Pippi Goes to School

By Astrid Lindgren
NARRATOR : In a little town in Sweden, there was a tumbledown house called Villa Villekulla.
And in this house lived a girl with carrot-coloured pigtails and shoes twice as long as her feet. This
was no ordinary girl. She was the strongest girl in the world, and her name was Pippi Longstocking.
Pippi lived there all by herself—except for a monkey named Mr. Nilsson and a horse on the porch.
There was no one to tell her what to do, so Pippi did just what she liked.
One of the things Pippi liked best was to play with her friends Tommy and Annika. And more than
anything in the world, Tommy and Annika liked to play with Pippi. Of course, Tommy and Annika
had to go to school

ANNIKA: (to Tommy) If only Pippi would go too, how much fun we could have!

NARRATOR : They decided to try to persuade her. One afternoon in Pippi’3s kitchen, Tommy said,

TOMMY: You can’t imagine what a nice teacher we have.

ANNIKA: If you only knew what fun it is in school! I’d die if I couldn’t go to school.

NARRATOR : Pippi sat soaking her feet in a tub. She said nothing, but just wiggled her toes so the
water splashed around everywhere.

TOMMY: You don’t have to stay so long. Just until two o’clock.

ANNIKA: Yes, and besides, we get Christmas vacation and Easter vacation and summer vacation.

NARRATOR : Suddenly, Pippi poured all the water out on the kitchen floor.

PIPPI: It is absolutely unfair! I won’t stand for it!

TOMMY: What’s the matter?

PIPPI: In four months, it will be Christmas, and then you’ll have Christmas vacation! But what’ll I
get? No Christmas vacation—not even the tiniest bit of one. Something will have to be done about
that. Tomorrow morning, I’ll begin school!

ANNIKA: Hurray!

TOMMY: We’ll wait for you outside our gate at eight o’clock.

PIPPI: Oh, no, I can’t begin as early as that! And besides, I’m going to ride to school.
NARRATOR: And ride she did! The next day, at exactly ten o’clock, Pippi lifted her horse off the
porch. Then she galloped wildly through the town. When she reached the schoolyard, she jumped
off the horse, tied him to a tree, and burst into the schoolroom.

PIPPI: Hi there! Did I get here in time for pluttification?

NARRATOR : Tommy and Annika had told their teacher that Pippi was coming. She had decided to
do all she could to make Pippi happy in school.

TEACHER: Welcome to school, Pippi. I hope you will enjoy yourself here and learn a great deal.

PIPPI: Yes, and I hope I’ll get some Christmas vacation. That is the reason I’ve come. It’s only fair,
you know.

TEACHER: If you would first tell me your whole name, I’ll register you in school.

PIPPI: My name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim’s Daughter

Longstocking, daughter of Captain Efraim Longstocking, formerly the Terror of the Sea, now a
cannibal king. Pippi is really only a nickname, because Papa thought Pippilotta was too long to say.

TEACHER: Well, then, we shall call you Pippi, too. But now suppose we test you a little and see
what you know. Pippi, can you tell me what seven and five are?

PIPPI: (shocked) Well, if you don’t know that yourself, I’m certainly not going to tell you!

OTHER CHILDREN: (gasp)

NARRATOR: All the children stared at Pippi in horror.

TEACHER: (gently) Pippi, we don’t answer that way in school.

PIPPI: (sincerely) I beg your pardon. I didn’t know that. I won’t do it again.

TEACHER: No, let us hope not. And now I will tell you that seven and five are twelve.

PIPPI: See that! You knew it yourself! So why are you asking?

NARRATOR: The teacher decided to act as if nothing had happened.

TEACHER: Well, now, Pippi, how much do you think eight and four are?

PIPPI: Oh, about sixty-seven.

TEACHER: Of course not! Eight and four are twelve!

PIPPI: Well now, really, that is carrying things too far! You just said that seven and five are twelve.
There should be some rhyme and reason to things, even in school!

NARRATOR: The teacher decided there was no point trying to teach Pippi any more arithmetic.

