home Mascara Pippi Longstocking read all. A. Lindgren. Pippi Longstocking (book chapters)

Pippi Longstocking read all. A. Lindgren. Pippi Longstocking (book chapters)

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 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 in South Africa to grow into, 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 in Egypt walks like this, and no one is surprised 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, like 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 the whole 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, just 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!

“I’ve always been told that eggs are very good for hair,” she said, rubbing her eyes. – Now you will see how quickly my hair will begin to grow. Hear, they are already creaking. In Brazil, no one goes outside 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 chose from the saucepan the one that got there. eggshells. 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.

Pippi Long stocking Lingren's wonderful work, which was written more than sixty years ago. It was written for a sick daughter whom the author wanted to entertain. The name of the main character was invented by the girl for whom it was written this work. This is how Pippi Longstocking was born. The work consists of three parts. We will write them in chapters to simplify the work of our readers and briefly introduce the plot of the work.

Part 1. Pippi arrives at Villa Chicken

Reading Lingren's Pippi Longstocking briefly chapter by chapter, we are transported to a Swedish town with a moderate life. Children go to school, relax by the lake on weekends, and fall asleep in their cozy beds in the evening. This is how the days passed for the Settergrens, Tommy and Annika. However, the children dreamed that neighbors with children would appear in the house opposite, with whom they would become friends.

And now their dream comes true. A nine-year-old child appears in the house - an unusual girl named Pippi Longstocking. The child was unusual in that he arrived at the villa alone. The girl’s mother died long ago, and her sailor father was shipwrecked and no one saw him again. Pippi was convinced that he was alive and lived on some island. Until that time, she had been traveling with her father, and now, taking her faithful horse and monkey, she decided to stay in the city. As the author writes, this girl had enormous power, so she could easily carry the box of gold that she took from the ship.

Chapter: First meeting with Pippi

The Settergrens first saw the girl when she was walking backwards. Having asked Pippi why she walked like that, she began to come up with stories about Egypt and its inhabitants who walk exactly like that. But Annika and Tommy caught the heroine in a lie, and Pippi asked them not to be offended, because she often forgets what happened and what didn’t really happen. This is how children's friendship begins.

Already on the first day of acquaintance, the heroine invites her new acquaintances to her home. The children are surprised that such a little girl lives alone. They wonder who makes her sleep. Pippi talks about how she puts herself to bed and how she periodically gets punished by herself for not wanting to sleep.

Then the girl makes pancakes to treat her friends. When she was preparing the dough, she threw the eggs up and one of them broke on Pippi's hair. She immediately came up with a story about Brazil, where breaking an egg on your head was already legal.

Chapter: Pippi gets into a fight

The Settergrens got up early to run to their new friend, who was preparing flatbread at that time. After eating and leaving behind a kitchen stained with flour, the children go outside, where Pippi talks about her hobby. She talks about reporting, which she has been doing for many years. It consists of collecting things that people throw away or lose, after which you need to find a use for these things. As an example, the heroine finds a jar in which to store cookies and a spool, which she hangs on a rope around her neck.

While traveling through the streets, Pippi saw five guys mocking a girl, and she came to her defense. Surrounded by five boys who called the heroine red, the girl laughs out loud. The guys were upset, because they thought that she would cry in response to the hurtful words. Then the guy pushed the heroine and a fight ensued, during which the girl easily dealt with the boys.

Her friends also tried to engage in bookkeeping in the garden, but they had no finds. Following Pippi's hints, Annika finds a beautiful box, and Tommy finds a notebook with a pen. After which the main character goes to bed.

Chapter: How Pippi plays tag with the police

There is a rumor going around the city about a girl who lives without her parents. Adults believe that everyone should study and be supervised. They decide to send the girl to an orphanage. The police come to Pippi. They are trying to take the girl with them, and the policeman tried to grab Peppy, but she breaks free, pushing him in the back. So she insulted the man with whom she decided to play tag. The men fail to catch the girl.

She was elusive, and when they resorted to cunning and finally grabbed the child, Pippi dragged the police out the gate, treating them to buns. The police concluded that the child was not suitable for orphanage.

Chapter: Pippi goes to school

The girl’s friends go to school and they are sad that this time passes without a new friend. They persuade Pippi to study, but the girl did not agree, and only after learning that her friends will have holidays, but she will not, Pippi goes to school. There she was unable to answer a single question asked by the teacher, and soon she realized that she did not want to study. This is how the girl’s studies end.

Chapter: Pippi climbs into the hollow

One day the children were basking in the sun and chewing pears. The villa itself was located in a picturesque location on the outskirts of the city. Residents of the city often came here to take a break from the bustle of the city. An unfamiliar girl is interested in her dad, whom Pippi has not seen. However, she was in her repertoire and got into a conversation with a stranger, to whom she eventually told a made-up story. After that, she ran away without looking back. The children continued to enjoy the wonderful day. And then they decided to climb trees, something the heroine’s neighbors had never done before. And here are the children on the oak tree, where the girl suggested having a tea party. Afterwards the heroine sees a hollow, into which she immediately climbs. She really liked it there and invites her friends to climb. Overcoming their fear, Tommy and Anika also climb into the hollow.

Chapter: How Pippi organized an excursion

It's a sanitary day at school. Hearing about this, the girl started a sanitary day at home, cleaning the kitchen. Afterwards, Longstocking offers to take the monkey and go on an excursion.

The children walked along the highway, then went to the meadow, picked mushrooms and had a picnic. Having eaten, the children rested and suddenly Pippi wanted to learn to fly. Standing on the edge of the hill, she jumps off, scaring her friends. She said she couldn't fly because her belly was full. Then the children notice what is missing. The monkey disappeared. While searching for the monkey, Tommy came across a bull, who threw him on its horns. Pippi comes to the rescue, having killed the animal so much that the bull fell asleep. Having called the monkey and waited for it to come down from the tree, the children go home happy.

Chapter: How Pippi goes to the circus

A circus has come to town. Pippi goes there too. At the box office, the girl buys a ticket for gold coins, so she and her friends get the best seats. The girl began to watch the show where the horses were performing and when the rider showed a number, Pippi also jumped on the back of the horse. Miss Carmencita tried to throw her off, but the heroine shouted that she had paid for the ticket, so she also had the right to ride. They wanted to kick the girl out of the circus for this prank, but they couldn’t. The tightrope walker began to perform, but Pippi performed much better than her, later than strong man laid it on my shoulder blades.
After that, Pippi called the circus boring, sat down in a chair and fell asleep.

Chapter: Thieves get to Pippi

Thieves break into Pippi's house and want to take away a chest of gold. Having found out where the suitcase was, the thieves took it, but Pippi immediately took it away, tying up the thieves. The thieves began to ask them to have mercy, and the girl invites them to dance a twist. The thieves danced until they were tired, although the girl herself could dance for a long time. Afterwards, Pippi treats them to sandwiches and sends them home, giving them a coin each.

Chapter: Pippi is invited to a cup of tea

The Settergrens' mother bakes pies because noble ladies are coming to see her. She allows the children to call Longstocking. The girl appears dressed up, and the peace of the guests is disturbed by the appearance of Pippi. She behaves ugly at the table, ate all the pie and took all the sweets, telling different stories. Annika and Tommy’s mother regretted this more than once, and at the end of the evening she couldn’t stand it at all and kicked the girl out, telling her not to come to them anymore. Pippi apologized for her inability to behave and left.

