Pippi Goes on Board Page 9

on the horse and swung herself up behind them.

  "Back to Villa Villekulla!" she cried in a loud voice.

  At last Tommy and Annika understood. Tommy was so happy that he

  immediately broke out in his favorite song: "Here come the Swedes

  with a clang and a bang!"

  Annika had cried so much that she couldn't stop right away. She

  still sniffled, but only happy little sniffs that would soon end.

  Pippi's arms were around her stomach in a strong grip. She felt so

  safe! Oh, how wonderful everything was!

  "What'll we do today, Pippi?" asked Annika when her sniffles had

  stopped.

  "Well, play croquet, perhaps," answered Pippi.

  "Goody!" cried Annika, for she knew that even croquet would be

  quite different when Pippi played.

  "Or else-maybe-" said Pippi hesitatingly.

  All the children in the little town crowded around the horse to

  hear what Pippi said.

  "Or else," she said, "or else maybe we could run down to the river

  and practice walking on the water."

  "You can't walk on the water. You know that!" said Tommy.

  "Oh, it's not impossible," said Pippi. "In Cuba I once met a

  cabinet maker that..."

  The horse began to gallop, and the little children who crowded

  around him couldn't hear the rest of the story, but they stood a

  long, long time, looking after Pippi and her horse galloping toward

  Villa Villekulla. After a while Pippi and the horse looked like a

  little speck, far away, and finally they disappeared completely.