Johanna Spyri - Heidi

Peter arrived with the goats before Uncle Alp got back, and Heidi was immediately surrounded by them, and Clara too. Heidi called each one by name so that Clara could make their acquaintance at last and see Snowflake, Finch, Daisy and Dusky, and all the others for herself, as she had longed to do — not forgetting big Turk. Peter stood a little to one side, glaring at the newcomer, and made no reply to their friendly greetings. Instead, he slashed out violently with his stick, as his habit was when he was out of humour, swishing it to and fro as though he wanted to break it. Then he ran off with his herd.

Perhaps the loveliest moment of all that exciting day for Clara came when she and Heidi were in bed in the hayloft, and she found herself looking straight out to the starry sky. ‘Oh, Heidi,’ she cried, ‘it feels as if we were riding in a high sort of carriage right into heaven.’

‘Why do you think the stars twinkle so brightly at us?’ asked Heidi.

‘I don’t know. Tell me,’ Clara replied.

‘Because they are up in heaven and know that God looks after us all on earth so that we oughtn’t really ever to be afraid, because everything is bound to come right in the end. That’s why they nod to us and twinkle like that. Let’s say our prayers now, Clara, and ask God to take care of us.’

They both sat up in bed then, and said their prayers, and after that Heidi laid her head on her arm and was asleep in no time. But Clara lay awake looking out at the sky, hardly able to close her eyes on those wonderful stars, which she had scarcely ever seen before, for she never went out at night in the ordinary way, and at home the curtains were drawn tight before they appeared in the sky. Even when she became drowsy, she kept opening her eyes again to make sure that two particularly bright stars were still shining into the room, nodding and twinkling to her, as Heidi had said. And when she could keep awake no longer, the stars seemed to be there still in her dreams.

As the sun rose next morning Uncle Alp was outside as usual, quietly watching the mists disperse over the mountains and the light clouds grow pink as day broke. Soon the valley was flooded with gold and the whole countryside awoke to another glorious day. Then he went indoors and softly climbed the ladder. Clara had just opened her eyes and was gazing with astonishment at the sunbeams, dancing on her bed, not remembering at first where she was. Then she saw Heidi beside her, and heard Uncle Alp’s friendly voice ask, ‘Well, have you had a good sleep? Do you feel rested this morning?’

‘Oh yes,’ she replied. ‘I didn’t wake up once during the night.’

Uncle nodded in a satisfied way, and began to get her up in the same gentle, understanding way that he had arranged things for her overnight. Heidi woke up to find Clara already dressed and in his arms, ready to be carried down. She did not want to miss a single moment, so she leapt out of bed, threw on her clothes, and was down the ladder after them in a flash.

The evening before, Uncle Alp had thought of a way of putting the wheel‐chair under cover. It was too wide to go through the door of the hut, but he removed two boards from the entrance to the shed and pushed it in there, and then propped the boards back afterwards so that they could easily be moved when necessary. Heidi came down just as he brought it out of the shed, with Clara in it, and wheeled her into the sunshine. He left her in front of the hut and went off to see to the goats, while Heidi came to say good morning. It was the very first time in all her life that Clara had been out in the open country so early, and she sniffed the cool mountain air, so fragrant with the scent of the fir trees, and drew in deep, long breaths of it. She felt the warm sunshine on her face and hands. Though she had thought so much about it, she had never dreamed that life on the mountain would be like this.

‘I wish I could stay here for ever,’ she told Heidi.

‘You see now what I told you was true. Isn’t it heavenly up here with Grandfather?’ said Heidi.

At that moment Grandfather came out with two mugs full of foaming milk, one for each of them. ‘This will do the little one good,’ he said in his gentle way to Clara. ‘It’s from Daisy. It will help to make you strong, so drink it up. Good health to you!’

Clara had never tasted goat’s milk, and she sniffed at it uncertainly, but when she saw how quickly Heidi was emptying her mug, she began to drink too, and thought the milk tasted as sweet and spicy as if it had sugar and cinnamon in it.

‘Tomorrow we shall drink two mugfuls,’ said Uncle Alp, pleased to see how she had followed Heidi’s good example.

Peter appeared then with the goats, and the animals rushed up to Heidi as usual, bleating so loudly that Uncle Alp, who had something to say to Peter, had to take him aside to make him hear.

‘Now attend to me. From now on let Daisy go where she likes. I want her to give extra good milk, and she will know where to find the best grass. If she wants to go higher up than usual, you go too, and the other goats as well. She’s wiser than you in such matters, and it won’t hurt you to scramble about a bit. Now why are you staring over there, as if you wanted to eat somebody? They won’t interfere with you. Now be off and remember what I’ve told you.’

Peter was accustomed to do what Uncle Alp told him promptly and he went on his way at once, but not without turning and rolling his eyes at the girls, as though he had something on his mind. The goats swept Heidi along with them a little way and this was just what Peter wanted.

‘You’d better come too, because I’ve got to be after Daisy all the time,’ he shouted to her.

‘I can’t,’ she called back. ‘I shan’t be able to as long as Clara is here. But Grandfather’s promised we shall all come up together one day.’ By this time she had managed to extricate herself from the goats, and ran back to Clara. Peter shook both fists in the direction of the wheel‐chair, then turned and ran till he was out of sight, afraid Uncle Alp might have seen him, and he preferred not to hear what the old man might have to say about such behaviour.

Clara and Heidi had so many plans that they did not know where to begin, but Heidi thought they should first write to Grandmamma as they had promised to do every day. Grandmamma had been first a little worried as to whether Clara would really be comfortable at the hut for any length of time, and how she would stand the life, and she needed to have regular news of her. If she had a daily letter telling of Clara’s doings, she would be content to stay quietly at Ragaz, knowing she could get up to the hut quite quickly if she was needed.

‘Must we go indoors to write?’ asked Clara, quite ready to fall in with Heidi’s ideas, but not wanting to be moved. Heidi ran and fetched some of her school books and a three‐legged stool. She put the books on Clara’s knee for her to write on, and used the bench herself, sitting in front of it on the little stool. They both began to write letters, but Clara’s eyes kept straying. It was all so wonderful. The wind had dropped, and only a gentle breeze fanned her cheeks and whispered through the trees. Thousands of tiny insects were dancing in the clear air, but everything else was very still. Only an occasional shout from some goatherd came echoing down the rocky crags.

The morning passed in a flash, and Uncle Alp appeared with two steaming bowls, saying that Clara should stay out of doors as long as it was light. So they had another pleasant meal in the open air. Afterwards Heidi wheeled Clara under the shade of the fir trees, where they spent the afternoon telling each other everything that had happened since Heidi left Frankfurt. Though nothing very remarkable had occurred, there was still plenty for Clara to tell about the household which Heidi had come to know so well. So they chattered away gaily, and in the branches over their heads the birds twittered and sang, as though they were enjoying the conversation too and wanted to join in.