Pippi in the South Seas Page 7

glittering and fragrant flowers everywhere.

  Tommy and Annika were by now so brown that there was

  hardly any difference between them and the Kurrekurredutt

  children. And every spot on Pippi's face was covered with

  freckles.

  "This trip will turn out to be a real beauty treatment

  for me," she said gaily.

  "I

  have more freckles and am therefore more beautiful than ever.

  If this keeps up, I shall be irresistible."

  Momo and Moana and all the other

  Kurrekurredutt children already considered

  Pippi irresistible. They had never had such a good

  time before, and they were as fond of Pippi as Tommy and

  Annika were. Of course they were fond of Tommy

  and Annika too, and Tommy and Annika were fond

  of them. So they had a marvelous time together and

  Pippi Leaves Kurrekurredutt Island

  backslash

  107 played and played all day long. Often they

  would go up to the cave to play.

  Pippi had taken blankets there, and when they

  wanted to they could spend the night and be even more comfortable

  than they were the first time. She had also made a rope

  ladder which reached all the way down to the water below the

  cave, and all the children climbed up and down on it and

  swam and splashed to their heart's- delight. Now it

  was perfectly safe to swim. Pippi had blocked

  off a big section with net so that the sharks couldn't

  get in. It was such fun to swim in and out of those

  caves filled with water. Even Tommy and

  Annika had learned to dive for oysters. The first

  pearl that Annika found Was a huge, beautiful

  pink one. She decided to take it home with her and have

  it made into a ring, which she would wear as a souvenir of

  Kurrekurredutt Island.,

  Sina Bahram Sometimes they would play that Pippi was

  Buck trying to get into the cave to steal pearls. Then

  Tommy would pull up the rope ladder and Pippi

  would have to climb up the side of the cliff as best as

  she could. All the children would shout, "Buck is coming,

  Buck is coming!" when she stuck her head into the cave, and they would take turns at poking her in the

  stomach so that she tumbled backward into the sea. Down

  there she splashed around with

  her bare feet sticking out of the water, and the children laughed

  so hard that they almost fell out of the cave.

  When they got tired of being in the cave they would play

  in their bamboo hut. Pippi and the children had built

  it, though of course Pippi had done most of the work.

  It was big and square and made of thin bamboo

  cane, and you could climb around inside it, and on top

  of it too. Next to the hut was a tall cocoanut

  tree. Pippi had hacked steps into it so that you could

  climb all the way to the top. The view was

  wonderful from up there. Between two other cocoanut

  palms Pippi had rigged up a swing of hibiscus

  fiber. It was marvelous, because if you swung as high

  as the swing would go, you could throw yourself out into the air and

  land in the water below.

  Pippi swung so high and flew so far out into the

  water that she said, "One fine day I'll

  probably land in Australia, and then it won't be

  much fun for the one who gets me on the head."

  The children also went on expeditions into the jungle. There

  was a high mountain and a waterfall that cascaded over

  a cliff. Pippi had made up her mind that she

  would like to go down the waterfall in a barrel. She

  brought along one of the barrels from the

  Hoptoad

  and crawled into it. Momo and

  Tommy closed the lid and helped to push the barrel

  over the waterfall. It bounced down with tremendous

  speed and then it broke. All the children saw Pippi

  disappear into the tumbling water, and they didn't think

  they would ever see her again. But all of a sudden she

  dived up and climbed ashore, saying, "They

  certainly go at a fast clip, those water

  barrels."

  The days went by. Soon the rainy season would start

  and then Captain Longstocking would lock himself into his

  hut and brood about life, and he was afraid that

  Pippi wouldn't be happy on Kurrekurredutt

  Island then. More often lately Tommy and Annika

  would find themselves wondering how their mother and father were.

  They were anxious to get home for Christmas. So they

  weren't as sad as you might expect when

  Pippi said one morning, "Tommy and Annika,

  how would you like to go back to Villa Villekulla for a

  while again?"

