doesn’t show her nose on our street again.
- Oh! – Annika exclaimed. “But they’re the ones beating Ville!” Ugly boys!
“That big one over there is called Bengt,” said Tommy. - He always fights. Nasty guy. And five of them attacked one girl!
Pippi walked up to the boys and poked Bengt in the back with her index finger.
– Hey, listen, there is an opinion that if you fight with little Ville, then it’s better to do it one on one, and not attack with five people.
Bengt turned around and saw a girl he had never met here before. Yes, yes, a completely unfamiliar girl, and even one who dared to touch him with her finger! For a moment he froze in amazement, and then his face broke into a mocking smile.
– Hey guys, come on over to Ville and look at this scarecrow! - He pointed to Pippi. - That's how kikimora!
He literally doubled over with laughter; he laughed with his palms on his knees. All the boys immediately surrounded Pippi, and Ville, wiping away her tears, quietly stepped aside and stood next to Tommy.
- No, just look at her hair! – Bengt did not let up. - Red as fire. And the shoes, the shoes! Hey, lend me one - I was just about to go boating, but didn’t know where to get one!
He grabbed Pippi by the braid, but immediately withdrew his hand with a feigned grimace:
- Oh, oh, I got burned!
And all five boys began jumping around Pippi and yelling in different voices:
- Redhead! Redhead!
And Pippi stood in the ring of raging children and laughed merrily.
Bengt hoped that the girl would get angry, or better yet, cry; and I certainly did not expect that she would look at them calmly and even friendly. Convinced that words would not get her through, Bengt pushed Pippi.
“I can’t say that you treat ladies politely,” Pippi remarked and, grabbing Bengt with her strong hands, she threw him into the air so high that he hung on the branch of a birch tree growing nearby. Then she grabbed the other boy and threw him onto another branch. She threw the third one at the gate of the villa. The fourth one was thrown over the fence straight into the flowerbed. And the last one, the fifth one, she squeezed into a toy stroller standing on the road. Pippi, Tommy, Annika and Ville silently looked at the boys, who were apparently speechless from amazement.
- Hey you cowards! - Pippi finally exclaimed. – Five of you attack one girl – that’s meanness! And then you pull the braid and push another little, defenseless girl... Ugh, how disgusting you are... It's a shame! Well, let’s go home,” she said, turning to Tommy and Annika. – And if they dare to even lay a finger on you, Ville, you tell me.
Pippi looked up at Bengt, who was still hanging on the branch, afraid to move, and said:
“Maybe you want to say something else about the color of my hair or the size of my shoes, go ahead and say it while I’m here.”
But Bengt lost all desire to speak out on any topic. Pippi waited a little, then took a tin can in one hand, a spool in the other, and left, accompanied by Tommy and Annika.
When the children returned to Pippi's garden, she said:
“My dears, I’m so annoyed: I found two such wonderful things, and you found nothing.” You have to search a little more. Tommy, why don't you look into the hollow of that old tree over there? Speakers should not pass by such trees.
Tommy said that neither he nor Annika would find anything good anyway, but since Pippi asks him to look, he is ready. And he stuck his hand into the hollow.
- Oh! - he exclaimed in amazement and pulled out from the hollow a small leather-bound notebook with a silver pencil. - Strange! – Tommy said, examining his find.
- Here you see! I told you that there is no better job in the world than being a lecturer, and I just can’t imagine why so few people choose this profession. There are as many carpenters and chimney sweeps as you want, but go look for dealers.
Then Pippi turned to Annika.
- Why don’t you rummage under this stump! You often find the most wonderful things under old tree stumps. – Annika listened to Pippi’s advice, and immediately she found a red coral necklace in her hands. The brother and sister even opened their mouths in surprise and decided that from now on they would always be dealers.
Suddenly Pippi remembered that she only went to bed this morning because she had been playing with a ball and she immediately wanted to sleep.
“Please come with me and cover me well, and tuck me a blanket.”
When Pippi, sitting on the edge of the bed, began to take off her shoes, she said thoughtfully:
“This Bengt wanted to go boating.” The rider has also been found! – she snorted with contempt. - I'll teach him a lesson another time.
“Listen, Pippi,” Tommy asked politely, “but still, why do you have such huge shoes?”
– Of course – for convenience. What else is it for? - Pippi said and lay down. She always slept with her feet on the pillow and her head under the blanket.
“In Guatemala, absolutely everyone sleeps this way, and I believe that this is the only correct and reasonable way to sleep.” So much more convenient. Do you really fall asleep without a lullaby? For example, I definitely have to sing a lullaby to myself, otherwise my eyes won’t close.
And a second later, Tommy and Annika heard some strange sounds from under the blanket. It was Pippi who sang a lullaby to herself. Then, so as not to disturb her, they tiptoed towards the exit. At the door they turned around and looked at the bed again, but saw only Peppa's legs, which were resting on the pillow. The children went home. Annika, tightly clutching her coral beads in her hand, asked:
- Tommy, don’t you think that Pippi deliberately put these things in the hollow and under the stump so that we would find them?
“No need to guess,” Tommy answered. – With Pippi you never know what’s what, that’s already clear to me.

III. How Pippi plays tag with the police

Soon a rumor spread in a small town that a nine-year-old girl was living completely alone in an abandoned villa. And the adults of this town believed that this could not continue. All children should have someone to raise them. All children must go to school and learn their multiplication tables. Therefore, the adults decided that this little girl should be sent to an orphanage. One afternoon, Pippi invited Tommy and Annika to have coffee and buns. She placed the cups right on the steps of the terrace. The sun was pleasantly hot, and the aroma of flowers wafted from the flower beds. Mr. Nilsson climbed up and down the balustrade, and the horse pulled his muzzle from time to time to get a bun.
– How wonderful life is! – said Pippi and stretched her legs. Just at that moment the gate swung open and two uniformed policemen entered the garden.
- Ah! - Pippi exclaimed. -What a happy day! More than anything else in the world - after rhubarb cream, of course - I love police officers.
Shining with a happy smile, she moved towards the police.
– Are you the same girl who settled in this villa? – asked one of the policemen.
“But no,” answered Pippi. “I’m a wizened old lady and I live on the third floor in a mansion on the other side of the city.
Pippi answered this way because she wanted to joke. But the police did not find this joke funny, they sternly told her to stop fooling around, and then informed her that good people decided to give her a place in orphanage.
“And I already live in an orphanage,” Pippi answered.
– What kind of nonsense are you talking about! - the policeman shouted. – Where is your orphanage?
- Yes, right here. I am a child and this is my home. So this is an orphanage. And, as you can see, there is quite enough space here.
“Oh, dear girl, you don’t understand this,” said the other policeman and laughed. – You must go to a real orphanage where you will be raised.
– Can you take a horse with you to this orphanage?
- Of course not! - the policeman answered.
“That’s what I thought,” Pippi said gloomily. - Well, what about the monkey?
- And you can’t have a monkey. You understand this yourself.
- In that case, let others go to the orphanage, I’m not going there!
- But you have to go to school.
– Why should I go to school?
– To learn different things.
- What kind of things? – Pippi did not let up.
- Well, very different. All sorts of things useful things. For example, learn the multiplication table.
“I’ve been doing well without this table of respect for nine whole years now,” Pippi answered, “which means I’ll continue to live without it.”
- Well, think about it, it will be unpleasant for you if you remain ignorant for the rest of your life! Imagine, you grow up big, and suddenly someone asks you the name of the capital of Portugal. And you won't be able to answer.
- Why can’t I answer? I’ll say this: “If it’s so important for you to know what the main city of Portugal is, then write directly to Portugal - the Portuguese will be happy to tell you the name of their capital.”
“And you won’t be ashamed that you couldn’t answer yourself?”
“Perhaps it will be,” said Pippi. “And I won’t fall asleep for a long time that evening, I’ll just lie there and remember: well, really, what is the name of the capital of Portugal?” But I will soon be consoled - here Pippi did a stand, walked on her hands and added: - Because I was in Lisbon with dad.
Here the first policeman intervened in the conversation and said that Pippi should not imagine that she could do as she wanted - she was ordered to go to the orphanage and there was no more need to talk in vain. And he walked up to Pippi and grabbed her hand. But Pippi immediately broke free and, lightly slapping the policeman on the back, shouted:
- I insulted you! You should drive!
And before he had time to come to his senses, she jumped onto the balustrade of the terrace, and from there quickly climbed onto the second floor balcony.
The police did not at all want to climb up in this way. So they both rushed into the house and up the stairs. But when they found themselves on the balcony, Pippi was already sitting on the roof. She climbed the tiles with the agility of a monkey. In an instant, she found herself on the ridge of the roof, and from there she jumped onto the pipe.
The police sat on the balcony and scratched their heads in confusion.
Tommy and Annika were watching Pippi enthusiastically from the lawn.
- How fun it is to play tag! – Pippi shouted to the police. “How nice of you to come and play with me.” Today is my lucky day, that's for sure!
After thinking a little, the police went to get a ladder, leaned it against the wall of the house and, one after another, began to climb onto the roof. Slipping on the tiles and having difficulty balancing, they moved towards Pippi, but they looked very frightened.
- Be brave! Be brave! - Pippi encouraged them. - It's not scary at all.
But when the police almost crawled to Pippi, she, bursting into cheerful laughter and even squealing with pleasure, jumped off the pipe and moved to another slope of the roof. On the other side, next to the house, there was a tree.
- Look, I'm falling! - Pippi shouted and, jumping from the ledge, hung on a branch, swaying on it, and then deftly slid down the trunk. Finding herself on the ground, Pippi ran around the house and set aside the ladder along which the police were climbing to the roof. The police got scared when Pippi jumped onto a tree. But they were simply horrified when they saw that the girl had carried away the ladder. Having become completely enraged, they shouted, threatened Pippi with terrible punishments and demanded that Pippi immediately put the ladder in place, otherwise they would talk to her in the wrong way.
- Why are you angry? – Pippi asked them reproachfully. “We’re playing tag, so why get angry in vain?”
The police were silent for a while, and finally one of them said embarrassedly:
“Listen, girl, be so kind as to put the ladder back so we can go down.”
“With pleasure,” Pippi answered and immediately put up the ladder. “And then we can, if you like, have some coffee and generally have fun together.”
But the police turned out to be treacherous people. As soon as they stepped on the ground, they rushed to Pippi, grabbed her and shouted:
“Now you’re caught, you bad girl!”
- I'm not playing with you anymore. “I don’t mess with those who cheat at the game,” Pippi answered and, taking both policemen by the belts, she dragged them out of the garden and into the street. There she released them, but they could not come to their senses for a long time.
- One minute! – Pippi shouted to them and rushed as fast as she could into the kitchen. Soon she reappeared, holding a bun in her hands.
– Try it, please! True, they were a little burnt, but that doesn’t matter.
Then Pippi walked up to Tommy and Annika, who stood with their mouths open and just amazed. And the police rushed back to the city and told those who had sent them that Pippi was not suitable for the orphanage. The police, of course, concealed the fact that they were sitting on the roof. And the adults decided: if so, let this girl live as she wants. The main thing is that she goes to school, but otherwise she is free to manage herself.
As for Pippi, Tommy and Annika, they had a great rest of the day. First they finished their coffee, and Pippi, having successfully finished fourteen buns, said:
- Still, these were some fake policemen - they were chatting something about an orphanage, about a table of respect and about Lisbon...
Then Pippi took the horse out into the garden and the children began to ride.
True, Annika was initially afraid of the horse. But when she saw how happily Tommy and Pippi were jumping around the garden, she also decided to try. Pippi deftly sat her down, the horse trotted along the road, and Tommy sang at the top of his lungs:

The Swedes are rushing, roaring.
The fight will be hot!

