Heidi (1899)/Part 1/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X.
A GRANDMAMMA.
On the following evening there were great expectations and lively preparations in the Sesemann house, and it was plain to be seen that the expected lady was of great importance there, and that every one felt deep respect for her. Tinette had put a brand-new white cap on her head, and Sebastian had collected a great number of footstools, so that the lady might find one under her feet wherever she might sit down. Fräulein Rottenmeier, very erect, went through the rooms inspecting everything, as if to signify that even though a second ruling power was near at hand, her own, for all that, had not come to an end.
The carriage rolled up to the door, and Sebastian and Tinette rushed down the stairs; Fräulein Rottenmeier in a dignified way followed slowly after, for she knew that she had to appear to welcome Frau Sesemann. Heidi had been told to go to her room and to wait there until she was called, for the grandmamma would first go to see Klara and would wish to see her alone. Heidi sat down in a corner and repeated what she was to say to Frau Sesemann. She did not have long to wait before Tinette thrust her head a very little way in at the door and said brusquely, as usual:—"Go into the library."
Heidi had not dared to ask Fräulein Rottenmeier for an explanation about the manner of addressing the grandmamma, but she thought the lady must have made a mistake, for until now she had always heard a person called Frau or Herr, with the name following; so she settled the matter thus in her own mind. As she opened the door into the library, the grandmamma called out to her in a friendly voice:—
"Ah, here is the child! Come here to me and let me look at you."
Heidi went to her and in her clear voice said distinctly:—
"How do you do, Frau Gnädige?"
"And why not!" said the grandmamma, laughing. "Is that what you say at home? Did you hear that in the Alps?"
"No; no one among us has that name," answered Heidi earnestly.
"Neither has any one here," said the grandmamma, again laughing, and patted Heidi affectionately on the cheek. "It's no matter! In the nursery I am grandmamma, and you shall call me so. You can remember that, can't you?"
"Yes, I can," said Heidi confidently; "I always called you so before."
"Well, you understand now!" said the grandmamma, nodding her head quite merrily. Then she took a good look at Heidi, nodding her head again from time to time, and Heidi looked very earnestly into her eyes, for they had such an expression of kindness that they made her feel quite at her ease, so that she could not look away. She had such beautiful white hair, and around her head a lovely lace frill, and two broad strings fluttered from her cap, and moved continually as if a light breeze hovered around the grandmamma; and this seemed to Heidi very peculiar.
"And what is your name, child?" then asked the grandmamma.
"My name is only Heidi; but if any one wants to call me Adelheid, I pay attention." Heidi hesitated, for she felt a little guilty since she still made no reply if Fräulein Rottenmeier called unexpectedly, "Adelheid!" for it did not really seem to her that this was her name, and Fräulein Rottenmeier was just coming into the room.
"Frau Sesemann will doubtless admit," broke in Fräulein Rottenmeier, "that I had to choose a name which could be pronounced without so much difficulty, for the sake of the servants."
"My dear Rottenmeier," replied Frau Sesemann, "if a person is named Heidi, and she is accustomed to the name, I call her so and let it remain so!"
Fräulein Rottenmeier was very much troubled because the old lady continually addressed her by her name alone, without any prefix; but there was nothing to be done about it; the grandmamma always had her own way, and there was no help for it. Besides, her five senses were keen and sound, and she always knew what was going on in the house.On the day after her arrival, when Klara lay down at the usual time after dinner, the grandmamma took a seat in an easy-chair by her side, and closed her eyes for a few moments; then she jumped up, for she was immediately awake again, and went out into the dining-room; there was no one there. "She is asleep," she said to herself; then went to Fräulein Rottenmeier's room and knocked loudly on the door. After some time she appeared, and started back somewhat alarmed by the unexpected visit.
"Where does the child stay at this time, and what does she do? I should like to know about it," said Frau Sesemann.
"She sits in her room, where she might busy herself with something useful, if she had the slightest inclination to do anything; but Frau Sesemann ought to know what absurd things this creature often plans, and really carries into effect—things which I could hardly speak about in refined society."
"I should do the same if I had to sit there alone as this child does, I assure you, and you would see how you would speak of my nonsense in refined society. Now bring the child out and fetch her to my room; I want to give her some pretty books I have brought with me."
"That is just the trouble; it is indeed!" exclaimed Fräulein Rottenmeier, wringing her hands. "What can the child do with books? In all this time she has not even learned her A-B-C's; it is really impossible to get a single idea into this creature's head; the Herr Kandidat can tell you about that! If this excellent man did n't possess the patience of an angel from heaven, he would long ago have given up trying to teach her."
"This is very strange; she does n't look like a child who cannot learn the alphabet," said Frau Sesemann. "Now bring her to me; she can first look at the pictures in the books."
