Heidi

Heidi forgets she is in Frankfurt and awakens in a strange room draped with curtains. Tinette, the maid, summons her to breakfast, but Heidi is unfamiliar with the concept. At the table, she asks Clara how to open the windows, and Clara tells her to ask Sebastian for help. Mr. Usher arrives for Clara’s tutoring, but Rottenmeier intercepts him and explains that Heidi is uneducated and that Mr. Usher should inform Mr. Sesemann that Heidi’s presence will hamper Clara’s progress. Mr. Usher says he can teach Heidi and welcomes the challenge.

Rottenmeier hears a crashing sound from the tutoring room and opens the door to find ink and papers spilled onto the floor. Clara explains that Heidi heard the carriages outside, ran to the window, and caught the tablecloth, accidentally pulling it and all the contents of the table onto the floor. Clara says she should not punish Heidi since she has never seen or heard of a carriage. “It was the passing of light carriage wheels which she had mistaken for the wind blowing through the trees…” (85). Rottenmeier tells her she is foolish to go looking for trees in the city.

Clara rests in the afternoon, and Heidi is free to play alone. She finds Sebastian and asks him to open her window, but she still cannot see the trees. Sebastian tells her she must go somewhere high like a church tower to see the trees. Heidi leaves the flat and finds a boy on the street corner playing a hand organ. When she asks him to help her find the church tower, he asks for money. Heidi doesn’t have any money but says Clara will pay him later. The boy leads her to the church, but the old man caretaker will not let them inside. Heidi pleads with him, and he relents and helps her to the top of the tower, but sadly, she still cannot see the trees.

A mother cat and her kittens live in the tower, and Heidi begs to take a kitten home to Clara. She leaves with two, one in each of her pockets, and returns to the flat just as dinner is beginning. Rottenmeier is angry that Heidi ran away and says they will speak about it later. The kittens mewl from Heidi’s pockets, and Rottenmeier thinks Heidi is mocking her. She runs and hides in her room when she realizes Heidi has cats in her pockets. Sebastian secretly finds the scene humorous. Clara loves the kittens and asks Sebastian to help them care for them and keep them out of Rottenmeier’s sight.

The boy with the hand-organ arrives, asking to see Clara. He claims that he met her on the street the previous day and that she owes him money. Sebastian realizes he is looking for Heidi and invites the boy inside to play the hand organ for Clara. The boy’s presence, along with his pet tortoise, horrifies Rottenmeier. Sebastian escorts the boy and his tortoise out and pays him fourpence for helping Heidi and playing for Clara.

Another knock at the door reveals a blanket-covered basket full of kittens. They scatter chaotically around the room, much to Clara’s delight and Rottenmeier’s horror. She commands Tinette and Sebastian to remove the kittens and threatens Heidi, saying, “Perhaps a spell in the dark cellar among the bats and rats will tame you, and stop you having any more such ideas” (101). On the mountain, Grandfather keeps the cheese in the cellar, and there are no rats or bats, so Heidi is confused. Clara begs Rottenmeier to withhold punishment until her father returns.

Heidi becomes woefully homesick and decides to visit Grandfather and Grannie. She dresses in her clothing and fills a sack full of the white rolls she has been saving for Grannie. Rottenmeier blocks her from leaving and calls her an “ungrateful little girl” (105) and calls for Sebastian to force her back inside. Sebastian tries to calm Heidi, who is shaking, and offers to take her to visit the kittens living in the attic.

When Mr. Usher arrives the next day, Rottenmeier tells him she thinks Heidi is mentally disturbed, but he disagrees and is more concerned that she is not learning her alphabet. Rottenmeier decides Heidi must borrow some of Clara’s old clothing to look presentable for Herr Sesemann’s return. When she goes to clean out Heidi’s drawers, she finds the roll stockpile and orders Tinette to discard them, along with Heidi’s straw hat. Heidi collapses on the couch crying, and Clara comforts her, saying she will give her fresh rolls to take to Grannie when she leaves. At dinner, Sebastian gives Heidi a signal. When she returns to her room, she finds he rescued her straw hat from Tinette. Heidi wraps it in a handkerchief and hides it.