In the evening, when Tommy and Annika were already lying in their beds, Tommy said:
– It’s so great that Pippi came here to live. Right, Annika?
- Well, of course, great!
– You know, I don’t even remember what we actually played before it.
– We played bowls, croquet or just ball. But with Pippi it’s much more fun!.. And then there’s a horse and a monkey! Right?

IV. How Pippi goes to school

Of course, both Tommy and Annika went to school. Every morning at exactly eight, they, holding hands, with textbooks in their bags, set off on the road.
It was at this hour that Pippi most loved to ride a horse, or dress up Nilsson, or do exercises, which consisted of jumping on the spot forty-three times in a row without bending. Then Pippi sat down at the kitchen table and, in complete peace, drank a large cup of coffee and ate several cheese sandwiches.
Walking past the Chicken Villa, Tommy and Annika looked longingly over the fence - they really wanted to turn here and spend the whole day with their new girlfriend. Now, if Pippi also went to school, they wouldn’t be so upset about spending so much time studying.
- How fun it is to run home after school, especially if there are three of us, eh, Pippi? – Tommy said once, vaguely hoping to seduce her.
– And we would also go to school together, huh? – Annika added pleadingly.
The more the guys thought about Pippi not going to school, the sadder their hearts became. And in the end they decided to persuade her to go to school with them at all costs.
“You can’t even imagine what a wonderful teacher we have,” Tommy said one day, looking slyly at Pippi. He and Annika ran to her, hastily doing their homework.
– You don’t know how interesting it is in our class! – Annika picked up. “If I wasn’t allowed to go to school, I would simply go crazy with grief.”
Pippi, sitting on a low bench, washed her feet in a huge basin. She didn’t say anything in response, she just started splashing so hard that she spilled almost all the water.
“And you don’t have to sit there for long, only until two o’clock,” Tommy began again.
- You see, it’s only until two, and before you know it, the bell rings. And besides, there are holidays. Christmas, Easter, summer... - Annika continued in the same tone.
Pippi thought about it, but was still silent. Suddenly, with a determined look, she threw out the rest of the water from the basin directly onto the floor, although Mr. Nilsson was sitting there and playing with the mirror.
“This is unfair,” Pippi said sternly, not paying the slightest attention to Mr. Nilsson’s anger or his wet pants. This is terribly unfair and I will not put up with it!
- What's unfair? – Tommy was surprised.
– In four months it will be Christmas and your Christmas holidays will begin. What will happen to me? – There were tears in Pippi’s voice. “I won’t have any Christmas holidays, not even the short ones,” she continued plaintively. – This needs to be changed. Tomorrow I'm going to school.
Tommy and Annika clapped their hands in joy.
- Hooray! Hooray! So we will be waiting for you tomorrow exactly at eight at our gate.
“No,” said Pippi. - It's too early for me. Besides, I'll ride to school on horseback.
No sooner said than done. At ten o'clock Pippi took her horse out into the garden and set off.
And a few minutes later, all the residents of the town rushed to the windows, looking with horror at the little girl who was carried away by a mad horse. In fact, nothing terrible happened. Pippi was just in a hurry to go to school. She galloped into the yard, jumped to the ground and tied the horse to a tree. Approaching the classroom door, she opened it with such a roar that all the guys jumped in their seats in surprise, and, waving her wide-brimmed hat, she shouted with all her might:
- Hello! I hope I'm not late to the respect table?
Tommy and Annika warned the teacher that she should come to class new girl, whose name is Pippi Longstocking. The teacher had already heard about Pippi - in a small town where everyone knows about everyone, there was a lot of talk about her. And since the teacher was sweet and kind, she decided to do everything to make Pippi like it at school.
Without waiting for an invitation, Pippi sat down at an empty desk. But the teacher did not make any reprimand to her. On the contrary, she said very friendly:
- Welcome to our school, dear Pippi. I hope you enjoy your stay with us and learn a lot here.
“And I hope that I will have Christmas holidays soon,” answered Pippi. “That’s why I came here.” Justice comes first.
– Please tell me your full name. I'll put you on the list of students.
“My name is Peppilotta-Victualina-Rolgardina, daughter of Captain Ephraim Longstocking, formerly the Storm of the Seas, and now the Negro king. Actually, Pippi is mine diminutive name. Dad thought it took too long to pronounce Peppilotta.
“I see,” said the teacher. “Then we’ll call you Pippi too.” Now let's see what you know. You are already a big girl and you can probably do a lot. Let's start with arithmetic. Please tell me, Pippi, how much will it be if you add five to seven?
Pippi looked at the teacher with bewilderment and dissatisfaction.
“If you, so big, don’t know it yourself, do you really think that I will count for you?” - she answered the teacher.
All the students' eyes widened in surprise. And the teacher patiently explained that they don’t answer that way at school, that they say “you” to the teacher and, when addressing her, call her “missen.”
“Excuse me, please,” said Pippi, embarrassed. “I didn’t know that and I won’t do that again.”
“I hope so,” said the teacher. “You didn’t want to count for me, but I will willingly count for you: if you add five to seven, you get twelve.”
- Just think about it! - Pippi exclaimed. It turns out that you can count it yourself. Why did you ask me then?.. Oh, I said “you” again - forgive me, please.
And as punishment, Pippi pinched her own ear painfully.
The teacher decided not to pay any attention to this and asked the following question:
- Okay, Pippi, now tell me, what is eight and four?
“I think sixty-seven,” Pippi answered.
“That’s not true,” said the teacher, “eight and four will be twelve.”
- Well, old lady, this is too much! You yourself just said that five and seven are twelve. Some kind of order is needed at school too! And if you really want to do all these calculations, then you could stand in a corner and count for your own good, and in the meantime we would go into the yard to play tag... Oh, I think I’m saying “you” again! Forgive me one last time. I'll try to behave better.
The teacher said that she was ready to forgive Pippi this time, but, apparently, it was not worth asking her questions about arithmetic yet, it was better to call other children.
- Tommy, please solve this problem: Lizzie had seven apples, and Axel had nine. How many apples did they have together?
“Yes, count it out, Tommy,” Pippi suddenly intervened, “and, besides, tell me: why did Axel’s stomach hurt more than Lizzie’s, and in whose garden did they pick apples?”
Freken again pretended that she had not heard anything and said, turning to Annika:
- Well, Annika, now you count. Gustav went with his comrades on an excursion. They gave him one crown with him, and he returned with seven ores. How much money did Gustav spend?
“And I want to know,” said Pippi, “why did this boy waste so much money?” And what did he buy with it: lemonade or something else? And did he wash his ears well when getting ready for the excursion?
The teacher decided not to do arithmetic anymore today. She thought that perhaps Pippi's reading would go better. So she took out from the closet a piece of cardboard with a hedgehog drawn on it. Under the picture stood capital letter"Yo."
- Well, Pippi, now I’ll show you interesting thing. This is Yo-e-e-zhik. And the letter that is depicted here is called “Yo”.
- Well, yes? And I always thought that e was a big stick with three small ones across it and two fly specks on top. Tell me, please, what does a hedgehog have in common with fly specks?
The teacher did not answer Pippi’s question, but took out another piece of cardboard on which a snake was drawn, and said that the letter under the picture was called “Z.”
– When they talk about snakes, I always remember how I fought with a giant snake in India. You can’t even imagine what a terrible snake it was: fourteen meters long and as angry as a wasp. Every day she devoured at least five adult Indians, and for a snack she feasted on two small children. And then one day she decided to feast on me. She wrapped herself around me, but I was not taken aback and hit her on the head with all my might. Bang! Then she hisses: f-f-f! And I said it again - bam! And then she - wow! Yes, yes, that's exactly how it was. A very scary story!..
Pippi took a breath, and the teacher, who by this time finally realized that Pippi was a difficult child, invited the whole class to draw something. “Probably, drawing will captivate Pippi and she will at least sit quietly for a while,” the lady thought and handed out paper and colored pencils to the children.
“You can draw whatever you want,” she said and, sitting down at her table, began checking the notebooks. A minute later she looked up to watch the children drawing and discovered that no one was drawing, but everyone was looking at Pippi, who, lying face down, was drawing right on the floor.
“Listen, Pippi,” the teacher said with irritation, “why don’t you draw on paper?”
“I painted it all over a long time ago.” But the portrait of my horse did not fit on this tiny piece of paper. Now I'm just drawing the front legs, and when I reach the tail, I'll have to go out into the corridor.
The teacher thought for a minute, but decided not to give up.
“Now, children, stand up and we’ll sing a song,” she suggested.
All the children rose from their seats, all except Pippi, who continued to lie on the floor.
“Go ahead and sing, and I’ll rest a little,” she said, “otherwise if I start singing, glass will fly.”
But then the teacher’s patience ran out, and she told the children to go for a walk in the school yard - she needed to talk to Pippi face to face. As soon as all the children left, Pippi got up from the floor and went to the teacher’s table.
“You know what, Miss,” she said, “I’m thinking this: I was very interested in coming here and seeing what you’re doing here.” But I don’t feel like going here anymore. And with the Christmas holidays, let it be as it will be. There are too many apples, hedgehogs and snakes in your school for me. My head was spinning. You, miss, I hope you won’t be upset by this?
But the teacher said that she was very upset, and most of all because Pippi did not want to behave properly.
- Any girl will be kicked out of school if she behaves like you, Pippi.
- How, did I behave badly? – Pippi asked in surprise. “Honestly, I didn’t notice it,” she added sadly.
It was impossible not to feel sorry for her, because no girl in the world could be as sincerely upset as she was.
Pippi was silent for a minute, and then said hesitantly:
- You see, miss, when your mother is an angel, and your father is a black king, and you yourself have sailed the seas all your life, you don’t know how to behave at school among all these apples, hedgehogs and snakes.
Freken told Pippi that she understood this, she was no longer angry with her, and Pippi would be able to come to school again when she grew up a little. Then Pippi beamed with happiness and said:
– You, miss, are amazingly sweet. And here, miss, is a keepsake from me.
Pippi took a small, elegant golden bell out of her pocket and placed it on the table in front of the teacher. The teacher said that she could not accept such an expensive gift from her.
- No, please, miss, you must accept my gift! - Pippi exclaimed. “Otherwise I’ll come to school again tomorrow, and that won’t give anyone any pleasure.”
Then Pippi ran out into the schoolyard and jumped on her horse. All the children surrounded Pippi, everyone wanted to pet the horse and watch Pippi lead him out of the yard.
– I remember I went to school in Argentina, what a school it was! - Pippi said and looked at the guys. - Eh, you should get there! After the Christmas holidays, Easter holidays begin three days later, and when Easter holidays end, then summer holidays begin three days later. The summer holidays end on the first of November, and here, however, the children have to work hard, because the Christmas holidays begin only on the eleventh. But in the end you can come to terms with it, because in Argentina they don’t give lessons. True, sometimes it happens that some Argentine boy climbs into the closet so that no one can see him and secretly learns a little homework. But his mother gives him a hard time if she notices this. They don't teach arithmetic there at all, and if some boy accidentally knows what is five and seven, and even foolishly tells the teacher about it, she will put him in a corner for the whole day. They read there only on free days, and only if there are books to read, but no one has books there...
– What are they doing at school then? – the little boy asked in amazement.
“They eat sweets,” answered Pippi. – There is a candy factory near the school. So, a special pipe was led from her directly into the classroom, and therefore the children do not have a minute of free time - just have time to chew.
– What does the teacher do? – asked the little girl.
- Stupid! - said Pippi. “Didn’t you guess it yourself: the teacher picks up candy papers and makes candy wrappers.” Don't you think that the guys themselves deal with candy wrappers there? No, pipes!
The kids there don’t even go to school themselves, but send their younger brothers and sisters... Well, hello! – Pippi shouted joyfully and waved her big hat. “And you, poor fellows, will have to count for yourself how many apples Axel had.” You won't see me here any time soon...
Pippi drove out of the gate noisily. The horse galloped so fast that stones flew from under its hooves and the window panes rattled.

