Karlson on the Roof by Astrid Lindgren

Author:Astrid Lindgren [Lindgren, Astrid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, General, Classics, Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Legends; Myths; Fables
ISBN: 9780192727725
Google: 99RtKAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0192727729
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 1999-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

A little later Curliwig lay sleeping in her crib like a little angel. She was full and contented after Eric had tucked her in. Karlsson had prodded her with his finger and shouted, “Coo-oo,” and in spite of it Curliwig had gone to sleep because she was tired and full of milk.

“Now we’ll play some jokes before we go off,” said Karlsson.

He went into the kitchen and fetched the cold sausages. Eric looked at him, wide-eyed.

“Watch these tricks!” said Karlsson, balancing a sausage on the kitchen door handle.

“Number one,” he said, and nodded, pleased with himself. Then he went with quick steps to the chest of drawers. There stood a beautiful, white china dove, and, before Eric knew what was happening, the white dove had a sausage in its beak.

“Number two!” said Karlsson. “And number three is for Curliwig.”

He stabbed the sausage on a little stick and put the stick into the hand of the sleeping Curliwig. It looked comical, rather as if Curliwig herself had gone to fetch a sausage and fallen asleep before she had had time to eat it. But Eric said, “I wish you wouldn’t do that!”

“Calm, be calm!” said Karlsson. “This is to stop her mommy and daddy from going gadding about in the evenings.”

“But how?” asked Eric.

“A baby who can get up and fetch herself a sausage can’t be left alone, that’s obvious. Who knows what she will think of next … her daddy’s beer, perhaps.”

He settled the sausage stick more firmly in Curliwig’s tiny hand.

“Calm, be calm!” he said. “I know what I’m doing because I’m the World’s Best Nursemaid.”

At that moment Eric heard footsteps on the stairs outside; it nearly made him jump with fright.

“They’re coming!” he whispered.

“Calm, be calm!” said Karlsson, and they both rushed to the window. Eric heard a key being put in the lock, and he felt desperate, but somehow he managed to heave himself over the window ledge, and a second later he heard the door open and a voice said, “Mommy’s little Susie, fast asleep!”

“Yes, she does nothing but sleep,” said another voice. Then a scream was heard, and Eric guessed that Curliwig’s mommy and daddy had now spotted the sausage.

He did not wait to hear the rest but caught up with the World’s Best Nursemaid, who was just about to hide behind a chimney.

“Would you like to see two scoundrels?” asked Karlsson, when they had had a rest. “I’ve got two first-rate scoundrels in another attic over here.”

It almost sounded as if they were Karlsson’s own scoundrels; they couldn’t very well be that, but, all the same, Eric certainly wanted to see them.

There were sounds of noisy talking and laughing coming from the scoundrels’ attic. “Mirth and joy!” said Karlsson. “Come along, let’s see what’s so funny.”

They crept along the gutter pipe. Karlsson raised his head and peeped in. The curtains were drawn, but there was a gap that you could see through.

“The scoundrels have a visitor,” whispered Karlsson.

Eric also had a peep at them.

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