Pippi in the South Seas Page 4

it down. "Why do I have to eat it, anyway?" she

  said complainingly.

  "How can you ask anything so stupid?" said Pippi.

  "Of course you have to eat your good cereal. If you

  don't eat your good cereal, then you won't grow and

  get big and strong. And if you don't get

  big and strong, then you won't have the strength to force

  your

  children, when you have some, to eat

  their

  good cereal. No, Annika, that won't do. Nothing

  but the most terrible disorder in cereal-eating would come of

  this if everyone talked like you."

  Tommy and Annika ate two spoonfuls of cereal

  each. Pippi watched them with great sympathy.

  "You ought to go to sea for a while," she said, rocking

  back and forth on the chair on which she was sitting.

  "Then you would soon learn how to eat. I remember

  once when I was on my father's ship and Fridolf,

  one of our able-bodied seamen, suddenly one morning

  couldn't eat more than seven plates of cereal. My

  father was beside himself with worry over his poor appetite.

  Tridolf, old boy," he said in a choked

  voice, I'm afraid that you have got a terrible,

  consuming disease. It's best that you stay in your bunk

  today, until you feel a little better and can eat

  normally. I'm coming back to tuck you in and give you

  some strengthening meducine.""

  "It's called

  medicine"

  said Annika.

  "And Fridolf staggered to bed," Pippi went on,

  "because he was worried himself and wondered what sort of

  epidemic he could be having since he was only able

  to eat seven helpings of cereal. He was just lying there

  wondering whether he would live until evening when my

  father came with the medicine. A black, disgusting-looking

  medicine it

  Pippi Gets a Letter

  was, but you could say what you wanted about it, it was

  strengthening. Because when Fridolf had swallowed the first

  spoonful, flames broke out from his mouth. He let

  out a scream that shook the

  Hoptoad

  from the stern to the bow and could be heard on ships within a

  fifty-mile radius.

  "The cook still hadn't had a chance to clear away the

  breakfast dishes when Fridolf came steaming up

  into the galley, letting out piercing shrieks. He

  heaved himself down at the table and began eating cereal and

  he was howling with hunger even after his fifteenth

  plate. But then there was no more cereal left, and all

  the cook could do was stand and throw cold potatoes

  into Fridolf s open mouth. As soon as it looked

  as if he were going to stop, Fridolf let out an

  angry growl, and the cook realized that if he

  didn't want to be eaten up himself, all he could do

  was keep it up. But unfortunately he only had a

  miserable hundred and seventeen potatoes, and when

  he had thrown the last one into Fridolf s gullet

  he quickly made a dash for the door and turned the

  lock.

  "Then we all stood outside and peeked in at

  Fridolf through a window. He was whining like a hungry

  child, and in quick succession he ate up the bread

  basket and the pitcher and fifteen plates. Then he

  attacked the table. He broke off all four

  legs and ate till the sawdust foamed around his

  mouth, but he only said that for asparagus they had an

  awfully wooden taste. He seemed to think that the

  table top tasted better, because he smacked his lips

  as he ate it and said that it was the best sandwich he had

  eaten since he was a child. But then my father felt that

  Fridolf was fully recovered from his consuming disease,

  and he went in to him and said that now he would have to try

  to control himself until lunch, which would be served in two

  hours, and then he would get mashed turnips with salt

  pork. 'Oh, Captain I" said Fridolf,

  wiping his mouth. Tlease," he said with an eager,

  hungry look in his eyes, when is supper going

  to be served and why can't we have it a little

  earlier?"'"

  Pippi put her head to one side and looked at

  Tommy and Annika and their cereal plates. "As

  I said, you ought to go to sea for a while and then your poor

  appetites would be cured in a hurry."

  Just then the mailman walked by the Settergren house

  on his way to Villa Villekulla. He happened

  to see Pippi through the window and called out, Tippi

  Longstocking, here is a letter for you!"

  Pippi was so astonished that she almost fell off the

  chair. "A letter! For me? A leal retter-I

  mean, a real letter? I want to see it before I

  believe it."

  Pippi Gets a Letter

  But it

  was

  a real letter, a letter with many strange stamps.

  "You read it, Tommy, you know how," said Pippi.