V. How Pippi climbs into a hollow

One warm and clear day, Pippi, Tommy and Annika were basking in the sun. Pippi climbed onto one of the gate posts, Annika climbed onto the other, and Tommy perched on the gate itself. A pear tree growing nearby stretched its branches straight to the gate, and the children could, without moving from their place, pick small golden-red pears. They chewed pear after pear and spat out the grains directly into the street.
Villa “Chicken” was located, as you know, on the very outskirts of the city, where the street turned into a highway. Residents of the town loved to go for walks in this direction - here were the most picturesque places.
So, the guys were serenely basking in the sun and eating pears when an unfamiliar girl appeared. Seeing the guys sitting on the gate, she stopped and asked:
- Tell me, my dad didn’t pass here?
– What does he look like, your dad? – asked Pippi. - Him Blue eyes?
“Yes,” said the girl.
– He is of average height, not tall and not short...
“Yes, yes...” the girl confirmed.
- In a black hat and black boots...
- Yes Yes!
- No, we didn’t see him! The girl pouted and, without saying a word, walked on.
- Oh, wait! – Pippi shouted after her. - Is he bald?
- No, he's not bald.
“Then he’s very lucky!” – Pippi laughed and spat out the grains.
The girl moved on, but Pippi stopped her again:
- And his ears hang down to his shoulders like mugs?
“No,” the girl said and turned around. – Have you ever seen a person with such ears?
- No, we haven’t seen them, such people don’t exist. “At least in our country,” Pippi added after a pause. – In China, it’s a different matter. Once in Shanghai I saw a Chinese man with ears so large that they served as a cape for him. Sometimes a downpour would pour in, the Chinese would cover his ears - and everything was fine: he was warm and dry. And when during the rain he met friends and acquaintances, he covered them with his ears. So they sat and sang their sad songs until the rain passed. This Chinese man's name was Hai-Shang. You should have seen how he rushed to work in the morning. He always flew in literally at the last minute because he loved to sleep. He ran out into the street, spread his huge ears, the wind inflated them like sails, and drove Hai-Shang with incredible speed...
The girl listened to Pippi with her mouth open, and Tommy and Annika even stopped chewing pears.
“Hai-Shang had so many children that he couldn’t even count them,” Pippi continued. - The youngest was named Peter.
– Was this Chinese boy’s name Peter? – Tommy doubted. - Can't be!
“That’s what Hai-Shang’s wife said.” A Chinese child cannot be called Peter, she told her husband. But Hai-Shang was incredibly stubborn. He wanted his youngest son to be called Peter, and nothing else. He got so angry that he sat down in a corner, covered himself with his ears and sat there until he poor wife didn’t give in and didn’t name the boy Peter...
- Wow! – Annika whispered.
“Peter was the most spoiled child in all of Shanghai and was so capricious during meals that his mother fell into despair. You know that in China they eat swallow's nests. And then one day his mother gave him a full plate of swallow’s nests and fed him with a spoon, saying: “Eat, Peterchen, we will eat this nest for dad!” But Peter pressed his lips tightly together and shook his head. And when Hai-Shang saw his youngest son eating, he became so furious that he ordered that Peter not be given anything else until he had eaten this nest “for daddy.” And I already told you that Hai-Shang knew how to insist on his own. And so they began to cook this nest for Peter every single day from May to October. On the fourteenth of July, Hai-Shang's mother asked him to give Peter two meatballs. But the father was inexorable.
“This is all nonsense,” the strange girl suddenly said.
“That’s exactly what Hai-Shang said literally,” Pippi confirmed, not at all embarrassed. “This is all nonsense,” he said, “the boy can eat this swallow’s nest, you just need to break his stubbornness.” But when Peter was offered a nest, he only pursed his lips.
- How did this boy live if he didn’t eat anything from May to October? – Tommy was surprised.
- But he didn’t live. He died on October 18th, “out of sheer stubbornness,” as his father said. On the nineteenth he was buried. And on the twentieth of October, a swallow flew in and laid an egg in the very nest that was still lying on the table. So this nest came in handy, and no trouble happened,” Pippi finished happily.
Then she looked suspiciously at the girl who was standing in confusion on the road.
“You look kind of strange,” said Pippi. “Don’t you think I’m lying?” Come on, admit it! – And Pippi raised her hand threateningly.
“No, what are you…” the girl answered in fear. “I don’t want to say that you’re lying, but...
“So, in your opinion, I’m not lying...” Pippi interrupted her, but in fact, I’m lying, and how! I spin whatever comes into my head. Do you really think that a boy can live without food from May to October? Well, another three or four months, whatever, but from May to October is already nonsense. And you understand perfectly well that I'm lying. So why do you allow all this nonsense to be filled into your head?
Then the girl quickly walked down the street and never looked back.
– How gullible people are! - said Pippi, turning to Tommy and Annika. – Don’t eat from May to October! Just think, what stupidity!
And she shouted after the girl:
– No, we haven’t seen your dad. We didn't see a single bald person all day. But yesterday seventeen bald men walked past us... holding hands!
Pippi's garden was indeed very beautiful. Of course, it cannot be said that it was well looked after, but it was decorated with beautiful lawns that no one had cut for a long time, and the old rose bushes bent under the weight of white, red and tea roses. They might not have been the most exquisite varieties of roses, but they smelled great. There were fruit trees and, most valuable of all, several old branchy oaks and elms, which were so easy to climb.
But in Tommy and Annika’s garden the situation with trees for climbing was very bad, and besides, mother was always afraid that the children would fall and break themselves. That's why they never had the chance to climb trees in their lives. And suddenly Pippi said:
- Let's climb this oak tree! Tommy was so delighted with this idea that he immediately jumped off the gate. Annika was at first somewhat embarrassed by Pippi's proposal, but when she saw that there were a lot of branches on the tree that she could grab onto, she decided to try it too. At a height of several meters above the ground, the oak trunk forked, forming something like a hut. Soon the whole trio was already sitting in this hut, and above their heads the oak tree spread its mighty crown like a green roof.
- Let's drink coffee here! I'm running to the kitchen now.
Tommy and Annika clapped their hands and shouted, “Bravo!” A few minutes later Pippi brought a steaming pot of coffee. She baked the buns the day before. Pippi walked up to the oak tree and began throwing coffee cups up. Tommy and Annika tried to catch them in flight. But out of three cups, two hit the trunk and broke. However, Pippi was not at all upset, but immediately rushed home to get more cups. Then it was the turn of the buns - they just flashed in the air, but there was nothing to be afraid of. And finally, Pippi climbed up the tree with a coffee pot in her hand. In one pocket of her dress there was a bottle of cream, in the other a box of sugar.
It seemed to Tommy and Annika that they had never drank such delicious coffee before. In general, they drank coffee very rarely, only when visiting. But now they were visiting. Annika turned awkwardly and spilled some coffee on her dress. At first she felt wet and warm, then she became wet and cold, but she said it was nothing.
When the coffee was finished, Pippi, without getting off the oak tree, began to throw the dishes onto the grass.
“I want to check,” she explained, “whether cups are now made from good porcelain.”
By some miracle, one cup and all three saucers survived. And only the spout of the coffee pot was missing.
Pippi, meanwhile, wanted to climb higher into the oak tree.
- Look, look! – she suddenly shouted. – There’s a huge hollow in the tree!
And in fact, in the trunk of the oak tree, just above where they were sitting, there was a huge hole, hidden from them by foliage.
- I’ll get in there now too! – Tommy exclaimed. - Okay, Pippi? But there was no answer.
- Pippi! Where are you? – Tommy asked anxiously.
And suddenly Pippi's voice was heard. But not from above, as the guys expected, but for some reason from below, and it sounded so loud, as if it was coming from a dungeon.
- I'm in a tree! It is empty right down to the ground. But through this hole I see a coffee pot on the grass.
- How will you get out of there? – Annika was scared.
“I’ll never get out of here,” Pippi answered from the hollow. “I’ll stand here until I become a pensioner.” And you will carry food to me and lower it on a rope five or six times a day, no more...
Annika started crying.
- Why these tears, why the sobbing? – Pippi suddenly sang and added: “Come here to me, we will play prisoners who are wasting away in the dungeon.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Annika yelled and, for greater safety, she immediately jumped from the tree.
- Hey, Annika, I can see you through the hole... Don’t step on the coffee pot! This is a well-deserved old coffee pot that has done nothing wrong. It's not his fault that he doesn't have a nose!
Annika came close to the tree and saw the tip of Peppa’s finger in a crack in the bark. This consoled her a little, but she still continued to worry.
- Pippi, can you really not get out? – she asked.
Pippi's finger disappeared, and a minute later her laughing face appeared in the hole in the hollow.
- Well, to be honest, I can. “You just have to want it,” said Pippi and, pulling herself up with her arms, she climbed out up to her waist.
- Oh, if it’s so easy to get out, then I’ll climb in too! – Tommy shouted, still sitting on the tree. “I’ll climb into the hollow and also wither a little.”
“You know what,” said Pippi, “let’s bring a stepladder here.”
She quickly got out of the hollow and jumped to the ground. The children ran for the stepladder. Pippi dragged her with difficulty onto the oak tree and lowered her into the hollow.
Tommy couldn't wait to get in there. This turned out to be not so simple - the hole in the hollow was high up, right under the crown. But Tommy bravely climbed up and then disappeared into a dark hole. Annika decided that she would never see her brother again. She clung to the crack, trying to see what was happening inside the hollow.
- Annika! – Tommy’s voice reached her. You know how cool it is here!.. Climb into the hollow! It's not scary at all...
There's a staircase inside... If you climb here, you won't want to play anything else.
- Well, yes? Is it true?
- Honestly!
Annika climbed the tree again and, with the help of Pippi, reached the hole in the hollow, but when she saw how dark it was, she involuntarily recoiled. Pippi, tightly grabbing Annika's hand, began to calm her down.
“Don’t be afraid, Annika,” my brother’s voice rang out in the hollow. “If you fall, I’ll catch you.”
But Annika did not fall, but quite safely went down the stairs to Tommy. A minute later, Pippi was next to them.
- Well, isn’t it great here! – Tommy exclaimed.
Annika couldn't help but agree with her brother. The hollow turned out to be not at all as dark as she thought. Light penetrated through cracks in the bark. Annika went to one of these cracks to check whether the coffee pot was visible from here.
“Now we have a real hiding place,” said Tommy.
“No one will ever know we are here.” And if people come looking for us, we can watch them from here. This will be great!..
“And also,” Pippi interrupted him, “we’ll take a long twig, stick it here and beat everyone who comes close to the tree.” And people will think that there is a ghost living in the oak tree.
They liked this proposal so much that all three began jumping on the spot and hugging each other. But then the gong sounded: Tommy and Annika were called to dinner.
“What a pity,” said Tommy, “we have to go home.” But tomorrow, as soon as we get back from school, we'll climb here.
“Okay,” said Pippi.
And they went up the stairs. First Pippi, followed by Annika and lastly Tommy. And then they jumped from the tree. First Pippi, followed by Annika and lastly Tommy.

