We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Pippi Longstocking Chapter 6 Summary

Pippi Arranges a Picnic

  • Annika and Tommy have a day off from school for "Scrubbing Vacation." (Presumably, this is a time when the school is closed for a deep cleaning.)
  • Pippi sees this as another injustice ("Do I get any Scrubbing Vacation? Indeed I don't, though goodness knows I need one" (6.2)).
  • She proceeds to scrub her kitchen floor by tying scrub brushes onto her feet and skating around; when she finishes, the three children head out for a picnic in a pasture.
  • There's a cow blocking the gate, but Pippi lifts it out of the way and they go in and find a rock on which to lay out their picnic.
  • After Pippi attempts to fly (which is apparently one of the few things she can't do), they notice that Mr. Nilsson (the monkey—remember him?) has gone missing.
  • Pippi, frustrated with the monkey, throws her shoe into a pond.
  • She then goes in to retrieve it and saves herself a salon visit by washing her hair while she's there.
  • The children split up to hunt for Mr. Nilsson, and Tommy encounters a bull.
  • The bull charges Tommy, and Pippi arrives on the scene just in time to grab it by the tail and give it a stern talking to and creep us out by breaking off its horns.
  • When the bull charges her, she rides it until it lies down exhausted and takes a nap.
  • At this point Pippi resumes her search for Mr. Nilsson.
  • She spots him sitting in a pine tree, and the monkey skips down and perches on her shoulder.
  • On the way home, Pippi's shoes and skirt, which are still wet from the pond, make squishing noises which inspire Pippi to come up with her own lyrics to a song that Tommy and Annika begin singing.