  And Tommy began.

  my dear pippilotta,

  When you get this you might as well go down to the harbor

  and start looking for the

  Hoptoad.

  Because now I'm coming to get you and bring you here

  to Kurrekurredutt Island for a while. You

  ought at least to see the country where your father has

  become such a powerful king. It's really very nice here

  and I think that you would like it and feel at home. My

  faithful subjects are also looking forward very much

  to seeing the Princess Pippilotta of whom they have

  heard so much. So there is nothing further to be said in

  the matter. You are coming and this is my kingly and fatherly

  wish. A real big kiss and many fond regards from

  your old father,

  king efraim I longstocking

  Ruler of Kurrekurredutt Island

  When Tommy had finished reading, you could have heard a

  pin drop in the kitchen.

  Pippi Goes on Board

  On a beautiful morning the

  Hoptoad

  sailed into the harbor decorated with flags and

  pennants from end to end. The town band was on the pier,

  playing welcome songs with all its might. The

  whole town had gathered to see Pippi receive her father,

  King Efraim I Longstocking. A photographer

  was standing ready to snap a picture of their meeting.

  Pippi was jumping up and down with impatience and the

  gangplank was hardly down before Captain

  Longstocking and Pippi rushed toward each

  other with shouts of joy. Captain Longstocking was so

  happy to see his daughter that he threw her way up

  in the air several times. Pippi was just as happy, so

  she threw her father way up in the air still more times. The

  only one who wasn't happy was the photographer,

  because he couldn't get a picture when either Pippi

  or her father was way up in the air all the time.

  Tommy and Annika also came forward and greeted

  Captain Longstocking-but oh, how pale and miserable

  they looked! It was the first time after their illness that they

  had been out.

  Pippi of course had to go on board and say hello

  to Fr
idolf and all her other friends among the seamen.

  Tommy and Annika trotted along too. They

  felt so strange walking around on a ship that had come

  from so far away, and they kept their eyes wide open

  so as not to miss anything. They were especially eager

  to see Agaton and Teodor, but Pippi said that the

  twins had signed off the ship a long time ago.

  Pippi hugged all the sailors so hard that five

  minutes later they were still gasping for breath. Then she

  lifted Captain Longstocking up onto her

  shoulders and carried him through the crowd and all the way

  home to Villa Villekulla. Hand in hand,

  Tommy and Annika trudged along behind

  them.

  "Long live King Efraim!" shouted all the people.

  They felt that this was a big day in the history of the little

  town.

  A few hours later Captain Longstocking was in

  bed at Villa Villekulla, sleeping, and

  snoring away so that the whole house shook. Pippi,

  Tommy, and Annika were sitting around the kitchen

  table, where the remains of a splendid supper were still in

  evi-

  dence. Tommy and Annika were quiet and thoughtful.

  What were they thinking about? Annika was just thinking that when

  you come right down to facts, she would much rather be dead.

  Tommy was sitting there trying to remember if there was

  anything in this world that was really fun, but he couldn't

  think of a thing. Life was an empty waste, he

  felt.

  But Pippi was in a wonderful mood. She stroked

  Mr. Nilsson, who was carefully making his way

  back and forth between the plates on the table; she stroked

  Tommy and Annika; she whistled and sang

  alternately and took happy little dance steps now and

  then. She didn't seem to notice that Tommy and

  Annika were so downcast.

  "Going to sea for a bit again is going to be

  marvelous," she said. "Just think of being on the ocean,

  where there is so much freedom!"

  Tommy and Annika sighed.

  "And I'm quite excited about seeing Kurrekurredutt

  Island too. Imagine what it'll be like to lie

  stretched out on the beach, dipping my big toes in the

  South Pacific, and all I'll have to do is to open

  my mouth and a ripe banana will fall right in it!"

  Tommy and Annika sighed.

  "It's going to be a lot of fun to play with the children

  down there," Pippi continued.

  Tommy and Annika sighed.

  "What are you sighing for?" said Pippi. "Don't you

  like the idea of my playing with the native children?"

  "Of course," said Tommy. "But we're just thinking

  that it will probably be a long time before you come back

  to Villa Villekulla."

  "Yes, I'm sure of that," said Pippi gaily.