VI. How Pippi organizes an excursion

“We’re not studying today,” said Tommy, “we have a sanitary day at school.”
- How! - Pippi exclaimed. - Injustice again. Why don't I have any sanitary day? And I need him so much! Just look how dirty the kitchen floor is. However, I can wash it without a sanitary day. I'll do it now! I would like to see who will stop me from doing this. And you guys, sit down on the kitchen table and don’t get in your way.
Tommy and Annika obediently climbed onto the table. Mr. Nilsson jumped there - he loved to sleep, curled up in a ball, on Annika's lap. Pippi warmed up a large pot of water and, without hesitation, poured the hot water directly onto the floor. Then she took off her shoes and carefully placed her huge black shoes on the bread bin. Having tied a brush to each leg, she began to drive around the floor, gliding through the water as if on water skis.
– When I wash the floor, it always seems to me that I am a champion in figure skating, - she said and raised her head so high left leg that the brush fell off his leg and broke off the edge of the glass lampshade of the hanging lamp. - Well, I have more than enough elegance and grace! – she added and jumped over the back of the chair.
“That’s all,” said Pippi a few minutes later and untied the second brush. - The kitchen is clean now.
- Why don’t you wipe the floor with a rag? – Annika asked in surprise.
- No, why, let him dry in the sun... I think he won’t catch a cold...
Tommy and Annika jumped off the table and, careful not to get their feet wet, walked out of the kitchen.
The sky was amazingly blue and the sun was shining brightly even though it was the height of September. The day turned out to be unusually clear, and I was tempted to go into the forest. Suddenly Pippi suggested:
- Let's take Mr. Nilsson and go on a tour.
- Let's! Let's! – Tommy and Annika shouted enthusiastically.
“Then run home quickly and ask your mom for time off.” In the meantime, I’ll pack a basket of food for the road.
Tommy and Annika did just that. They ran home and soon returned. Pippi was already waiting for them at the gate. In one hand she held a hefty stick, in the other a basket of provisions, and Mr. Nilsson was sitting on her shoulder.
At first the guys walked along the highway. Then we turned into a meadow. Beyond the meadow, an inviting path wound its way among birch trees and hazel bushes. So slowly they reached the hedge, behind which an even more attractive lawn could be seen. But there was a cow standing right next to the gate, and it was clear from everything that she did not intend to move a single step from here. Annika, of course, was scared, and then Tommy courageously approached the cow and tried to drive it away. But the cow didn’t even move and just stared at the guys with her big, bulging eyes. Pippi got tired of waiting, she put the basket on the grass, walked up to the cow and pushed it so hard that the cow rushed off into the hazel grove without looking back.
- Just think - a cow, but stubborn as a donkey! - said Pippi and jumped over the fence.
- Oh, what a beautiful lawn! – Annika exclaimed and skipped across the grass.
Tommy took out a penknife - a gift from Pippi - and cut a stick for himself and Annika. True, he injured his finger in the process, but he said it was nothing.
“Let’s pick mushrooms,” Pippi suggested and picked a beautiful red fly agaric. – I don’t know for sure whether this mushroom is edible. But I think so, since you can’t drink it, that means you can eat it. What else can you do with it?
She took a large bite of the mushroom and began to chew it.
- Really, very tasty! But let’s better pick mushrooms another time,” she said cheerfully and threw the fly agaric high, high, even higher than the trees.
- What's in your basket, Pippi? – Annika asked.
“But I won’t tell you this for anything in the world,” answered Pippi. – First we must find a suitable place for a picnic.
They scattered in search of a suitable place. Annika suggested we sit next to a large flat stone.
“It’s very cozy here,” she said.
“But there are a lot of red ants here, and I don’t intend to eat with them, because I’m unfamiliar with them,” Pippi objected.
“Besides, they bite really well,” Tommy added.
- Right! – Pippi picked up. “And I think it’s better to bite yourself than to be bitten.” No, there's not enough sun here for my freckles. And what could be better than freckles!
The guys went further and soon saw a rather high hill, which they easily climbed. At the top there was a small platform that looked like a terrace, as if it had been specially made. There they decided to stay.
– Close your eyes while I play tablecloth.
Tommy and Annika closed their eyes. They heard Pippi open the lid of the basket and rustle the paper.
- One, two, three - look! - Pippi shouted.
Tommy and Annika opened their eyes and screamed with delight when they saw all the supplies that Pippi had laid out on the stone. Two huge sandwiches, one with meatballs, the other with ham, a whole mountain of sugared pancakes, several slices of smoked sausage and three small pineapple puddings. After all, Pippi learned to cook from the cook on the ship.
“Oh, it’s beautiful when there’s a sanitary day,” Tommy said with difficulty, since his mouth was stuffed with pancakes. – If only every day were sanitary!
“No, I don’t agree to wash the floor so often,” said Pippi. – Of course, it’s fun, I don’t argue, but every day is still tiring.
In the end, they were so full that they were no longer able to move, and silently basked in the sun.
“I don’t think that flying is so difficult...” Pippi suddenly said, looking thoughtfully from the hill into the ravine: the path ran steeply down the slope, and it was far from the lawn.
“I’m just sure that you can learn to fly,” Pippi continued. “Of course, it’s not sweet to hit the ground, but you don’t have to start right away from a great height.” Honestly, I'll try it now.
- No, Pippi, please don’t! – Tommy and Annika shouted in fear. - Pippi, dear, don’t do this!
But Pippi was already standing at the edge of the cliff.
- “Geese, geese!” - “Ha-ha-ha!” - “Do you want to eat?” - "Yes Yes Yes!" “Well, fly as you wish!” And the geese flew.
When Pippi said: “And the geese flew!”, she waved her arms and jumped from the hill. Half a second later there was a dull thud - Pippi flopped to the ground. Tommy and Annika, lying on their stomachs, looked down in horror. But Pippi immediately jumped to her feet and rubbed her bruised knees.
– I didn’t flap my wings! I forgot! – she explained cheerfully. “Besides, I’m heavy from the pancakes.”
And only then did the guys realize that Mr. Nilsson had disappeared. It was clear that he had decided to take the excursion on his own. Just a few minutes ago he was sitting nearby and cheerfully fiddling with the twigs of the basket. And when Pippi decided to learn to fly, they forgot about him. And now there is no trace of Mr. Nilsson. Pippi was so upset that she threw one shoe into a deep ditch with water.
– No, you should never take a monkey with you if you go somewhere! Why didn't I leave Mr. Nilsson at home? I would sit there with my horse. “It would only be fair,” said Pippi and climbed into the ditch for the shoe. The water there was waist-deep.
- Well, since this is the case, we’ll have to plunge headlong into it. – Pippi dived and sat under the water for so long that bubbles began to appear. Finally she surfaced.
“Well, now you don’t have to go to the hairdresser to wash your hair,” she said, snorting. She looked very pleased.
Pippi crawled out of the ditch and put on her shoes. Then everyone went in search of Mr. Nilsson.
“And now I look like rain,” Pippi suddenly said. - The dress is dripping: drip-drip! It's squelching in the shoes: squelch-squelch... How pleasant it is! And you, Annika, try diving!
Annika looked so elegant: she was wearing a pink dress that went very well with her golden curls, and on her feet were white leather shoes.
“Definitely, just another time,” she answered slyly.
The guys moved on.
- Well, how can I not be angry with Mr. Nilsson? It's always like that with him. Once in Sarabaya, he ran away from me just like that and entered the service of an old widow... Well, about the widow, of course, I came up with an idea,” Pippi added after a pause.
And then Tommy suggested that everyone go in different directions. Annika was afraid to go alone, but Tommy said:
- Oh, you coward!
Not wanting to be ridiculed any longer, Annika obediently but reluctantly walked alone along the path, while Tommy walked across the meadow. He didn’t find Mr. Nilsson, but he saw a huge bull—or rather, the bull saw Tommy. And the bull didn't like Tommy. He was an angry bull, and he hated children. The bull lowered his head and rushed at Tommy with a roar. Tommy screamed throughout the forest. Pippi and Annika heard the scream and ran to the rescue. And they saw how the bull lifted Tommy on his horns and threw him very high.
“What a stupid bastard,” Pippi said to Annika, who was crying bitterly. - Is that how they behave? Look, he got Tommy's white sailor suit dirty! I’ll have to talk to him, teach him some sense.
Pippi ran up to the bull and grabbed his tail.
“Sorry if I disturbed you,” she said. At first the bull did not pay any attention to her, but Pippi pulled harder. Then the bull turned around and saw a girl, whom he also wanted to hang on his horns.
– I repeat, please forgive me if I interrupted. Forgive me so generously for the fact that I am forced to hit you... - with these words, Pippi hit the bull on the horn with all her might. – This season it is not fashionable to wear two horns. All the best bulls have already switched to one horn, and some have completely abandoned horns,” she finished and hit the other horn.
Since bulls' horns do not feel pain, our bull did not know whether he still had horns or not. Just in case, he still decided to butt heads, and if anyone else had been Pippi, he would have left a wet spot.
- Ha-ha-ha! Stop tickling me! – Pippi laughed. “You can’t even imagine how afraid I am of tickling.” Ha ha ha! Stop it! Stop it, otherwise I'll die of laughter.
But the bull did not heed her request, and Pippi had to jump on his back in order to rest for at least a minute. But there was no respite, because the bull didn’t like that Pippi sat astride him. He began to jump, kick, lift his head and twist his tail, trying in every possible way to free himself from his burden. But Pippi dug her heels into her sides and tenaciously held onto her withers. The bull rushed like mad across the meadow and bellowed. His nostrils flared, and Pippi laughed and screamed and waved to Tommy and Annika, who were trembling with fear. And the bull continued to rush, still hoping to throw Pippi off.
- Oh, my dear, dance and knock your hooves! - Pippi hummed, sitting firmly on the bull’s back.
Finally, the bull was so tired that he lay down on the grass, dreaming of only one thing: for all the children to disappear from the face of the earth. Before, he had never even imagined that children were so difficult to cope with.
- Oh, did you want to take a nap? – Pippi asked him friendly. “Well, then I won’t interfere.”
She jumped off the back of the bull and headed towards Tommy and Annika standing at a distance. Tommy stopped crying; falling, he tore off the skin on his hand, but Annika bandaged his wound with a handkerchief, and it no longer hurt.
“Oh Pippi!..” Annika exclaimed passionately when Pippi approached them.
“Hush,” Pippi said in a whisper, “don’t wake the bull, otherwise he will wake up and be capricious.” Mister Nilsson! Mister Nilsson! – she screamed at the top of her lungs, not at all afraid of disturbing the bull’s sleep. - It's time for us to go home!
And suddenly the children saw Mr. Nilsson. He sat on the top of a pine tree and tried in vain to catch his tail. He looked very sad, and in fact, it was not very pleasant for such a little monkey to be alone in the forest. He immediately descended from the pine tree, sat down on Pippi’s shoulder and, as always in a fit of joy, began waving his straw hat.
“So this time you didn’t hire yourself into the service of an elderly widow?” True, this is a lie. But the truth cannot be a lie, and besides, Mr. Nilsson knows how to cook meatballs very well, to everyone’s surprise,” Pippi suddenly said.
The guys decided to return home. Water was still dripping from Pippi's dress - drip-drip, and there was still a squelch in her shoes - squelch-squelch. Tommy and Annika thought that, despite the adventures with the bull, they had had a great day, and sang the song they had been learning in school. Strictly speaking, it was a summer song, and now it was autumn, but nevertheless it seemed to them that it was suitable for such an occasion. Pippi also sang, but since she didn’t know the words, she made them up herself.

