Heidi (24 page)

The two men could not help laughing, and the doctor answered
that he should never have thought it.

As the sun began to sink behind the mountains the doctor rose,
thinking it was time to return to Dorfli and seek for quarters.
The grandfather carried the cakes and the shawl and the large
sausage, and the doctor took Heidi's hand, so they all three
started down the mountain. Arrived at Peter's home Heidi bid the
others good-bye; she was to wait at grandmother's till her
grandfather, who was going on to Dorfli with his guest, returned
to fetch her. As the doctor shook hands with her she asked,
"Would you like to come out with the goats to-morrow morning?"
for she could think of no greater treat to offer him.

"Agreed!" answered the doctor, "we will go together,"

Heidi now ran in to the grandmother; she first, with some
effort, managed to carry in the box of cakes; then she ran out
again and brought in the sausage—for her grandfather had put the
presents down by the door—and then a third time for the shawl.
She had placed them as close as she could to the grandmother, so
that the latter might be able to feel them and understand what
was there. The shawl she laid over the old woman's knees.

"They are all from Frankfurt, from Clara and grandmamma," she
explained to the astonished grandmother and Brigitta, the latter
having watched her dragging in all the heavy things, unable to
imagine what was happening.

"And you are very pleased with the cakes, aren't you,
grandmother? taste how soft they are!" said Heidi over and over
again, to which the grandmother continued to answer, "Yes, yes,
Heidi, I should think so! what kind people they must be!" And
then she would pass her hand over the warm thick shawl and add,
"This will be beautiful for the cold winter! I never thought I
should ever have such a splendid thing as this to put on."

Heidi could not help feeling some surprise at the grandmother
seeming to take more pleasure in the shawl than the cakes.
Meanwhile Brigitta stood gazing at the sausage with almost an
expression of awe. She had hardly in her life seen such a
monster sausage, much less owned one, and she could scarcely
believe her eyes. She shook her head and said doubtfully, "I must
ask Uncle what it is meant for,"

But Heidi answered without hesitation, "It is meant for eating,
not for anything else."

Peter came tumbling in at this minute. "Uncle is just behind me,
he is coming—" he began, and then stopped short, for his eye
had caught sight of the sausage, and he was too much taken aback
to say more. But Heidi understood that her grandfather was near
and so said good-bye to grandmother. The old man now never passed
the door without going in to wish the old woman good-day, and she
liked to hear his footstep approaching, for he always had a
cheery word for her. But to-day it was growing late for Heidi,
who was always up with the lark, and the grandfather would never
let her go to bed after hours; so this evening he only called
good-night through the open door and started home at once with
the child, and the two climbed under the starlit sky back to
their peaceful dwelling.

The next morning the doctor climbed up from Dorfli with Peter
and the goats. The kindly gentleman tried now and then to enter
into conversation with the boy, but his attempts failed, for he
could hardly get a word out of Peter in answer to his questions.
Peter was not easily persuaded to talk. So the party silently
made their way up to the hut, where they found Heidi awaiting
them with her two goats, all three as fresh and lively as the
morning sun among the mountains.

"Are you coming to-day?" said Peter, repeating the words with
which he daily greeted her, either in question or in summons.

"Of course I am, if the doctor is coming too," replied Heidi.

Peter cast a sidelong glance at the doctor. The grandfather now
came out with the dinner bag, and after bidding good-day to the
doctor he went up to Peter and slung it over his neck. It was
heavier than usual, for Alm-Uncle had added some meat to-day, as
he thought the doctor might like to have his lunch out and eat
it when the children did. Peter gave a grin, for he felt sure
there was something more than ordinary in it.

And so the ascent began. The goats as usual came thronging
around Heidi, each trying to be nearest her, until at last she
stood still and said, "Now you must go on in front and behave
properly, and not keep on turning back and pushing and poking me,
for I want to talk to the doctor," and she gave Snowflake a
little pat on the back and told her to be good and obedient. By
degrees she managed to make her way out from among them and
joined the doctor, who took her by the hand. He had no difficulty
now in conversing with his companion, for Heidi had a great deal
to say about the goats and their peculiarities, and about the
flowers and the rocks and the birds, and so they clambered on and
reached their resting-place before they were aware. Peter had
sent a good many unfriendly glances towards the doctor on the way
up, which might have quite alarmed the latter if he had happened
to notice them, which, fortunately, he did not.

