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
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
"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
"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