Heidi

Grandfather shows Heidi around his spartan one-room cabin, and Heidi stows her clothing in the cabinet. She chooses to sleep in the hayloft, and after doubling the hay for her comfort, Grandfather gives her the blanket from his bed. Grandfather fashions a chair just for Heidi so she can reach the table and makes her a delicious dinner of toasted cheese, bread, and goat’s milk. Peter arrives with the goats, and Heidi is overjoyed to see him again. Grandfather introduces Heidi to his two goats named Daisy and Dusky. After tasting their milk and having a slice of bread, Heidi goes to bed. A fierce windstorm blows through overnight, and Grandfather worries Heidi will be frightened, but when he checks on her, she is sleeping soundly.

Heidi awakens the next day to the sound of Peter’s whistle. Grandfather is already outside tending to the goats. He tells her to wash because she is spending the day with Peter on the green slopes. Grandfather gives Peter a double portion of cheese and bread and a cup for Heidi since she hasn’t learned to drink straight from the goat. Heidi and Peter set off with the goats, and Peter is annoyed when Heidi wanders away to explore everything. She particularly loves the flowers and fills her apron with them in hopes of decorating her loft to resemble the meadow.

Peter takes a nap, but Heidi remains awake, staring at the beauty around her. She hears a hawk make a loud sound and awakens Peter. Heidi wants to follow the hawk high up to its nest, but Peter explains it is too dangerous. They have their lunch, and Heidi shares her food with Peter. “He looked at her with amazement for he had never in his life had any food to give away” (33). Peter tells Heidi all the goats’ names, and she befriends an orphaned goat named Snowflake. When a goat wanders too close to a ravine, Heidi helps Peter rescue it by tempting it with fresh grass. Peter plans to beat it with a stick, but Heidi forbids him. He says he will not punish the sheep if she will give him part of her lunch again tomorrow. When the sun begins to set and casts a rosy, red glow over the entire landscape, Heidi thinks everything is on fire. She is sad when it is over, but Peter tells her it will happen again tomorrow.

Grandfather is waiting on them when they return, but Heidi is sad when she sees her flowers have wilted. Over dinner, Heidi asks Grandfather why the hawk makes the loud noise, and he tells her it is calling to the villagers to mind their own business. Grandfather can name the mountains just by Heidi’s descriptions, and she tells him about the sunset fire. Heidi goes to bed full of anticipation for the next day and dreams of goats and mountains.

As winter arrives, Grandfather says it is not safe for her to accompany Peter, so she stays inside and watches Grandfather work on his carpentry projects. After a week away, Peter arrives for a visit, and Grandfather says that he will be starting school soon. While Peter eats a delicious meal, he tells Heidi that his Grannie has requested that Heidi visit her. She excitedly agrees, and the next day, Grandfather wraps her in a burlap sack and sleds down the hill to Peter’s house. Heidi thinks Peter’s house is small and rundown compared to Grandfather’s cottage.

Grannie is blind, but Heidi struggles to understand why she cannot see, and Heidi sobs over Grannie’s blindness: “Can’t anyone make you see?” (49). When she suggests they open the shutters for more light, Grannie tells Heidi that they are broken and rattle all throughout the night. The house is in such a bad state of disrepair that Grannie fears it will collapse on them. Heidi explains that Grandfather is a skilled carpenter and that they will return the next day to fix the house. After she leaves, Grannie says she enjoyed Heidi’s visit immensely and looks forward to seeing her again each day.

Peter accompanies Heidi up the hill, and Grandfather meets them halfway. Over dinner, she explains how they must help Peter’s family fix his house. The next day while Heidi visits Grannie, Grandfather repairs the broken shutters. They return each day to work, and by the end of the winter, the entire house is repaired. Grannie requests to meet and thank Grandfather, but when Bridget asks him, he gruffly refuses and tells her to return inside.

It is almost two years later, and Heidi is now seven years old. The schoolmaster sends word to Grandfather that it is time for Heidi to begin school in the winter, but he does not respond. The church pastor, who is a former neighbor of Grandfather from Dörfli, visits the cottage and attempts to convince Grandfather of the importance of Heidi learning to read and write. Grandfather says she is learning all she needs to know from him and nature, and it would not be safe for her to traverse down the mountain in the winter snow. The pastor suggests Grandfather move back to the village and agree to send her to school in the winter, but when he refuses to comply, the pastor says, “What sort of a life do you lead up here, at odds with God and man?” (59) and leaves frustrated and with a warning that Grandfather will hear from him again about the issue.

Dete returns the next day, dressed in fine clothing and a hat. She claims to have found a suitable home for Heidi in Frankfurt with wealthy relatives of her employer. The family has a daughter who is physically disabled, and Heidi will serve as her companion. Grandfather says he will not allow Heidi to leave, but Dete responds that everyone in the village agrees she should remove Heidi from his care, and she will involve the police if necessary.

Grandfather surrenders and Dete packs Heidi’s clothing, but the child refuses to leave. After Dete says she can visit Grandfather anytime she wants, Heidi complies. On the way down the mountain, Peter sees Heidi leaving and angrily returns to his home to tell Grannie the sad news. She calls out, but Dete will not allow Heidi one last visit. Grandfather returns to his peevish ways, and though Grannie speaks of his kindness and generosity to the villagers, no one believes her.