CHAPTER IV
SHOOTING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN SIDE
The next morning the sun came out early as bright as ever, and thenPeter appeared with the goats, and again the two children climbed uptogether to the high meadows, and so it went on day after day tillHeidi, passing her life thus among the grass and flowers, was burntbrown with the sun, and grew so strong and healthy that nothing everailed her. She was happy too, and lived from day to day as free andlighthearted as the little birds that make their home among the greenforest trees. Then the autumn came, and the wind blew louder andstronger, and the grandfather would say sometimes, "Today you must stayat home, Heidi; a sudden gust of the wind would blow a little thinglike you over the rocks into the valley below in a moment."
Whenever Peter heard that he must go alone he looked very unhappy, forhe saw nothing but mishaps of all kinds ahead, and did not know howhe should bear the long, dull day without Heidi. Then, too, there wasthe good meal he would miss, and besides that the goats on these dayswere so naughty and obstinate that he had twice the usual trouble withthem, for they had grown so accustomed to Heidi's presence that theywould run in every direction and refuse to go on unless she was withthem. Heidi was never unhappy, for wherever she was she found somethingto interest or amuse her. She liked best, it is true, to go out withPeter up to the flowers and the great bird, but she also found hergrandfather's hammering and sawing and carpentering very entertaining,and if it should chance to be the day when the large, round goats'-milkcheese was made she enjoyed beyond measure watching her grandfatherstir the great cauldron. The thing which attracted her most, however,was the waving and roaring of the three old fir trees on these windydays. She would stand underneath them and look up, unable to tearherself away, looking and listening while they bowed and swayed androared as the mighty wind rushed through them. There was no longer nowthe warm, bright sun that had shone all through the summer, so Heidiwent to the cupboard and got out her shoes and stockings and dress.
Then it grew very cold, and Peter would come up early in the morningblowing on his fingers to keep them warm. But he soon left off coming,for one night there was a heavy fall of snow and the next morning thewhole mountain was covered with it, and not a single little green leafeven was to be seen anywhere upon it. There was no Peter that day, andHeidi stood at the little window looking out in wonderment, for thesnow was beginning again, and the thick flakes kept falling till thesnow was up to the window, and still they continued to fall, and thesnow grew higher, so that at last the window could not be opened, andshe and her grandfather were shut up fast within the hut. Heidi thoughtthis was great fun and ran from one window to the other. The next day,the snow having ceased, the grandfather went out and shoveled it awayfrom the house, and threw it into such great heaps that they lookedlike mountains.
Heidi and her grandfather were sitting one afternoon on theirthree-legged stools before the fire when there came a great thump atthe door. It was Peter all white with snow for he had had to fight hisway through deep snowdrifts. He had been determined, however, to climbup to the hut, for it was a week now since he had seen Heidi.
"Good-evening," he said as he came in; then he went and placed himselfas near the fire as he could, his whole face beaming with pleasureat finding himself there. Heidi looked on in astonishment, for Peterwas beginning to thaw all over with the warmth, so that he had theappearance of a trickling waterfall.
"Well, General, how goes it with you?" said the grandfather, "now thatyou have lost your army you will have to turn to your pen and pencil."
"Why must he turn to his pen and pencil," asked Heidi immediately, fullof curiosity.
"During the winter he must go to school," explained her grandfather,"and learn how to read and write; it's a bit hard, although usefulsometimes afterwards. Am I not right, General?"
"Yes, indeed," assented Peter.
Heidi's interest was now thoroughly awakened, and she had so manyquestions to ask Peter about school, and the conversation took so longthat he had time to get thoroughly dry.
"Well, now, General, you have been under fire for some time and mustwant some refreshment. Come and join us," said the grandfather as hebrought the supper out of the cupboard, and Heidi pushed the stools tothe table. There was also now a bench fastened against the wall, foras he was no longer alone the grandfather had put up seats of variouskinds here and there, long enough to hold two persons, for Heidi had away of always keeping close to her grandfather whether he was walking,sitting, or standing. Peter opened his round eyes very wide when hesaw what a large piece of meat Alm-Uncle gave him on his thick sliceof bread. It was a long time since Peter had had anything so nice toeat. As soon as the pleasant meal was over he began to get ready forreturning home, for it was already growing dark. He had said his"good-night" and his thanks, and was just going out, when he turnedand said, "I shall come again next Sunday, this day week, and mygrandmother sent word that she would like you to come and see her someday."
