Heidi

  CHAPTER XXI

  HAPPY DAYS FOR THE LITTLE VISITOR

  Next morning at sunrise Alm-Uncle went softly up the ladder to see ifthe children were awake yet. Clara had just opened her eyes and waslooking with wonder at the bright sunlight that shone through the roundwindow and danced and sparkled about her bed. She could not at firstthink where she was, until she caught sight of Heidi sleeping besideher, and heard the grandfather's cheery voice asking her if she hadslept well. She assured him that when she had once fallen asleep shehad not opened her eyes again all night. The grandfather was satisfiedat this and immediately began to help her dress with so much gentlenessand understanding that it seemed as if his chief calling had been tolook after sick children.

  When Heidi awoke she was surprised to see Clara dressed, and alreadyin the grandfather's arms ready to be carried down. She hurried up tooand soon ran down the ladder and out of the hut, and there furtherastonishment awaited her, for grandfather had been busy the nightbefore after they were in bed. Seeing that it was impossible to getClara's chair through the hut-door, he had taken down two of the boardsat the side of the shed and made an opening large enough to admit thechair; these he left loose so that they could be taken away and put upat pleasure. He was at this moment wheeling Clara out into the sun; heleft her in front of the hut while he went to look after the goats andHeidi ran up to her friend.

  "O Heidi, if only I could stay up here for ever with you," exclaimedClara happily, turning in her chair from side to side that she mightdrink in the air and sun from all quarters.

  "Now you see that it is just what I told you," replied Heidi delighted;"that it is the most beautiful thing in the world to be up here withgrandfather."

  The latter at that moment appeared coming from the goat shed andbringing two small foaming bowls of snow-white milk--one for Clara andone for Heidi.

  "That will do the little daughter good," he said, nodding to Clara; "itis from Little Swan and will make her strong. To your health, child!drink it up."

  Clara had never tasted goat's milk before; she hesitated and smeltit before putting it to her lips, but seeing how Heidi drank hers upwithout hesitating, and how much she seemed to like it, Clara did thesame, and drank till there was not a drop left, for she too found itdelicious, tasting just as if sugar and cinnamon had been mixed with it.

  "Tomorrow we will drink two," said the grandfather, who had looked onwith satisfaction at seeing her follow Heidi's example.

  When Peter arrived with the goats, Uncle drew him aside and said, "Fromtoday be sure you let Little Swan go where she likes. She knows whereto find the best food for herself, and so if she wants to climb higher,you follow her, and it will do the others no harm if they go too. Alittle more climbing won't hurt you, and in this matter she probablyknows better than you what is good for her; I want her to give as finemilk as possible. So now be off and remember what I say, and don't lookso cross about it."

  Peter was accustomed to give immediate obedience to Uncle, and hemarched off with his goats, but with a turn of the head and roll ofthe eye that showed he had some thought in reserve. The goats carriedHeidi along with them a little way, which was what Peter wanted. "Youwill have to come with them," he called to her, "for I shall be obligedto follow Little Swan."

  A STRANGE-LOOKING PROCESSION WAS MAKING ITS WAYUP THE MOUNTAIN]

  "I cannot," Heidi called back from the midst of her friends, "and Ishall not be able to come for a long, long time--not as long as Clarais with me. Grandfather, however, has promised to go up the mountainwith both of us some day."

  As Heidi ran back to Clara, Peter doubled his fists and madethreatening gestures towards the invalid on her couch, and then climbedup some distance without pause until he was out of sight, for he wasafraid Uncle might have seen him.

  Clara and Heidi had made so many plans for themselves that they hardlyknew where to begin. Heidi suggested that they should first write tograndmamma, to whom they had promised to send word every day, forgrandmamma had not felt sure whether it would in the long run suitClara's health to remain up the mountain. With daily news of hergranddaughter she could stay on without anxiety at Ragatz, and yet beready to go to Clara at a moment's notice.

  "Must we go indoors to write?" asked Clara. It is so much nicer outhere. So Heidi ran in and brought out her school-book and writingthings and her own little stool. She put her reading book and copybook on Clara's knees, to make a desk for her to write upon, and sheherself took her seat on the stool by the bench, and then they bothbegan writing to grandmamma. But Clara paused after every sentenceto look about her; it was too beautiful for much letter writing. Thebreeze had sunk a little, and now only gently fanned her face andwhispered lightly through the fir trees. Now and again the call of someshepherd-boy rang out through the air, and the echo answered softlyfrom the rocks. Thus the morning passed, the children hardly knew how,and soon grandfather came with the mid-day bowls of steaming milk. ThenHeidi pushed Clara's chair under the fir trees, where they spent theafternoon in the shade, telling each other all that had happened sincelast they met. So the hours flew by and all at once, as it seemed, theevening had come with the returning Peter, who still scowled and lookedangry.

  "Good-night, Peter," called out Heidi, as she saw he had no intentionof stopping to speak.

  "Good-night, Peter," called out Clara in a friendly voice. Peter tookno notice and went surlily on with his goats.

