Pippi Goes Up in a Balloon
Village: Villa Villekulla
Up in Pippi's room, Pippi is showing a travel route on a map to Tommy and Annika.
"And so, here I was trying to fly my balloon from Egypt to West Virginia, but then I got caught in a strong wind and ended up flying to South Korea. Of course, I eventually made it to West Virginia, but that time I flew backwards." Pippi said.
"Wow, have you really been on a balloon?" Annika asked.
"Of course I have." Pippi replied. "And as a matter of fact, I think my father's hot air balloon is up in the attic."
In the attic, just as she predicted, Pippi found her father's balloon.
"Well, it's my father's balloon." Pippi said.
"Does it still even fly?" Tommy asked.
"I guess, I'll have to blow up the balloon and see." Pippi replied, and she blew up the balloon to massive size. "It's still good to fly."
"Wow. I sure would like to go on a balloon." Tommy said.
"Well why don't we?" Pippi suggested. "Why don't you go home for now while I get the balloon ready for flying."
Village: Settergren house
"Hello kids, anything interesting at Pippi's house?" Mr. Settergren asked.
"Goodness, kids, you're all dirty!" Mrs. Settergren said.
"We looked for Pippi's father's hot air balloon in the attic." Annika said. "And Pippi said we should ride it."
"Alright, kids. But you're not going up in that balloon until you get washed up and change clothes." Mrs. Settergren said.
Tommy and Annika took a bath, changed clothes, and headed to Villa Villekulla, where Pippi was waiting with her balloon.
Village: Villa Villekulla
"I'm so glad you could make it, I packed snacks and drinks for the trip." Pippi said.
Tommy and Annika got on the balloon, followed by Pippi and Mr. Nilsson.
Pippi started the ignition and let some sand out, and the balloon took off.
Mrs. Settergren came out to the front yard, where she saw the balloon flying away.
"Hi, mom! We're off!" Annika said.
"Okay, but be sure to come back before supper!" Mrs. Settergren said.
"We will!" Tommy said.
Sweden: The sky
"Say, Pippi, do you know how to steer?" Annika asked.
"Of course I do. You just pull these cords." Pippi said, and the balloon changed direction.
"Hmm, what's this?" Tommy asked as he found a book. "Let's see, a checklist of all the things you should have in a hot air balloon."
"First, food and supplies." Tommy read. "Check." Pippi said.
"Second,a parachute." Tommy read. "Check." Pippi said.
"Third, a compass or a map." Tommy read. "Both check." Pippi said.
"And lastly, check for leaks in the balloon before taking off." Tommy read. "Oh, we didn't do that last one." Pippi said.
"Oh no! What if the balloon springs a leak?" Annika asked.
"Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that." Pippi said. "After all, we've been on this balloon for quite a while, and so far, nothing bad has happened."
But then, a pop was heard and the balloon began losing air.
"Until now, that is." Tommy said.
The balloon began deflating and falling back down to earth, while Pippi steered it in order to find a good place to land.
"I'll have to land the balloon somewhere so I can fix the leak." Pippi said.
"Over there!" Tommy said as he pointed towards a river. "A river!"
"Excellent spotting. We can land there." Pippi said, and she dropped the balloon on the river. "A perfect landing, one of my best."
"And your first." Tommy said.
"That's true." Pippi said. "Come on Mr. Nilsson, let's go find that leak."
Pippi and Mr. Nilsson used a rope to climb up the balloon.
"Boy, this river is fast." Tommy said.
"I think it's the one with all those rapids." Annika said, and the balloon floated by many rapids.
"Come on, Mr. Nilsson. We better find that leak fast." Pippi said.
"Wait, I just thought of something!" Annika said.
"What!?" Tommy asked.
"Doesn't this river have a waterfall at the end!?" Annika said.
"What!?" Tommy asked.
"I said, A WATERFALL!" Annika shouted, and sure enough, the balloon headed towards the mentioned waterfall.
Meanwhile, Pippi and Mr. Nilsson finds the leak.
"Finally, we found the leak." Pippi said.
"Hurry Pippi!" Tommy shouted from the balloon.
"Now I just need something to plug the hole." Pippi said. "I know."
Pippi refilled the balloon with her breath and took out a tape and patched the hole right up.
The, Pippi got down, turned the heat up and let some sand out, and the balloon was up and in the air again.
"Yay, we're flying!" Annika said.
Well, of course, this is a balloon after all." Pippi said.
Then, the kids saw a church.
Sweden: Church
"I know, let's take a break here." Pippi said she tied a rope to the church spire. "Hello down there, do you know where this is?"
The church gardener sees this and reacts with shock.
"Children up in a balloon on the roof!" the gardener said as he rushed to tell the church minister.
"Oh well, I guess he couldn't stay and chat." Pippi said as she got on the spire and started untying the rope.
"Minister! Minister!" the gardener said as he tried to wake up the minister.
"Yes. What is it, a fire?" the minister asked.
"No, no fire, but there are children up in a balloon on the church spire!" the gardener replied.
"Children in a balloon up the spire?" the minister asked. "Have you gone mad again?"
"No, of course not, sir." the gardener replied. "This way, come and see for yourself!"
Meanwhile, Pippi finish untying the rope and the balloon starts to float away.
"Pippi, hurry, the balloon is floating away!" Annika said.
"Don't worry, I'll jump." Pippi said and she leapt from the spire while hanging onto the rope, and started climbing it.
"Come on, Pippi! You can do it!" Tommy said as Pippi got closer to the top.
As Pippi started reaching the basket, Tommy and Annika pulled her up.
By the time the minister and the gardener got back to the church spire, the kids and the balloon are all gone.
"I don't see a balloon or any children." the minister asked.
"But they were there, I saw them!" the gardener protested.
"This is the fifth time I heard your crazy stories. Now listen here, if I hear another one of these crazy stories, I'll have no choice but to have you thrown in an insane asylum." the minister said. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, of course, very clear, sir." the gardener said.
Meanwhile, the kids saw a tree stump.
"Hey, now that looks like a good spot for a picnic. Let's land." Pippi said, and she steered the balloon down to where the stump is.
The kids and Mr. Nilsson got out of the balloon and enjoyed a nice picnic on the tree stump.
"Well, that was delicious." Pippi said.
"What time is it?" Annika asked and Tommy looked at his watch.
"It's 5 o'clock." Tommy replied.
"We better get home soon, because our mom told us to be back in time for supper." Annika said.
"Well then, I guess our Balloon Exploration Adventure is over, and now, it's time to begin our Balloon Go Back Home Adventure." Pippi said, and the kids and Mr. Nilsson got back in the balloon and started flying it back home.
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