Heidi
come across anything so delicious, and as she put down her bowl, she
exclaimed, "Our milk tastes nicer than anything else in the world,
Grandfather."
A shrill whistle was heard outside. Heidi darted out like a flash of
lightning. There were the goats leaping and springing down the rocks,
with Peter in their midst. When he caught sight of Heidi he stood
still with astonishment and gazed speechlessly at her. Heidi called
out, "Good-evening, Peter," and then ran in among the goats. "Little
Swan! Little Bear! do you know me again?" And the animals evidently
recognized her voice at once, for they began rubbing their heads
against her and bleating loudly as if for joy, and as she called the
other goats by name one after the other, they all came scampering
towards her helter-skelter and crowding round her. The impatient
Greenfinch sprang into the air and over two of her companions in order
to get nearer, and even the shy little Snowflake butted the Great Turk
out of her way in quite a determined manner, which left him standing
taken aback by her boldness, and lifting his beard in the air as much
as to say, You see who I am.
"So you are back again?" said Peter, at last, taking Heidi's hand which
she was holding out to him in greeting. "I am glad you are back," he
said, while his whole face beamed with pleasure, and then he prepared
to go on with his goats; but he never had so much trouble with them
before, for when at last, by coaxing and threats, he had got them all
together, and Heidi had gone off with an arm over either head of her
grandfather's two goats the whole flock suddenly turned and ran after
her. Heidi had to go inside the stall with her two and shut the door,
or Peter would never have got home that night. When she went indoors
after this she found her bed already made up for her. The grandfather
had carefully spread and tucked in the clean sheets over the fragrant
new mown hay. It was with a happy heart that Heidi lay down in it that
night, and her sleep was sounder than it had been for a whole year
past. The grandfather got up at least ten times during the night and
mounted the ladder to see if Heidi was all right and showing no signs
of restlessness, and to feel that the hay he had stuffed into the round
window was keeping the moon from shining too brightly upon her. But
Heidi did not stir; she had no need now to wander about, for the great
burning longing of her heart was satisfied; she was at home again on
the mountain.
CHAPTER XIV
THE COAT WITH THE SILVER BUTTONS
The next afternoon Heidi was standing under the waving trees waiting
for her grandfather, who was going down with her to grandmother's, and
then on to Doerfli to fetch her trunk. She was longing to know how
grandmother had enjoyed her white bread and impatient to see and hear
her again. The grandfather came out, gave a look round, and then called
to her in a cheerful voice, "Well, now we can be off."
It was Saturday, a day when Alm-Uncle made everything clean and tidy
inside and outside the house; he had devoted the morning to this work
so as to be able to accompany Heidi in the afternoon, and the whole
place was now as spick and span as he liked to see it. They parted at
the grandmother's cottage and Heidi ran in. The grandmother had heard
her steps approaching and greeted her as she crossed the threshold, "Is
it you, child? have you come again?"
Then she took hold of Heidi's hand and held it fast in her own, for
she still seemed to fear that the child might be torn from her again.
She told Heidi how much she had enjoyed the white bread, and how much
stronger she felt already for having been able to eat it, and then
Peter's mother went on and said she was sure that if her mother could
eat like that for a week she would get back some of her strength.
"I know, Grandmother, what I will do," said Heidi eagerly, "I will
write to Clara, and she will send me as many rolls again, if not twice
as many as you have already, for I had ever such a large heap in the
wardrobe, and when they were all taken away she promised to give me as
many back, and she would do so I am sure."
"That is a good idea," said Brigitta; "but then, they would get hard
and stale. The baker in Doerfli makes the white rolls, and if we could
get some of those--but I can only just manage to pay for the black
bread."
A further bright thought came to Heidi, and with a look of joy, "Oh, I
have lots of money, Grandmother," she cried gleefully, skipping about
the room in her delight, "and I know now what I will do with it. You
must have a fresh white roll every day, and two on Sunday, and Peter
can bring them up from Doerfli."
"No, no, child!" answered the grandmother, "I cannot let you do that;
the money was not given to you for that purpose; you must give it to
your grandfather, and he will tell you how you are to spend it."
But Heidi was not to be hindered in her kind intentions, and she
continued to jump about, saying over and over again in a tone of
exultation, "Now, grandmother can have a roll every day and will grow
quite strong again--and, Oh, Grandmother," she suddenly exclaimed,
"if you get strong everything will grow light again for you; perhaps
it's only because you are weak that it is dark." The grandmother said
nothing, she did not wish to spoil the child's pleasure. As she went
jumping about Heidi suddenly caught sight of the grandmother's song
book, and another happy idea struck her, "Grandmother, I can also read
now, would you like me to read you one of your hymns from your old
book?"
"Oh, yes," said the grandmother, surprised and delighted; "but can you
really read, child, really?"
Heidi climbed on a chair and lifted down the book, bringing a cloud of
dust with it, for it had lain untouched on the shelf for a long time.