Chapter: How Pippi saves babies

In this part, the author talks about an incredible adventure. There was a fire in the city and two small children were trapped in the burning house, to whom firefighters could not reach because of the short staircase. Peppa was not at a loss and saved the children, earning the praise of the townspeople.

Chapter: How Pippi celebrates her birthday

Peppiloma invites the Settergren children to his birthday party. Children are happy to go to her for the holiday, giving the birthday girl a music box. Pippi also gave gifts to her friends, and after that everyone played and had fun until late in the evening, hunting ghosts, playing games, until their dad came for the children.

Part 2. Pippi is getting ready to go on the road

This part will tell about different adventures, where Pippi goes shopping and gets the pharmacist, we also learn about how the heroine went to school for a short time, and then went on an excursion with the schoolchildren.

Chapter: Pippi on a school trip

Children go to the forest with their teacher. Pippi is with them. There they play Beast, and after the excursion they go to visit one of the students. On the way, the girl met a man who abused a horse. The girl taught the man a lesson by forcing him to carry the bags himself. At the tea party, Pippi again showed bad manners and then the teacher told me how to behave when visiting. The girl listens with interest.

Chapter: Pippi is shipwrecked

Pippi decides to go with her friends to an uninhabited island located on the lake. Having prepared the old boat, the children set off. However, the boat begins to sink and Pippi orders everyone to save themselves. And here are the children on the island. They live like Robinsons. They have fun, they eat and sleep by the fire. But the time comes to return home, because Annika and Tommy's parents will soon arrive home. However, there is no boat. Pippi offers to write a letter and send it in a bottle, and later admits that she took the boat away so that it would not flood, because it was raining. The boys are worried that now they won’t be able to return home before their parents.

The parents arrived and saw a note where the heroine asked not to worry, informing them that their children would be in a small shipwreck.

Chapter: Pippi receives a dear guest

Our heroine has been living in the villa for almost a year and all this time she has been friends with Tommy and Annika. One day, sitting in the garden, the children were talking about life and suddenly Pippi jumped up and threw herself on the neck of a man who appeared at the gate. It was her father - the captain.

As it turned out, he really got caught in a storm that threw him onto the island. The island was called Veselia. There, local residents almost killed the captain, but seeing his strength, they made him king. He also told about how his days passed, where he ruled the island, and then built a ship to go after his daughter. And so, having given many instructions, the man set off. But you can’t hesitate, because you need to get back to your subjects in time.

The children go home upset. Pippi is planning a farewell feast. In the morning, friends go to Pippi. They find out that the girl is really going to leave. As she said that she would return to the villa when she was retired. To say goodbye, the girl throws a farewell feast.

In the morning the girl said goodbye to the villa and went to the port. The neighborhood kids were happy and sad at the same time. They were happy that the girl met her father, but they were sad because their friend would soon leave forever. Already at the port, when Tommy and Annika were seeing Peppa off, the guys burst into tears so much that Peppiloma got off the ship, telling her father that children at her age should not swim, but need a measured life. Pippi stays behind, having received another suitcase of gold from her father.

Part 3. They buy a villa from Pippi

Once a stranger came to the town, saw a villa and wanted to buy it. At the villa he found only children, to whom he began to tell how he would cut down trees here and put everything in order, how he would not let anyone else in here. But I couldn’t wait for the owner. Having started a squabble with Peppa, he was kicked out. No one else saw the respectable man in the city.

Chapter: Pippi encourages Aunt Laura

Friends do not come to the neighbor and she decides to go to them herself. There she sees the children, their mother and aunt. It was because of the appearance of their aunt in their house that the children stayed at home. Pippi wanted to stay and talk with her aunt. As a result, the girl finds out that her aunt is not feeling well and immediately talks about her grandmother, who had a brick fall on her head, or how she ran into a double bass while dancing tango with her dad. Pippi began to tell stories, but they kept trying to shut her up. And so the heroine, grabbing a cracker, began to leave, and the aunt also got ready to go.

Chapter: Peppa is looking for cucaryamba

Neighboring children came to Pippi, who learned a new word and tried to find this object. It was a cucaryamba. Nobody knew what it was and the children went in search of this item. At first they thought it was something edible, but no one in the store had heard of such a product, just as no one in the hospital had heard of such a disease. And then the children met an unknown beetle. Pippi shouted that this was the cucaryamba.

Chapter: Pippi receives a letter

Autumn has passed, winter has come. Annika and Tommy get measles. A neighbor amuses her friends by putting on performances under her window. With the help of a monkey, the girl delivers fruits and letters. And now the friends are healthy, they are at Peppa’s, eating porridge and listening to stories. And then they bring the girl a letter, where the father says that his daughter should go to him in Veselia, where all the subjects are already looking forward to the princess.

Chapter: Pippi sets sail

And then Captain Ephraim arrived. Everyone met him on the shore. Pippi invited her father to the villa, where she fed him well. While he was sleeping, she got into a conversation with friends, where she dreamed of swimming and an unknown country. The children listened to her with sadness and then the girl announced that she was taking Annika and Tommy with her. The children do not believe this, because their parents will never let them go. However, Longstocking manages to ask them to leave and now they are all on the ship.

Chapter: Pippi comes ashore

The ship enters Veselia Bay. They are joyfully welcomed by the residents. My father showed the places where he was washed up in a shipwreck, where a monument is now erected. The king-father began to rule, Pippi took a place on the throne and people began to kneel in front of her. But the girl didn’t need it, she only needed the throne to play. Later the children talk about how beautiful the island was.

Chapter: Pippi talks to the shark

Children on the beach, a girl tells local residents about life in another country. Everyone listens to her with interest. Later, when the adults went hunting, the children wanted to see the caves. There, Tommy falls into the water and is attacked by a shark, which Pippi lifts above the water and scolds. She swims away in fright. And Tommy cried from fear and pain, because the shark had bitten his leg. Pippi also cried later. Why? Because she felt sorry for the shark that remained hungry.

Chapter: Explanations with Jim and Book

The children continued to the cave, where there were many food supplies. One could live comfortably there for several weeks. From the cave, the children see the steamer on which the sailors Buk and Jim were. These were bandits. They arrived on the island while the adults were away to take the pearls from the children who were playing with the jewelry.

The children watched what was happening. The robbers, seeing the children, began to ask them to give up the pearls, but Pippi told them to climb into the cave themselves. However, they were unable to climb there. The robbers began to wait, because they were sure that the children would leave the cave themselves when they got hungry. Thunderstorm began. Children sleep in a cozy cave, while sailors get wet in the rain.

Chapter: Pippi taught the bandits a lesson

Morning has come. The horse and monkey began to worry about the absence of children and went in search of them. The sailors, seeing the horse, grabbed it and began to threaten that they would kill it. Pippi comes down to give the pearls, but she has nothing in her hands. Book and Jim threaten to kill her too, but the girl, who was very strong, instantly beat them, threw them into the boat and pushed them away from the shore. A few minutes later the ship of the robbers was no longer seen. The sailors no longer came to the shores of the mysterious country. At this time, the captain and his subjects returned from hunting. When asked if anything happened in his absence, the girl said that nothing serious happened.