TEACHER: Tommy, if Lisa has seven apples and Axel has nine apples, how many apples do they
have together?

PIPPI: Yes, you tell her, Tommy, and tell me too, if Lisa gets a stomach-ache and Axel gets more of
a stomach-ache, whose fault is it, and where did they get those apples in the first place?

NARRATOR: The teacher decided to give up on arithmetic altogether.

TEACHER: (getting frustrated) Pippi, maybe you would prefer to learn reading. Here is a picture of
a wild goat called an ibex. And the letter you see in front of the ibex is called "i".

PIPPI: That I’ll never believe. I think it looks exactly like a straight line with a little fly speck over
it. But what I’d really like to know is, what does the ibex have to do with the fly speck?

NARRATOR: The teacher took out another card.

TEACHER: (trying to stay calm) And here is a picture of a snake, with the letter "s".

PIPPI: Speaking of snakes, I’ll never ever forget the time I had a fight with a huge snake in India.
(acting out her story) You can’t imagine what a dreadful snake it was—fourteen yards long and mad
as a hornet—and every day he ate up five Indians and then two little children for dessert, and one
time he came and wanted me for dessert, and he wound himself around me—uhhh!—but I’ve been
around a bit, I said, and hit him in the head, bang!, and then he hissed uiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuitch, and then
I hit him again, and bingo! he was dead, and indeed, so that is the letter "s"—most remarkable!

NARRATOR: The teacher’s patience had come to an end.

TEACHER: Children, go outside so I can talk to Pippi alone.

OTHER CHILDREN: (go out)

NARRATOR: When Pippi and the teacher were by themselves, Pippi came over to her.

PIPPI: You know what? It was lots of fun to come to school to find out what it’s like. But I don’t
think I want to come anymore—Christmas vacation or no Christmas vacation. There are altogether
too many apples and ibexes and snakes and things like that. It makes me dizzy in the head. I hope
you won’t be upset, Teacher.

TEACHER: I certainly am upset, Pippi, but I’m upset that you won’t behave properly! Any child
who acts as badly as you do wouldn’t be allowed to come to school no matter how much she wanted
to!
PIPPI: (astonished, almost starting to cry) Have I behaved badly? Goodness, I didn’t know that.
You understand, Teacher, don’t you, that when you have a mother who’s an angel in Heaven and a
father who’s a cannibal king, you don’t know just how to behave in school, with all the apples and
ibexes.

TEACHER: (calming down) I understand, Pippi. I’m not annoyed anymore. Maybe you can come
back to school when you’re a little older.

PIPPI: (happily) I think you are awfully nice, Teacher. And here is something for you.

NARRATOR: Pippi took from her pocket a lovely gold watch.

TEACHER: Pippi, I can’t possibly accept such a valuable gift!

PIPPI: But you have to take it! Otherwise, I’ll come back tomorrow, and you wouldn’t like that,
would you?

NARRATOR : Then Pippi rushed out to the schoolyard and jumped on her horse. All the children
waved goodbye.

PIPPI: (waving and riding off) So long, kids. I won’t be back for a while. But always remember how
many apples Axel had—or you’ll be sorry!
 Chicken Little
Characters: (7) Narrator Chicken Little Cockey-Lockey Ducky-
Lucky
Goosey-Loosey Turkey-Lurkey Foxy-Loxy

arrator: One bright, sunny day, Chicken-Little was picking up corn in the Barnyard.
Suddenly, an acorn from the big oak tree fell down and hit
Chicken-Little right on the top of her head.---kerrrr flop.

Chicken: Oh! The Sky is falling! The Sky is falling! I am going to

tell the King!

Narrator: And away she went. Chicken-Little went on and on. After a
while she came to Cockey-Lockey.

Cockey: Where are you going, Chicken-Little?

hicken: Oh, Cockey-Lockey. The sky is falling! I am going to tell the king.

Cockey: I will go with you!

Narrator: The went on and on and on. After a time, they came to
Ducky-Lucky.

Ducky: Where are you going, Chicken-Little and Cockey-Lockey?