VII. How Pippi goes to the circus

A circus came to the small town where Pippi, Tommy and Annika lived, and all the children began to ask their dads and moms for money for tickets. Tommy and Annika did the same; their dad immediately took out several shiny silver crowns from his wallet.
Clutching the money in their fist, Tommy and Annika rushed to Pippi as fast as they could. They found her on the terrace near the horse.
The horse's tail was braided into many thin braids, which Pippi decorated with red roses.
“Today, if I’m not mistaken, is her birthday, and she should dress up,” Pippi explained.
“Pippi,” said Tommy, out of breath from running fast, “will you go to the circus with us?”
“With you, I’m ready to go even to the ends of the earth, but whether I’ll go to the cheese bar, it’s hard for me to say, because I don’t know what kind of thing this is—a cheese bar?” Don't they treat teeth there? If they are treating me, I won’t go.
- What are you, stupid, they don’t treat any teeth there. This is the most beautiful place on earth. There are horses and clowns and beautiful ladies walking on tightropes!..
“But you have to pay money for it,” Annika said and unclenched her fist to see if she had lost the shiny two-crown and two five-er coins that her dad had given her.
“I’m rich, like Koschey the Immortal, and I can probably buy myself this very cheese.” True, if I keep a few more horses, the house will probably become a little crowded. I’ll place clowns and dames somehow, but with horses it will be worse...
“Don’t you understand,” Tommy interrupted her, “you won’t have to buy any circus.” They pay money to watch...
– This was not enough yet! – Pippi was indignant and quickly closed her eyes. – Do you have to pay money to watch? But all I do all day long is look around. I’ll never be able to count how much money I’ve already seen.
But after a few seconds, Pippi carefully opened her eyes - she closed her eyes so tightly that she felt dizzy.
- OK! - she exclaimed. - Let it cost what it costs. I can't see nothing!
Finally, Tommy and Annika somehow explained to Pippi what a circus is, and then Pippi took out several gold coins from her leather suitcase. Then she put on a hat the size of a mill wheel and went to the circus with her friends.
There was a crowd of people at the entrance to the circus, and there were queues at the ticket office. When Pippi approached the cash register, she stuck her head through the window and, seeing a nice elderly lady there, asked:
- How much does it cost to look at you? But the lady was a foreigner, she did not understand what Pippi was asking her, and answered in broken language:
“Vevochka, the best seats are five crowns, another place is three crowns, and one place costs one crown.”
“Okay,” said Pippi, but you have to promise me that you will walk the tightrope.
Over Pippi's shoulder, Tommy saw that she was taking a ticket for three crowns. Pippi handed the cashier a gold coin, and the elderly lady looked in disbelief, first at the girl, then at the coin. She even tested the coin to see if it was counterfeit. After making sure that the coin was indeed gold, the cashier gave Pippi a ticket and change - a lot of nickel coins.
- What am I going to do with this pile of dull money? Take them for yourself, then I can look at you twice, even while standing,” said Pippi.
Since Pippi flatly refused to take any change, the cashier had to exchange her ticket for a five-crown ticket, and also give the five-crown tickets to Tommy and Annika without charging them a single extra payment.
That's how it happened that Pippi and her friends sat down in the best places - on chairs upholstered in red velvet, immediately behind the arena barrier. Tommy and Annika twirled around, looked around and waved to their schoolmates, who were sitting much further away.
– What kind of strange yurt is this? – Pippi asked, looking at the circus in surprise. “And someone scattered sawdust on the floor.” I'm not that neat, but really, this is too much!
Tommy explained to Pippi that sawdust is sprinkled on the arena in all the circuses in the world to make it easier for horses to run and jump.
There were musicians sitting on the balcony who suddenly started playing a march loudly. Pippi clapped her hands madly and even jumped on the spot several times with joy.
– Do you also have to pay for music, or can you listen to it for free? – she asked.
Just at that moment, the circus director appeared from behind the curtain blocking the artistic entrance. He was wearing a black tailcoat and was holding a long whip in his hand. Following him, two white horses with red plumes on their heads ran into the arena. The director cracked his whip and the horses stood with their front feet on the barrier. One of the horses ended up next to the children. Annika did not like this proximity, and she pressed herself to the very back of her chair. And Pippi leaned forward and, grasping the horse’s hoof with both hands, said:
- Hello, horse! I can tell you hello from my horse. Today is also her birthday, but I decorated her tail, not her head, with roses...
However, Pippi had to immediately release her hoof, because the director cracked the whip again, and the horses, jumping from the barrier, again rushed in a circle.
When the number ended, the director bowed politely, and the horses also bowed their plumed heads. And immediately the curtain at the exit trembled again, and a pitch-black horse jumped out into the arena, and on its back stood beautiful girl in green silk tights. Her name was Miss Carmencita, as it was written in the program. The horse raced along the barrier, and Miss Carmencita stood calmly and smiled. But suddenly, at that moment, when the horse rushed past the place where Pippi was sitting, something flashed in the air. That something was Pippi herself. She jumped on the horse's back and stood behind Miss Carmencita. Miss Carmencita was so surprised that she almost fell to the ground. Then she got angry and began waving her arms, trying to push Pippi off, but she didn’t succeed.
“No, no,” Pippi shouted to her, “now I’ll have a little fun too!” You think you're the only one who wants to ride. Everyone paid money, you are not alone!
Then Miss Carmencita herself decided to jump off the horse, but she didn’t succeed either, because Pippi held her tightly with both hands. And the audience was roaring with laughter: Miss Carmencita looks very funny with this red, curly creature in huge black shoes, apparently specially put on for performing in the circus! But the circus director did not laugh; he signaled to the attendants in red uniforms to stop the horse.
– Is the number already over? – asked Pippi. - What a pity, we had so much fun!
- Nasty boy, get out of my way! – the director muttered through his teeth. Pippi looked at him reproachfully:
– Why are you angry with me?.. I thought everyone came here to have fun. Is not it? – she asked.
Pippi jumped off the horse and sat down in her place, but two uniform workers approached her. They grabbed her by the hands and wanted to take her out of the circus, but they didn’t succeed. Pippi sat so firmly in the chair that there was no way to tear her away from the seat. The attendants tried to lift her again, then shrugged and stepped aside.
Meanwhile, the next number began. Miss Elvira appeared in the arena and headed towards the tightrope. She was wearing a pink dress and holding an umbrella in her hand. She walked along the rope with small graceful steps, and then began to perform various acrobatic tricks... It was a very beautiful act. In conclusion, Miss Elvira surprised the audience by walking backwards, backing away like a lobster. When she finally found herself on the small platform from which the rope was stretched, Pippi was already standing there.
“Well, now let me walk around, everyone needs to take turns,” the girl said firmly, noticing Miss Elvira’s surprised look.
Miss Elvira did not answer, she jumped down and threw herself on the neck of the circus director, who, as it turned out, was her father. Once again, the circus director sent attendants in red uniforms, this time five people, to expel Pippi from the circus. But then the audience began to shout: “Let this red-haired girl perform!” and everyone tapped their feet and clapped their hands.
Pippi walked along the tightrope. And everyone saw that Miss Elvira was worth nothing in comparison with her. When she reached the middle of the rope, she lifted her foot so much that the toe of her shoe hung over her head like a canopy. Then she did a "pistol" and started spinning on one leg.
But the circus director was not at all happy that Pippi was performing with him. He wanted only one thing: to get rid of her by any means necessary. He walked over to the mechanism that tensions the rope and turned the lever. He hoped that Pippi would fall when the rope loosened. But this did not happen. The rope hung, but then Pippi began to swing on it, like on a swing. She flew higher and higher and suddenly jumped straight onto the director's back. He was so frightened by surprise that he spun around like a top on the spot.
- What a horse! – Pippi shouted cheerfully. – Only for some reason without red feathers on the head!

End of free trial.

The trilogy about the adventures of Pippi Longstocking was created by Astrid Lindgren from 1945 to 1948. The incredible story about a girl with red pigtails brought the writer world fame. Today her Peppilotta is one of the most recognizable characters in world culture. The story about Pippi simply could not be bad, because initially it was invented for the person most dear to her - her daughter.

Part one: Pippi arrives at the Chicken Villa

The life of the children of one small Swedish town was calm and measured. On weekdays they went to school, on weekends they walked in the yard, fell asleep in their warm beds and obeyed mom and dad. This is how Tommy and Annika Settergren lived. But sometimes, playing in their garden, they still sadly dreamed of friends. “What a pity,” Annika sighed, “that no one lives in the house next door.” “It would be great,” agreed Tommy, “if children could live there.”

One fine day, the dream of the young Settergrens came true. A very unusual tenant appeared in the house opposite - a nine-year-old girl named Pippi Longstocking.

Pippi was a very unusual child. Firstly, she came to the town alone. She had only a nameless horse and a monkey, Mr. Nilsson, for company. Pippi's mother died many years ago, her father - Ephraim Longstocking - a former navigator, Thunder of the Seas - went missing during a shipwreck, but Pippi is convinced that he reigns on some black island. Pippi's full name is Peppilotta Viktualia Rolgardina Crisminta Ephraimsdotter, until she was nine years old she traveled with her father across the seas, and now she has decided to settle in the Chicken Villa.

When leaving the ship, Pippi took nothing except two things - Mr. Nilsson's monkey and a box of gold. Oh yes! Pippi has enormous physical strength - so the girl carried the heavy box playfully. When Pippi's thin figure moved away, the entire ship's crew almost cried, but the proud little girl did not turn around. She turned the corner fast movement I wiped away a tear and went to buy a horse.