Fräulein Rottenmeier was desirous of making further remarks, but Frau Sesemann had already turned around and was hurrying back to her own room. She was very much surprised to hear of Heidi's stupidity, and thought she would make an investigation, but not with the Herr Kandidat, though she really valued him on account of his good character; she always spoke to him in a particularly friendly way, whenever she met him, but then hurried away, in order not to be drawn into conversation with him, for his manner of expressing himself was rather annoying to her.
Heidi came into the grandmamma's room and opened her eyes wide when she saw the gay pictures in the large books which the lady had brought with her. Suddenly Heidi screamed aloud when the grandmamma turned a new leaf; she looked at the figures with gleaming eyes, then all at once bright tears rushed to them, and she began to sob as if her heart would break. The grandmamma examined the picture. It was a lovely green pasture, where all sorts of animals were feeding and nibbling the green shrubs. In the middle stood the shepherd, leaning on a long staff and gazing at the happy creatures. It seemed as if there was a golden light over it all, for the sun was just going down beyond the horizon.
The grandmamma took Heidi by the hand.
"Come, come, child," she said in a friendly way, "don't cry, don't cry. The picture made you remember something; but see, there is a lovely story about it, which I will tell you this evening, and there are a great many more beautiful stories in the book, which can be read and repeated. Come, we must have a little talk together. Dry your tears, and now stand right here in front of me, so that I can look straight at you; there, that's right; now we are happy again."
But it was still some time before Heidi could stop sobbing. The grandmamma gave her a good while to recover, merely saying encouragingly now and then:—
"There, that's good; now we are happy again to-gether."
When she finally saw that the child was quieted she said:—
"Now you must tell me something, my child. How do you get along in the study hours with the Herr Kandidat? Are you studying well, and have you learned something?"
"Oh, no!" answered Heidi, sighing; "but I knew that it could n't be learned."
"What could not be learned, Heidi? what do you mean?"
"People can't learn to read; it is too hard."
"What an idea! And where did you hear this news?""Peter told me so, and he knows about it. He has to keep trying, but he can never learn; it is too hard."
"Well, Peter is a strange fellow! But, see here, Heidi, you must not always take for granted what Peter tells you; you must try for yourself. Surely you have not listened with all your mind to the Herr Kandidat, and looked at the letters."
"It's of no use," asserted Heidi with a tone of entire submission to the inevitable.
"Heidi," said the grandmamma, "now I am going to tell you something you have not learned to read yet because you believed your Peter; but now you must believe me, and I tell you, really and truly, that you can learn to read in a short time, like a great many children, who are like you and not like Peter. And now you must know what will happen when you can read. You have seen the shepherd in the beautiful green pasture. As soon as you can read you shall have the book for your own, so that you can learn his whole story, just as if some one told it to you; all that he is doing with his sheep and goats, and all the remarkable things that happened to him. You would like to know this, would n't you, Heidi?"
Heidi had listened with the eagerest attention, and now she said, with beaming eyes, and drawing a deep breath:—
"Oh, if I could only read now!"
"It will come, and it won't take long; that I can see already, Heidi. And now we must look after Klara; come, we will bring the lovely books with us." And the grandmamma took Heidi by the hand and went with her into the library.
Since the day when Heidi had wanted to go home, and Fräulein Rottenmeier had scolded her on the steps and told her how naughty and ungrateful she had shown herself by wishing to run away, and that it would be a good thing if Herr Sesemann never knew about it, a change had taken place in the child. She had the idea that she could not go home if she wished, as her aunt had told her, but that she must stay in Frankfurt for a long, long time, perhaps forever. She had also understood that Herr Sesemann, when he came home, would think her very ungrateful, and she imagined that Klara and her grandmamma would think so too. So Heidi dared tell no one that she wanted to go home, for she did not wish to cause the grandmamma to be cross, like Fräulein Rottenmeier. But in her heart the burden grew heavier and heavier; she could no longer eat; every day she grew a little paler. At night she often lay awake for a long, long time; for as soon as she was alone, and all was still around her, everything came so lifelike before her eyes—the Alm and the sunshine on it and the flowers! And when finally she fell asleep,. she would see in her dreams the red pointed cliffs of Falkniss, and the fiery snow field of Cäsaplana, and in the morning she would awake and, full of joy, be ready to run out of the hut; suddenly she was in her big bed in Frankfurt, so far, far away, and could not go home! Then Heidi would bury her head in her pillow and weep very softly so that no one might hear her. Heidi's unhappiness did not escape the grandmamma's notice. She let some days pass by to see if there would be any change in her—if her down-heartedness would pass away. But as Heidi remained the same, and the grandmamma could often see early in the morning that she had been crying, she called the child one day into her room and said with the greatest kindness:—
"Now tell me, Heidi, what is the matter? Is something grieving you?"