She wiped it off and sat herself down on a stool beside the old woman,
and asked her which hymn she should read.
"What you like, child, what you like," and the grandmother pushed her
spinning-wheel aside and sat in eager expectation waiting for Heidi to
begin. "Here is one about the sun, Grandmother, I will read you that."
And Heidi began, reading with more and more warmth of expression as she
went on,--
The morning breaks,
And warm and bright
The earth lies still
In the golden light--
For Dawn has scattered the clouds of night.
God's handiwork
Is seen around,
Things great and small
To His praise abound--
Where are the signs of His love not found?
Joy shall be ours
In that garden blest
Where after storm
We find our rest--
I wait in peace--God's time is best.
The grandmother sat with folded hands and a look of indescribable joy
on her face, such as Heidi had never seen there before, although at the
same time the tears were running down her cheeks.
"Ah, Heidi, that brings light to the heart! What comfort you have
brought me!" And the old woman kept on repeating the glad words, while
Heidi beamed with happiness.
Some one now knocked at the window and Heidi looked up and saw her
grandfather beckoning her to come home with him. She promised the
grandmother before leaving her that she would be with her the next day,
and even if she went out with Peter she would only spend half the day
with him, for the thought that she might make it light and happy again
for the grandmother gave her the greatest pleasure, greater even than
being out on the sunny mountain with the flowers and goats. Heidi was
so full of her morning's doings that she began at once to tell her
grandfather all about them: how the white bread could be brought every
day from Doerfli if there was money for it, and how the grandmother had
all at once grown stronger and happier, and light had come to her. "If
the grandmother won't take the money, Grandfather, will you give it all
to me, and I can then give Peter enough every day to buy a roll and two
on Sunday?"
"But how about the bed?" said her grandfather. "It would be nice for
you to have a proper bed, and there would then be plenty for the bread."
But Heidi gave her grandfather no peace till he consented to do what
she wanted; she slept a great deal better, she said, on her bed of
hay than on her fine pillowed bed in Frankfurt. So at last he said,
"The money is yours, do what you like with it; you can buy bread for
grandmother for years to come with it."
Heidi shouted for joy at the thought that grandmother would never need
to eat hard black bread any more, and "Oh, Grandfather!" she said,
"everything is happier now than it has ever been in our lives before!"
and she sang and skipped along, holding her grandfather's hand as
light-hearted as a bird. But all at once she grew quiet and said, "If
God had let me come at once, as I prayed, then everything would have
been different, I should only have had a little bread to bring to
grandmother, and I should not have been able to read, which is such a
comfort to her. So we will pray every day, won't we, Grandfather, and
never forgot Him again, or else He may forget us."
"And supposing one does forget Him?" said the grandfather in a low
voice.
"Then everything goes wrong, for God lets us then go where we like, and
when we get poor and miserable and begin to cry about it no one pities
us, but they say, You ran away from God, and so God, who could have
helped you, left you to yourself."
"That is true, Heidi; where did you learn that?"
"From Grandmamma Sesemann; she explained it all to me."
The grandfather walked on for a little while without speaking, then he
said, as if following his own train of thought: "And if it once is so,
it is so always; no one can go back, and he whom God has forgotten, is
forgotten for ever."
"Oh, no Grandfather, we can go back, for grandmamma told me so, and so
it was in the beautiful tale in my book--but you have not heard that
yet; but we shall be home directly now and then I will read it you, and
you will see how beautiful it is." And in her eagerness Heidi struggled
faster and faster up the steep ascent, and they were no sooner at the
top than she let go her grandfather's hand and ran into the hut. The
grandfather slung the basket off his shoulders in which he had brought
up a part of the contents of the trunk, which was too heavy to carry up
as it was. Then he sat down on his seat and began thinking.
Heidi soon came running out with her book under her arm and in a
sympathetic voice began to read the story of the Prodigal Son.
"Isn't that a beautiful tale, Grandfather," said Heidi, as the latter
continued to sit without speaking, for she had expected him to express
pleasure and astonishment.
"You are right, Heidi; it is a beautiful tale," he replied, but he
looked so grave as he said it that Heidi grew silent herself and sat
looking quietly at her pictures.
A few hours later, as she lay fast asleep in her bed, the grandfather
went up the ladder and put his lamp down near her bed so that the
light fell on the sleeping child. Her hands were still folded as if
she had fallen asleep saying her prayers, an expression of peace and
trust lay on the little face, and something in it seemed to appeal to
the grandfather, for he stood a long time gazing down at her without
speaking. At last he too folded his hands, and with bowed head said in
a low voice, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee and
am not worthy to be called Thy son." And two large tears rolled down
the old man's cheeks.
Next morning while the sound of a few early bells was ringing up from
the valley the grandfather called to Heidi to put on her best frock for
they were going to church together.