Heidi, Johanna Spyri [reading e books .TXT] 📗

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The old man smiled and replied, “And you too; now come along!”

He took Heidi’s hand in his and together they walked down the

mountain side. The bells were ringing in every direction now,

sounding louder and fuller as they neared the valley, and Heidi

listened to them with delight. “Hark at them, grandfather! it’s

like a great festival!”

 

The congregation had already assembled and the singing had begun

when Heidi and her grandfather entered the church at Dorfli and

sat down at the back. But before the hymn was over every one was

nudging his neighbor and whispering, “Do you see? Alm-Uncle is

in church!”

 

Soon everybody in the church knew of Alm-Uncle’s presence, and

the women kept on turning round to look and quite lost their

place in the singing. But everybody became more attentive when

the sermon began, for the preacher spoke with such warmth and

thankfulness that those present felt the effect of his words, as

if some great joy had come to them all. At the close of the

service Alm-Uncle took Heidi by the hand, and on leaving the

church made his way towards the pastor’s house; the rest of the

congregation looked curiously after him, some even following to

see whether he went inside the pastor’s house, which he did.

Then they collected in groups and talked over this strange event,

keeping their eyes on the pastor’s door, watching to see whether

Alm-Uncle came out looking angry and quarrelsome, or as if the

interview had been a peaceful one, for they could not imagine

what had brought the old man down, and what it all meant. Some,

however, adopted a new tone and expressed their opinion that Alm-Uncle was not so bad after all as they thought, “for see how

carefully he took the little one by the hand.” And others

responded and said they had always thought people had

exaggerated about him, that if he was so downright bad he would

be afraid to go inside the pastor’s house. Then the miller put in

his word, “Did I not tell you so from the first? What child is

there who would run away from where she had plenty to eat and

drink and everything of the best, home to a grandfather who was

cruel and unkind, and of whom she was afraid?”

 

And so everybody began to feel quite friendly towards Alm-Uncle,

and the women now came up and related all they had been told by

Peter and his grandmother, and finally they all stood there like

people waiting for an old friend whom they had long missed from

among their number.

 

Meanwhile Alm-Uncle had gone into the pastor’s house and knocked

at the study door. The latter came out and greeted him, not as

if he was surprised to see him, but as if he had quite expected

to see him there; he probably had caught sight of the old man in

church. He shook hands warmly with him, and Alm-Uncle was unable

at first to speak, for he had not expected such a friendly

reception. At last he collected himself and said, “I have come

to ask you, pastor, to forget the words I spoke to you when you

called on me, and to beg you not to owe me ill-will for having

been so obstinately set against your well-meant advice. You were

right, and I was wrong, but I have now made up my mind to follow

your advice and to find a place for myself at Dorfli for the

winter, for the child is not strong enough to stand the bitter

cold up on the mountain. And if the people down here look

askance at me, as at a person not to be trusted, I know it is my

own fault, and you will, I am sure, not do so.”

 

The pastor’s kindly eyes shone with pleasure. He pressed the old

man’s hand in his, and said with emotion, “Neighbor, you went

into the right church before you came to mine; I am greatly

rejoiced. You will not repent coming to live with us again; as

for myself you will always be welcome as a dear friend and

neighbor, and I look forward to our spending many a pleasant

winter evening together, for I shall prize your companionship,

and we will find some nice friends too for the little one.” And

the pastor laid his hand kindly on the child’s curly head and

took her by the hand as he walked to the door with the old man.

He did not say good-bye to him till they were standing outside,

so that all the people standing about saw him shake hands as if

parting reluctantly from his best friend. The door had hardly

shut behind him before the whole congregation now came forward

to greet Alm-Uncle, every one striving to be the first to shake

hands with him, and so many were held out that Alm-Uncle did not

know with which to begin; and some said, “We are so pleased to

see you among us again,” and another, “I have long been wishing

we could have a talk together again,” and greetings of all kinds

echoed from every side, and when Alm-Uncle told them he was

thinking of returning to his old quarters in Dorfli for the

winter, there was such a general chorus of pleasure that any one

would have thought he was the most beloved person in all Dorfli,

and that they had hardly known how to live without him. Most of

his friends accompanied him and Heidi some way up the mountain,

and each as they bid him good-bye made him promise that when he

next came down he would without fail come and call. As the old

man at last stood alone with the child, watching their

retreating figures, there was a light upon his face as if

reflected from some inner sunshine of heart. Heidi, looking up at

him with her clear steady eyes, said, “Grandfather, you look

nicer and nicer to-day, I never saw you quite like that before.”