Heidi now led her friend to her favorite spot where she was
accustomed to sit and enjoy the beauty around her; the doctor
followed her example and took his seat beside her on the warm
grass. Over the heights and over the far green valley hung the
golden glory of the autumn day. The great snow-field sparkled in
the bright sunlight, and the two grey rocky peaks rose in their
ancient majesty against the dark blue sky. A soft, light morning
breeze blew deliciously across the mountain, gently stirring the
bluebells that still remained of the summer's wealth of flowers,
their slender heads nodding cheerfully in the sunshine. Overhead
the great bird was flying round and round in wide circles, but to-
day he made no sound; poised on his large wings he floated
contentedly in the blue ether. Heidi looked about her first at
one thing and then at another. The waving flowers, the blue sky,
the bright sunshine, the happy bird—everything was so
beautiful! so beautiful! Her eyes were alight with joy. And now
she turned to her friend to see if he too were enjoying the
beauty. The doctor had been sitting thoughtfully gazing around
him. As he met her glad bright eyes, "Yes, Heidi," he responded,
"I see how lovely it all is, but tell me—if one brings a sad
heart up here, how may it be healed so that it can rejoice in all
this beauty?"

"Oh, but," exclaimed Heidi, "no one is sad up here, only in
Frankfurt."

The doctor smiled and then growing serious again he continued,
"But supposing one is not able to leave all the sadness behind
at Frankfurt; can you tell me anything that will help then?"

"When you do not know what more to do you must go and tell
everything to God," answered Heidi with decision.

"Ah, that is a good thought of yours, Heidi," said the doctor.
"But if it is God Himself who has sent the trouble, what can we
say to Him then?"

Heidi sat pondering for a while; she was sure in her heart that
God could help out of every trouble. She thought over her own
experiences and then found her answer.

"Then you must wait," she said, "and keep on saying to yourself:
God certainly knows of some happiness for us which He is going
to bring out of the trouble, only we must have patience and not
run away. And then all at once something happens and we see
clearly ourselves that God has had some good thought in His mind
all along; but because we cannot see things beforehand, and only
know how dreadfully miserable we are, we think it is always going
to be so."

"That is a beautiful faith, child, and be sure you hold it
fast," replied the doctor. Then he sat on a while in silence,
looking at the great overshadowing mountains and the green,
sunlit valley below before he spoke again,—

"Can you understand, Heidi, that a man may sit here with such a
shadow over his eyes that he cannot feel and enjoy the beauty
around him, while the heart grows doubly sad knowing how
beautiful it could be? Can you understand that?"

A pain shot through the child's young happy heart. The shadow
over the eyes brought to her remembrance the grandmother, who
would never again be able to see the sunlight and the beauty up
here. This was Heidi's great sorrow, which re-awoke each time
she thought about the darkness. She did not speak for a few
minutes, for her happiness was interrupted by this sudden pang.
Then in a grave voice she said,—

"Yes, I can understand it. And I know this, that then one must
say one of grandmother's hymns, which bring the light back a
little, and often make it so bright for her that she is quite
happy again. Grandmother herself told me this."

"Which hymns are they, Heidi?" asked the doctor.

"I only know the one about the sun and the beautiful garden, and
some of the verses of the long one, which are favorites with
her, and she always likes me to read them to her two or three
times over," replied Heidi.

"Well, say the verses to me then, I should like to hear them
too," and the doctor sat up in order to listen better.

Heidi put her hands together and sat collecting her thoughts for
a second or two: "Shall I begin at the verse that grandmother
says gives her a feeling of hope and confidence?"

The doctor nodded his assent, and Heidi began,—

Let not your heart be troubled
Nor fear your soul dismay,
There is a wise Defender
And He will be your stay.
Where you have failed, He conquers,
See, how the foeman flies!
And all your tribulation
Is turned to glad surprise.