Chicken:
Cockey: Oh, Ducky-Lucky! The sky is falling! We are going to tell
the king!

Ducky: Wait! I will go with you.

arrator: And they hurried off. They went on and on and on! Soon they came to
Goosey-Loosey.

Goosey: Hey, where are you two going?

Chicken:
Cockey:
ucky: Oh, Goosey-Loosey! The sky is falling! We are going to tell the king.

Goosey: Then I will go with you!

Narrator: And so they went on and on and on. Before long they came
to Turkey-Lurkey.

Turkey: Where are you-all going in such a rush?

oosey: Oh, Turkey-Lurkey. The sky is falling! We are going to tell the
king.

Turkey: Well, hey, wait for me! I will go with you.

arrator: They went on and on and on. After a while they came to Foxy-Loxy.

Foxy: Say, where are you all going?

(All together)
Goosey:
Turkey: Foxy-Loxy! Foxy-Loxy! The sky is falling! We are going
to tell the king.

Foxy: Well, I know a short cut to the king's palace. Follow me.

Cockey:
Ducky:
Goosey:
Turkey: Oh, goody, goody! He knows a short cut to the king's
palace!

Narrator: They went on an on and on. Then they came to Foxy-Loxy's cave.

Foxy: This is the short cut to the palace. I'll go in first and
then you come in after me...one at a time.

Cockey:
Ducky:
Goosey:
Turkey: Of course. Why not?

Narrator: In went Turkey-Lurkey. Sssssnap! Off went Turkey-Lurkey's

head. In went Goosey-Loosey. Kerrrr-POP! Off went Goosey-
Loosey's head. In went Ducky-Lucky. Kerrrr-unch! Off went
Ducky-Lucky's head.

Cockey: (Excitedly) Go Home, Chicken-Little! Go Home!

Narrator: Can you guess what happened next? (pause)

Kerrrrr-Aaaack! Off went Cockey-Lockey's head.

Chicken-Little ran home. She did not tell the king that the sky
was falling. And until this day the others have never been
seen. And the poor king has never been told that the sky is
falling!

The Animal Trainer

Parts (3): Narrator Animal Trainer Lion
 Narrator: La--dies and Gen--tlemen! Welcome to our world renouned
lion training act. May I direct your attention to the centre wing
here under our circus big-top.

rainer: And now, ladies and gentlemen, I shall do my famous lion act! OK, Joe, open the
cage door.

Narrator: Joe, the circus animal handler opens a cage door at the edge of
the ring and out leaps a full grown lion.

ion: [Leaping out of the cage]

rainer: Just watch and see how well I have this trainer trained!

Trainer: OK, Leo, up on your stand!

Lion: [To audience] Now watch me make him crack his whip. [Sit
with hands on chair seat]

Trainer: [Cracks whip] All the way up, Leo... All the way up.

Lion: Now watch him bow to everyone. [Get up on seat of chair

with feet.]

Trainer: [Bowing to audience] Thank you. Thank you. And now for my
next trick. [Cracks whip again.]

Lion: [To audience while getting off chair] Want to see him turn
in circles? keep your eyes open!

Narrator: The trainer takes the chair and holds it between himself
and the lion while cracking his whip. He turns in a small circle
and Leo walks in a wide circle around the ring.

Trainer: That's it, Leo, around the cage. There you go! [Keeps Leo at the end of the
whip, turning around with him.]

Lion: [To audience] You haven't seen anything yet! Now I'll have him put his
head in my mouth.

Trainer: And now, ladies and gentlemen, I shall do my greatest act. Leo will
open his mouth, and I shall very bravely put my head inside.

Narrator: Leo opens his mouth wide and the trainer turns his head
sideways and places it between the lion's teeth. Then he
quickly removes it again.

Lion: Well, enough of this. I'm ready for my dinner.

Trainer: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. [Bowing all
around] Open the door, Joe, and give Leo a good meal
tonight. In you go, Leo. In you go. Good job.
Lion: [Turns head back to audience as he climbs back into the cage]
I sure have that trainer well trained, don't I?