It was quite a new idea to Heidi that she should go and pay anybody avisit, and she could not get it out of her head; so the first thing shesaid to her grandfather the next day was, "I must go down to see thegrandmother today, she will be expecting me."
"The snow is too deep," answered the grandfather, trying to put heroff. Not a day passed but what she said five or six times to hergrandfather, "I must certainly go today, the grandmother will bewaiting for me."
On the fourth day, when Heidi was sitting on her high stool at dinnerwith the bright sun shining in upon her through the window, she againrepeated her little speech, "I must certainly go down to see thegrandmother today, or else I shall keep her waiting too long."
The grandfather rose from the table, climbed up to the hayloft andbrought down the thick sack that was Heidi's coverlid, and said,"Come along then!" The child skipped out gleefully after him into theglittering world of snow.
The old fir trees were standing now quite silent, their branchescovered with the white snow, and they looked so lovely as theyglittered and sparkled in the sunlight that Heidi jumped for joy at thesight and kept on calling out, "Come here, come here, Grandfather! Thefir trees are all silver and gold!" The grandfather had gone into theshed and he now came out, dragging a large hand-sleigh; inside therewas a low seat, and the sleigh could be pushed forward and guided bythe feet of the one who sat upon it with the help of a pole that wasfastened to the side. The old man got in and lifted the child on to hislap; then he wrapped her up in the sack, that she might keep nice andwarm, and put his left arm closely round her, for it was necessary tohold her tight during the coming journey. He now grasped the pole withhis right hand and gave the sleigh a push forward with his two feet.It shot down the mountain side with such rapidity that Heidi thoughtthey were flying through the air like a bird, and shouted aloud withdelight. Suddenly they came to a standstill, and there they were atPeter's hut. Her grandfather lifted her out and unwrapped her. "Thereyou are, now go in, and when it begins to grow dark you must starton your way home again." Then he left her and went up the mountain,pulling his sleigh after him.
Heidi opened the door of the hut and stepped into a tiny room thatlooked very dark, with a fireplace and a few dishes on a wooden shelf;this was the little kitchen. She opened another door, and found herselfin another small room, for the place was not a herdsman's hut like hergrandfather's, with one large room on the ground floor and a hay-loftabove, but a very old cottage, where everything was narrow and poorand shabby. A table was close to the door, and as Heidi stepped in shesaw a woman sitting at it, putting a patch on a waistcoat which Heidirecognized at once as Peter's. In the corner sat an old woman, bentwith age, spinning. Heidi was quite sure this was the grandmother, soshe went up to the spinning-wheel and said, "Good-day, Grandmother, Ihave come at last; did you think I was a long time coming?"
The old woman raised her head and felt for the hand that the childheld out to her, and when she had found it, she passed her own over itthoughtfully for a few seconds, and then said, "Are y
ou the child wholives up with Alm-Uncle, are you Heidi?"
"Yes, yes," answered Heidi, "I have just come down in the sleigh withgrandfather."
"Is it possible! Why, your hands are quite warm! Brigitta, didAlm-Uncle come himself with the child?"
Peter's mother had left her work and risen from the table and now stoodlooking at Heidi with curiosity, scanning her from head to foot. "I donot know, mother, whether Uncle came himself; it is hardly likely, thechild probably makes a mistake."
But Heidi looked steadily at the woman, and said, "I know quite wellwho wrapped me up in my bedcover and brought me down in the sleigh: itwas grandfather."
"There was some truth then perhaps in what Peter used to tell us ofAlm-Uncle during the summer, when we thought he must be wrong," saidgrandmother; "but who would ever have believed that such a thing waspossible; I did not think the child would live three weeks up there.What is she like, Brigitta?"
The latter had so thoroughly examined Heidi on all sides that she waswell able to describe her to her mother.
Heidi meanwhile had not been idle; she had made the round of the roomand looked carefully at everything there was to be seen. All of asudden she exclaimed, "Grandmother, one of your shutters is flappingbackwards and forwards: grandfather would put a nail in and make it allright in a minute. It will break one of the panes some day; look, howit keeps on banging!"
