Chapter four: Heidi returns
Sebastian and Heidi traveled to her village. All of the villagers were surprised that Heidi came back to live with her grandfather.
The first place Heidi ran to was Peter and grannie's hut. Heidi cried and sat on grannie's lap. She gave grannie a basket of fresh bread.
Then she climbed the mountain to see her grandfather.
He was sitting outside the hut, just like the first time she saw him.
“Grandfather! ” Heidi cried.
She threw her arms around him. Grandfather cried for the first time in many years.
“So you've come back,” he said.
That night, Heidi slept in her old bed in the loft.
It was the best night of sleep she'd had in a long time.
The next day, grandfather woke Heidi.
“Put your best clothes on,” he said. “We're going to church. ”
They went to church in the village. Grandfather spoke to the pastor.
“I've decided to move to the village for the winter. Heidi will go to school. ” the villagers were surprised to see grandfather and the pastor talking like friends.
On the way home, grandfather told Heidi, “I never thought I would be this happy again. It was a good day when God sent you to me. ”
That fall, Peter often asked Heidi to herd the goats with him.
But she told him she was too busy.
She was cleaning the hut.
She was also waiting for her friends from Frankfurt to visit.
One day, she looked down the mountain and saw somebody coming. It was Dr Classen. Grandfather and Heidi greeted him.
“Where are grandmamma and Klara? ” Heidi asked.
“I'm alone,” he said. “Klara has been sick. She can't travel until springtime, when the weather is warmer. ”
Heidi was sad, but she was glad to see Dr Classen.
Grandfather gave Dr Classen a mug of fresh goat's milk and some golden cheese. “This will be a good place for Klara to get well,” said the doctor.
That winter, Heidi and grandfather moved down to the village.
Grandfather rented a small hut there.
Heidi missed the mountains.
But she was very happy to go to school. She studied her lessons very hard.
But Peter rarely went to school.
One day, Heidi asked him, “Why weren't you at school again today? ”
“I couldn't stop the sled,” lied Peter. “It went straight through the village. I couldn't get off! Then it was too late to go to school! ”
“If you do that again,” said grandfather, “You're going to get in big trouble with me! ”
When Heidi and Peter came to visit grannie, she was very sick.
Grannie couldn't get out of bed.
Heidi read to her to cheer her up. She thought Peter should learn to read. Then he could read to grannie, and maybe she would get well.
The next day at school, Heidi said to Peter, “You must learn to read. So then you can read to grannie. ”
“I can't do it,” Peter replied.
“I'm going to teach you,” said Heidi.
Reading was very difficult for Peter. But Heidi made him learn the abc with a book from Klara. Then he began to read a few words.
A few weeks later, he could read to grannie.
The whole village heard that Heidi got Peter to read. Everyone was very impressed