Pippi Longstocking Chapter 3 Summary

Pippi Plays Tag with Some Policemen

  • People in the town become concerned that a little girl is living all alone in Villa Villekulla and decide that Pippi should be placed in a children's home.
  • Pippi, Tommy, and Annika are having coffee and cookies when two policemen arrive.
  • At first Pippi is excited because, as she says, "Policemen are the very best things I know" (3.4).
  • The policemen inform Pippi that some nice people in town are arranging for her to go to a children's home, and also that she must attend school.
  • Pippi tells them thanks, but no thanks.
  • When one of the police officers attempts to grab her, she initiates a game of tag.
  • The police pursue her, but are perplexed by how to proceed when Pippi climbs up to the roof.
  • They get a ladder and climb, tentatively, onto the roof, at which point Pippi, laughing, dives for a tree and swings herself to the ground. Then she takes away their ladder. D'oh.
  • Eventually the policemen get down, but when they try again to grab Pippi, she simply picks them up and carries them to the gate, informing them that she doesn't have time to play with them anymore today.
  • Surprisingly (not), the policemen and the townspeople agree it will be best to let Pippi remain at Villa Villekulla and make her own arrangements with regard to school, if she decides to attend.
  • Tommy, Annika, and Pippi finish their coffee party and have a nice ride around the yard on the horse before Tommy and Annika go home, happy to have such a fun neighbor.