But Heidi would not seem ungrateful to the kind grandmamma, for fear she might no longer be so friendly toward her; so she said sadly:—
"I cannot tell you."
"No? Can you not tell Klara?" asked the grandmamma.
"Oh, no, I can't tell anybody!" said Heidi decidedly, and looking so unhappy that the grandmamma pitied her.
"Come, my child," she said, "I want to tell you something. When we have a sorrow we cannot speak to anybody about, then we tell the dear God in heaven, and ask him to help us, for he can take away every sorrow that troubles us. You understand that, don't you? You pray every night to the dear God in heaven, and thank him for everything good, and ask him to keep you from all harm, don't you?"
"Oh, no, I never do that!" answered the child.
"Have you never prayed, then, Heidi? Do you not know what it is?""I used to pray with the first grandmother, but it is so long ago that I have forgotten about it."
"You see, Heidi, the reason you are so sad is because you know no one that can help you. Just think what a good thing it is, when something troubles and distresses you in your heart, that you can go any moment to the dear Lord and tell him everything, and ask him to help you, when no one else can help you! And he can always help you and make you happy again."
A glad light came into Heidi's eyes:—
"Can I tell him everything, everything?"
"Everything, Heidi, everything."
The child drew her hand out of the grandmamma's and said quickly:—
"Can I go?"
"Certainly! certainly!" was the reply; and Heidi ran away to her own room and sat down on a footstool, folded her hands and told the dear Lord everything that was in her heart, everything that made her sad, and asked him, urgently and sincerely, to help her and let her go home to her grandfather.
A little more than a week had passed since this day, when the Herr Kandidat asked to see Frau Sesemann, as he wished to talk with her about an important matter. He was called into her room. Frau Sesemann politely offered him her hand:—
"My dear Herr Kandidat, I am glad to see you! Sit down here by me"; she pushed a chair toward him. "There, now tell me what brings you here; nothing unpleasant, no complaint?""On the contrary, gracious madam," began the Herr Kandidat, "something has happened which I no longer expected, and any one who could have glanced at what went before, after all suppositions, would have decided that what has actually happened and taken place in the most wonderful way was utterly impossible, as if in opposition to all consistent to the"—
"Has the child Heidi possibly learned to read, Herr Kandidat?" broke in Frau Sesemann.
The Herr Kandidat, taken aback, looked at the lady in speechless amazement.
"It is really quite wonderful," he said at last, "not only that the little girl, after all my thorough explanation and unusual pains, did not learn her A-B-C's, but also, and especially, that in the shortest time after I had decided to give up the unattainable, and without further explanation, to bring the bare letters, so to speak, before the little girl's eyes, she took hold of the reading over-night as it were, and then at once read the words with such correctness as I have seldom found with beginners. Almost equally wonderful to me is the gracious lady's perception in straightway suspecting that this improbable fact was possible."
"A great many wonderful things happen in the course of one's life," affirmed Frau Sesemann, laughing with satisfaction. "Two things might happen fortunately; for instance, new zeal in learning and a new method in teaching; and neither can do any harm, Herr Kandidat. Let us rejoice that the child has done so well, and let us hope for good progress."Whereupon she accompanied the teacher out of the room and went quickly to the library, to assure herself that the delightful news was true. It was! There sat Heidi, reading a story to Klara, and with growing eagerness pushing into the new world opened to her; men and things suddenly became alive and stepped out of the black letters and took part in affecting stories.
That same evening, as they were sitting down to the table, Heidi found the large book with the beautiful pictures lying on her plate, and when she looked inquiringly at the grandmamma, Frau Sesemann said, nodding in a friendly way:—
"Yes, yes, now it belongs to you."
"For always? Even when I go home?" asked Heidi, blushing with delight.
Certainly, for always!" said the grandmamma assuringly; "to-morrow we will begin to read it."
"But you are not going home, not for a good many years, Heidi," broke in Klara; "if grandmamma goes away, you must surely stay with me."
Before she went to sleep Heidi had to look at her beautiful book in her own room, and from that day forth she liked nothing better than to sit with it, reading over and over again the stories belonging to the lovely pictures. In the evening the grandmamma would say: "Now Heidi will read to us"; and this delighted the child, for now she could read easily; and as she read the stories aloud they became much more beautiful, and she understood them better, and the grandmamma explained so much to her, and always told her still more about them. Heidi liked to look again and again at the green pasture and the shepherd in the midst of his flock, standing so contentedly, leaning on his long staff, for there he was still with his father's flock, following the merry lambs and goats, for this was his delight.
Then came the picture where he had run away from his father's house, and was in a strange land, obliged to tend the swine, and had grown very thin because he
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