  "But I'm not at all sorry. I think I can have

  almost more fun on Kurrekurredutt Island."

  Annika turned a pale, unhappy face toward

  Pippi. "Oh, Pippi," she said, "how long do

  you think you'll stay away?"

  "Oh, that's hard to say. Until around Christmas,

  I should think."

  Annika let out a wail.

  "Who knows," said Pippi, "maybe I'll like it so

  much on Kurrekurredutt Island that I'll feel

  like staying there forever. . . . Tra-la-la," she

  sang, and did a few more pirouettes. "To be a

  princess, that's not a bad job for someone who's had

  as little schooling as I have."

  Tommy's and Annika's eyes, looking out of their

  pale faces, began to have a peculiar, glassy

  stare. Suddenly Annika bent down over the table and

  burst into tears.

  "But come to think of it, I don't think that I'd like

  to stay there forever," said Pippi. "One can have too much

  of court life and get sick of the whole business.

  So one fine day you'll probably hear me saying,

  Tommy and Annika, how would you like to go back

  to Villa Villekulla for a while again?"'"

  "Oh, how wonderful it will be when you write that to us,"

  said Tommy.

  "Write!"

  said Pippi. "You have ears, I hope. I have no

  intention of writing. I'll just

  say,

  Tommy and Annika, now it's time to go back

  to Villa Villekulla.""

  Annika raised her head from the table and Tommy

  said, "What do you mean by that?"

  "What do I mean!" said Pippi. "Don't you

  understand plain words? Or have I forgotten to tell you that

  you're coming along to Kurrekurredutt Island? I

  thought I'd mentioned it."

  Tommy and Annika jumped to their feet. Their

  breath came in gasps. Then Tommy said, "You

  talk such nonsense! Our mother and father would never allow

  it."

  "Yes, they will," said Pippi. "I've already

  talked to your mother."

  For exactly five seconds there was silence in the

  kitchen of Villa Villekulla. Then there were two

  piercing yells from Tommy and Annika, who were

  wild with joy. Mr. Nilsson, who was sitting on

  the table and trying to spread butter on his hat,

  looked

  Pippi in the South Seas

  up in surprise. He was still more surprised when he

  saw Pippi and Tommy and Annika take one

  another by the hand and start dancing crazily around. They

  danced and shouted so that the ceiling lamp loosened and

  fell down. Then Mr. Nilsson threw the

  butter knife out the window and started to dance too.

  "Is it really, really true?" asked Tommy when

  they had calmed down and crawled into the wood-bin

  to talk it over. Pippi nodded.

  Yes, it was really true. Tommy and Annika were

  to go along to Kurrekurredutt Island.

  To be sure, all the ladies in the little town came

  to Mrs. Settergren and said, "You don't mean that

  you're thinking of sending your children off to the South Seas with

  Pippi Longstocking? You can't be serious!"

  Then Mrs. Settergren said, "And why shouldn't I?

  The children have been sick and the doctor says they need a

  change of climate. As long as I've known

  Pippi she has never done anything that has harmed

  Tommy and Annika in any way. No one can be

  kinder to them than she."

  "Yes, but after all,

  Pippi Longstocking"

  said the ladies, wrinkling their noses.

  "Exactly," said Mrs. Settergren. "Pippi

  Longstock-

  ing's manners may not always be what they ought to. But

  her heart is in the right place."

  On a chilly night in early spring Tommy and

  Annika left the little town for the first time in

  their lives to travel out into the great, strange world with

  Pippi. All three of them were standing at the rail

  of the

  Hoptoad

  while the brisk night air filled the sails.

  (perhaps it would be more accurate to say all five, because

  the horse and Mr. Nilsson were there too.)

  All the children's classmates were on the pier and almost

  in tears with regret-mingled with envy- at their leaving.

  Tomorr
ow the classmates would be going to school as

  usual. Their geography homework was to study all

  the islands in the South Pacific. Tommy and

  Annika didn't have to do any homework for a while.

  "Their health comes before school," the doctor had said.

  "And they'll get to know the South Sea islands first

  hand," added Pippi.