"Ah, dear child," said the old woman, "I am not able to see it, but Ican hear that and many other things besides the shutter. Everythingabout the place rattles and creaks when the wind is blowing, and itgets inside through all the cracks and holes. The house is going topieces, and in the night, when the two others are asleep, I often lieawake in fear and trembling, thinking that the whole place will giveway and fall and kill us. And there is not a creature to mend anythingfor us, for Peter does not understand such work."
"But why cannot you see, Grandmother, that the shutter is loose. Look,there it goes again, see, that one there!" And Heidi pointed to theparticular shutter.
"Alas, child, I can see nothing, nothing," said the grandmother in avoice of lamentation.
"But if I were to go outside and put back the shutter so that you hadmore light, then you could see, Grandmother?"
"No, no, not even then, no one can make it light for me again."
"But if you were to go outside among all the white snow, then surelyyou would find it light; just come with me, Grandmother, and I willshow you." Heidi took hold of the old woman's hand to lead her along,for she was beginning to feel quite distressed at the thought of herbeing without light.
"Let me be, dear child; it is always dark for me now; whether in snowor sun. It will never be light for me again on earth, never."
At these words Heidi broke into loud crying. In her distress she kepton sobbing out, "Who can make it light for you again? Can no one do it?Isn't there any one who can do it?"
The grandmother now tried to comfort the child, but it was not easy toquiet her. Heidi did not often weep, but when she did she could not getover her trouble for a long while. At last the old woman said, "DearHeidi, you cannot think how glad I am to hear a kind word when I can nolonger see, and it is such a pleasure to me to listen to you while youtalk. So come and sit beside me and tell me what you do up there, andhow grandfather occupies himself. I knew him very well in the old days;but for many years now I have heard nothing of him, except throughPeter, who never says much."
This was a new and happy idea to Heidi; she quickly dried her tearsand said in a comforting voice, "Wait, Grandmother, till I have toldgrandfather everything, he will make it light for you again, I am sure,and will do something so that the house will not fall; he will puteverything right for you."
Heidi now began to give a lively description of her life with thegrandfather, and of the days she spent on the mountain with the goats,and then went on to tell what she did during the winter, and how hergrandfather was able to make all sorts of things, seats and stools, andmangers where the hay was put for Little Swan and Little Bear, besidesa new large water-tub for her to bathe in when the summer came, and anew milk-bowl and spoon.
The grandmother listened with the greatest attention, only from time totime addressing her daughter, "Do you hear that, Brigitta? Do you hearwhat she is saying about Uncle?"
The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a heavy thump on the door,and in marched Peter, who stood stock-still, opening his eyes withastonishment, when he caught sight of Heidi; then his face beamed withsmiles as she called out, "Good-evening, Peter."
"What, is the boy back from school already," exclaimed the grandmotherin surprise. "I have not known an afternoon to pass so quickly as thisone for years. How is the reading getting on, Peter?"
"As usual," was Peter's answer.
The old woman gave a little sigh, "Ah, well," she said, "I hoped youwould have something different to tell me by this time, as you aregoing to be twelve years old this February."
"What was it you hoped he would have to tell you?" asked Heidi,interested in all the grandmother said.
"I mean that he ought to have learnt to read a bit by now," continuedthe grandmother. "Up there on the shelf is an old prayer-book, withbeautiful songs in it which I have not heard for a long time andcannot now remember to repeat to myself, and I hoped that Peter wouldsoon learn enough to be able to read one of them to me sometimes; buthe finds it too difficult."
Heidi now jumped up from her low chair, and holding out her handhastily to the grandmother said, "Good-night, Grandmother, it isgetting dark; I must go home at once," and bidding good-bye to Peterand his mother she went towards the door. But the grandmother calledout in an anxious voice, "Wait, wait, Heidi, you must not go alone likethat, Peter must go with you. Have you got something warm to put roundyour throat?"
"I have not anything to put on," called back Heidi, "but I am sure Ishall not be cold," and with that she ran outside and went off at sucha pace that Peter had difficulty in overtaking her.
The children had taken but a few steps before they saw the grandfathercoming down to meet them, and in another minute his long strides hadbrought him to their side.
"That's right, Heidi; you have kept your word," said the grandfather,and then wrapping the sack firmly round her he lifted her in his armsand strode off with her up the mountain.
