Heidi Read online

  CHAPTER III

  LITTLE BEAR AND LITTLE SWAN

  Heidi felt very happy next morning as she woke up in her new home andremembered all the many things that she had seen the day before andwhich she would see again that day, and above all she thought withdelight of the dear goats. She jumped quickly out of bed and a very fewminutes sufficed her to put on the clothes which she had taken off thenight before, for there were not many of them. Then she climbed downthe ladder and ran outside the hut. There stood Peter already with hisflock of goats, and the grandfather was just bringing his two out ofthe shed to join the others. Heidi ran forward to wish good-morning tohim and the goats.

  "Do you want to go with them on to the mountain?" asked hergrandfather. Nothing could have pleased Heidi better, and she jumpedfor joy in answer.

  The grandfather went inside the hut, calling to Peter to follow him andbring in his wallet. Peter obeyed with astonishment, and laid down thelittle bag which held his meagre dinner.

  "Open it," said the old man, and he put in a large piece of bread andan equally large piece of cheese, which made Peter open his eyes, foreach was twice the size of the two portions which he had for his owndinner.

  "There, now there is only the little bowl to add," continued thegrandfather, "for the child cannot drink her milk as you do from thegoat; she is not accustomed to that. You must milk two bowlfuls for herwhen she has her dinner, for she is going with you and will remainwith you till you return this evening; but take care she does not fallover any of the rocks, do you hear?"

  They started joyfully for the mountain. Heidi went running hitherand thither and shouting with delight, for here were whole patchesof delicate red primroses, and there the blue gleam of the lovelygentian, while above them all laughed and nodded the tender-leavedgolden cistus. Enchanted with all this waving field of brightly-coloredflowers, Heidi forgot even Peter and the goats. She ran on in frontand then off to the side, tempted first one way and then the other, asshe caught sight of some bright spot of glowing red or yellow. And allthe while she was plucking whole handfuls of the flowers which she putinto her little apron, for she wanted to take them all home and stickthem in the hay, so that she might make her bedroom look just like themeadows outside. Peter had therefore to be on the alert, and his roundeyes, which did not move very quickly, had more work than they couldwell manage, for the goats were as lively as Heidi; they ran in alldirections, and Peter had to follow whistling and calling and swinginghis stick to get all the runaways together again.

  Finally they arrived at the spot where Peter generally halted for hisgoats to pasture and where he took up his quarters for the day. It layat the foot of the high rocks, which were covered for some distanceup by bushes and fir trees, beyond which rose their bare and ruggedsummits. On one side of the mountain the rock was split into deepclefts, and the grandfather had reason to warn Peter of danger. Havingclimbed as far as the halting-place, Peter unslung his wallet and putit carefully in a little hollow of the ground, for he knew what thewind was like up there and did not want to see his precious belongingsent rolling down the mountain by a sudden gust. Then he threw himselfat full length on the warm ground, and soon fell asleep.

  Heidi meanwhile had unfastened her apron and rolling it carefully roundthe flowers laid it beside Peter's wallet inside the hollow; she thensat down beside his outstretched figure and looked about her.

  The goats were climbing about among the bushes overhead. She had neverfelt so happy in her life before. She drank in the golden sunlight,the fresh air, the sweet smell of the flowers, and wished for nothingbetter than to remain there forever. Suddenly she heard a loud, harshcry overhead and lifting her eyes she saw a bird, larger than any shehad ever seen before, with great, spreading wings, wheeling round inwide circles, and uttering a piercing, croaking kind of sound above her.

  "Peter, Peter, wake up!" called out Heidi. "See, the great bird isthere--look, look!"

  Peter got up on hearing her call, and together they sat and watched thebird, which rose higher and higher in the blue air till it disappearedbehind the grey mountain-tops.

  "Where has it gone to?" asked Heidi, who had followed the bird'smovements with intense interest.

  "Home to its nest," said Peter.

  "Is his home right up there? Oh, how nice to be up so high! why does hemake that noise?"

  "Because he can't help it," explained Peter.

  "Let us climb up there and see where his nest is," proposed Heidi.

  "Oh! oh! oh!" exclaimed Peter, his disapproval of Heidi's suggestionbecoming more marked with each ejaculation, "why, even the goats cannotclimb as high as that, besides didn't Uncle say that you were not tofall over the rocks."

  Peter now began suddenly whistling and calling in such a loud mannerthat Heidi could not think what was happening; but the goats evidentlyunderstood his voice, for one after the other they came springing downthe rocks until they were all assembled on the green plateau.