  As Clara saw the grandfather leading away Little Swan to milk her, shewas suddenly taken with a longing for another bowlful of the fragrantmilk, and waited impatiently for it.

  "Isn't it curious, Heidi," she said, astonished at herself, "as longas I can remember I have only eaten because I was obliged to, andeverything used to seem to taste of cod liver oil, and I was alwayswishing there was no need to eat or drink; and now I am longing forgrandfather to bring me the milk."

  "Yes, I know what it feels like," replied Heidi, who remembered themany days in Frankfurt when all her food used to seem to stick inher throat. When grandfather at last brought the evening milk, Claradrank it up so quickly that she had emptied her bowl before Heidi, andthen she asked for a little more. The grandfather went inside withboth the children's bowls, and when he brought them out again full hehad something else to add to their supper. He had walked over thatafternoon to a herdsman's house where the sweetly-tasting butter wasmade, and had brought home a large pat, some of which he had now spreadthickly on two good slices of bread.

  That night, when Clara lay down in her bed and prepared to watch thestars, her eyes would not keep open, and she fell asleep as soon asHeidi and slept soundly all night--a thing she never remembered havingdone before. The following day and the day after passed in the samepleasant fashion, and the third day there came a surprise for thechildren. Two stout porters came up the mountain, each carrying abed on his shoulders with bedding of all kinds and two beautiful newwhite coverlids. The men also had a letter with them from grandmamma,in which she said that these were for Clara and Heidi, and that Heidiin future was always to sleep in a proper bed, and when she went downto Doerfli in the winter she was to take one with her and leave theother at the hut, so that Clara might always know there was a bed readyfor her when she paid a visit to the mountain. She went on to thankthe children for their long letters and encouraged them to continuewriting daily, so that she might be able to picture all they were doing.

  Grandfather went up the ladder and threw back the hay from Heidi'sbed on to the great heap, and soon the beds were put up close to oneanother so that the children might still be able to see out of thewindow, for he knew what pleasure they had in the light from the sunand stars.

  Meanwhile grandmamma down at Ragatz was rejoicing at the excellentnews of the invalid which reached her daily from the mountain. Clarafound the life more charming each day and could not say enough of thekindness and care which the grandfather lavished upon her, nor ofHeidi's lively and amusing companionship.

  Having such fresh assurances each day that
all was going well withClara, grandmamma thought she might put off her visit to the children alittle longer, for the steep ride up and down was somewhat of a fatigueto her.

  The grandfather seemed to feel an especial sympathy for his littleinvalid charge, for he tried to think of something fresh every day tohelp forward her recovery. He climbed up the mountain every afternoon,higher and higher each day, and came home in the evening with largebunches of leaves which scented the air with a mingled fragrance as ofcarnations and thyme. He hung them up in the goat shed for Little Swanto eat so that she might give extra fine milk.

  Clara had now been on the mountain for three weeks. For some days pastthe grandfather, each morning after carrying her down, had said, "Won'tthe little daughter try if she can stand for a minute or two?" AndClara had made the effort in order to please him, but had clung to himas soon as her feet touched the ground, exclaiming that it hurt her so.He let her try a little longer, however, each day.

  It was many years since they had had such a splendid summer amongthe mountains. Day after day there were the same cloudless sky andbrilliant sun; the flowers opened wide their fragrant blossoms, andeverywhere the eye was greeted with a glow of color; and when theevening came the crimson light fell on mountain peaks and on the greatsnow-field, till at last the sun sank in a sea of golden flame.

  Heidi never tired of telling Clara of the beauty of the spot on thehigher slope of the mountain, where the bright golden rock-roses grewin masses, and the blue flowers were in such numbers that the verygrass seemed to have turned blue. An irrepressible longing came overher to see it all once more. She ran to her grandfather, who was in theshed, calling out almost before she was inside,--

  "Grandfather, will you take us out with the goats tomorrow? Oh, it isso lovely up there now!"

  "Very well," he answered, "but if I do, little Clara must do somethingto please me: she must try her best again this evening to stand on herfeet."

  Heidi ran back with the good news to Clara, and the latter promised totry her very best as the grandfather wished, for she looked forwardimmensely to the next day's excursion. Heidi was so pleased and excitedthat she called out to Peter as soon as she caught sight of him thatevening,--

  "Peter, Peter, we are all coming out with you tomorrow and are going tostay up there the whole day."

  Peter, cross as a bear, grumbled some reply, and lifted his stick togive Greenfinch a blow for no reason in particular, but Greenfinch sawthe movement, and with a leap over Snowflake's back she got out of theway, and the stick only hit the air.

  Clara and Heidi got into their two fine beds that night full ofdelightful anticipation of the morrow; they were so full of their plansthat they agreed to keep awake all night and talk over them. But theirheads had no sooner touched their soft pillows than the conversationsuddenly ceased, and Clara fell into a dream of an immense field,which looked the color of the sky, so thickly inlaid was it with blue,bell-shaped flowers; and Heidi heard the great bird of prey calling toher from the heights above, "Come! come! come!"