  Of course, for Momo and Moana and the other

  Kurrekurredutt children it was a sad day when they saw

  Pippi and Tommy and Annika go on board the

  Hoptoad

  for the voyage home. But Pippi promised that they

  would come back often to Kurrekurredutt Island. The

  Kurrekurredutt children had made wreaths of white

  flowers which they hung around the necks of Pippi and

  Tommy and Annika as a

  PippiLeaves Kurrekurredutt Island 1

  farewell gesture. Their song of farewell sounded

  sad as it followed the ship out to sea.

  Captain Longstocking was also standing on the beach. He

  had to stay behind in order to rule. Fri-dolf had

  taken it upon himself to get the children home. Captain

  Longstocking slowly and deliberately blew his

  nose in his big pocket handkerchief as he waved

  good-by. Pippi and Tommy and Annika cried,

  and the tears streamed down their faces as they waved

  to Captain Longstocking and the island children as long as they

  were in sight.

  The

  Hoptoad

  had a fair wind behind her during the whole voyage

  home.

  "We'd better dig out your undershirts in good time before

  we reach the North Sea," said Pippi.

  "What an awful thought," said Tommy and Annika.

  It soon became evident that despite the fair

  wind, the ship wouldn't reach home by Christmas.

  Tommy and Annika were bitterly disappointed when

  they heard it. Just think, no Christmas tree and no

  Christmas presents!

  "Then we could just as well have stayed on

  Kurrekurredutt Island," said Tommy

  angrily.

  Annika thought of her mother and father and knew that she would

  be glad to get home, no matter when. But it

  certainly was sad that they were going

  to miss Christmas. They both felt the same about

  that.

  One dark night at the beginning of January,

  Pippi and Tommy and Annika spotted the lights

  of the little town from afar, twinkling a welcome. They were

  back home again.

  "Well, now we have this trip behind us," said

  Pippi as she walked down the gangplank with her

  horse.

  No one was at the port to meet them because no one had

  known when they would get home. Pippi lifted up

  Tommy and Annika and Mr. Nilsson onto the

  horse and they rode toward Villa Villekulla.
<
br />   The poor horse had a hard time. He had to plow his

  way through the snowdrifts piled up in the streets and

  roads. Tommy and Annika stared straight ahead

  into the snow flurry. Soon they would be back with their

  mother and father, and they were suddenly aware how much they had

  missed them.

  In the Settergren house the lights were shining

  invitingly, and through the window they could see Tommy's

  and Annika's mother and father sitting at the dinner table.

  "There are Mother and Father!" said Tommy and he sounded

  so happy and excited.

  But Villa Villekulla lay in complete darkness

  and was covered with snow.

  Pippi Leaves Kurrekurredutt Island

  Annika was terribly unhappy at the thought of

  Pippi's going back there alone. "Please,

  Pippi, won't you stay with us the first night?" she

  asked.

  "Oh, no," said Pippi and jumped down in the snow

  outside the gate. "I have to get some things in order

  at Villa Villekulla."

  She waded through the deep snowdrifts which reached all

  the way up to her stomach. The horse plowed along

  behind her.

  "Yes, but think of how cold it will be in there," said

  Tommy. "It hasn't been heated for such a long

  time."

  "Nonsense," said Pippi. "If the heart is

  warm and beats the way it should, there is no reason

  to be cold."

  Pippi Longstocking

  Doesn't Want to Grow Up

  Oh, how Tommy's and Annika's mother and father

  hugged and kissed their children, and what a wonderful

  supper they prepared for them! Afterward they tucked them

  in, and sat for a long, long time on the edge of their

  beds, listening to the children's tales of all the strange

  things they had experienced on Kurrekurredutt

  Island. They were so happy, all of them. There was

  only one sad thing, and that was not having had any

  Christmas. Tommy and Annika didn't want

  to tell their mother how miserable they were because they had

  missed having a tree and presents, but

  that's the way it was. It seemed so strange to be

  back. It always does when you've been away, and it

  would have been much easier if they could have come home on

  Christmas Eve.

  Tommy and Annika were also sad when they thought of

  Pippi. Now of course she would be home in bed at

  Villa Villekulla with her feet on her

  pillow,

  Pippi Long stocking Doesn't Want to Grow

  Up

  and there was no one there to tuck her in. They made up

  their minds to go to see her as soon as they could the next

  morning.

