Karlsson on the Roof

“I won’t be long.”

He rushed into the sitting room. Betty and Bobby had just gone out (which was too bad), but his mother and father were sitting there, and Eric said eagerly, “Mommy and Daddy, please come to my room right away?”

He dared not say anything about Karlsson; it would be better if they saw him unexpectedly.

“Won’t you come and sit with us instead?” said Mommy. But Eric tugged at her arm.

“No, please come! I want to show you something.”

After some persuasion he managed to get them both to come, and joyfully he opened the door to his room. Now at last they’d see …

He could have wept with disappointment: the room was empty—just like the other time when he was going to show them Karlsson.

“What did you want to show us?” asked Daddy.

“Nothing special,” mumbled Eric.

Luckily, the telephone rang just then, so Eric did not have to explain. Daddy went to answer it. And Mommy had a sponge cake in the oven that she had to watch. Eric found himself alone. He sat down by the window; he was quite angry with Karlsson and made up his mind to tell him off if he came flying in.

But no one came flying. Instead the closet door opened, and Karlsson’s cheery face appeared.

Eric was very surprised. “What on earth are you doing in my closet?” he asked.

“Hatching eggs … no! Contemplating my sins … no! Lying on the shelf and resting … yes,” said Karlsson.

Eric forgot to be angry. He could not help but feel happy because Karlsson had turned up again.

“This is a marvelous closet for playing hide-and-seek in,” said Karlsson. “Let’s do that! I’ll lie down on the shelf again, and you guess where I am.”

Before Eric had time to answer, Karlsson had disappeared into the closet, and Eric could hear him struggling to get up to the shelf.

“Coo-ee,” shouted Karlsson.

Eric opened the closet door wide and, without much difficulty, found Karlsson on the shelf.

“You horrid boy!” shouted Karlsson. “You should have looked under the bed and behind the table and in other places first. I’m going home if that’s the way you’re going to play.