Chapter: Pippi leaves Veselia

It was interesting in Veselia, the children were well tanned, played constantly, wandered through the jungle, admired the waterfall. Days gave way to nights, the rainy season was about to begin, and the father was worried that his daughter would feel bad here. And Annika and Timm began to miss their parents. And now the children return home. And although the wind was fair, they did not have time for Christmas. This upset the children, but they were still happy to be returning home. And now the city is already visible.

Pippi took the children home on horseback, and, contrary to the Settergrens’ offer to stay with them, she went to her villa.

Chapter: Pippi doesn't want to be an adult

The Settergrens were delighted with their children, fed them and put them to bed, and listened to stories for a long time. However, the children were sad that they missed the Christmas tree, gifts, and they were also thinking about their friend, who was now spending the night in a cold house.

In the morning, the children wanted to visit the girl, but the mother did not let them in at first, as she wanted to be with them. But soon she gave in to the persuasion, and the children ran to Peppilome. There they saw a beautiful picture. A snow-covered house, cleared paths, a candle is burning and Pippi invites them to the Christmas holiday, where there was a festive dinner, a Christmas tree stood and gifts were hidden. The girl surprised her friends with this, because the holiday had passed. The characters in the work looked out the window and wondered how the next day they would build a snow house in the yard, on which they would play and have a trampoline. The characters conclude that they don’t want to become adults, because the lives of adults are boring and they don’t know how to have fun.

Pippi takes out the peas and calls them anti-aging pills. The children swallow the peas after casting a spell. Brother and sister go home, having agreed to meet their neighbor the next day. At home, they looked out the window and saw a friend sitting at the table with her arms crossed and her head resting on them. The children were happy that Pippi lived in the neighboring house and would always live there. Years will pass, and they will not grow up, unless of course the pills are real. They thought about how they would build a house, how they would climb a tree, how they would go to Veselia, and then always return home. The children thought that if Pippi looked out the window now, they would definitely wave to her. But the girl peered into the candle flame with sleepy eyes, and then blew out the fire.

This concludes the amazing story about a girl named Pippi Longstocking in our brief summary.

4.8 (95.35%) 129 votes

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 in South Africa to grow into, 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 in Egypt walks like this, and no one is surprised 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, like 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 the whole 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, just 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. – Now you will see how quickly my hair will begin to grow. Hear, they are already creaking. In Brazil, no one goes outside 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 up. 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 got into 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 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, resting 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, 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.

Current page: 1 (book has 15 pages total) [available reading passage: 4 pages]

Astrid Lindgren
Pippi Longstocking (compilation)

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

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

- 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 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 in South Africa to grow into, 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 walked along the street, stepping on the sidewalk with one foot, and on the pavement with the other. 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?

- 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 in general I 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, like they do in India?

- He’ll be lying! - said Tommy.

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, it’s 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 the whole Belgian Congo there is not a person who would say at least 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.

- 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 remember 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 father nor a mother?

- Well, yes! – Pippi exclaimed joyfully.

– Who tells you in the evenings: “It’s time to go to bed”?

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!

“I’ve always been told that eggs are very good for hair,” she said, rubbing her eyes. – Now you will see how quickly my hair will begin to grow. Hear, they are already creaking. In Brazil, no one goes outside 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 police cars with loudspeakers had to be called in 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.

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. In the box there was 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. Mister Nilsson waved his hat at them in farewell.

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 dreams 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 immediately drink chocolate.

-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 flatbreads.”

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. When 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 flatbreads. 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 onto the baking sheets and how she put the baking sheets into 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 things 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 up. 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 true,” Pippi explained, “but it also 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 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... Well, if you don’t want to take him, fine, let him lie there. It’s just a shame that other dealers will come and pick up this guy.

“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 found rusty can, 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 entire 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 blow soap bubbles from it! 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, it’s still better to do it one on one, and not to attack with five of you.

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, resting 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 pulled his hand away 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 even better, cry; and I certainly did not expect that she would look at them calmly and even friendly. Making sure that words wouldn’t 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 talk 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 notebook bound in leather 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 a red coral necklace was 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, “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 something from under the blanket strange noises. 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?

- Why guess! – Tommy answered. – With Pippi you never know what’s what, that’s already clear to me.

A humorous story by a famous Swedish writer about wonderful travels and the funny adventures of a girl named Pippi Longstocking, who had a kind heart, a generous soul and a very hot head.

Pippi moves into the villa "Chicken"

I. How Pippi settled in the “Chicken” villa

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

My dad is the 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!

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

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.

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 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 in South Africa to grow into, and Pippi never wanted to wear others.

Why are you backing away like a cancer?

Why am I sticking out 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 in Egypt walks like this, and no one is surprised 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, let me tell you: 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, like 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, it’s 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 the whole 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.

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.”

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 don't have a mom or a dad?

Well, yes! - Pippi exclaimed joyfully.

And who tells you in the evening: “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!

“I’ve always been told that eggs are very good for your 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 outside 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...

Eat! - she shouted. - Eat quickly before it gets cold.

“Now take your gifts and go home,” Pippi suddenly said. - After all, if you don’t leave here, then tomorrow you won’t be able to come to me again. And that would be a great pity.

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 go quickly to that strange girl in big shoes.

Tommy woke up immediately.

You know, even in my dreams 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.

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 nice of you to drop 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,” Pippi answered. - 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.

What are you going to do, I don't know. 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 things 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 ones,” Pippi explained. - And gold bars, and ostrich feathers, and dead rats, and colorful 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 up. 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.

As a rule, this is so, - Pippi explained, - but it also 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.

“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 many 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.

But now I 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 found rusty can, which also turned out to be full of holes, and, after thinking, said:

But this jar is more reminiscent of 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 jar, “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 blow soap bubbles from it! 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 got into 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 to attack with five people.

Hey guys, come on over to Ville and look at this scarecrow! - He pointed to Pippi. - That's how kikimora!

No, just look at her hair! - Bengt did not let up. - Red, like 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.

Hey you cowards! - Pippi finally exclaimed. - Five of you attack one girl - this is 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 am 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 a blanket under me.

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, “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 guesswork,” 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.

Oh! - 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 had decided to give her a place in orphanage.

“And I already live in an orphanage,” Pippi answered.

What 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 won’t understand this,” said another 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.

“For nine whole years I’ve been doing just fine without this table of respect,” Pippi answered, “which means I’ll continue to live without it.”

Just think, 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’ll 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 an orphanage and there was no need to chat 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.

What 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 the other 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, why get angry in vain?

The police were silent for a while, and finally one of them said embarrassedly:

Listen, girl, be kind enough 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 want, drink 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 to the kitchen. Soon she reappeared, holding a bun in her hands.

Please try it! 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 o'clock they set off hand in hand and with textbooks in their bags.

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.

Passing by the Chicken Villa, Tommy and Annika looked longingly over the fence - they really wanted to turn here and play with their new girlfriend all day. Now, if Pippi also went to school, they wouldn’t be so upset about spending so much time studying.

How much 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, eh? - 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, even the short ones,” she continued pitifully. - 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 at exactly 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 a new girl called Pippi Longstocking was coming to class. 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,” Pippi answered. - 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 my diminutive name. Dad thought it took too long to pronounce Peppilotta.

“I see,” said the teacher. - Then we will also call you Pippi. 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 “frenken.”

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 that, 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 his money so much?” 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 there was a large letter “Y”.

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 people talk about snakes, I always remember how I fought 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 that 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, stammering:

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 this won’t bring pleasure to anyone.”

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 ride 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,” Pippi answered. - 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 come through here?