They had no sooner got inside the hut than Heidi at once began:"Grandfather, tomorrow we must take the hammer and the long nails andfasten grandmother's shutter, and drive in a lot more nails in otherplaces, for her house shakes and rattles all over."
HEIDI NOW BEGAN TO GIVE A LIVELY DESCRIPTION OF HER LIFEWITH THE GRANDFATHER]
"We must, must we? who told you that?" asked her grandfather.
"Nobody told me, but I know it for all that," replied Heidi, "foreverything is giving way, and when the grandmother cannot sleep, shelies trembling, for she thinks that every minute the house will falldown on their heads; and everything now is dark for grandmother, andshe does not think any one can make it light for her again, but youwill be able to, I am sure, Grandfather. Tomorrow we must go and helpher; we will, won't we, Grandfather?"
The child was clinging to the old man and looking up at him in trustfulconfidence. The grandfather looked down at Heidi for a while withoutspeaking, and then said, "Yes, Heidi, we will do something to stop therattling, at least we can do that; we will go down about it tomorrow."
The child went skipping round the room for joy, crying out, "We shallgo tomorrow! we shall go tomorrow!"
The grandfather kept his promise. On the following afternoon he broughtthe sleigh out again, and as on the previous day, he set Heidi down atthe door of the grandmother's hut and said, "Go in now, and when itgrows dark, come out again." Then he put the sack in the sleigh andwent round the house.
Heidi had hardly opened the door and sprung into the room when thegrandmother called out from her corner, "It's the child again! here shecomes!" Heidi ran to her, and then quickly drew the little stool closeup to the old woman, and
seating herself upon it, began to tell andask her all kinds of things. All at once came the sound of heavy blowsagainst the wall of the hut and grandmother gave such a start of alarmthat she nearly upset the spinning-wheel, and cried in a tremblingvoice, "Ah, my God, now it is coming, the house is going to fall uponus!" But Heidi caught her by the arm, and said soothingly, "No, no,Grandmother, do not be frightened, it is only grandfather with hishammer; he is mending up everything, so that you shan't have such fearand trouble."
"Is it possible! is it really possible! so the dear God has notforgotten us!" exclaimed the grandmother. "Do you hear, Brigitta, whatthat noise is? Did you hear what the child says? Go outside, Brigitta,and if it is Alm-Uncle, tell him he must come inside a moment that Imay thank him."
Brigitta went outside and found Alm-Uncle in the act of fastening someheavy pieces of new wood along the wall. She stepped up to him andsaid, "Good-evening, Uncle, mother and I thank you for doing us sucha kind service, and she would like to tell you herself how gratefulshe is; I do not know who else would have done it for us; we shall notforget your kindness, for I am sure--"
"That will do," said the old man, interrupting her. "I know what youthink of Alm-Uncle without your telling me. Go indoors again, I canfind out for myself where the mending is wanted."
Brigitta obeyed on the spot, for Uncle had a way with him that made fewpeople care to oppose his will. He went on knocking with his hammer allround the house, and then mounted the narrow steps to the roof, andhammered away there, until he had used up all the nails he had broughtwith him. Meanwhile it had been growing dark, and he had hardly comedown from the roof and dragged the sleigh out from behind the goat-shedwhen Heidi appeared outside. The grandfather wrapped her up and tookher in his arms as he had done the day before, for although he had todrag the sleigh up the mountain after him, he feared that if the childsat in it alone her wrappings would fall off and that she would benearly if not quite frozen, so he carried her warm and safe in his arms.
So the winter went by. After many years of joyless life, the blindgrandmother had at last found something to make her happy. She listenedfor the little tripping footstep as soon as day had come, and when sheheard the door open and knew the child was really there, she would callout, "God be thanked, she has come again!"
And Heidi had also grown very fond of the old grandmother, and whenat last she knew for certain that no one could make it light for heragain, she was overcome with sorrow; but the grandmother told heragain that she felt the darkness much less when Heidi was with her,and so every fine winter's day the child came traveling down in hersleigh. The grandfather always took her, never raising any objection,indeed he always carried the hammer and sundry other things down in thesleigh with him, and many an afternoon was spent by him in making thegoatherd's cottage sound and tight. It no longer groaned and rattledthe whole night through, and the grandmother, who for many winters hadnot been able to sleep in peace as she did now, said she should neverforget what the Uncle had done for her.