  Tommy's and Annika's mother and father were also on the

  pier. Tommy and Annika suddenly felt lumps

  in their throats when they saw their parents wiping their

  eyes with handkerchiefs. But Tommy and Annika still

  couldn't keep from being happy, so happy that it almost

  hurt.

  Slowly the

  Hoptoad

  sailed out of the harbor.

  "Tommy and Annika," cried Mrs.

  Settergren,

  "when you get out on the North Sea you have to put

  on two undershirts and-was

  The rest of what she was trying to say was drowned in the

  cries of farewell from the people on the pier, the wild

  whinnying of the horse, Pippi's happy noisiness,

  and Captain Longstocking's loud trumpeting when he

  blew his nose.

  The voyage had begun. The

  Hoptoad

  was sailing out under the stars. Ice blocks were floating

  around the bow and the wind was singing in the sails.

  "Oh, Pippi," said Annika, "I have such a

  funny feeling. I'm beginning to think that I'll be a

  pirate too when I grow up."

  "Kurrekurredutt Island straight ahead!" cried

  Pippi from the bridge one sunny morning.

  They had been sailing for days and nights, for weeks

  and months, over storm-ridden seas and through calm,

  friendly waters, in starlight and moonlight, under dark,

  threatening skies and in scorching sun. They had been

  sailing for such a long time that Tommy and Annika

  had almost forgotten what it was like to live at home in

  the little town.

  Their mother would probably have been surprised if she

  could have seen them now. No more pale cheeks. Brown

  and healthy, they climbed around in the rigging just as

  Pippi did. Gradually, as the weather grew

  warmer, they had peeled off their clothes and the warmly

  bundled-up children with two undershirts who had crossed

  the North Sea had become two naked brown children in

  loincloths.

  "What a wonderful time we're having!" Tommy and

  Annika declared each morning when they woke up in the

  cabin they shared with Pippi.

  Often Pippi was already up and at the helm.

  "A better seaman than my daughter has never

  sailed on the seven seas," Captain Longstocking

  would often say. And he was right. Pippi guided the

  Hoptoad

  with a sure hand past the most perilous underwater reefs

  and the worst breakers.

  Now the voyage was coming to an end.

  "Kurrekurredutt Island straight ahead!" cried

  Pippi.

  There it was, sheltered by green palms and surrounded

  by the bluest blue water.

  Two hours later the

  Hoptoad

  made for a little inlet on the left side of the island.

  All the Kurrekurredutts, men, women, and children,

  were on the beach to receive their king and his redheaded daughter.

  A mighty roar rose from the crowd when the

  gangplank was lowered.

  "Ussamkura, kussomkaral"

  they shouted, and it meant, "Welcome back, fat

  white chief!"

  King Efraiin walked majestically down the

  gangplank, dressed in his blue corduroy

  suit, while on the foredeck, Fridolf played the

  new national anthem of the Kurrekurredutts on his

  accordion. "Here comes our chief with a clang and a

  bang!"

  King Efraim raised his hand in greeting and shouted,

  "Muoni mananal"

  That meant, "Greetings to all of you."

  He was followed by Pippi, who was carrying the

  horse. Then a wave of excitement broke out

  among the Kurrekurredutts. Of course they had

  heard about Pippi and her enormous strength, but it was

  something entirely different to see it before their very eyes.

  Tommy and Annika and the whole crew trooped

  ashore, but for the time being the Kurrekurredutts had

  eyes for no one but Pippi. Captain

  Longstocking lifted her up on his shoulders so that they

  would be able to have a good look at her, and again an

  excited murmur went through the crowd. But then

  Pippi lifted up Captain Longstocking on one

  of

  her

  shoulders and the horse on the other and the murmur

  swelled into a roar.

  The population of the Island of Kurrekurredutt was

  one hundred and twenty-six people.

  "That is approximately the right number of

  subjects to have," said King Efraim. "More are hard

  to keep track of."

  They all lived in small, cozy huts among the

  palms. The biggest and finest hut belonged to King

  Efraim. The crew of the

  Hoptoad

  also had their huts where they lived while the ship lay

  anchored in the little inlet. She was anchored there

  72 I

  Pippi in the South Seas

  practically all the time these days. Once in a

  while, though, there would be an expedition to an island

  about fifty miles to the north where there was a shop where