What does he look like, your dad? - asked Pippi. - He has blue eyes?

Yes, said the girl.

He is of average height, neither tall nor short...

Yes, yes... - the girl confirmed.

In a black hat and black boots...

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 was very lucky! - Pippi laughed and spat out the grains.

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, such people don’t exist. “At least in our country,” Pippi added after a pause. - Here 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 it would rain, 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 his ears and sat there until his poor wife gave in and named 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.

“All this is nonsense,” the strange girl suddenly said.

That’s exactly what Hai-Shang said, literally these words,” 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 did not eat anything from May to October? - Tommy was surprised.

But he didn’t live. He died on the eighteenth of October - “out of pure 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. - Do not 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 may not have been the most exquisite varieties of roses, but they smelled excellent. 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 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 there was 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 there now too! - Tommy exclaimed. - Okay, Pippi? - But there was no answer.

Pippi! Where are you? - Tommy asked anxiously.

I'm in a tree! It is empty to the very 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 will 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 these sobs? - 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 located 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.

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 that 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, “it’s 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 a large cauldron of water and, without hesitation, poured hot water straight to 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 mop the floor, I always feel like I'm a champion figure skating“,” she said and lifted her left leg so high that the brush fell off her 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,” Pippi said 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,” Pippi answered. - 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 not familiar with them,” Pippi objected.

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!

Close your eyes while I play the tablecloth game.

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.

Don't, never, ever take a monkey with you when 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 appeared. 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.

Well, how can I not be angry with Mr. Nilsson? It's always like that with him. Once in Sarabay, 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 brute,” 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 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 feel like taking 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 quite sad. And in fact, it’s 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, besides, Mr. Nilsson knows how to cook meatballs perfectly, 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 a cheese shop, 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.

Why 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 this,” 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 am rich, like Koschey the Immortal, and I can certainly 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? And 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 not see anything!

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 watch you?

But the lady was a foreigner, she did not understand what Pippi was asking her, and answered in broken language:

Vevochka, the worst 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? - asked Pippi, 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 have to pay for music too, 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, - Pippi shouted to her, - now I’ll have a little fun too! Do you think you're the only one who wants to ride a horse? 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.

Has the number already ended? - 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 performing various acrobatic tricks... It was very beautiful room. 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!

However, Pippi decided that it was time for her to return to Tommy and Annika. She jumped off the director's back and sat decorously in her seat, waiting for the next number to begin. But the director lingered behind the scenes: after everything that had happened, he needed to drink a glass of water and tidy up his suit and hair. Then he came out to the audience, bowed and said:

My dear ladies and gentlemen! Now you will see one miracle of nature. The strongest person on earth! The strongman Adolf, whom no one has ever defeated! Attention, Adolf is coming!

The music started playing, and a huge guy in a flesh-colored tights decorated with sequins jumped out onto the arena. The skin of a leopard adorned his shoulders. Adolf bowed to the audience with a smug smile.

Pay attention to his muscles,” the director said and patted the strongman on the shoulder - the muscles on his arms swelled like billiard balls.

Now, dear ladies and gentlemen, I have one interesting offer for you: the one who wakes up the victorious strongman Adolf receives one hundred crowns. Accept the challenge of the strongman Adolf and - a hundred fascist crowns!

But no one entered the arena.

Why does he speak so unclearly? What did he say? - asked Pippi.

He says that he will give a hundred crowns to the one who defeats this big guy,” Tommy explained.

“I can, of course, put it on both shoulder blades,” said Pippi. - But, in my opinion, it’s not worth it - he looks so cute.

Why are you bragging, Pippi! After all, he is the strongest guy in the world,” Annika whispered.

I believe. Well, I’m the strongest girl in the world,” Pippi objected. - Don't forget this!

Meanwhile, the strongman Adolf lifted heavy weights and bent pieces of iron rails to prove how strong he was.

So, gentlemen, - shouted the circus director, - is there really such a daredevil who will accept Adolf’s challenge? Well, then I'll hide these hundred crowns! - he finished, waving a hundred-dollar piece of paper.

No, I can’t allow this,” Peppy said decisively and jumped over the barrier into the arena.

When the director saw Pippi again, he became indescribably furious.

Disappear!.. So that my eyes never see you again! - he shouted.

Why do you treat me so badly? - Pippi asked reproachfully. - I just want to measure my strength with Adolf.

This trashy little girl knows no shame! - the director yelled. - Get out! Otherwise, the strongman Adolf will grind you into powder!..

But Pippi, not paying attention to the circus director, approached the strongman Adolf, took his hand and shook it heartily.

Well, let’s fight one on one,” she said.

The strongman Adolf, not understanding anything, stared at her.

Keep in mind, in a minute I’ll start without warning,” Pippi said.

So she did. When a minute passed, Pippi pounced on the strong man Adolf, and... no one noticed how it happened... but everyone saw that Adolf was lying stretched out on the carpet. The strong man immediately jumped to his feet. It was crimson red.

Hurray, Pippi! - Tommy and Annika shouted.

And after them all the spectators began to shout:

Hurray, Pippi! Hurray, Pippi!

The circus director sat on the arena barrier and bit his lips in anger. But the strongman Adolf was even more angry than the director. In his entire life he had never experienced such shame. Now he will show this red-haired girl what he is worth! Adolf rushed at Pippi, grabbed her with his muscular arms and tried to throw her to the ground, but Pippi stood firm like a rock.

Come on, come on, one more time, come on, press! - she encouraged Adolf.

But then Pippi escaped from his embrace, and a moment later Adolf was already lying on the carpet again. Pippi stood next to him and waited. She didn't have to wait long. With a furious cry, Adolf jumped to his feet and attacked Pippi once again.

Gili-dili-dili-pom! - Pippi exclaimed.

And all the people in the circus threw their hats in the air, kicked their feet and screamed at the top of their lungs:

Hurray, Pippi! Hurray, Pippi!

When the strongman Adolf ran into Pippi for the third time, she threw him into the air, caught him in mid-flight and carried him around the arena with her raised hand. Then Pippi threw him onto the carpet again and, holding him down with her knee so that he wouldn’t get up, said:

Well, baby, I don't think I should bother with you anymore. In any case, it won't be any more fun.

Pippi won! Pippi won! - the audience shouted.

The strongman Adolf shamefully fled from the arena, and the circus director was forced to hand Pippi a hundred-dollar piece of paper, although he looked as if he wanted to eat the girl.

Please, dear ladies, take your hundred crowns.

What do I need this piece of paper for? Put it in your pocket if you want. - And Pippi sat down in her place.

This circus is boring, she told Tommy and Annika, and a nap is never bad. But if you need my help, wake me up.

Pippi made herself comfortable in the chair and fell asleep. So she snored sweetly while the clowns, sword swallowers and gutta-percha people showed their art for Tommy, Annika and all the other spectators.

But still I believe that best number was Pippi’s number,” said Tommy, turning to Annika.

VIII. How thieves get to Pippi

After Pippi's performance in the circus, there was not a single person left in the entire small town who had not heard about her incredible physical strength. They even wrote about her in the newspapers. But people from other cities did not know, of course, what kind of amazing girl Pippi was.

One dark autumn evening, two tramps walked past the Chicken Villa. These were real thieves - they wandered around the country to see where they could steal something. Seeing the light in Pippi's windows, they decided to go in and ask for a piece of bread and butter. And it had to happen that just that evening Pippi poured all the gold coins out of her leather suitcase directly onto the floor and counted them. There were so many coins that Pippi would never be able to count them anyway. But she still tried to do it - for the sake of order.

Seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine, seventy-eleven, seventy-twelve, seventy-thirteen, seventy-seventeen... Oh, how tired my neck is!.. Probably, when there is such a pile of gold, people somehow... they think otherwise, otherwise how can one count so much money? How many of them there are - either four hundred or a thousand coins!

Just at that moment there was a knock on the door.

If you want, come in, if you don’t want, don’t come in, do as you please! - she shouted.

The door opened and the thieves entered the room. You can imagine the expression on their faces when they saw a red-haired girl sitting on the floor, counting gold coins.

Are you home alone? - one of them asked her when the power of speech returned to him.

“Not at all,” Pippi answered, “Mr. Nilsson is here too.”

How could the thieves know that Mr. Nilsson was a little monkey, who at that time was fast asleep in his wooden crib, painted in green color? They, of course, thought that Mr. Nilsson was the owner of the house, and they winked knowingly, as if saying to each other: “Well, we’ll look here later.”

“We came to you to find out what time it is,” said another thief.

They were so excited at the sight of the gold coins that they did not even ask for bread.

“First of all, guess the riddle,” said Pippi. - “They walk and walk, but they won’t leave their place” - what is this? And if you know any riddles, tell me one too...

The thieves decided that Pippi was too young to tell what time it was. And, without saying a word, they turned to the door and left.

Eh, you big guys, you couldn’t guess that it was a watch. Well, please go away! - Pippi shouted after them and busied herself with her coins.

And the thieves stood on the street and rubbed their hands with pleasure.

Have you ever seen so much money? - one asked the other. - Wow!

“We’re very lucky today,” said another.

Let's wait a little until the girl and this Mr. Nilsson fall asleep, and then we'll climb into their house and take away all the money.

The thieves sat down comfortably in the garden and began to wait. Soon it started pouring rain, they were wet to the skin, and they were also tormented by hunger. In a word, they were not very comfortable, but the thought of the upcoming theft encouraged them.

One after another, the windows in all the surrounding houses went out, but in Pippi’s house the fire was still burning. The fact is that Pippi decided today at all costs to learn how to dance the twist and vowed not to go to bed until she accurately performed all the complex figures of this dance. But eventually the lights went out in her house too.

The thieves waited a little longer so that Mr. Nilsson could fall asleep soundly. They then quietly crept to the back door and took out their master keys, intending to pick the lock. One of the thieves - his name was Blom - accidentally pressed the doorknob. It turned out that the door was not locked.

Look how stupid people are, they don’t lock the door at night,” Blom whispered.

“So much the better for us,” replied his friend nicknamed Bruiser Karl.

He turned on the flashlight and illuminated the kitchen. But in the kitchen they did not find anything interesting for themselves. Then they moved to the room where Pippi was sleeping and Mr. Nilsson’s green doll bed stood.

Opening the door slightly, the Bruiser cautiously looked into the room: it was quiet and dark. The big man Karl began to search the walls with a flashlight beam. When the beam fell on Pippi's bed, the thieves, to their great surprise, saw only two legs lying on the pillow. Pippi slept as usual, with her feet on a pillow and her head covered with a blanket.

This is apparently the same girl,” the Brute whispered to Karl Blom. - She's fast asleep. I wonder where this Nilsson sleeps?

Mister Nilsson, with your permission,” a voice came from under the blanket, “I ask you to call him Mister Nilsson.” He sleeps in a green doll bed.

The frightened thieves wanted to run away immediately, but then the meaning of Pippi’s words dawned on them: Mr. Nilsson was sleeping, it turns out, in a doll’s crib! They illuminated the crib with a flashlight and the sleeping monkey covered with a blanket in it.

The bully Karl couldn’t help but laugh.

Just think, Blom,” he said, laughing, “Mr. Nilsson is a monkey.” Ha ha ha! Monkey!

And who would you like him to be,” Pippi’s voice was heard again, “a meat grinder, or what?”

Where are your dad and mom, girl? - asked Blom.

“They are never at home,” Pippi answered.

The bully Karl and Blom were so surprised that they even cackled.

Listen, girl,” said Bruiser Karl, “get out of bed, we want to talk to you.”

So, you finally decided to play riddles with me? Well, then first guess the one that I already told you: “They are walking and walking, but they won’t leave their place.”

But Blom resolutely walked up to the bed and pulled the blanket off Pippi.

Listen,” said Pippi, looking seriously into his eyes, “can you dance the twist?” I learned today.

“You ask too many questions,” said Bruiser Karl. “And now we’ll ask you: where did you hide the money that you were counting on the floor in the evening?”

“They’re in the closet, in the suitcase,” Pippi answered innocently.

I hope you don't mind if we take this suitcase, baby? - asked Bruiser Karl.

Please, said Pippi.

Blom went to the closet and took out a suitcase.

And now, I hope, little one, you won’t mind either if I take my suitcase back? - asked Pippi.

Pippi jumped to her feet and ran to Blom. Before he had time to come to his senses, the suitcase was already in the girl’s hands.

Stop making jokes, little one,” said Bruiser Karl angrily, “give me the suitcase!” - And he grabbed Pippi tightly by the hand.

And I just want to joke with you! - Pippi exclaimed and threw Bruiser Karl onto the closet. A minute later Blom was there too.

Here both thieves were seriously frightened - they realized that this was an unusual girl in front of them, but the gold seduced them so much that they somehow coped with their fear.

Come on, Blom! - shouted the Bruiser Karl, and both, jumping from the closet, attacked Pippi, who was still holding the suitcase in her hands.

But Pippi poked everyone with her index finger, and the thieves flew off to different corners of the room. Before they could get up from the floor, Pippi grabbed a long rope and tied their hands and feet in no time. Here our thieves changed the record, as they say.

Blom also began to beg for mercy and even shed a tear.

Pippi carefully put the suitcase back in the closet. Then she turned to her captives:

Do any of you know how to dance the twist?

“But how can we do it,” the Bruiser Karl readily responded, “we both know how to do it.”

That's great! - Pippi exclaimed and clapped her hands. - Let's Dance? I just learned this dance today.

“With pleasure,” said Bruiser Karl. But he looked somewhat embarrassed.

Then Pippi brought huge scissors and cut the rope with which the thieves were tied.

But the problem is, there is no music,” Pippi said worriedly.

However, she immediately found a way out. - Maybe you will play on a comb with tissue paper? - she turned to Blom. “And I’ll dance with this,” Pippi pointed at Bruiser Karl.

Blom, of course, willingly began to play the comb, and Karl the Brute - to dance. Blom played so loudly that his music could be heard throughout the house. Mr. Nilsson woke up and, sitting up on the bed, watched with pleasure as Pippi circled around the room with Bruiser Karl. Pippi danced with such passion, as if her life depended on this dance.

In the end, Blom said that he could not play with the comb because his lips were very ticklish. And Bruiser Karl, who had been wandering along the roads all day, said that his legs hurt.

No, no, my dears, I haven’t danced, at least a little more,” Pippi said and began to dance again.

And Blom had to play again, and Bruiser Karl had no choice but to start dancing again.

ABOUT! “I could dance until Thursday,” said Pippi when it struck three in the morning, “but maybe you’re tired and hungry?”