Herr Sesemann arrives home and briefly visits Clara and Heidi, asking them if they get along with one another. While he eats, Rottenmeier rattles off all the offensive things Heidi has done. Mr. Usher arrives, and Herr Sesemann questions him about Heidi’s behavior. Though he finds her slightly strange, he does not see her behavior as dangerous to Clara. Returning to his daughter, Herr Sesemann sends Heidi to fetch him a glass of water and privately questions Clara about the animals. Clara explains that Heidi’s presence brings her joy, and she makes each day an adventure. Heidi returns with the water from the fountain and says a man with a gold chain and a horse-headed cane sends his regards, and Clara realizes it is her doctor.

Herr Sesemann tells Rottenmeier that Heidi will remain with them. He is leaving again in two weeks for Paris, and his mother, whom Clara calls Grandmamma, will be visiting and can help manage the children. Rottenmeier is angry and tells Heidi she is not allowed to call her Grandmamma but instead “Gracious Madam” (116).

Grandmamma arrives in a carriage, but she meets with Clara alone first, and Heidi must wait in her room until Tinette summons her. While she waits, she practices the name she is supposed to call Grandmamma, but by the time she meets her in person, she confusedly calls her “Madam Gracious” (119). Grandmamma thinks the misstep is humorous and tells her she must only call her Grandmamma. In turn, Grandmamma tells Rottenmeier to call the child Heidi, not Adelheid, since it is the name to which she is accustomed. Grandmamma learns Heidi stays in her room each day while Clara naps, so she tells Rottenmeier that Heidi will spend that time with her. Rottenmeier tells her that Heidi refuses to learn to read, but Grandmamma is perplexed because she can tell Heidi is smart.

Heidi begins spending each afternoon with Grandmamma looking at books. Heidi says she struggles to read because Peter told her it was too difficult. Grandmamma encourages her not to dismiss reading and to try harder. Grandmamma reads from a book with pictures of a green meadow and a shepherd, and Heidi begins to cry. Grandmamma comforts her and tells her if she learns to read, she can have the book. Though Heidi is enjoying Grandmamma’s presence, she now understands that she cannot leave Frankfurt to visit Grandfather and Grannie, and that she may never be allowed to leave, causing her to cry into her pillow each morning. Grandmamma notices her sadness and asks what is troubling her, but Heidi says she cannot say. Heidi says she used to pray, but, “I prayed the same prayer every day for a long time and nothing happened” (130). Grandmamma says God did not answer her prayer because He knew the right timing for things in Heidi’s life, and encourages her to resume her prayer life and tell God about her troubles. Heidi immediately runs to her room and pleads with God to help her return to Grandfather.

Mr. Usher asks to meet with Grandmamma and tells her that a miracle has occurred. Not only has Heidi learned to read, but she is excelling at it. Entering the library, Grandmamma sees Heidi reading aloud to Clara, describing her as “quite excited at the new world which had been opened to her, as the black letters on the page came alive and turned into stories about all kinds of people and things” (127). After she sees Heidi reading aloud to Clara, Grandmamma gifts Heidi the shepherd book, which is the Biblical story of the prodigal son. Heidi treasures the book, but it increases her longing to return home. She is also sad that Grandmamma’s visit is quickly coming to an end.

Each day while Clara naps, Heidi spends time with Grandmamma, who reads to her and teaches her how to sew doll clothes. Despite her love for Grandmamma, Heidi’s homesickness grows worse. When Grandmamma notices Heidi’s pallor, she asks her if she prayed to God for help. Heidi confesses she stopped praying because she did not understand how God could hear the prayers of everyone all at once. Grandmamma chides Heidi for her lack of faith and encourages her to begin praying again so that God will not forget about her. Even if Heidi’s prayers are not answered immediately, she must trust that God knows what is best for her life. Heidi promises to resume her prayer life, but her homesickness deepens. She loses her appetite, and even Sebastian becomes worried when he realizes she is not eating.

Grandmamma leaves, and Heidi is deeply sad. Clara reads her a story in which a grandmother dies, and Heidi thinks the story is real and bursts into tears, sobbing that Grannie is dead. Clara tries to comfort her young companion, but Rottenmeier tells Heidi if she cannot suppress her emotions that she will take the book from her. Clara continues the story, and Heidi awkwardly scrunches her face to muffle her sobs. Spring arrives, but Heidi hardly recognizes the season change in the city. The only time she goes outside is for short walks with Clara. When she is alone in her room, Heidi dreams of Peter in the green meadow and covers her eyes in grief.