When Tommy and Annika saw Pippi for the first time, they were very surprised. She was not at all like the other girls in the town - carrot-colored hair braided in tight sticking braids, a freckled nose, a homemade dress sewn from red and green scraps, high stockings (one black, the other brown - whichever ones were found) and black shoes in several sizes more (as Pippi later explained, her father bought them for growth).

The brother and sister encountered Pippi when she, as usual, walked backwards. To the question “why are you backing away?” The red-haired girl authoritatively declared that she had recently sailed from Egypt, and everyone there was doing nothing but backing away. And it's not scary yet! When she was in India, in order to not stand out from the crowd, she had to walk on her hands.

Tommy and Annika did not believe the stranger and caught her in a lie. Pippi was not offended and honestly admitted that she had lied a little: “Sometimes I start to forget what happened and what didn’t happen. And how can you demand that a little girl whose mother is an angel in heaven and whose father is a black king speak only the truth... So if I ever accidentally lie to you, you shouldn’t be angry with me.” Tommy and Annika were quite satisfied with the answer. Thus began their amazing friendship with Pippi Longstocking.

That same day, the guys visited their new neighbor for the first time. What surprised them most was that Pippi lives alone. “Who tells you in the evenings to go to bed?” – the guys were perplexed. “I tell myself this myself,” answered Peppilotta. At first I speak kindly, but if I don’t listen, I repeat more strictly. If this doesn’t help, then it’s a big deal for me!

Hospitable Pippi bakes pancakes for the children. She throws the eggs high into the air, two fall into the frying pan, and one breaks right on Longstocking's red hair. The girl immediately comes up with a story that raw eggs are very good for hair growth. In Brazil, it is law to smash eggs on your head. All bald people (that is, those who eat eggs and do not smear them on their heads) are taken to the police station in a police car.

The next day, Tommy and Annika got up early. They couldn't wait to meet their unusual neighbor. They found Pippi baking cakes. After the housework was completed, their stomachs were full, and the kitchen was completely dirty with flour, the guys went for a walk. Pippi told her brother and sister about her favorite hobby, which quite possibly will develop into a lifelong endeavor. Pippi has been a bookmaker for many years now. People throw away, lose, forget a lot of useful things - Longstocking patiently explained - the task of the dealer is to find these things and find a worthy use for them.

Showing off her skills, Pippi first finds a magnificent jar that, if handled correctly, can become a Gingerbread Jar, and then an empty spool. It was decided to hang the latter on a string and wear it as a necklace.

Tommy and Annika were not as lucky as Pippi, but she advised them to look into the old hollow and under the stump. What miracles! In the hollow, Tommy found a stunning notebook with a silver pencil, and Annika was lucky enough to find an amazingly beautiful box under a tree stump with multi-colored snails on the lid. Returning home, the children were firmly convinced that in the future they would become dealers.

Pippi's life in the town was getting better. Little by little, she established contacts with local residents: she beat off the yard boys who were hurting the little girl, fooled the police who came to take her to the orphanage, threw two thieves onto a closet, and then forced them to dance the twist all night.

However, at nine, Pippi is completely illiterate. Once upon a time, one of her father's sailors tried to teach the girl to write, but she was a bad student. “No, Fridolf,” Peppilotta usually said, “I’d rather climb the mast or play with the ship’s cat than learn this stupid grammar.”

And now young Peppilotta has absolutely no desire to go to school, but the fact that everyone will have holidays, but she will not, really hurt Peppi, so she went to class. The educational process did not occupy the young rebel for long, and therefore Pippi had to part with school. As a farewell, she gave the teacher a golden bell and returned to to the usual way life at the villa "Chicken".

Adults did not like Pippi, and Tommy and Annika's parents were no exception. They believed that the new neighbor had a negative influence on the children. They constantly get into trouble with Pippi, wander around from morning to night and return dirty and grimy. And what can we say about the disgusting manners of this young lady. During dinner at the Settergrens', to which Pippi was invited, she chatted constantly, told tall tales, and ate a whole butter cake without sharing a piece with anyone.

But adults could not stop communicating with Pippi, because for Tommy and Annika she became the real friend they never had.

Part two: the return of Captain Ephroim

Pippi Longstocking lived at the Chicken Villa for a whole year. She was practically never separated from Tommy and Annika. After school, brother and sister immediately ran to Pippi to do their homework with her. The little mistress did not mind. “Maybe a little learning will come into me. I can’t say that I suffered so much from a lack of knowledge, but maybe you really can’t become a Real Lady if you don’t know how many Hottentots live in Australia.”

Having finished their lessons, the children played games or sat near the stove, baked waffles and apples and listened incredible stories Pippi, what happened to her when she was sailing the seas with her father.

And on weekends there was even more entertainment. You could go shopping (Pippi doesn’t have a lot of money!) and buy a hundred kilos of candy for all the city kids, you could summon a ghost in the attic, or you could go in an old boat to a desert island and spend the whole day there.

One day, Tommy, Annika and Pippi were sitting in the garden of the Chicken Villa and talking about the future. As soon as Longstocking remembered her father, a tall man appeared at the gate. Pippi threw herself on his neck as fast as she could and hung there, swinging her legs. This was Captain Ephraim.

After a shipwreck, Ephraim Longstocking actually found himself on a desert island. The locals at first wanted to take him prisoner, but as soon as he uprooted the palm tree, they immediately changed their minds and made him their king. Their hot island is located in the middle of the ocean and is called Veselia. In the first half of the day, Ephroim ruled the island, and in the second he built a boat to return for his beloved Peppilotta.

In the last two weeks he has passed a lot of laws and given a lot of instructions, so this should be enough for the duration of his absence. But there is no need to hesitate - he and Pippi (now a real black princess) need to return to their subjects.

The little girl Pippi was left an orphan. She lives completely alone, does what she wants, when she wants. Pippi behaves in a strange way, she is not like the other girls: very strong, thrifty, dexterous, smart. The girl is always coming up with something and her friends Tommy and Annika like it. Pippi was nicknamed Longstocking because she wore different stockings: black and brown. She is a kind soul, ready to help her comrades at any moment. But her enemies and bullies get what they deserve.

The work teaches that a small person can have a big heart. So the heroine Pippi Longstocking helped the sick, those who were subjected to bullying, ridicule of other children, and treated children to sweets.

Read the summary by Astrid Lindgren Pippi Longstocking

In a small Swedish town, a nine-year-old girl settled in an abandoned house. Her name is Pippi Longstocking. She lives completely alone, since her mother died when Pippi was still a baby, but her father died during a storm, but the girl thinks that he is alive and lives somewhere on the islands. Pippi is optimistic, very strong, thrifty and a jack of all trades. She had red hair, she braided it, freckles on her face, a small nose, stockings of different colors: black and brown, huge shoes that constantly dangled. The girl always comes up with ideas interesting stories about the countries she visited with her sailor father. She had a monkey named Nils. He was a faithful comrade to her. She can turn any thing into something useful for the home. She met two good, neat, well-mannered guys, Tommy and Annika. Pippi treated her friends to pancakes. Then she gave them gifts. The children liked their new friend and were looking forward to new meeting with her.

The next day the guys went to visit Pippi again. They were playing detective, when suddenly, out of nowhere, five boys appeared and attacked one girl, Ville. When they saw Pippi, they immediately turned their attention to her, began calling her names and teasing her, and all the girl did was laugh loudly. No one expected this turn of events. Pippi took one of them and threw it onto a tree branch, then the second. So, one by one, she dealt with all the hooligans, thereby teaching them a lesson.

Pippi believed that she did not belong at school, since she did not understand the rules of behavior in this institution.

She didn’t like it at the orphanage either and left there.

But in the circus, Pippi felt at ease. She walked the tightrope perfectly, defeated the strong man, saddled the horse and rode it skillfully.

One day, on one of the streets of the town, a multi-story building began to burn. The faces of the boys appeared in one of the windows. One was 5 years old, and the second was a year younger. The kids asked for help. But the firemen's ladder did not reach the window. Then Pippi decided to help the boys. Nils took the rope and hooked it onto a tree branch, the girl took the other end of the rope and a large board. She deftly climbed to the top of the tree, lifted the board and placed it between the tree and the burning window, making a bridge. Pippi walked along the board and took the kids. She returned with the children along the same board. Thus, Pippi saved the lives of two children.

Pippi and her friends are going to the island. He was on the lake. This place was perfect for the guys. Pippi took everything she needed with her: food, a tent, sleeping bags. The girl carried a huge bag with ease. The guys got into the boat, and the horse swam nearby. They sailed to the island. Pippi set up a shipwreck. The friends settled in this place and lit a fire. It started to rain, the travelers waited out it in a tent, and the horse waited under a large tree. The children had a lot of fun and comfort. For breakfast, Pippi prepared ham and eggs and aromatic coffee. The comrades were having fun. Pippi came up with a game - jumping into the lake while swinging on a rope. Annika and Tommy were hesitant at first, but soon decided to try it and really liked it. Swinging on the rope myself was more fun than passively watching others. Even Nils wanted to jump into the water, but changed his mind at the very last moment. Time passed and it was time to return home. Then the guys discovered the missing boat, threw a bottle with a message, but no one came to their aid. Pippi began to get nervous and then remembered that she had hidden the boat from the rain. The children returned home.

Picture or drawing of Pippi Longstocking

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Current page: 1 (book has 15 pages total) [available reading passage: 9 pages]

Astrid Lindgren
Pippi Longstocking 1-3

PIPPY LONGSTOCKING

TO THE READERS

Dear Guys!

It's hard to imagine that there are children who grew up and became adults without even knowing about the existence of Pippi Longstocking!

Let me ask, why Pippi? After all, this girl is Pippi!

In fact, at least two generations of children and adults in our country have become accustomed to calling the amazing, cheerful red-haired girl in different stockings, the heroine of Astrid Lindgren’s story, exactly that – “Pippi.” However, the writer calls her “Pippi,” yes, because this name was invented by Astrid Lindgren’s little daughter, Karin, when she asked her to tell her about Pippi Longstocking. Astrid did just that, and in 1945 she released the first part of the Pippi Longstocking trilogy, followed by Pippi Longstocking Boards the Ship (1946), Pippi Longstocking on the Island of Currecurredoutes (1948).

So, Pippi Longstocking turned 50 years old in 1995, and her anniversary was widely celebrated in different countries, especially in Sweden. But Pippi never became an adult, she did not want to move into the world of petty and boring worries.

Dear children, you will once again meet the heroine of the wonderful book, Astrid Lindgren! Only this heroine, since 1993, when a book about her in a new translation appeared in the Karelia publishing house, has been called Pippi. Her name is what the writer herself called her and what Swedish children call her. That's what you will call her too.

Just remember to put the accent on the first syllable: “Pippi.” Like this!

Happy journey to your children, dear Pippi!

Lyudmila Braude

PIPPY STAYS INTO THE VILLA IN UPPERCASES

On the outskirts of a small, very small town there was an old neglected garden. There was an old house in the garden, and Pippi Longstocking lived in the house. She was nine years old and lived there completely alone. She had neither a mother nor a father; and, strictly speaking, it was not so bad. There was no one to tell her it was time to go to bed, just when she was having the most fun. And no one forced her to drink fish oil when she wanted caramels much more.