The thieves were really tired and hungry, but they did not dare admit it.

Pippi took bread, cheese, butter, ham, a piece of cold veal, a jug of milk from the buffet, and all of them - Blom, Bruiser Karl and Pippi - sat down at the kitchen table and began to devour both cheeks until they were full. Pippi poured the rest of the milk into her ear.

No the best remedy against ear inflammation,” she explained.

Poor thing, does your ear hurt? - exclaimed Blom.

No, it doesn’t hurt at all, but it can get sick.

In the end, the thieves stood up, warmly thanked them for the food, and began to say goodbye.

I'm so glad you came to see me! Is it really time for you to leave? - Pippi asked sadly. “I’ve never met a person who dances the twist better than you,” she said to Bruiser Karl. “And you,” she turned to Blom, “should practice playing the comb more often, then your lips won’t be ticklish.”

When the thieves were already at the door, Pippi gave each of them a gold coin.

“You earned them honestly,” she said.

IX. How Pippi is invited for a cup of coffee

One day, Tommy and Annika’s mother invited several noble ladies to a cup of coffee. On this occasion, she baked pies and decided that it would be fair if she allowed the children to invite her new girlfriend. “I’ll be even calmer,” she thought. “The children will play together and will not distract me from the guests.”

When Tommy and Annika heard that they could invite Pippi to their place, they were indescribably delighted and immediately ran to invite her to visit.

They found Pippi in the garden. She watered the last stunted autumn flowers from an old rusty watering can. It was drizzling, and Tommy noticed that in such weather the flowers were not watered.

It’s easy for you to say,” Pippi objected angrily, “but maybe I didn’t sleep a minute all night and dreamed about how I would water the flowerbed in the morning.” Am I really going to let my dream not come true because of some lousy rain! No! This won't happen!..

But then Annika announced good news: her mother was inviting Pippi for a cup of coffee.

Me? For a cup of coffee? - Pippi exclaimed and became so excited that she began to water Tommy’s rose bush instead. - Oh!.. What should I do!.. I’m so nervous!.. What if I won’t be able to behave as I should?..

What are you doing, Pippi, you will behave perfectly! - Annika reassured her.

No... No... that’s still unknown,” Pippi objected. - I will try, you can believe me, but I’ve been told many times that I don’t know how to behave, although I try my best... It’s not that easy at all... But I promise you that this time I will be right out of my skin climb so you don’t have to blush for me.

That’s great,” said Tommy, and the children ran home in the rain.

Don't forget, at three o'clock sharp! - Annika shouted from afar, looking out from under the umbrella.

Exactly three hours before front door Pippi Longstocking stood in the villa where the Settergren family lived. She was dressed to the nines. She let her hair down, and it fluttered in the wind like a lion's mane. She painted her lips brightly with red chalk, and smeared soot on her eyebrows so thickly that she looked simply terrifying. She also painted her nails with crayons, and attached huge green pom-poms to her shoes. “Now I’m sure that I will be the most beautiful at this feast,” Pippi muttered contentedly, ringing the doorbell.

Three respectable ladies, Tommy and Annika and their mother, were already sitting in the Settergrens’ living room. The table was festively set. A fire was blazing in the fireplace. The ladies talked quietly with their mother, and Tommy and Annika, sitting on the sofa, looked at the album. Everything breathed peace.

But suddenly the peace was suddenly broken:

R-rr-guns on the-rr-revance!

This deafening command came from the hallway, and a moment later Pippi Longstocking stood on the threshold of the living room. Her scream was so loud and so unexpected that the respectable ladies simply jumped in their chairs.

R-r-rota, step-oo-m mar-r-rsh! - And Pippi, taking a slow step, walked up to Mrs. Settergren and warmly shook her hand.

Bend your knees smoothly! Ah, two, three! - she shouted and curtsied.

Smiling from ear to ear at the hostess, Pippi spoke in a normal voice:

The fact is that I’m incredibly shy, and if I hadn’t ordered myself, I would still be stomping around in the hallway, not daring to enter.

Then Pippi walked around all three ladies and kissed each one on the cheek.

Charmant. Charmant. Great honor! - she repeated at the same time. This phrase was once uttered in front of her by an elegant gentleman when he was introduced to a lady.

Then she sat down in the softest chair. Fru Settergren expected the children to go upstairs to Tommy and Annika's room when their friend arrived, but Pippi - it was clear - was not going to move. She patted her knees, every now and then glancing at the set table, and suddenly said:

The table looks very appetizing. When will we start?

Just at that moment, Ella, the girl who was helping Mrs. Settergren with the housework, entered the living room and brought in a steaming coffee pot.

Please come to the table,” Mrs. Settergren addressed the guests.

C'mon, I'm first! - Pippi shouted, and before the respectable ladies had time to get up from their chairs, she already found herself at the table.

Without hesitation, she put a whole mountain of sweets on her plate, threw seven lumps of sugar into a cup, poured at least half a jug of cream into it and, leaning back in her chair, pulled all her spoils towards her.

Having placed the dish with the sweet pie on her lap, Pippi with extraordinary speed began to dip the cookies in the coffee and put them in her mouth. She stuffed her mouth so full of cookies that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t say a word. With the same swiftness she dealt with the pie. Then, jumping up from her seat, Pippi began hitting the plate like a tambourine and circling around the table, looking for something else to enjoy. The respectable ladies cast disapproving glances at her, but she did not notice them. Chirping merrily, Pippi continued to jump around the table, every now and then putting a cake, a caramel, or a cookie into her mouth.

How nice of you to invite me. I've never been invited for a cup of coffee before.

In the middle of the table was a huge butter cake decorated with a red candied flower. For a minute, Pippi stood with her hands behind her back, unable to take her eyes off the red flower, and suddenly she bent over the cake and bit out the entire candied flower from it. She did it so quickly that she smeared herself up to her ears with cream.

Ha-ha-ha,” Pippi laughed. - Now let's play blind man's buff. But I have to drive all the time, I can't see anything.

Pippi stuck out her tongue and began to lick her lips and cheeks.

Needless to say, trouble happened,” she said. - But since the cake died anyway, I have no choice but to finish it as quickly as possible.

No sooner said than done. Armed with a spatula, Pippi quickly devoured the cake and patted her stomach with a satisfied look.

At this time, Mrs. Settergren had just gone into the kitchen to get something, so she did not know what was happening in the living room. But the other ladies looked sternly at Pippi. Apparently, they also wanted to try this cake. Pippi noticed that the ladies were unhappy and decided to encourage them.

“You shouldn’t be upset over trifles,” she told them. - Take care of your health. You should always have fun when visiting.

She grabbed a sugar bowl with sawn sugar and dumped the sugar on the floor.

Oh, what have I done! How could I have made a mistake! After all, I thought it was granulated sugar. They say it right: when trouble comes, open the gate. If you spill sawn sugar, there is only one way to get out of the situation: you must immediately sprinkle sand.

Pippi grabbed another sugar bowl from the table, this time with granulated sugar and, having filled her mouth full of sand, began to blow with all her might, spraying sand around the room like a fountain.

If this doesn't help, then nothing will!

And she turned the sugar bowl over and poured the remaining sand onto the floor.

I ask everyone to pay attention, this time I was not mistaken, I scattered granulated sugar, not lump sugar, which means I corrected my mistake. Do you know how nice it is to walk on sand? - she asked the respectable ladies and, without hesitation, took off her shoes and stockings.

