The Classic Children's Literature Collection: 39 Classic Novels

by Various Authors

  “Leave off jumping about, it is time for dinner,” said Peter; “sit down now and begin.”

  Heidi sat down. “Is the milk for me?” she asked, giving another look of delight at the beautifully arranged square with the bowl as a chief ornament in the centre.

  “Yes,” replied Peter, “and the two large pieces of bread and cheese are yours also, and when you have drunk up that milk, you are to have another bowlful from the white goat, and then it will be my turn.”

  “And which do you get your milk from?” inquired Heidi.

  “From my own goat, the piebald one. But go on now with your dinner,” said Peter, again reminding her it was time to eat. Heidi now took up the bowl and drank her milk, and as soon as she had put it down empty Peter rose and filled it again for her. Then she broke off a piece of her bread and held out the remainder, which was still larger than Peter’s own piece, together with the whole big slice of cheese to her companion, saying, “You can have that, I have plenty.”

  Peter looked at Heidi, unable to speak for astonishment, for never in all his life could he have said and done like that with anything he had. He hesitated a moment, for he could not believe that Heidi was in earnest; but the latter kept on holding out the bread and cheese, and as Peter still did not take it, she laid it down on his knees. He saw then that she really meant it; he seized the food, nodded his thanks and acceptance of her present, and then made a more splendid meal than he had known ever since he was a goat-herd. Heidi the while still continued to watch the goats. “Tell me all their names,” she said.

  Peter knew these by heart, for having very little else to carry in his head he had no difficulty in remembering them. So he began, telling Heidi the name of each goat in turn as he pointed it out to her. Heidi listened with great attention, and it was not long before she could herself distinguish the goats from one another and could call each by name, for every goat had its own peculiarities which could not easily be mistaken; only one had to watch them closely, and this Heidi did. There was the great Turk with his big horns, who was always wanting to butt the others, so that most of them ran away when they saw him coming and would have nothing to do with their rough companion. Only Greenfinch, the slender nimble little goat, was brave enough to face him, and would make a rush at him, three or four times in succession, with such agility and dexterity, that the great Turk often stood still quite astounded not venturing to attack her again, for Greenfinch was fronting him, prepared for more warlike action, and her horns were sharp. Then there was little White Snowflake, who bleated in such a plaintive and beseeching manner that Heidi already had several times run to it and taken its head in her hands to comfort it. Just at this moment the pleading young cry was heard again, and Heidi jumped up running and, putting her arms round the little creature’s neck, asked in a sympathetic voice, “What is it, little Snowflake? Why do you call like that as if in trouble?” The goat pressed closer to Heidi in a confiding way and left off bleating. Peter called out from where he was sitting—for he had not yet got to the end of his bread and cheese, “She cries like that because the old goat is not with her; she was sold at Mayenfeld the day before yesterday, and so will not come up the mountain any more.”

  “Who is the old goat?” called Heidi back.

  “Why, her mother, of course,” was the answer.

  “Where is the grandmother?” called Heidi again.

  “She has none.”

  “And the grandfather?”

  “She has none.”

  “Oh, you poor little Snowflake!” exclaimed Heidi, clasping the animal gently to her, “but do not cry like that any more; see now, I shall come up here with you every day, so that you will not be alone any more, and if you want anything you have only to come to me.”

  The young animal rubbed its head contentedly against Heidi’s shoulder, and no longer gave such plaintive bleats. Peter now having finished his meal joined Heidi and the goats, Heidi having by this time found out a great many things about these. She had decided that by far the handsomest and best-behaved of the goats were undoubtedly the two belonging to her grandfather; they carried themselves with a certain air of distinction and generally went their own way, and as to the great Turk they treated him with indifference and contempt.

  The goats were now beginning to climb the rocks again, each seeking for the plants it liked in its own fashion, some jumping over everything they met till they found what they wanted, others going more carefully and cropping all the nice leaves by the way, the Turk still now and then giving the others a poke with his horns. Little Swan and Little Bear clambered lightly up and never failed to find the best bushes, and then they would stand gracefully poised on their pretty legs, delicately nibbling at the leaves. Heidi stood with her hands behind her back, carefully noting all they did.

  “Peter,” she said to the boy who had again thrown himself down on the ground, “the prettiest of all the goats are Little Swan and Little Bear.”

  “Yes, I know they are,” was the answer. “Alm-Uncle brushes them down and washes them and gives them salt, and he has the nicest shed for them.”

  All of a sudden Peter leaped to his feet and ran hastily after the goats. Heidi followed him as fast as she could, for she was too eager to know what had happened to stay behind. Peter dashed through the middle of the flock towards that side of the mountain where the rocks fell perpendicularly to a great depth below, and where any thoughtless goat, if it went too near, might fall over and break all its legs. He had caught sight of the inquisitive Greenfinch taking leaps in that direction, and he was only just in time, for the animal had already sprung to the edge of the abyss. All Peter could do was to throw himself down and seize one of her hind legs. Greenfinch, thus taken by surprise, began bleating furiously, angry at being held so fast and prevented from continuing her voyage of discovery. She struggled to get loose, and endeavored so obstinately to leap forward that Peter shouted to Heidi to come and help him, for he could not get up and was afraid of pulling out the goat’s leg altogether.