If for a while it seemeth
His mercy is withdrawn,
That He no longer careth
For His wandering child forlorn,
Doubt not His great compassion,
His love can never tire,
To those who wait in patience
He gives their heart's desire.

Heidi suddenly paused; she was not sure if the doctor was still
listening. He was sitting motionless with his hand before his
eyes. She thought he had fallen asleep; when he awoke, if he
wanted to hear more verses, she would go on. There was no sound
anywhere. The doctor sat in silence, but he was certainly not
asleep. His thoughts had carried him back to a long past time:
he saw himself as a little boy standing by his dear mother's
chair; she had her arm round his neck and was saying the very
verses to him that Heidi had just recited—words which he had not
heard now for years. He could hear his mother's voice and see her
loving eyes resting upon him, and as Heidi ceased the old dear
voice seemed to be saying other things to him; and the words he
heard again must have carried him far, far away, for it was a
long time before he stirred or took his hand from his eyes. When
at last he roused himself he met Heidi's eyes looking wonderingly
at him.

"Heidi," he said, taking the child's hand in his, "that was a
beautiful hymn of yours," and there was a happier ring in his
voice as he spoke. "We will come out here together another day,
and you will let me hear it again."

Peter meanwhile had had enough to do in giving vent to his
anger. It was now some days since Heidi had been out with him,
and when at last she did come, there she sat the whole time
beside the old gentleman, and Peter could not get a word with
her. He got into a terrible temper, and at last went and stood
some way back behind the doctor, where the latter could not see
him, and doubling his fist made imaginary hits at the enemy.
Presently he doubled both fists, and the longer Heidi stayed
beside the gentleman, the more fiercely did he threaten with
them.

Meanwhile the sun had risen to the height which Peter knew
pointed to the dinner hour. All of a sudden he called at the top
of his voice, "It's dinner time."

Heidi was rising to fetch the dinner bag so that the doctor
might eat his where he sat. But he stopped her, telling her he
was not hungry at all, and only cared for a glass of milk, as he
wanted to climb up a little higher. Then Heidi found that she
also was not hungry and only wanted milk, and she should like,
she said, to take the doctor up to the large moss-covered rock
where Greenfinch had nearly jumped down and killed herself. So
she ran and explained matters to Peter, telling him to go and get
milk for the two. Peter seemed hardly to understand. "Who is
going to eat what is in the bag then?" he asked.

"You can have it," she answered, "only first make haste and get
the milk."

Peter had seldom performed any task more promptly, for he
thought of the bag and its contents, which now belonged to him.
As soon as the other two were sitting quietly drinking their
milk, he opened it, and quite trembled for joy at the sight of
the meat, and he was just putting his hand in to draw it out when
something seemed to hold him back. His conscience smote him at
the remembrance of how he had stood with his doubled fists behind
the doctor, who was now giving up to him his whole good dinner.
He felt as if he could not now enjoy it. But all at once he
jumped up and ran back to the spot where he had stood before, and
there held up his open hands as a sign that he had no longer any
wish to use them as fists, and kept them up until he felt he had
made amends for his past conduct. Then he rushed back and sat
down to the double enjoyment of a clear conscience and an
unusually satisfying meal.

Heidi and the doctor climbed and talked for a long while, until
the latter said it was time for him to be going back, and no
doubt Heidi would like to go and be with her goats. But Heidi
would not hear of this, as then the doctor would have to go the
whole way down the mountain alone. She insisted on accompanying
him as far as the grandfather's hut, or even a little further.
She kept hold of her friend's hand all the time, and the whole
way she entertained him with accounts of this thing and that,
showing him the spots where the goats loved best to feed, and
others where in summer the flowers of all colors grew in
greatest abundance. She could give them all their right names,
for her grandfather had taught her these during the summer
months. But at last the doctor insisted on her going back; so
they bid each other good-night and the doctor continued his
descent, turning now and again to look back, and each time he saw
Heidi standing on the same spot and waving her hand to him. Even
so in the old days had his own dear little daughter watched him
when he went from home.