I assure you, you should try it too,” she turned to the ladies again. - There is nothing better in the world, believe me!

Just at that moment Mrs. Settergren returned from the kitchen. Seeing that sugar was scattered all over the floor, she suddenly grabbed Pippi by the hand and led her to the sofa where Tommy and Annika were sitting. She herself sat down with her guests and offered them another cup of coffee. Having discovered that the cake had disappeared without a trace, Mrs. Settergren was very happy, deciding that the ladies truly appreciated her culinary art.

Pippi, Tommy and Annika were talking quietly on the sofa. The fire was still burning in the fireplace. The ladies drank coffee, and peace and quiet reigned in the living room again. And as always, when the ladies drink coffee, the conversation turned to domestic workers. They talked about how difficult it is to find a good, hard-working girl now and how careless they all are about their responsibilities. And the ladies agreed that it’s not worth having domestic workers at all, it’s better to do everything yourself - at least you’ll know that everything was done conscientiously. Pippi sat on the sofa and silently listened to the ladies' conversation.

“My grandmother had a worker whose name was Malin,” she suddenly said loudly. - This Malin had only one drawback: she was tormented by calluses on her feet. As soon as guests came to her grandmother, Malin would rush at them, trying to bite them in the calf. And she swore... Oh! How she swore! You could hear it the whole block! However, she did not always curse, but only when she was in a cheerful mood. But the guests had no idea that Malin was having so much fun. And then one day a very old lady, the pastor’s wife, came to visit my grandmother. Malin had just arrived at her grandmother’s. Before the pastor’s wife had time to sit down in the chair, Malin burst into the room and grabbed her leg with her teeth. The shepherdess screamed so loudly that Malin clenched her jaw even tighter in fear. And then, imagine, she was no longer able to unclench them until Friday. So grandma had to peel the potatoes herself. But at least once the potatoes were properly peeled. Grandmother peeled them so diligently that when she finished, there was a mountain of peelings on the table in front of her, and there were no potatoes left at all. Cleaning only! But after that Friday, the pastor’s wife never set foot near her grandmother: the old woman didn’t understand jokes. But Malin was in a great mood. But her character - there is no doubt - was still not easy. Once, when her grandmother stabbed her in the ear with a fork, she sulked all day.

Pippi looked around and smiled friendly at the ladies.

Yes, that’s what this Malin was like... We have to endure it,” she said thoughtfully and folded her hands on her stomach with a sigh.

The ladies pretended not to hear Pippi's chatter and continued their conversation:

If my Rose were at least clean, she could still be kept in the house,” said Mrs. Berggren, “but she is such a dirty little thing, a real pig.”

“And you should only look at Malin,” Pippi said loudly again. - What a slob, such a slob! Grandmother said that she couldn’t be happier with her, and even considered her a black woman for a long time, she was so black. But then it turned out that it was just unwashed dirt. And once at a charity ball in the town hall, Malin received the first prize for the dirtiest nails... It’s even scary to think, - Pippi finished cheerfully, - how dirty people can be!

Fru Settergren looked sternly at Pippi.

Imagine,” said Mrs. Grenberg, “the other day my Britta, going out for a party, put on my blue silk dress!” Well, isn't that impudent!

Of course, of course,” Pippi picked up, “I see that your Britta is cut from the same cloth as our Malin.” Grandma had a pink jacket that she treasured very much. But the trouble is that Malin simply went crazy over this very jacket. And so every morning grandma and Malin began to argue about who should wear this jacket. Finally they agreed that they would take turns wearing it, every other day, which was at least fair. But you can’t even imagine how difficult it was with Malin. Even on those days when it was grandma’s turn to wear this jacket, Malin could suddenly say: “If you don’t give me a pink jacket, I won’t give you cherry mousse for dessert.” So what could the poor old lady do? After all, cherry mousse was her favorite dish! I had to give in! And when Malin, having put on a pink jacket, returned to the kitchen, she was shining like a polished nickel and whipped the cherry mousse so diligently that it splattered all the walls...

For a minute there was silence in the living room. Mrs. Alexandersen interrupted him:

Of course, I can’t vouch for it, but I still suspect that my Gulda is being stolen. I have noticed more than once that things disappear from the house...

But Malin... - Pippi began, but Mrs. Settergren cut her off sternly.

Children,” she said, “go upstairs immediately.”

Now, I’ll just tell you that Malin also stole,” Pippi continued. - She stole like a magpie. Her hands were itching... She even got up in the middle of the night and stole a little. Otherwise, she assured, she would not fall asleep. One day she stole her grandmother's piano and managed to hide it in the top drawer of her dresser. Grandmother always admired her dexterity...

But then Tommy and Annika grabbed Pippi by the hands and dragged her to the stairs, and the ladies poured themselves a third cup of coffee.

“It’s not that I can complain about my Ella,” said Mrs. Settergren, “but she breaks the dishes...

And suddenly the red head appeared on the stairs again.

And I can’t count how many dishes Malin broke! - Pippi shouted from above. - All my friends were simply amazed, take my word for it! She set aside one day a week for this task - then she did nothing else. From morning to evening all I did was break dishes. Grandma said that this happened on Tuesdays. Every Tuesday, at about five in the morning, Malin went to the kitchen to break dishes. She started with coffee cups, glasses and other small things, then moved on to flat and deep plates, and finally to dishes and soup bowls. All morning there was such a noise in the kitchen that my heart rejoiced, as my grandmother said. And if Malin had a free hour after dinner, then she, armed with a hammer, went into the living room and pounded the antique plates hanging there on the walls,” Pippi finished and disappeared like a cuckoo in a clock.

But then Mrs. Settergren’s patience ran out. She ran upstairs, flew into the children’s room and, jumping up to Pippi, who was just at that time teaching Tommy to stand on his head, shouted:

Don't you dare come to us again if you behave so badly!

Pippi looked at Mrs. Settergren in amazement, and her eyes filled with tears.

No wonder I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to behave as I should,” she said very sadly. - I didn’t have to try, I’ll never learn it anyway. I'd rather drown in the sea...

Pippi politely bowed to the mistress of the house, said goodbye to Tommy and Annika, and slowly went down the stairs. But just at this time the respectable ladies also stood up, preparing to leave. Pippi sat down in the hallway on a box for galoshes and watched the ladies in front of the mirror adjust their hats and put on their raincoats.

What a pity that you don’t approve of your domestic workers,” Pippi suddenly said. “If only you had a servant like Malin... You won’t find another like him,” my grandmother always said. Just think, one day in July, when Malin had to serve roast pig for dinner... Do you know what she did? She read in a cookbook that in July piglets are served with paper roses in their ears and a fresh apple in their mouth. Poor Malin did not understand that an apple and roses should be in the mouth and ears of a pig... You should have just looked at who she looked like when she, with tissue paper roses in her ears and a huge apple in her teeth, brought it into the dining room dish with pig. “Malin, you brute!” - said the grandmother. And poor Malin could not even utter a word in response. She just shook her head, so that the paper rustled in her ears. True, she tried to say something, but all that came out was: “Boo-boo-boo.” And she couldn’t bite anyone - the apple was in the way, and there were so many guests sitting at the table... Yes, it was a difficult day for poor Malin... - Pippi finished sadly.

The ladies were already dressed and said goodbye to Mrs. Settergren. Pippi also came up to her and whispered:

Sorry that I don't know how to behave. Farewell.