Pippi once had a dad whom she loved very much. Yes, to tell the truth, she also had a mother, but so long ago that she doesn’t even remember her. Mama died when Pippi was just a tiny baby, lying in her cradle and screaming so badly that no one could stand to be around. Now Pippi thought that her mother was sitting above, in the sky, looking down at her daughter through a small hole. And Pippi often waved her hand and said:

- Don't be afraid! I won't get lost!

Pippi remembered Papa. He was a captain and sailed across the oceans, and Pippi sailed with him on his ship until dad was blown straight into the sea during a storm and disappeared. But Pippi was absolutely sure that one fine day he would come back. She couldn't believe that he had drowned. She believed that he swam ashore to an island full of blacks, and became the king of all these blacks, and all day long he walked around the island with a golden crown on his head.

“My mom is an angel, and my dad is a black king.” Not every child has such noble parents,” Pippi would often say, pleased with herself.

“And as soon as dad builds himself a new ship, he will sail for me, and I will become a black princess.” Tra-la-la! This will be great!

Her dad bought the old house that stood in the garden many years ago. He thought that he would live there with Pippi when he grew old and could no longer sail the seas. But it was then that this unfortunate nuisance happened: he was blown away by the wind into the sea. Pippi knew that he would certainly come back, and she went straight home to wait for him there. The house was called Villa "Villekulla", which means "Villa Upside Down", or "House Upside Down". He stood in the garden, ready for her arrival, and waited. One fine summer evening she said goodbye to all the sailors on her father’s ship. They loved Pippi very much, and Pippi loved them very much...

“Goodbye, boys,” said Pippi, kissing them all in turn on the forehead. – Don’t be afraid for me, I won’t be lost!

She took with her from the ship a small monkey named Mr. Nilsson - she received him as a gift from her dad - and a large suitcase full of gold coins. The sailors stood at the railing and watched after Pippi until she disappeared from sight. She walked, standing firmly on her feet and not turning around. She had a suitcase in her hand, and Mr. Nilsson sat on her shoulder.

- Amazing child! - said one of the sailors when Pippi disappeared into the distance, and wiped away a tear.

He was right. Pippi was truly an amazing child. And the most amazing thing about her was her enormous strength. She was so strong that there would not have been a policeman in the whole world who could match her strength. She could even lift a horse if she wanted. And she wanted it. She had her own horse and had bought it with one coin from her pile of gold coins on the very day she returned home to Villa Upside Down. She always dreamed of having her own horse. And now her horse lived on the veranda. But when Pippi wanted to have a cup of coffee there after dinner, she, without further ado, picked up the horse in her arms and carried it out into the garden.

Next door to Villa Vverkhtormashki there was another garden and another house. A father and mother lived in this house with their two cute children - a boy and a girl. The boy's name was Tommy, and the girl's name was Annika. These were two exceptionally kind, well-mannered and obedient children. Tommy never bit his nails and always did what his mother asked. Annika never made a scandal if her wishes were not fulfilled. And she always looked very elegant in her short, ironed chintz dresses, which she was very afraid of getting dirty. Tommy and Annika played so well together in their garden! But they often wanted another child to play with them. And in those days, when Pippi was still sailing the seas with her dad, they sometimes hung on the fence and said to each other:

- Wow, what stupidity! Why doesn't anyone move into this house?! Someone must live here! Someone who has children!

On that wonderful evening when Pippi first crossed the threshold of Villa Upside Down, Tommy and Annika were not at home. They left for a week to see their grandmother. And therefore they had no idea that someone had settled in the neighboring house. And when, standing at the gate on the very first day after returning home, they looked out into the street, they still did not know that there was a child living next to them with whom they could play together. Just at that very moment when they, standing at the gate, were thinking about what to do, or that some joy might happen on this day, or that this day, on the contrary, would be boring and they they won’t be able to come up with anything... just at that very moment the gate of Villa Upside Down opened and a little girl came out. This was the most amazing girl Tommy and Annika had ever seen. And this girl was Pippi Longstocking, who was going for a morning walk. And this is what she looked like.

Her hair, exactly the same color as a carrot, was braided into two tight braids that stuck out in different directions. Her nose was exactly like a small potato and was full of freckles, her mouth was wide from ear to ear, and her teeth were white. Her dress was amazing too. Pippi sewed it herself. It was supposed to be blue, but there wasn't enough blue fabric, and Pippi had to sew in a few scraps of red here and there. Her long thin legs were wearing long stockings - one brown, the other black. She was also wearing black shoes that were twice the size of her feet. Dad bought these shoes for her to grow up in South America, and Pippi never wanted to wear others.

But what especially struck Tommy and Annika and made them widen their eyes was the monkey sitting on the shoulder of an unfamiliar girl. It was a little monkey, dressed in blue trousers, a yellow jacket and a white straw hat.

Pippi was walking down the street. She walked with one foot on the sidewalk and the other

- along the pavement. Tommy and Annika watched her go until she was out of sight. After some time she returned back. Now she was walking backwards. In order not to turn around when you have to go back home. Having reached Tommy and Annika's gate, Pippi stopped. The children looked at each other silently. Finally Tommy asked:

- Why are you walking backwards?

- Why am I walking backwards? Don't we live in a free country? Isn't it possible to walk here as you please? But actually, if you want to know, in Egypt everyone walks like this and it doesn’t seem strange to anyone.

- How did you know that? – asked Tommy. – You haven’t been to Egypt.

- I have not been to Egypt! You can tell yourself that I was there. I've been everywhere, all over the globe, and I've seen much more amazing things than people walking backwards. I wonder what you would say if I walked on my hands? So, how do people walk in Far India?

“You’re lying,” said Tommy.

Pippi thought a little.

- Yes, you are right. “I’m lying,” she said sadly.

“Lying is not good,” said Annika, who finally dared to open her mouth.

“Yeah, it’s not good to lie,” said Pippi even more sadly. “But I forget about that sometimes, okay? And how can one even demand that a girl whose mother is an angel and whose father is a black king and who has sailed the seas all her life should always tell the truth? And besides,” added Pippi, and her whole freckled face shone, “I’ll tell you that in the Congo there is not a single person who would tell the truth.” They lie there all day long. They start at seven in the morning and lie until the sun goes down. So if I ever manage to lie, you should try to forgive me and remember that all this is because I lived in the Congo for too long. We can still be friends, right? Is it true?

- We would love to! - said Tommy and suddenly felt that this day would certainly not be boring.

– Actually, why don’t you have breakfast with me? – asked Pippi.

- Yes, why don't we do that? Shall we go, Annika?

“Yes,” agreed Annika, “let’s go now.”

“But first I must introduce you to Mr. Nilsson,” said Pippi.

And then the monkey, taking off his hat, politely greeted.

And so they, opening the dilapidated gate of the Villa Upside Down, walked along a gravel path bordered by old, moss-covered trees (how good it is to climb them!), walked straight to the house and climbed onto the veranda. There stood a horse and chewed oats straight from the tureen.

- Why is there a horse on your veranda? – asked Tommy.

All the horses he knew lived in stables.

“Hmm,” said Pippi thoughtfully. “In the kitchen it would just dangle under your feet.” But she doesn’t like it in the living room.

Tommy and Annika petted the horse and then walked further into the house. There was a kitchen, living room and bedroom. But this week Pippi seems to have forgotten that cleaning is supposed to be done on Fridays. Tommy and Annika carefully looked around - what if this black king was sitting in some corner. In all their lives they had never seen a single black king. But there was no sign of dad in the house, and no mother either, and Annika timidly asked:

– Do you live here all alone?

- Of course, no. After all, Mr. Nilsson and the horse live with me.

– Yes, but I’m asking if you have a mom and dad here?

“There’s no one,” Pippi answered joyfully.

- But who tells you in the evenings when you need to go to bed or something like that? – Annika asked.

“I do it myself,” said Pippi. “At first I say it once affectionately, and if I don’t obey, then I say it again sternly, and if I still don’t want to obey, then I give myself a beating.” It's clear?

Tommy and Annika never fully understood everything, but they thought that maybe living like this wouldn’t be bad at all. Meanwhile they went into the kitchen, and Pippi shouted:

- Pancakes will be baked here! Pancakes will be fried here! They will serve delicious pancakes here!

And, grabbing three eggs, she threw them high into the air. One egg fell right on her head and broke, and the yolk ran right into her eyes. She deftly caught the other two eggs in a saucepan, where they broke.

“I’ve always heard that yolk is good for washing your hair,” said Pippi and wiped her eyes. - You'll see, they will now begin to grow so that they will only crack! Actually, in Brazil, everyone walks around with yolk in their hair. That's why there are no bald people there at all. Only once was there an old man there who was so crazy. He ate all the yolks instead of applying them to his hair. So he really went bald, and when he showed up on the street, there was such a fight that they had to call the police for help on the radio.

While telling all this, Pippi skillfully scraped the eggshells out of the saucepan with her finger. Then, taking a bath brush that was hanging on the wall, she began to beat the batter with it, so much so that only splashes flew down the walls. Then she poured everything that was left in the saucepan into a frying pan on the stove. When the pancake was browned on one side, she threw it in the frying pan almost to the ceiling, while the pancake turned over in the air. But Pippi immediately caught him with the frying pan again. And when the pancake was ready, she threw it diagonally across the kitchen, right onto the plate standing on the table.

“Eat,” she shouted, “eat before it gets cold!”

Tommy and Annika began to eat, and the pancake seemed very tasty to them. Pippi invited them up to the living room. The only furniture there was a huge, huge bureau with a hinged lid and many small, tiny drawers. Opening the drawers, Pippi showed Tommy and Annika all the treasures she kept there. There were strange bird eggs and amazing shells and stones, small elegant boxes, beautiful mirrors in silver frames, pearl necklaces and other curiosities that Pippi and her dad bought during their travels around the world. Pippi gave each of her new friends a keepsake. Tommy received a dagger with a shiny mother-of-pearl handle, while Annika received a small box, the lid of which was covered with fragile shells. In the box there was a ring with a green stone.

“Now take your gifts and go home,” said Pippi, “to come back tomorrow morning.” Because if you don't go home now, you won't be able to come back again. And that would be a pity.

Tommy and Annika thought the same. And they went home. Past the horse, which had already eaten all the oats, and through the gate leading to Villa Upside Down.

PIPPY LOOKS FOR DIFFERENT THINGS AND GET INTO A FIGHT

The next morning Annika woke up early. Quickly jumping out of bed, she barely audibly crept up to Tommy.

“Wake up, Tommy,” she said, tugging at her brother’s hand. - Wake up, let's go to this one. funny girl in big shoes!

Tommy woke up immediately.

“Even in my dreams, I knew something fun would happen today, although I couldn’t remember what exactly,” he said, tearing off his pajama jacket.

Then the brother and sister rushed to the bathroom. They washed and brushed their teeth faster than usual, and dressed quickly and cheerfully. And a whole hour earlier than my mother expected, they slid down the railing from the top floor and landed right next to the table set for breakfast. Having sat down at the table, they shouted that they wanted to get their hot chocolate right away.

