Heidi Read online

  CHAPTER II

  A NEW HOME WITH GRANDFATHER

  As soon as Dete had disappeared the old man went back to his bench,and there he remained seated, staring at the ground without uttering asound, while thick curls of smoke floated upward from his pipe. Heidi,meanwhile, was enjoying herself in her new surroundings; she lookedabout till she found a shed, built against the hut, where the goatswere kept; she peeped in, and saw it was empty. She continued hersearch but presently came back to where her grandfather was sitting.Seeing that he was in exactly the same position as when she left him,she went and placed herself in front of the old man and said:

  "I want to see what you have inside the house."

  "Come then!" and the grandfather rose and went before her towards thehut.

  "Bring your bundle of clothes in with you," he bid her as she wasfollowing.

  "I shan't want them any more," was her prompt answer.

  The old man turned and looked searchingly at the child, whose dark eyeswere sparkling in delighted anticipation of what she was going to seeinside. "She is certainly not wanting in intelligence," he murmured tohimself. "And why shall you not want them any more?" he asked aloud.

  "Because I want to go about like the goats with their thin light legs."

  "Well, you can do so if you like," said her grandfather, "but bring thethings in, we must put them in the cupboard."

  Heidi did as she was told. The old man now opened the door and Heidistepped inside after him; she found herself in a good-sized room,which covered the whole ground floor of the hut. A table and a chairwere the only furniture; in one corner stood the grandfather's bed, inanother was the hearth with a large kettle hanging above it; and on thefurther side was a large door in the wall--this was the cupboard. Thegrandfather opened it; inside were his clothes. On a second shelf weresome plates and cups and glasses, and on a higher one still, a roundloaf, smoked meat, and cheese, for everything that Alm-Uncle neededfor his food and clothing was kept in this cupboard. Heidi thrust inher bundle of clothes, as far back behind her grandfather's things aspossible, so that they might not easily be found again. She then lookedcarefully round the room, and asked, "Where am I to sleep, Grandfather?"

  "Wherever you like," he answered.

  Heidi was delighted, and began at once to examine all the nooks andcorners to find out where it would be pleasantest to sleep. In thecorner near her grandfather's bed she saw a short ladder against thewall; up she climbed and found herself in the hay-loft. There lay alarge heap of fresh, sweet-smelling hay, while through a round windowin the wall she could see right down the valley.

  "I shall sleep up here, Grandfather," she called down to him, "it'slovely, up here. Come up and see how lovely it is!"

  "Oh, I know all about it," he called up in answer.

  "I am getting the bed ready now," she called down again, as she wentbusily to and fro at her work, "but I shall want you to bring me up asheet; you can't have a bed without a sheet; you want it to lie upon."

  "All right," said the grandfather, and presently he went to thecupboard, and after rummaging about inside for a few minutes he drewout a long, coarse piece of stuff, which was all he had to do duty fora sheet. He carried it up to the loft, where he found Heidi had alreadymade quite a nice bed. She had put an extra heap of hay at one end fora pillow, and had so arranged it that, when in bed, she would be ableto see comfortably out through the round window.

  "That is capital," said her grandfather; "now we must put on the sheet."

  They spread it over the bed, and where it was too long or too broad,Heidi quickly tucked it in under the hay. It looked as tidy andcomfortable a bed as you could wish for, and Heidi stood gazingthoughtfully at her handiwork.

  "We have forgotten something now, Grandfather," she said after a shortsilence.

  "What's that?" he asked.

  "A coverlid; when you get into bed, you have to creep in between thesheet and the coverlid."

  "Oh, that's the way, is it? But suppose I have not got a coverlid?"said the old man.

  "Well, never mind, Grandfather," said Heidi in a consoling tone ofvoice, "I can take some more hay to put over me," and she was turningquickly to fetch another armful from the heap, when her grandfatherstopped her. "Wait a moment," he said, and he climbed down the ladderagain and went towards his bed. He returned to the loft with a large,thick sack, made of flax, which he laid tidily over the bed.

  "That is a splendid coverlid," said Heidi, "and the bed looks lovelyaltogether! I wish it was night, so that I might get inside it at once."

  "I think we had better go down and have something to eat first," saidthe grandfather.