The servants report to Frau Rottenmeier that each morning they find the front door standing ajar. Everyone is unnerved by the strange occurrence and assumes that the house is haunted by a ghost. Rottenmeier tasks John and Sebastian to keep watch one night and catch the ghost, but they drink too much wine and fall asleep. They awaken and step outside, but the wind blows out their candle. When they turn back toward the house, they see a figure dressed in white at the top of the stairs.

After they report their findings to Rottenmeier, she writes a letter to Herr Sesemann informing him about the ghost and requesting that he return home immediately. He replies that he cannot leave his work to investigate a ghost. His dispassionate reply further upsets Rottenmeier, and she decides to tell the children. Clara is alarmed and demands Rottenmeier sleep in her room. Heidi has never heard of ghosts and claims she is not afraid, but Rottenmeier assigns Tinette to sleep in her room. Rottenmeier writes to Herr Sesemann explaining Clara’s fear and claiming that the ghost might cause her health to decline. Herr Sesemann returns home in two days to find Clara healthy and happy. He meets with Sebastian to ensure the servants are not playing a joke on Rottenmeier, but Sebastian says he is just as fearful of the specter as her.

Herr Sesemann sends for Dr. Classen, and they keep watch all night, armed with pistols, while drinking wine and talking. At one o’ clock, the door unlocks, opens, and the moonlight reveals Heidi in her nightgown. She is disoriented, so the doctor safely escorts her to bed. Heidi says she has a dream each night that she is with Grandfather and opening the door to the hut to go outside. When he asks her if she has any physical pain, Heidi describes a lump in her throat and tells him that Rottenmeier forbids her to cry. Heidi sobs, and the doctor says, “Have a good cry, it won’t do you any harm” (147). He reports to Herr Sesemann that Heidi is sleepwalking and is very sick. He prescribes that she be sent home immediately. Herr Sesemann doesn’t want to send her home in such poor health, but the doctor argues that the only cure for her illness is to leave the city.

Herr Sesemann awakens everyone early the following day to prepare Heidi to return home. Tinette will help her pack, and he sends for Dete to return and accompany Heidi back up the mountain. Herr Sesemann gently explains to Clara that it is dangerous for Heidi to remain and continue sleepwalking. Clara is sad to lose her companion but accepts the news and offers to give Heidi some of her clothing. Herr Sesemann promises his daughter that they can visit Heidi in Switzerland.

Dete arrives quite frustrated with the situation and tells Herr Sesemann that she is too busy with work to take Heidi home. He tasks Sebastian with the job and warns him to watch Heidi carefully, especially when she falls asleep. When Herr Sesemann tells Heidi the news, she is overjoyed and is too excited to eat her breakfast. She packs her old and new clothes, and “[t]hen she looked in the cupboard and fetched her precious old hat” (154). Clara fills Heidi’s trunk with sewing supplies and clothing and adds a basket full of fresh, white rolls for Grannie. Rottenmeier is frustrated with all the hurried commotion and tells Heidi to throw away her old clothing, but Herr Sesemann intervenes and says she can take whatever she wants. He gives her a letter for Grandfather and another envelope for her to open later.

Sebastian stays with Heidi until they get to Maienfeld, but he is too lazy to walk up the mountain and convinces the baker to take Heidi and her trunk up to Dörfli. He briefly feels guilty for leaving her alone and not following Herr Sesemann’s specific instructions. The baker questions Heidi about her time in Frankfurt while they ride up the mountain, and she tells him that Clara and her family were very kind to her, but she misses Grandfather. The baker says that Grandfather has become even meaner in her absence and won’t even speak to Peter. Heidi stops to see Grannie, and she is overjoyed to have Heidi in her presence again. Heidi changes out of her fancy clothes and gives her new hat with the feather to Bridget and hurriedly makes her way to the hut.

Grandfather and Heidi embrace, and he cries for the first time in many years. He reads Herr Sesemann’s letter and tells Heidi her envelope contains money. She says she doesn’t need it, but he tells her to put it in the cabinet for later. Heidi satisfyingly gulps a cup of milk and declares it the best milk around. Peter visits, surprised to see Heidi has returned, and the goats are so happy to see her that he has a difficult time herding them. Heidi watches the sun set over the mountain and weeps as she thanks God for allowing her to return home. Grandfather makes Heidi a new bed with fresh straw, and she sleeps soundly for the first time since leaving the mountain.