-What will you do? - Mom asked. -Where are you in such a hurry?

“We’ll go to the new girl next door,” said Tommy.

“Maybe we’ll stay there the whole day,” Annika added.

That morning Pippi was just baking gingerbread cookies.

She kneaded a whole mountain of dough and dumped it on the kitchen floor.

“Because,” Pippi said to her little monkey, “can you really manage on one dough board if you need to bake at least five hundred gingerbread cookies?”

And so she, lying on the floor, carefully cut out gingerbread cookies in the shape of a heart.

“Stop getting into the dough, Mr. Nilsson,” she said irritably at the very moment the doorbell rang.

Jumping up from the floor, Pippi opened the door. The girl was covered with flour from head to toe and looked like a miller. And when she began to heartily shake the hands of Tommy and Annika, a cloud of flour enveloped them all.

“Well done for stopping by,” she said and shook off her apron, so that a new cloud of flour fell on the children and got into their throats. Tommy and Annika got so much flour that they started coughing.

- What are you doing? – asked Tommy.

“Ha, if I say that I clean the pipe from soot, you still won’t believe me,” answered Pippi. – You’re not such a simpleton! It's clear that I bake gingerbread cookies. But I'll finish soon. Sit on the wood-burning chest for now.

Oh, Pippi could work quickly! Tommy and Annika sat on the wood-burning chest and watched her roll out the dough and throw the gingerbread onto the baking sheets and throw the baking sheets into the oven. It seemed to them that they were almost sitting in a movie.

- Ready! - Pippi finally said and again noisily slammed the oven door behind the last baking sheets.

– What are we going to do now? – Tommy asked.

“I don’t know what you’re going to do,” said Pippi. – I’m not going to be a fool. I am a seeker of things, but they never have a free minute.

– You said that you... Who, who are you?

- Seeker of things.

- And what is it? – asked Tommy.

- Well, the one who looks for different things! Who else could she be? - answered Pippi, sweeping up all the flour scattered on the floor into a small pile.

– The whole world is chock full of different things, and it is simply necessary that someone look for them. This is exactly what the seekers of things do.

-What are these things? – Annika asked.

“Oh, all kinds,” said Pippi. - Ingots of gold, and ostrich feathers, and dead rats, and small, very small nuts, and much more of the same kind.

This activity seemed extremely interesting to Tommy and Annika, and they also wanted to become searchers for things. True, Tommy said that he hoped to find a bar of gold, and not a tiny, tiny nut.

“We'll see what we come across,” said Pippi. “You’ll always find something.” But we must hurry until some other things-seekers come and snatch up all the gold bars that are in these places.

The three things-seekers immediately set off. They decided it would be best to start searching around the surrounding houses. After all, Pippi said: you can, of course, find a tiny nut far, far away in the forest thicket. But the best things, in any case, are almost always lying around near the places where people live.

“Although,” she added, “it happens the other way around.” I remember one time I was looking for things in the jungle on the island of Borneo. And just in the deepest thicket of the primeval forest, where no human has ever set foot, what do you think I found? A real neat wooden leg. I later gave it to one one-legged old man. And he said that no amount of money could buy such a leg.

Tommy and Annika kept their eyes on Pippi to get a good look at how a real treasure hunter should behave. Meanwhile, Pippi ran from one side of the road to another and, covering her eyes with her hand, searched and searched. Sometimes she crawled on her knees and, putting her hands between the slats of the fence, said in disappointment:

- Well well! It seemed to me that I definitely saw a gold bar.

– Is it true that you can take whatever you find? – Annika asked curiously.

- Yes. Everything that is lying on the ground.

A little further away in front of his house, an elderly gentleman was lying and sleeping in the green grass.

“For example, he’s lying on the ground, let’s find him and take him with us!” - said Pippi.

Tommy and Annika were terribly scared.

- No, no, Pippi, we can’t take the uncle, this won’t work,

- said Tommy. - And why do we need it at all?

- Why do we need it? It would be of great use to us! We could put him in a small cage instead of a rabbit and feed him dandelion leaves. But if you don't want to, don't. Although it infuriates me that some other person looking for things will suddenly appear and steal it.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life!” - she yelled, pulling out an old rusty tin from the grass. - So lucky! You can never have too many tins!

Tommy, looking slightly incredulously at the tin, said:

– What is it needed for?

- Yes, for a lot. Firstly, you can put gingerbread cookies in it. And then she will become such a cozy Tin of Gingerbread. Secondly, you don’t have to put gingerbread in it. Then she will become a Tin Without Gingerbread. And, of course, although it will no longer be so cozy, it will also come in handy...

She looked at the tin from all sides, which was indeed all rusty, and besides, there was a hole visible in the bottom.

– It looks like, on closer inspection, that this is a Tin Without Gingerbread,

– she said thoughtfully. “But you can put it on your head and imagine that it’s dark night around you.”

Pippi did just that. With the can on her head, like a small tin tower, she walked, without stopping, around the block until her stomach bumped into a steel wire fence and hung on it. There was a terrible noise as the tin hit the ground.

“You see,” said Pippi, taking the tin from her head. “If I hadn’t had this can on me, I would have fallen face down and broken into pieces.”

“Yes, but without this tin you would never have come across the steel wire,” Annika said.

However, before she had time to finish speaking, a wild scream was heard again. It was Pippi, jubilantly, who picked up the spool of wire from the ground.

- What luck! Looks like today is my lucky day,” she said.

– You can blow soap bubbles from such a small, pretty spool of wire, or hang it on a cord around your neck, it will be a luxurious necklace! I’ll go home and do all this right now!

But at that same moment the gate of a villa nearby opened and a boy ran out. He looked terribly frightened, and that’s not surprising. After all, five children were literally chasing him on his heels. Soon they caught up with him, pressed him against the picket fence and then all together fell on the poor fellow. The whole crowd began to beat him, trying to knock him out. He cried and covered his face with his hands, trying to protect himself.

- Hit him, guys! - shouted the largest and strongest of the boys. - He won’t hang around on our street anymore!

- Oh! – Annika exclaimed. – After all, they beat Ville! These are the scoundrels!

– It’s all that nasty Bengt’s fault! He just wants to fight,” said Tommy. - Yes, five against one! Those are the cowards!

Approaching the boys, Pippi tapped Bengt's back with her index finger.

- Hey, hello! – she greeted. “Aren’t you going to immediately make a puree out of baby Ville by attacking him with five of you?”

Turning around, Bengt saw a girl he had never met before. A complete stranger who dared to point a finger at him. At first he opened his mouth in surprise, but then his face broke into a wide grin.

“Guys,” he said, “ah, guys!” Leave Ville and take a better look at this girl. That's it, girl! A girl of all times!

He hit his knees and laughed. In an instant, all the boys crowded around Pippi, all except Ville, who, having wiped away his tears, carefully walked away from the fence and stood next to Tommy.

-Have you seen what her hair is like? Well, pure fire! And what shoes! - continued Bengt. – Can you borrow one for me? I want to go out to sea, swim on a boat, but I don’t even have a boat.

Then he grabbed one of Pippi's braids, but immediately said:

- Oh, I got burned!

And all five boys, surrounding Pippi, began jumping and shouting:

- Red, red, dangerous devil! Red, red, dangerous devil!

Pippi stood in the middle of the circle and, as always, smiled tenderly. And Bengt hoped that she would get angry or cry, or at least show fear. When nothing came of it, he pushed her.

“It seems to me that you are not very polite with the ladies,” said Pippi. And she lifted him high, high with her strong arms, and carried him

straight to a birch tree growing nearby, and hung him on a branch across his body. Then, grabbing the next boy, she hung him on another branch. She placed another one on the gate post in front of the house, and threw the fourth over the fence, so that he plopped down on a flower bed. She put the last of the fighters in a small toy cart that stood on the road. Then Pippi, Tommy and Annika looked a little at the boys, who were completely speechless with amazement. And Pippi said:

- Oh, you weaklings! Five of you attack one boy. This is all from cowardice. And then you push a little defenseless girl. Ugh, what brats you are! Now let’s go home,” she said to Tommy and Annika.

Turning to Villa, she promised:

“Let them just try to beat you up one more time!” You can tell me.

And Bengt, sitting on the top of the tree and not daring to move, she said:

“If you want to add anything else about my hair or my shoes, go ahead now, take this opportunity before I go home.”

But Bengt had nothing more to say about Pippi's shoes or even about her hair. Pippi, taking the tin in one hand and the spool of wire in the other, went home, accompanied by Tommy and Annika.

When they came to the garden, she said:

- My dears, what a shame! I found two such gorgeous things, but you didn’t get anything. You'll have to search a little more. Tommy, why don't you look in the hollow of this old tree? After all, old trees are one of the most best places for searching for things.

Tommy explained that he didn't think he and Annika would ever find anything, but to please Pippi he stuck his hand into the hollow of the tree trunk.

- Wow! – he said in surprise and pulled his hand out of the hollow. Clutched in his palm was a wonderful leather-bound notebook. A small silver pen was visible in a special case.

- Well well! - said Tommy.

“You see,” Pippi remarked. “There is nothing better in the world than being a seeker of things.” And it's amazing that not too many people are looking for things. They can easily become carpenters, shoemakers and chimney sweeps, as much as they like, but searchers for things

- no, this, you see, does not suit them!

“Why don’t you rummage around in this old stump?” You almost always find things in old tree stumps.

Annika stuck her hand into the hollow of an old stump and almost at the same moment found a bright coral necklace. She and Tommy were terribly dumbfounded and stood there with their mouths open for a long time. And then they decided that now they would look for all sorts of things every day.

Pippi, who had gotten up in the middle of the night the night before and played ball, suddenly felt sleepy.

“I think I need to go and take a nap.” Can you accompany me and tuck a blanket under me?

Sitting on the edge of the bed and taking off her shoes, she looked at them thoughtfully and said:

- You see, he wants to go out to sea and swim in a boat! Well, this Bengt. Hm! “She snorted contemptuously. – I’ll teach him to row, yes, I will! Next time!

“Tell me, Pippi,” said Tommy respectfully, “why do you have such huge shoes?”

- So that I can twirl my fingers! Well, did you eat it? – she answered and lay down in bed.

She always slept with her feet on the pillow and her head under the covers.

“That’s how they sleep in Guatemala,” she assured. “And this is the only, most correct way to sleep.” When you lie like this, you can move your fingers even in your sleep.

– Can you sleep without a lullaby? – she continued. “I always have to sing to myself a little before going to bed, otherwise I won’t sleep a wink.”

And Tommy and Annika immediately heard her muttering something under the blanket. It was Pippi who sang, making herself sleepy. Quietly and carefully they walked out of the room, stealthily, so as not to disturb Pippi. Stopping at the door, they turned around and took one last look at the bed. But they only saw Pippi’s legs resting on the pillow.

She lay in bed and carefully twirled her fingers.

And Tommy and Annika skipped home. Annika clutched the coral necklace tightly in her hand.

– Still strange! - she said. “Tommy, you probably don’t... you don’t think that Pippi placed these things in the hollow of the tree and the old stump in advance?”

- How should I know? – Tommy answered. “You never know when you’re dealing with Pippi.”