  While the kettle was boiling the old man held a large piece of cheeseon a long iron fork over the fire, turning it round and round till itwas toasted a nice golden yellow color on each side. Heidi watched allthat was going on with eager curiosity. Suddenly some new idea seemedto come into her head, for she turned and ran to the cupboard, and thenbegan going busily backwards and forwards. Presently the grandfathergot up and came to the table with a jug and the cheese, and there hesaw it already tidily laid with the round loaf and two plates and twoknives each in its right place.

  "Ah, that's right," said the grandfather, "I am glad to see that youhave some ideas of your own," and as he spoke he laid the toastedcheese on a layer of bread, "but there is still something missing."

  Heidi looked at the jug that was steaming away invitingly, and ranquickly back to the cupboard. At first she could only see a small bowlleft on the shelf, but she was not long in perplexity, for a momentlater she caught sight of two glasses further back, and without aninstant's loss of time she returned with these and the bowl and putthem down on the table.

  "Good, I see you know how to set about things; but what will you do fora seat?" The grandfather himself was sitting on the only chair in theroom. Heidi flew to the hearth, and dragging the three-legged stool upto the table, sat herself down upon it.

  The grandfather filled the bowl with milk, and pushed it in frontof Heidi. Then he brought her a large slice of bread and a piece ofthe golden cheese, and told her to eat. Heidi lifted the bowl withboth hands and drank without pause till it was empty, for the thirstof all her long, hot journey had returned upon her. Then she drew adeep breath--in the eagerness of her thirst she had not stopped tobreathe--and put down the bowl.

  "Was the milk nice?" he asked.

  "I never drank any so good before," answered Heidi.

  "Then you must have some more," and the old man filled her bowl againto the brim and set it before the child, who was now hungrily beginningher bread, having first spread it with the cheese, which after beingtoasted was soft as butter. The meal being over, the grandfather wentoutside to put the goat-shed in order, and Heidi watched with interestwhile he first swept it out, and then put fresh straw for the goats tosleep upon. Then he went to the little well-shed, and there he cut somelong, round sticks, and a small, round board; in this he bored someholes and stuck the sticks into them, and there, as if made by magic,was a three-legged stool just like her grandfather's, only higher.Heidi stood and looked at it, speechless with astonishment.

  "What do you think that is?" asked her grandfather.

  "It's my stool, I know, because it is such a high one; and it was madeall of a minute," said the child, still lost in wonder and admiration.

  "She understands what she sees, her eyes are in the right place,"remarked the grandfather to himself.

  And so the time passed happily on till evening. Then the wind began toroar louder than ever through the old fir trees; Heidi listened withdelight to the sound, and it filled her heart so full of gladness thatshe skipped and danced round the old trees, as if some unheard of joyhad come to her. The grandfather stood and watched her from the shed.

  HEIDI TENDERLY STROKED THE TWO GOATS IN TURN]

  Suddenly a shrill whistle was heard. Down from the heights above, thegoats came springing one after another, with Peter in their midst.Heidi sprang forward with a
cry of joy and rushed among the flock,greeting first one and then another of her old friends of the morning.As they neared the hut the goats stood still, and then two of theirnumber, two beautiful, slender animals, one white and one brown, ranforward to where the grandfather was standing and began licking hishands, for he was holding a little salt which he always had ready forhis goats on their return home. Peter went on down the mountain withthe remainder of his flock. Heidi tenderly stroked the two goats inturn, jumping about in her glee at the pretty little animals. "Are theyours, Grandfather? Are they both ours? Are you going to put them in theshed? Will they always stay with us?"

  Heidi's questions came tumbling out one after the other, so that hergrandfather had only time to answer each of them with "Yes, yes." Whenthe goats had finished licking up the salt her grandfather told her togo and fetch her bowl and the bread.

  Heidi obeyed and was soon back again. The grandfather milked the whitegoat and filled her basin, and then breaking off a piece of bread, "Noweat your supper," he said, "and then go up to bed. Dete left anotherlittle bundle for you with a nightgown and other small things in it,which you will find at the bottom of the cupboard if you want them. Imust go and shut up the goats, so be off and sleep well."

  "Good-night, Grandfather! good-night. What are their names,Grandfather, what are their names?" she called out as she ran after hisretreating figure and the goats.

  "The white one is named Little Swan, and the brown one Little Bear," heanswered.

  "Good-night, Little Swan, good-night, Little Bear!" she called againat the top of her voice. Then she ate her supper and went indoors andclimbed up to her bed, where she was soon lying as sweetly and soundlyasleep as any young princess on her couch of silk.