Pippi Longstocking Chapter 10 Summary

Pippi Acts as a Lifesaver

  • Tommy and Annika are attending a tea party with their parents, and Pippi isn't sure how to spend her time.
  • She occupies herself during the day with tasks around the house, and around dusk she decides to go for a ride on the horse with Mr. Nilsson.
  • When she reaches the town square, she discovers a burning building.
  • The fire engine arrives and a crowd gathers—everyone is horrified to see that there are two young boys in the gable window at the top of the house crying for help.
  • The fire chief is worried because the fire is too intense for anyone to go in, and the ladder isn't tall enough to reach the third story. In other words, those boys are goners.
  • When Pippi spots the boys, she has a hard time understanding why they're crying.
  • The others think she's a bit daft, yet when Pippi calls for a rope, someone brings her one.
  • She attaches the rope to Mr. Nilsson's tail and has him climb a tree that no one but a monkey could climb—not even Pippi.
  • Mr. Nilsson scurries up, loops the rope over a branch at the top and comes back down.
  • The crowd stops crying and watches with interest as Pippi, armed with a board from a nearby construction site, uses the rope to climb the tree and the board to create a platform between the windowsill and the top of the tree.
  • After a few Pippi-riffic jokes ("My, it seems warm in here," and the like) Pippi gets both of the boys safely down and sings a song about the fire from her makeshift platform before climbing down.
  • The fire chief calls for three cheers for Pippi Longstocking and the crowd happily joins in.
  • Pippi, of course, gives herself four cheers.