  But the following day their mother didn't want to let them

  go because she hadn't seen them for such a long time, and

  besides, their grandmother was coming for dinner to welcome the children

  home. Tommy and Annika wondered anxiously

  what Pippi could be doing all day, and when it began

  to get dark they couldn't stand it any longer.

  "Please, Mother, we have to go and see Pippi," said

  Tommy.

  "Yes, run along then," said Mrs. Settergren.

  "But don't stay too long."

  Tommy and Annika ran off.

  When they got to the garden gate of Villa

  Villekulla they stopped and stared in amazement. It

  looked just like a Christmas card. The whole house was

  softly blanketed with snow and there were gleaming lights

  in all the windows. A torch was burning on the veranda

  and shedding its brightness over the snow-covered lawn.

  One path to the veranda was neatly shoveled, so Tommy

  and Annika didn't have to wade through the drifts.

  Just as they were stamping the snow off their feet on the

  veranda, the door opened and there stood Pippi.

  "Merry Christmas!" she said.

  She ushered them into the kitchen. And there was a

  Christmas tree! The lights were lit and seventeen

  sparklers were burning, filling the room with a nice

  smoky smell. The table was set with puddings and hams

  and sausages and all sorts of Christmas

  delicacies-yes, even gingerbread men and birds"

  nests. There was a fire in the stove, and the horse was

  standing at the woodbin, scraping his hoof in a very

  refined way. Mr. Nilsson was bopping back and

  forth among the sparklers in the Christmas tree.

  "He is-supposed to be an angel," said Pippi

  grimly, "but I can't get him to sit still."

  Tommy and Annika just stood there, speechless.

  "Oh, Pippi," said Annika finally,

  "how wonderful! When did you find time to do all this?"

  "Me, I'm the hard-working type," said Pippi.

  Tommy and Annika were suddenly overwhelmed with

  happiness.

  "I think it's just grand to be back in Villa

  Villekulla again," said Tommy.

  They sat down around the table and ate piles of ham

  and pudding and sausage and gingerbread men, and everything

  tasted even better to them than bananas and

  breadfruit.

  "But Pippi, it isn't Christmas at all," said

  Tommy.

  "Yes, sir," said Pippi. "The Villa

  Villekulla al-

  Pippi in the South Seas

  manac is slow. I have to take it to an

  almanac-maker and have it adjusted so that it will run

  properly again."

  "How wonderful," said Annika again. "We

  celebrated Christmas after all-except without

  Christmas presents, of course."

  "That reminds me," said Pippi. "I have hidden your

  Christmas presents. You have to find them yourselves."

  Tommy's and Annika's faces became

  flushed with excitement as they sprang up and started

  hunting. In the woodbin Tommy found a big

  package which was marked "tommy." Inside was a fine

  set of paints. Under the table Annika found a

  package with her name on it, and inside that was a

  pretty red parasol.

  "I

  can take this with me to Kurrekurredutt Island the

  next time we go there," said Annika.

  High up on the hood of the stove were two more

  packages. One contained a small jeep for

  Tommy, and in the other was a set of doll's dishes

  for Annika. A small package was also hanging

  on the horse's tail. In it was a clock for

  Tommy's and Annika's room.

  When they had found all their Christmas presents,

  they gave Pippi big hugs and thanked her over and

  over again. She was standing at the kitchen

  Pippi Longstocking Doesn't Want to Grow

  Up

  window, looking out at all the snow in the garden.

  Tomorrow we'll build a big snow hut," she said.

  "And we'll have lights burning in it at night."

  "Oh, yes, let's," said Annika,

  feeling happier than ever to be home.

  "I'm wondering if we could make a ski slope

  running down from the roof to the snowdrifts below. I'm

  going to teach the horse to ski. But I can't decide

  whether he needs four skis or only two."

  "We're going to have a wonderful time tomorrow," said

>   Tommy. "What luck that we came home in the

  middle of Christmas vacation."

  "We're always going to have fun," said Annika.

  "At Villa Villekulla, on

  Kurrekurredutt Island, and everywhere."

  Pippi nodded in agreement. They had crawled up

  on the kitchen table, all three of them. Suddenly a

  dark shadow passed over Tommy's face.

  "I never want to grow up," he said emphatically.

  "I don't either," said Annika.

  "No, that's nothing to wish for, being grown up," said

  Pippi. "Grownups never have any fun. They

  only have a lot of boring work and wear silly-looking

  clothes and have corns and minicipal taxes."

  "It's called

  municipal,""

  said Annika.

  "Well, anyway, it's the same nonsense," said

  Pippi. "And then they're full of

  superstitions and

  120 bar

  Pippi in the South Seas

  all sorts of crazy things. They think that something

  terrible is going to happen if they happen to stick their

  knives in their mouths while they're eating, and things

  like that."

  "And they can't play, either," said Annika.

  "Ugh, how awful to have to grow up."

  "Who says you have to grow up?" said Pippi. "If

  I remember right, I have a few pills somewhere."

  "What sort of pills?" said Tommy.

  "Some very fine pills for people who don't want to grow

  up," said Pippi and jumped down from the table. She

  hunted through closets and drawers and after a while she

  produced something that looked like three yellow peas.

  "Peas!" said Tommy surprised.

  "That's what you think," said Pippi. "These are no

  peas. They are chililug pills and were given to me in

  Rio by an old Indian chief when I happened

  to mention that I wasn't wild about the idea of growing

  up."

  "You mean that those tiny little pills can do it?" said

  Annika skeptically.

  "Absolutely," said Pippi. "But they

  have to be taken in the dark, and then you have to say this:

  Pretty little chililug, I don't want to get

  bug.

  Pippi Longstocking Doesn't Want to Grow

  Up backslash

  "You mean big," said Tommy.

  "If I say "bug" I mean

  "bug,""

  said Pippi. "That's the trick, you see. Most children

  say Trig," and that's the worst thing that can happen.

  Because then you start to grow more then ever. Once there was a

  boy who ate pills like these. He said Trig*

  instead of "bug" and he started growing until it was a

  nightmare- many, many feet every day. It was terrible.

  He was all right as long as he could go around grazing

  under the apple trees, the way a giraffe does.

  But then he got too big and that didn't work any

  longer. When some ladies came to visit and they

  wanted to say, "My, what a nice big boy

  you've grown up to be," they had to shout into a

  megaphone so that he would hear them. All you saw of

  him was his long, skinny legs disappearing up among the

  clouds like two flagpoles. He was never heard of

  after that-oh, yes, once he was. That was

  when he took a lick at the sun and got a blister

  on his tongue. Then he let out such a roar that the

  flowers down on earth wilted. But that was the last

  sign from him--although his legs are probably still wandering

  around down in Rio, making awful mix-ups in the

  traffic."

  "Oh, I wouldn't dare eat one of those pills,"

  said Annika, terrified, In case I might say

  the wrong thing."

  "You won't say the wrong thing," said Pippi re-

  assuringly. "If I thought you'd do that, I wouldn't

  give you one. Because it would be boring to have just your legs

  to play with. Tommy and me and your legs--that would be

  fine company."

  "You won't make a mistake, Annika," said

  Tommy.

  They turned the Christmas tree lights out. The

  kitchen was in complete darkness, except near the

  stove where the fire glowed behind the stove door. ,

  They sat down in silence in a circle in the middle

  of the floor, holding one another by the hand. Pippi

  gave Tommy and Annika each a chililug

  pill. Chills ran up and down their spines. Just

  think, in a second the powerful pill would be down in

  their stomachs, and then they would never have to grow

  up. How marvelous that would be!

  "Now," Pippi whispered.

  "Pretty little chililug, I don't want to get

  bug," they said all together and swallowed their pills.

  The deed was done.

  Pippi turned on the ceiling light. "That's it,"

  she said. "Now we don't have to be grown up and have

  corns and other miseries. Though the pills have been

  lying around in my closet for so long that one can't be

  absolutely sure that all the strength hasn't gone

  out of them. But we have to hope for the best."

  Annika suddenly thought of something. "Oh,

  Pippi Longstocking Doesn't Want to Grow

  Up

  Pippi," she said in alarm, "you were going to be a

  pirate when you grew up."

  "Pshaw, I can be one anyway," said Pippi.

  "I can still become a nasty