Then Pippi put on her huge hat and ran out after the ladies. At the gate their paths diverged. Pippi turned left to her villa, and the ladies turned right. But not even a few minutes had passed before they heard someone’s ragged breathing behind them. Turning around, they saw that Pippi was catching up with them.

You know, grandma was very sad when Malin left her. Imagine, one Tuesday, after Malin had broken more than a dozen tea cups, she suddenly packed up her things, boarded a ship and sailed off somewhere, so that grandma had to finish the dishes herself, and she, poor thing, was unaccustomed to this and I hurt my hands. So the grandmother never saw Malin again. “And she was a great girl,” said the grandmother.

Having blurted out all this, Pippi turned and ran back, and the ladies continued on their way. But when they walked the entire street, Pippi’s cry suddenly reached them:

And Ma-li-n never swept under the bed!

X. How Pippi saves two kids

One Sunday afternoon, Pippi was sitting at home, wondering what she should do. She wasn't expecting Tommy and Annika - her friends had gone with their parents to visit.

The day passed unnoticed in pleasant activities. Pippi got up early and served Mr. Nilsson breakfast in bed: fruit juice and a bun. The monkey looked so touching as she sat in a light blue nightgown on the bed, holding a glass with both hands. Then Pippi cleaned the horse with a comb and gave it food, along the way telling a long story about her wanderings across the seas. After that, Pippi went to her room and painted a large picture directly on the wallpaper depicting a fat lady in a black hat and a red dress. In one hand this lady was holding a yellow flower, and in the other a dead rat. Pippi was very pleased with this picture - in her opinion, it decorated the room. Having finished with the art, she sat down near the chest of drawers and began to sort through her treasures: bird eggs and shells, which she and her father had collected in various distant countries or bought in small overseas shops. When Pippi got tired of rummaging through boxes, she tried to teach Mr. Nilsson how to dance the twist. But he flatly refused. She decided to teach the horse to dance, but instead crawled on all fours into the closet and covered herself with a box - it was called playing sardines, but the game didn’t go well because Tommy and Annika, who usually portrayed other sardines, were not there. But then it began to get dark. The girl pressed her potato-shaped nose to the window glass and looked into the garden, in which the gray autumn twilight was gathering. Then she realized that she had not yet ridden a horse, and decided to immediately go for a short walk.

She put on her huge hat, called Mr. Nilsson, who was sitting and sorting out colorful sea pebbles, saddled the horse and carried it out into the garden. They set off - Mr. Nilsson riding on Pippi, and Pippi on horseback.

After sunset it froze, and the horse's hooves clattered loudly on the hardened ground. Mr. Nilsson tried to pick leaves from the trees they were galloping past. But Pippi drove the horse so hard that he couldn’t do it. On the contrary, the branches kept lashing his ears, and Mr. Nilsson had difficulty keeping his straw hat on his head.

Pippi galloped at full speed through the streets of a small town, and people shied away to give way to her.

Of course, in our small town, like every city, there is its own main square. It overlooks the ocher-painted town hall and beautiful old mansions, among which rises a large three-story house. It was built recently, and everyone called it a skyscraper because it is the tallest building in the city. In these Sunday afternoon hours, the city seemed to be dozing, immersed in peace and quiet. And suddenly a wild scream cut through the silence.

The skyscraper is on fire! Fire!

Fire! Frightened people ran to the square from all sides. A fire truck rushed down the street with a piercing howl. And two girls on the sidewalk, who at first thought it was a lot of fun to watch the fire, suddenly began to cry - they were afraid that their house would catch fire. Soon a huge crowd gathered in the square in front of the skyscraper. The police tried to disperse it because the fire could have spread to neighboring houses. Flames were already shooting out of the windows of the skyscraper. In a rain of sparks and clouds of black smoke, firefighters continued to bravely fight the fire. The fire broke out on the first floor, but the flames quickly engulfed the entire house. And suddenly the people standing in the square froze with horror. The attic window right under the roof opened, and two little boys appeared in it. The unfortunate boys cried and begged for help.

“We can’t get out of here,” the older boy shouted, “someone lit a fire on the stairs!”

The eldest was five years old, his brother was a year younger. Their mother left on business, and they were left at home alone.

The crowd in the square was worried. Many cried looking at the babies. The fire major was seriously alarmed. The firefighters, of course, had a sliding ladder, but it did not reach the attic. And it was almost impossible to enter the house to carry the children out. Indescribable horror gripped everyone when it became clear that the children were doomed to death - after all, the flames were about to creep into the attic. And the kids still stood at the window and roared loudly.

Pippi was also in the crowd in the square. Without dismounting from her horse, she examined the fire engine with interest and was already wondering in her mind whether she could buy one for herself. She liked this car because it was bright red and also had an unusually shrill hum. Then Pippi began to watch how the flames engulfed the house more and more fiercely, and regretted that the sparks did not reach her.

Like all the people crowding the square, Pippi immediately noticed the kids in the attic window, and she was surprised that the kids looked so frightened. She could not understand why the fire did not amuse them, and even asked the people standing nearby:

Tell me, why are these children screaming?

At first, only sobs were heard in response. But then some fat guy said:

Wouldn’t you be screaming if you were standing up there and couldn’t get out?

I never cry at all! - Pippi snapped. - But since the children want to go down and can’t, why doesn’t anyone help them?

Yes, because it is impossible. How can I help them?

Pippi was even more surprised:

Will no one drag a long rope here?

What good is a rope! - the fat man snapped. - Children are too small to go down the rope. And anyway, it’s too late now - you can’t get to them using a rope! Don't you understand yourself?

There’s another way to say it,” Pippi answered calmly. - Well, get me a rope.

No one believed that Pippi could do anything, but they still gave her the rope. Near the fountain, in front of the skyscraper, there was a tall tree. Its top branches were approx.

Ideal cosmetics. Makeup. Manicure. Oils. Massage. Coloring

Pippi Longstocking read all. A. Lindgren. Pippi Longstocking (book chapters)

Part 1. Pippi arrives at Villa Chicken

Chapter: First meeting with Pippi

Chapter: Pippi gets into a fight

Chapter: How Pippi plays tag with the police

Chapter: Pippi goes to school

Chapter: Pippi climbs into the hollow

Chapter: How Pippi organized an excursion

Chapter: How Pippi goes to the circus

Chapter: Thieves get to Pippi

Chapter: Pippi is invited to a cup of tea

Chapter: How Pippi saves babies

Chapter: How Pippi celebrates her birthday

Part 2. Pippi is getting ready to go on the road

Chapter: Pippi on a school trip

Chapter: Pippi is shipwrecked

Chapter: Pippi receives a dear guest

Part 3. They buy a villa from Pippi

Chapter: Pippi encourages Aunt Laura

Chapter: Peppa is looking for cucaryamba

Chapter: Pippi receives a letter

Chapter: Pippi sets sail

Chapter: Pippi comes ashore

Chapter: Pippi talks to the shark

Chapter: Explanations with Jim and Book

Chapter: Pippi taught the bandits a lesson

Chapter: Pippi leaves Veselia

Chapter: Pippi doesn't want to be an adult

II. How Pippi gets into a fight

Astrid Lindgren Pippi Longstocking (compilation)

How Pippi settled in the Chicken Villa

How Pippi gets into a fight

Astrid Lindgren
Pippi Longstocking (compilation)