  Heidi jumped up and ran in and out among them, for it was new to her tosee the goats playing together like this. Meanwhile Peter had taken thewallet out of the hollow and placed the pieces of bread and cheese onthe ground in the shape of a square, the larger two on Heidi's side andthe smaller on his own, for he knew exactly which were hers and whichhis. Then he took the little bowl and milked some delicious, fresh milkinto it from the white goat, and afterwards set the bowl in the middleof the square.

  "Leave off jumping about, it is time for dinner," said Peter; "sit downnow and begin."

  Heidi sat down. "Is the milk for me?" she asked.

  HEIDI DRANK IN THE GOLDEN SUNLIGHT, THE FRESH AIRAND THE SWEET SMELL OF THE FLOWERS]

  "Yes," replied Peter, "and the two large pieces of bread and cheeseare yours also, and when you have drunk up that milk, you are to haveanother 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 took up thebowl and drank her milk, and as soon as she had put it down emptyPeter rose and filled it again for her. Then she broke off a pieceof her bread and held out the remainder, which was still larger thanPeter's own piece, together with the whole big slice of cheese to hercompanion, saying, "You can have that, I have plenty."

  Peter looked at Heidi, unable to speak for astonishment. He hesitateda moment, for he could not believe that Heidi was in earnest; but thelatter kept on holding out the bread and cheese, and as Peter still didnot take it, she laid it down on his knees. He saw then that she reallymeant it; he seized the food, nodded his thanks and acceptance of herpresent, and then made a more splendid meal than he had known eversince he was a goat-herd. Heidi the while still continued to watch thegoats. "Tell me all their names," she said.

  Peter knew these by heart, so he began, telling Heidi the name of eachgoat in turn as he pointed it out to her. She listened with greatattention, and it was not long before she could herself distinguishthe goats from one another and could call each by name, for every goathad its own peculiarities which could not easily be mistaken. Therewas the great Turk with his big horns, who was always wanting to buttthe others, so that most of them ran away when they saw him coming andwould have nothing to do with their rough companion. Only Greenfinch,the slender, nimble, little goat, was brave enough to face him, andwould make a rush at him, three or four times in succession. Thenthere was little White Snowflake, who bleated in such a plaintiveand beseeching manner that Heidi already had several times run to itand taken its head in her hands to comfort it. Just at this momentthe pleading young cry was heard again, and Heidi jumped up runningand, putting her arms around the little creature's neck, asked in asympathetic voice, "What is it, little Snowflake? Why do you calllike that as if in trouble?" The goat pressed closer to Heidi in aconfiding way and left off bleating. Peter called out from wherehe was sitting--for he had not yet got to the end of his bread andcheese--"she cr
ies like that because the old goat is not with her; shewas sold at Mayenfeld the day before yesterday, and so will not come upthe 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 animalgently to her, "but do not cry like that any more; see now, I shallcome up here with you every day, so that you will not be alone anymore, and if you want anything you have only to come to me."

  The goats were now beginning to climb the rocks again, each seeking forthe plants it liked in its own fashion, some jumping over everythingthey met till they found what they wanted, others going more carefullyand cropping all the nice leaves by the way, the Turk still now andthen giving the others a poke with his horns. Little Swan and LittleBear 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 behindher back, carefully noting all they did.

  "Peter," she said to the boy who had again thrown himself down on theground, "the prettiest of all the goats are Little Swan and LittleBear."

  "Yes, I know they are," was the answer. "Alm-Uncle brushes them downand washes them and gives them salt, and he has the nicest shed forthem."

  All of a sudden Peter leaped to his feet and ran hastily after thegoats. Heidi followed him as fast as she could, for she was too eagerto know what had happened to stay behind. Peter dashed through themiddle of the flock towards that side of the mountain where the rocksfell perpendicularly to a great depth below, and where any thoughtlessgoat, if it went too near, might fall over and break all its legs. Hehad caught sight of the inquisitive Greenfinch taking leaps in thatdirection, and he was only just in time, for the animal had alreadysprung to the edge of the abyss. All Peter could do was to throwhimself down and seize one of her hind legs. Greenfinch, thus taken bysurprise, began bleating furiously, angry at being held so fast andprevented from continuing her voyage of discovery. She struggled to getloose, and endeavored so obstinately to leap forward that Peter shoutedto Heidi to come and help him, for he could not get up and was afraidof pulling out the goat's leg altogether.