  Heidi had already run up and she saw at once the danger both Peter and the animal were in. She quickly gathered a bunch of sweet-smelling leaves, and then, holding them under Greenfinch’s nose, said coaxingly, “Come, come, Greenfinch, you must not be naughty! Look, you might fall down there and break your leg, and that would give you dreadful pain!”

  The young animal turned quickly, and began contentedly eating the leaves out of Heidi’s hand. Meanwhile Peter got on to his feet again and took hold of Greenfinch by the band round her neck from which her bell was hung, and Heidi taking hold of her in the same way on the other side, they led the wanderer back to the rest of the flock that had remained peacefully feeding. Peter, now he had his goat in safety, lifted his stick in order to give her a good beating as punishment, and Greenfinch seeing what was coming shrank back in fear. But Heidi cried out, “No, no, Peter, you must not strike her; see how frightened she is!”

  “She deserves it,” growled Peter, and again lifted his stick. Then Heidi flung herself against him and cried indignantly, “You have no right to touch her, it will hurt her, let her alone!”

  Peter looked with surprise at the commanding little figure, whose dark eyes were flashing, and reluctantly he let his stick drop. “Well I will let her off if you will give me some more of your cheese to-morrow,” he said, for he was determined to have something to make up to him for his fright.

  “You shall have it all, to-morrow and every day, I do not want it,” replied Heidi, giving ready consent to his demand. “And I will give you bread as well, a large piece like you had to-day; but then you must promise never to beat Greenfinch, or Snowflake, or any of the goats.”

  “All right,” said Peter, “I don’t care,” which meant that he would agree to the bargain. He now let go of Greenfinch, who joyfully sprang to join her companions.

  And thus imperceptibly the day had crept on to its close, and now t
he sun was on the point of sinking out of sight behind the high mountains. Heidi was again sitting on the ground, silently gazing at the blue bell-shaped flowers, as they glistened in the evening sun, for a golden light lay on the grass and flowers, and the rocks above were beginning to shine and glow. All at once she sprang to her feet, “Peter! Peter! everything is on fire! All the rocks are burning, and the great snow mountain and the sky! O look, look! the high rock up there is red with flame! O the beautiful, fiery snow! Stand up, Peter! See, the fire has reached the great bird’s nest! look at the rocks! look at the fir trees! Everything, everything is on fire!”

  “It is always like that,” said Peter composedly, continuing to peel his stick; “but it is not really fire.”

  “What is it then?” cried Heidi, as she ran backwards and forwards to look first one side and then the other, for she felt she could not have enough of such a beautiful sight. “What is it, Peter, what is it?” she repeated.

  “It gets like that of itself,” explained Peter.

  “Look, look!” cried Heidi in fresh excitement, “now they have turned all rose color! Look at that one covered with snow, and that with the high, pointed rocks! What do you call them?”

  “Mountains have not any names,” he answered.

  “O how beautiful, look at the crimson snow! And up there on the rocks there are ever so many roses! Oh! now they are turning grey! Oh! oh! now all the color has died away! it’s all gone, Peter.” And Heidi sat down on the ground looking as full of distress as if everything had really come to an end.

  “It will come again to-morrow,” said Peter. “Get up, we must go home now.” He whistled to his goats and together they all started on their homeward way.

  “Is it like that every day, shall we see it every day when we bring the goats up here?” asked Heidi, as she clambered down the mountain at Peter’s side; she waited eagerly for his answer, hoping that he would tell her it was so.

  “It is like that most days,” he replied.

  “But will it be like that to-morrow for certain?” Heidi persisted.

  “Yes, yes, to-morrow for certain,” Peter assured her in answer.

  Heidi now felt quite happy again, and her little brain was so full of new impressions and new thoughts that she did not speak any more until they had reached the hut. The grandfather was sitting under the fir trees, where he had also put up a seat, waiting as usual for his goats which returned down the mountain on this side.

  Heidi ran up to him followed by the white and brown goats, for they knew their own master and stall. Peter called out after her, “Come with me again to-morrow! Good-night!” For he was anxious for more than one reason that Heidi should go with him the next day.

  Heidi ran back quickly and gave Peter her hand, promising to go with him, and then making her way through the goats she once more clasped Snowflake round the neck, saying in a gentle soothing voice, “Sleep well, Snowflake, and remember that I shall be with you again to-morrow, so you must not bleat so sadly any more.” Snowflake gave her a friendly and grateful look, and then went leaping joyfully after the other goats.

  Heidi returned to the fir-trees. “O grandfather,” she cried, even before she had come up to him, “it was so beautiful. The fire, and the roses on the rocks, and the blue and yellow flowers, and look what I have brought you!” And opening the apron that held her flowers she shook them all out at her grandfather’s feet. But the poor flowers, how changed they were! Heidi hardly knew them again. They looked like dry bits of hay, not a single little flower cup stood open. “O grandfather, what is the matter with them?” exclaimed Heidi in shocked surprise, “they were not like that this morning, why do they look so now?”

  “They like to stand out there in the sun and not to be shut up in an apron,” said her grandfather.

  “Then I will never gather any more. But, grandfather, why did the great bird go on croaking so?” she continued in an eager tone of inquiry.

  “Go along now and get into your bath while I go and get some milk; when we are together at supper I will tell you all about it.”

  Heidi obeyed, and when later she was sitting on her high stool before her milk bowl with her grandfather beside her, she repeated her question, “Why does the great bird go on croaking and screaming down at us, grandfather?”

  “He is mocking at the people who live down below in the villages, because they all go huddling and gossiping together, and encourage one another in evil talking and deeds. He calls out, ‘If you would separate and each go your own way and come up here and live on a height as I do, it would be better for you!’” There was almost a wildness in the old man’s voice as he spoke, so that Heidi seemed to hear the croaking of the bird again even more distinctly.

  “Why haven’t the mountains any names?” Heidi went on.

  “They have names,” answered her grandfather, “and if you can describe one of them to me that I know I will tell you what it is called.”

  Heidi then described to him the rocky mountain with the two high peaks so exactly that the grandfather was delighted. “Just so, I know it,” and he told her its name. “Did you see any other?”

  Then Heidi told him of the mountain with the great snow-field, and how it had been on fire, and had turned rosy-red and then all of a sudden had grown quite pale again and all the color had disappeared.

  “I know that one too,” he said, giving her its name. “So you enjoyed being out with the goats?”

  Then Heidi went on to give him an account of the whole day, and of how delightful it had all been, and particularly described the fire that had burst out everywhere in the evening. And then nothing would do but her grandfather must tell how it came, for Peter knew nothing about it.

  The grandfather explained to her that it was the sun that did it. “When he says good-night to the mountains he throws his most beautiful colors over them, so that they may not forget him before he comes again the next day.”

  Heidi was delighted with this explanation, and could hardly bear to wait for another day to come that she might once more climb up with the goats and see how the sun bid good-night to the mountains. But she had to go to bed first, and all night she slept soundly on her bed of hay, dreaming of nothing but of shining mountains with red roses all over them, among which happy little Snowflake went leaping in and out.

  CHAPTER IV. THE VISIT TO GRANDMOTHER

  The next morning the sun came out early as bright as ever, and then Peter appeared with the goats, and again the two children climbed up together to the high meadows, and so it went on day after day till Heidi, passing her life thus among the grass and flowers, was burnt brown with the sun, and grew so strong and healthy that nothing ever ailed her. She was happy too, and lived from day to day as free and lighthearted as the little birds that make their home among the green forest trees. Then the autumn came, and the wind blew louder and stronger, and the grandfather would say sometimes, “To-day you must stay at home, Heidi; a sudden gust of the wind would blow a little thing like you over the rocks into the valley below in a moment.”

  Whenever Peter heard that he must go alone he looked very unhappy, for he saw nothing but mishaps of all kinds ahead, and did not know how he should bear the long dull day without Heidi. Then, too, there was the good meal he would miss, and besides that the goats on these days were so naughty and obstinate that he had twice the usual trouble with them, for they had grown so accustomed to Heidi’s presence that they would run in every direction and refuse to go on unless she was with them. Heidi was never unhappy, for wherever she was she found something to interest or amuse her. She liked best, it is true, to go out with Peter up to the flowers and the great bird, where there was so much to be seen, and so many experiences to go through among the goats with their different characters; but she also found her grandfather’s hammering and sawing and carpentering very entertaining, and if it should chance to be the day when the large round go
at’s-milk cheese was made she enjoyed beyond measure looking on at this wonderful performance, and watching her grandfather, as with sleeves rolled back, he stirred the great cauldron with his bare arms. The thing which attracted her most, however, was the waving and roaring of the three old fir trees on these windy days. She would run away repeatedly from whatever she might be doing, to listen to them, for nothing seemed so strange and wonderful to her as the deep mysterious sound in the tops of the trees. She would stand underneath them and look up, unable to tear herself away, looking and listening while they bowed and swayed and roared as the mighty wind rushed through them. There was no longer now the warm bright sun that had shone all through the summer, so Heidi went to the cupboard and got out her shoes and stockings and dress, for it was growing colder every day, and when Heidi stood under the fir trees the wind blew through her as if she was a thin little leaf, but still she felt she could not stay indoors when she heard the branches waving outside.