 

“Do you think so?” he answered with a smile. “Well, yes, Heidi,

I am happier to-day than I deserve, happier than I had thought

possible; it is good to be at peace with God and man! God was

good to me when He sent you to my hut.”

 

When they reached Peter’s home the grandfather opened the door

and walked straight in. “Good-morning, grandmother,” he said. “I

think we shall have to do some more patching, up before the

autumn winds come.”

 

“Dear God, if it is not Uncle!” cried the grandmother in pleased

surprise. “That I should live to see such a thing! and now I can

thank you for all that you have done for me. May God reward you!

may God reward you!” She stretched out a trembling hand to him,

and when the grandfather shook it warmly, she went on, still

holding his, “And I have something on my heart I want to say, a

prayer to make to you! If I have injured you in any way, do not

punish me by sending the child away again before I lie under the

grass. Oh, you do not know what that child is to me!” and she

clasped the child to her, for Heidi had already taken her usual

stand close to the grandmother.

 

“Have no fear, grandmother,” said Uncle in a reassuring voice,

“I shall not punish either you or myself by doing so. We are all

together now, and pray God we may continue so for long.”

 

Brigitta now drew the Uncle aside towards a corner of the room

and showed him the hat with the feathers, explaining to him how

it came there, and adding that of course she could not take such

a thing from a child.

 

But the grandfather looked towards Heidi without any displeasure

of countenance and said, “The hat is hers, and if she does not

wish to wear it any more she has a right to say so and to give

it to you, so take it, pray.”

 

Brigitta was highly delighted at this. “It is well worth more

than ten shillings!” she said as she held it up for further

admiration. “And what a blessing Heidi has brought home with her

from Frankfurt! I have thought sometimes that it might be good

to send Peter there for a little while; what do you think,

Uncle?”

 

A merry look came into the grandfather’s eye. He thought it

would do Peter no harm, but he had better wait for a good

opportunity before starting. At this moment the subject of their

conversation himself rushed in, evidently in a great hurry,

knocking his head violently against the door in his haste, so

that everything in the room rattled. Gasping and breathless he

stood still after this and held out a letter. This was another

great event, for such a thing had never happened before; the

letter was addressed to Heidi and had been delivered at the post-office in Dorfli. They all sat down round the table to hear what

was in it, for Heidi opened it at once and read it without

hesitation. The letter was from Clara. The latter wrote that the

house had been so dull since Heidi left that she did not know how

to bear herself, and she had at last persuaded her father to take

her to the baths at Ragatz in the coming autumn; grandmamma had

arranged to join them there, and they both were looking forward

to paying her and her grandfather a visit. And grandmamma sent a

further message to Heidi which was that the latter had done quite

right to take the rolls to the grandmother, and so that she might

not have to eat them dry, she was sending some coffee, which was

already on its way, and grandmamma hoped when she came to the

Alm in the autumn that Heidi would take her to see her old

friend.

 

There were exclamations of pleasure and astonishment on hearing

all this news, and so much to talk and ask about that even the

grandfather did not notice how the time was passing; there was

general delight at the thought of the coming days, and even more

at the meeting which had taken place on this one, and the

grandmother spoke and said, “The happiest of all things is when

an old friend comes and greets us as in former times; the heart

is comforted with the assurance that some day everything that we

have loved will be given back to us.—You will come soon again,

uncle, and you child, tomorrow?”

 

The old man and Heidi promised her faithfully to do so; then it

was time to break up the party, and these two went back up the

mountain. As they had been greeted with bells when they made

their journey down in the morning, so now they were accompanied

by the peaceful evening chimes as they climbed to the hut, which

had quite a Sunday-like appearance as it stood bathed in the

light of the low evening sun.

 

But when grandmamma comes next autumn there will be many fresh

joys and surprises both for Heidi and grandmother; without doubt

a proper bed will be put up in the hayloft, for wherever

grandmamma steps in, there everything is soon in right order,

outside and in.

 

CHAPTER XV. PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY

 

The kind doctor who had given the order that Heidi was to be

sent home was walking along one of the broad streets towards Herr

Sesemann’s house. It was a sunny September morning, so full of

light and sweetness that it seemed as if everybody must rejoice.

But the doctor walked with his eyes fastened to the ground and

did not once lift them to