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

  The young animal turned quickly and began contentedly eating the leavesout of Heidi's hand. Meanwhile Peter got on to his feet again and tookhold of Greenfinch by the band round her neck from which her bell washung, 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 remainedpeacefully feeding. Peter, now he had his goat in safety, lifted hisstick in order to give her a good beating as punishment, and Greenfinchseeing 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. ThenHeidi flung herself against him and cried indignantly, "You have noright to touch her, it will hurt her, let her alone!"

  Peter looked with surprise at the commanding little figure, whose darkeyes were flashing, and reluctantly he let his stick drop. "Well,I will let her off if you will give me some more of your cheesetomorrow," he said, for he was determined to have something to make upto him for his fright.

  "You shall have it all, tomorrow and every day, I do not want it,"replied Heidi, giving ready consent to his demand. "And I will giveyou bread as well, a large piece like you had today; but then you mustpromise never to beat Greenfinch, or Snowflake, or any of the goats."

  "All right," said Peter, "I don't care," which meant that he wouldagree to the bargain, and let go of Greenfinch, who joyfully sprang tojoin her companions.

  And thus imperceptibly the day had crept on to its close, and now thesun was on the point of sinking out of sight behind the high mountains.Heidi was again sitting on the ground, when all at once she sprangto her feet, "Peter! Peter! everything is on fire! All the rocks areburning, and the great snow mountain and the sky! O look, look! thehigh 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! lookat the rocks! look at the fir trees! Everything, everything is on fire!"

  "It is always like that," said Peter composedly, continuing to peel hisstick; "but it is not really fire."

  "What is it then?" cried Heidi.

  "It gets like that of itself," explained Peter.

  "Look, look!" cried Heidi in fresh excitement, "now they have turnedall rose color! Look at that one covered with snow, and that with thehigh, 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 rocksthere 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 satdown on the ground looking as full of distress as if everything hadreally come to an end.

  "It will come again tomorrow," said Peter. "Get up, we must go homenow." He whistled to his goats and together they all started on theirhomeward way.

  "Is it like that every day, shall we see it every day when we bringthe goats up here?" asked Heidi, as she clambered down the mountain atPeter's side; she waited eagerly for his answer, hoping that he wouldtell her it was so.

  "It is like that most days," he replied.

  "But will it be like that tomorrow for certain?" Heidi persisted.

  "Yes, yes, tomorrow for certain," Peter assured her in answer.

  Heidi now felt quite happy again, and her little brain was so full ofnew impressions and new thoughts that she did not speak any more untilthey had reached the hut. The grandfather was sitting under the firtrees, where he had put up a new seat.

  Heidi ran up to him, followed by the white and brown goats, for theyknew their own master and stall. Peter called out after her, "Come withme again tomorrow! Good-night!" For he was anxious for more than onereason that Heidi should go with him the next day.

  "O, Grandfather," cried Heidi, "it was so beautiful. The fire, and theroses on the rocks, and the blue and yellow flowers, and look what Ihave brought you!" And opening the apron that held her flowers sheshook them all out at her grandfather's feet. But the poor flowers,how changed they were! Heidi hardly knew them again. They looked likedried bits of hay, not a single little flower cup stood open. "O,Grandfather, what is the matter with them?" exclaimed Heidi in shockedsurprise, "they were not like that this morning, why do they look sonow?"

  "They like to stand out there in the sun and not to be shut up in anapron," said her grandfather.

  "Then I will never gather any more. But, Grandfather, why did the greatbird 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; whenwe are together at supper I will tell you all about it."

  Heidi obeyed, and when later she was sitting on her high stool beforeher milk bowl with her grandfather beside her, she repeated herquestion, "Why does the great bird go on croaking and screaming down atus, Grandfather?"

  "He is mocking at the people who live down below in the villages,because they all go huddling and gossipping together, and encourage oneanother in evil talking and deeds. He calls out, 'If you would separateand each go your own way and come up here and live on a height as Ido, it would be better for you!'" there was almost a wildness in theold man's voice as he spoke, so that Heidi seemed to hear the croakingof 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 describeone 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 peaksso exactly that the grandfather was delighted. "Just so, I know it,"and he told her its name.

  Then Heidi told him of the mountain with the great snowfield, and howit had been on fire.

  The grandfather explained to her it was the sun that did it. "When hesays good-night to the mountains he throws his most beautiful colorsover them, so that they may not forget him before he comes again thenext day."

  Heidi was delighted with this explanation, and could hardly bear towait for another day to come that she might once more climb up with thegoats and see how the sun bid good-night to the mountains. But she hadto 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 overthem, among which happy little Snowflake went leaping in and out.