Heidi

The next morning, Grandfather helps Clara dress and come down from the loft, and Heidi follows quickly behind. Grandfather retrieves Clara’s wheelchair from the shed where he stowed it overnight and places it under a tree, where she and Heidi spend the day reconnecting. Clara marvels at the landscape, thinking, “It was the very first time in all her life that Clara had been out in the open country so early, and she sniffed the cool mountain air, so fragrant with the fir trees, and drew in deep, long breaths of it” (251-252). Clara tastes goat’s milk for the first time and thinks it tastes sweet and spicy. The girls also write letters to Grandmamma to keep her apprised of Clara’s condition. Peter watches with disdain, angry that Heidi plans to spend the entire day with Clara and not him. When they speak to him, he ignores them, and when he is out of Uncle Alp’s sight, he swings his herding stick angrily.

Grandmamma sends two new beds for Heidi, one for the hut and one for the house in Dörfli. Clara can use the extra bed when she visits. Grandfather visits neighboring cottages to purchase butter for Clara and collects herbs to feed Daisy to make her milk more nutritious. Clara grows to love the taste of the milk and asks for a second cup. Each night before he puts her to bed, Grandfather encourages Clara to stand on her legs. Though it is painful, she tries her best but can only remain upright with Grandfather’s support. Heidi asks to take Clara up to the meadow to see the goats graze, but when she tells Peter, he furiously swings his stick at the goats.

When Peter arrives for the goats the next morning, he sees Clara’s wheelchair, which Grandfather has rolled from the shed. Thinking that losing the chair will force Clara to leave and that he can have Heidi all to himself again, he shoves the chair and watches it roll down the mountainside and shatter into pieces. When Heidi cannot find the chair, Grandfather is confused, and Clara is bereft, thinking that she will miss out on going up the mountain. Grandfather decides to look for Peter and carries Clara, with Heidi following, up to the pasture. When he questions Peter about the chair, the goatherd pretends to know nothing. Grandfather makes a pallet for Clara to rest on while he goes down to the village to look for the chair.

Heidi wants to explore and look at the wildflowers, so she leaves a pile of grass near Clara so she can feed Snowflake and not be left alone. Clara relishes her solitude and thinks about what it would be like to be a girl who did not have a physical disability. Heidi excitedly returns, shouting about the beauty of the flowers. She wants to carry Clara to see them, but she is too small. They ask Peter to help, and he reluctantly agrees. Using their shoulders for support, Clara miraculously takes her first steps. They reach the wildflowers, and she sits down to rest and have their lunch. Even though Heidi and Clara give Peter their extra food, he does not enjoy it, as “[h]e felt as though something was gnawing at his inside, and the food lay heavily on his stomach” (270).

Grandfather returns, and they excitedly show him how Clara can walk, and he is thrilled but tells her not to overdo it on the first day and carries her back to the hut. They write to Grandmamma and invite her to the hut but keep the good news a secret so they can surprise her when she arrives. Peter visits Dörfli and sees the baker and other townsfolk examining the smashed remains of the wheelchair. The baker states that Herr Sesemann will demand an explanation for the destruction of the expensive chair, and Peter rushes home full of guilt and anxiety.

Peter is still worried about being caught and sent to prison for destroying Clara’s chair. He nervously delivers a letter to the hut from Grandmamma announcing that she is arriving the next day and quickly races back down the mountain. The following day, Grandmamma arrives on a white horse, accompanied by a porter with a heavy bundle. Grandmamma hardly recognizes the healthy rosy Clara walking towards her. After she recovers from her shock, she sends a letter to Herr Sesemann via Peter to tell him the good news.

Unbeknownst to Grandmamma and Clara, Herr Sesemann finished his business early in Paris and decided to surprise them with a visit to Switzerland. He passes Peter as he walks up the mountain, and Peter is so frightened thinking that he is a policeman that he trips and falls, drops the letter, and runs to hide in the forest. When Herr Sesemann arrives at the hut, Clara walks out to meet him, and he weeps with joy, thanking Grandfather for helping to heal his daughter. He greets Heidi warmly, happy to see she too is healthier: “Those must be Alpine roses in your cheeks” (281).

Grandmamma sees a bouquet of her favorite blue flowers, and Heidi says that Peter may have gathered them for her. She calls for him, and he appears out of his hiding place. When she asks, “[W]as it you who did that?” (282), Peter thinks she is asking if he crashed the chair, and he confesses everything. Grandmamma is confused, and Grandfather, having suspected it was Peter all along, tells her what happened. Grandfather thinks he should be severely punished, but Grandmamma thinks it is admirable that he confessed to his wrongdoing. She speaks with him about the importance of being honest before God, and he adds that he also did not send the letter. She tells him she will reward him for his honesty, and he asks for a penny to save for when the fair comes to town. Grandmamma says she will give him a penny for every day of the rest of his life.

Herr Sesemann wishes to repay Grandfather for all he has done for Clara. Grandfather says he takes joy in knowing that she is well and only asks that Herr Sesemann care for Heidi when he is gone. Herr Sesemann wholeheartedly accepts, claiming that Heidi is already like family to them. He adds that Dr. Classen is moving to Switzerland to be closer to the mountains and Heidi. Heidi requests that her bed from Frankfurt be brought to Grannie. Herr Sesemann agrees, and they visit Grannie to tell her the good news. At first, Grannie is sad thinking that Heidi is coming to say goodbye, but Grandmamma tells her that they will never again take Heidi from them because they know how important she is to everyone on the mountain. When the bed arrives, it comes with a package full of warm clothes for the winter, and Grannie sleeps peacefully in her new bed. Clara must leave with her father the next day, but she is grateful for her miraculous time on the mountain and knows she will return.

Dr. Classen purchases the rental house in Dörfli, which Grandfather and Heidi will share with him in winter. They even add a space for the goats, and Grandfather and the doctor become good friends. Dr. Classen tells Grandfather that Heidi is like a daughter to him and that he plans to leave her all his money. The story ends with Heidi and Peter reading a hymn to Grannie about thanking God for His blessings.