As the children were sitting there eating pears, a girl came walking along the road from town. When she saw the children she stopped and asked, "Have you seen my papa go by?" "M-m-m," said Pippi. "How did he look? Did he have blue eyes?" "Yes," said the girl. "Medium large, not too tall and not too short?" "Yes," said the girl. "Black hat and black shoes?" "Yes, exactly," said the girl eagerly. "No, that one we haven't seen," said Pippi decidedly.

In the parliamentary election later in the same year the Social Democrat government was voted out for the first time in 44 years and the Lindgren tax debate was one of several controversies that may have contributed to this result. As of December 2012 Astrid Lindgren is the world's 20th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. She had two sisters and a brother Gunnar Ericsson who eventually became a member of the Swedish parliament.

As of December 2012 Astrid Lindgren is the world's 20th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (née Ericsson) (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈastrɪd ˈlɪŋɡreːn] ([Image] listen)) 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter.