Hello and welcome back,
I'm so glad you're here.
Tonight I'll be narrating Chapter 8 from Heidi,
A gentle,
Heartfelt story filled with mountain air,
Simple joys,
And the warmth of human connection.
This episode is part of your early access as a subscriber,
So thank you for being here and for supporting the show.
Heidi will make its way to the regular feed in time,
But for now,
I'm so happy to share this cherished classic with you first.
Now let's take a moment to settle in.
Get comfortable wherever you are,
Perhaps adjusting your blanket or resting your head a little deeper into your pillow.
Let your body soften,
And if it feels right,
Allow your eyes to close.
Take a slow,
Steady breath in,
And gently release it.
Again,
Breathe in deeply,
And exhale,
Letting go of any tension you might be holding.
Allow the day to fade into the background.
There's nothing you need to do,
Nowhere you need to go.
Feel yourself growing heavier,
More and more at ease,
And let your thoughts drift like soft clouds,
Passing by without effort.
And whenever you're ready,
Let's begin.
Chapter 8,
Surprises for the Children The tutor had just been shown into the study on the following morning,
When there came a very loud ring at the bell.
Sebastian opened the door,
And there stood a ragged little boy,
Carrying a hand organ on his back.
"'What is the meaning of this?
' said Sebastian angrily.
"'I'll teach you to ring bells like that.
What do you want here?
' "'I want to see Clara,
' the boy answered.
"'You good-for-nothing little rascal.
Can't you be polite enough to say Miss Clara?
' "'What do you want with her?
' continued Sebastian roughly.
"'She owes me ten cents,
' explained the boy.
"'You must be out of your mind.
And how do you know that any young lady of that name lives here?
' "'She owes me five for showing her the way there,
And five for showing her the way back.
' "'The young lady never goes out,
Cannot even walk.
Be off and get back to where you came from,
Before I have to help you along.
' But the boy was not to be frightened away,
And said in a determined voice,
"'But I saw her in the street,
And can describe her to you.
"'She has short,
Curly black hair and black eyes,
And wears a brown dress,
And does not talk quite like we do.
' "'Oh!
' thought Sebastian,
Laughing to himself.
"'The little miss has evidently been up to more mischief.
' Then,
Drawing the boy inside,
He said aloud,
"'I understand now.
Come with me,
And wait outside the door till I tell you to go in.
Be sure you begin playing your organ the instant you get inside the room.
The lady is very fond of music.
' Sebastian knocked at the study door,
And a voice said,
"'Come in.
"'There is a boy outside,
Who says he must speak to Miss Clara herself,
' Sebastian announced.
Clara was delighted at such an extraordinary and unexpected message.
"'Let him come in at once,
' replied Clara.
The boy was already inside the room,
And according to Sebastian's directions,
Immediately began to play his organ.
Miss Rottermeier,
Hearing the music,
Rushed into the room,
And saw the ragged boy turning away at his organ in the most energetic manner.
"'Leave off!
Leave off at once!
' she screamed.
But her voice was drowned by the music.
She was making a dash for the boy,
When she saw something on the ground crawling towards her feet.
A dreadful,
Dark object.
A tortoise.
At this sight,
She jumped higher than she had for many long years before,
Shrieking with all her might,
"'Sebastian!
Sebastian!
Sebastian!
Take them all out!
Boy and animal!
Get them away at once!
' she commanded him.
Sebastian pulled the boy away,
The latter having quickly caught up his tortoise,
And when he had got him outside,
He put something into his hand.
"'There is the ten cents from Miss Clara,
And another ten cents for the music.
You did it all quite right.
' And with that,
He shut the front door upon him.
Quietness reigned again in the study,
And lessons began once more.
Miss Rottermeier now stayed in the study,
In order to prevent any further dreadful goings-on.
But soon,
Another knock came to the door,
And Sebastian again stepped in,
This time to say that someone had brought a large basket with orders that it was to be given at once to Miss Clara.
"'For me?
' said Clara in astonishment,
Her curiosity very much excited.
"'Bring it in at once,
That I may see what it is like!
' Sebastian carried in a large covered basket and retired.
"'I think the lessons had better be finished first,
Before the basket is unpacked,
' said Miss Rottermeier.
Clara could not conceive what was in it,
And cast longing glances towards it.
In the middle of one of her declensions,
She suddenly broke off and said to the tutor,
"'May not I just give one peep inside,
To see what is in it before I go on?
' "'On some considerations I am for it,
On others against it,
' he began in answer.
"'For it,
' on the ground that if your whole attention is directed to the basket,
But the speech remained unfinished.
The cover of the basket was loose,
And at this moment one,
Two,
Three,
And then two more kittens came suddenly tumbling onto the floor and racing about the room in every direction.
They jumped over the tutor's boots,
Climbed up Miss Rottermeier's dress,
Rolled about her feet,
Sprang up onto Clara's couch,
Scratching,
Scrambling,
And mewing.
Clara kept on exclaiming,
"'Oh,
The dear little things,
How pretty they are.
Look,
Heidi,
At this one.
Look,
Look at that one over there.
' And Heidi,
In her delight,
Kept running after them,
First into one corner,
And then into the other.
The tutor stood up by the table,
Not knowing what to do.
Miss Rottermeier was unable at first to speak at all.
So overcome was she with horror,
And she did not dare rise from her chair,
For fear that all the dreadful little animals should jump upon her at once.
At last she found voice to call loudly,
"'Tinette,
Tinette,
Sebastian,
Sebastian!
' They came and answered to her summons and gathered up the kittens.
By degrees,
They got them all inside the basket again and then carried them off to put with the other two.
When Miss Rottermeier learned that Heidi was to blame for having the kittens brought into the house,
She was very angry and said,
"'Adelaide,
You little barbarian,
You shall be put in a dark cellar with the rats and black beetles.
' Heidi listened in silence and surprise to her sentence,
For she had never seen a cellar such as was now described.
The place known at her grandfather's as the cellar where the fresh cheeses and the new milk were kept was a pleasant and inviting place.
Neither did she know at all what rats and black beetles were like.
But now Clara interrupted in great distress.
"'No,
No,
Miss Rottermeier.
You must wait till Papa comes.
He has written to say that he will soon be home,
And then I will tell him everything,
And he will say what is to be done with Heidi.
' Miss Rottermeier could not do anything against the superior authority,
Especially as the father was really expected very shortly.
She rose and said with some displeasure,
"'As you will,
Clara,
But I too shall have something to say to Mr.
Sazamon,
' and with that she left the room.
Two days now went by without further disturbance.
Miss Rottermeier,
However,
Could not recover her equanimity.
She was perpetually reminded by Heidi's presence of the deception that had been played upon her,
And it seemed to her that ever since the child had come into the house,
Everything had been topsy-turvy,
And she could not bring things into proper order again.
Clara had grown much more cheerful.
She no longer found time hang heavy during the lesson hours,
For Heidi was continually making a diversion of some kind or other.
She jumbled all her letters up together and seemed quite unable to learn them,
And when the tutor tried to draw her attention to their different shapes and to help her by showing her that this was like the little horn or that like a little bird's bill,
She would suddenly exclaim in a joyful voice,
"'That is a goat!
That is a bird of prey!
' For the tutor's descriptions suggested all kinds of pictures to her mind,
But left her still incapable of the alphabet.
In the later afternoons,
Heidi always sat with Clara and told her of the mountain and of her life upon it,
And the longing to return would become so overpowering that she always finished with the words,
"'Now I must go home!
Tomorrow I must really go!
' But Clara would try to quiet her and tell Heidi that she must wait till her father returned,
And then they would see what was to be done.
After dinner,
Heidi had to sit alone in her room for a couple of hours,
For she understood now that she might not run about outside at Frankfurt as she did on the mountain,
And so she did not attempt it.
At times,
She could hardly contain herself for the longing to be back home again.
She remembered that Data had told her that she could go home whenever she liked,
So it came about one day that Heidi felt she could not bear it any longer.
She tied all the rolls up in her red shawl,
Put on her straw hat,
And went downstairs.
But just as she reached the hall door,
She met Miss Rottermeier,
Just returning from a walk,
Which put a stop to Heidi's journey.
"'What have you dressed yourself like that for?
' exclaimed Miss Rottermeier.
"'What do you mean by this?
Have I not strictly forbidden you to go running about in the streets?
"'And here you are ready to start off again,
And going out looking like a beggar.
'" "'I was not going to run about.
I was going home,
' said Heidi,
Frightened.
"'What are you talking about?
Going home?
"'What would Mr.
Sesamon say if he knew?
"'And what is the matter with his house?
I should like to know.
"'Have you ever in your life before had such a house to live in?
' "'Such a table?
Or so many to wait upon you?
Have you?
' "'No,
' replied Heidi.
"'I should think not,
Indeed,
' continued the exasperated lady.
"'You are an ungrateful little thing to be always thinking of what naughty thing you can do next.
'" Then Heidi's feelings got the better of her,
And she poured forth her trouble.
"'I only want to go home,
For if I stay so long away,
"'Snowflake will begin crying again,
And Grandmother is waiting for me,
"'and Greenfinch will get beaten because I am not there to give Peter any cheese,
"'and I can never see here how the sun says goodnight to the mountains.
"'And if the great bird were to fly over Frankfurt,
"'he would croak louder than ever about people huddling all together "'and teaching each other bad things and not going to live up on the rocks where it is so much better.
'" "'Heaven have mercy on us!
' "'The child is out of her mind,
' cried Miss Rottermeier,
And she turned and went quickly up the steps.
"'Go and bring that unhappy little creature in at once,
' she ordered Sebastian.
"'What,
Are you in trouble again?
' said Sebastian in a pleasant voice,
As he led Heidi back up the stairs.
He tried to cheer her up by telling her he was taking good care of all the kittens,
But she was too sad to care and silently crept away to her room.
At supper that evening,
She sat without moving or eating.
All she did was to hastily hide her roll in her pocket.
Next day,
Miss Rottermeier made up her mind that she would supplement Heidi's clothing with various garments from Clara's wardrobe so as to give her a decent appearance when Mr.
Saisamon returned.
She confided her intention to Clara,
Who was quite willing to give up any number of dresses and hats to Heidi.
So the lady went upstairs to overhaul the child's belongings and see what was to be kept and what thrown away.
She returned,
However,
In the course of a few minutes,
With an expression of horror upon her face.
"'What is this,
Adelaide,
That I find in your wardrobe?
' she exclaimed.
"'I never heard of anyone doing such a thing before.
' "'In a cupboard meant for clothes,
Adelaide?
"'What do I see at the bottom but a heap of rolls?
' "'Will you believe it,
Clara?
Bread in a wardrobe!
A whole pile of bread!
' "'Tenet!
' she called.
"'Go upstairs and take away all those rolls out of Adelaide's cupboard "'and the old straw hat on the table.
' "'No,
No!
' screamed Heidi.
"'I must keep the hat and the rolls are for Grandmother.
' And she was rushing to stop Tenet when Miss Rottermeier caught hold of her.
"'You will stop here and all that bread and rubbish "'shall be taken to the place they belong to,
' she said in a determined tone "'as she kept her hand on the child to prevent her running forward.
' Heidi flung herself down on Clara's couch and broke into a wild fit of weeping,
Sobbing out at intervals.
"'Now Grandmother's bread is all gone.
"'They were all for Grandmother and now they are taken away "'and Grandmother won't have one.
' And she wept as if her heart would break.
She could not get over her sobs for a long time.
She would never have been able to leave off crying at all if it had not been for Clara's promise that she should have fresh,
New rolls to take to Grandmother when the time came for her to go home.
When Heidi got into bed that night,
She found her old straw hat lying under the counterpane.
She snatched it up with delight,
Made it more out of shape still in her joy,
And then,
After wrapping a handkerchief round it,
She stuck it in a corner of the cupboard as far back as she could.
It was Sebastian who had hidden it there for her.
He had been in the dining room when Tenette was called and had heard all that went on with the child and the latter's loud weeping.
So he followed Tenette,
And when she came out of Heidi's room,
Carrying the rolls and the hat,
He caught up the hat and said,
"'I will see to this old thing.
'" Chapter Nine Mr.
Zezamon Takes Heidi's Part A few days after these events,
There was great commotion and much running up and down stairs in Mr.
Zezamon's house.
The master had just returned,
And Sebastian and Tenette were busy carrying up one package after another from the carriage,
For Mr.
Zezamon always brought back a lot of pretty things for his home.
He himself had not waited to do anything before going in to see his daughter.
Heidi was sitting beside her,
For it was late afternoon,
When the two were always together.
Father and daughter greeted each other with warm affection,
For they were deeply attached to one another.
Then he held out his hand to Heidi,
Who had stolen away in to the corner,
And said kindly to her,
"'And this is our little Swiss girl?
Come and shake hands with me.
That's right.
Now,
Tell me,
Are Clara and you good friends with one another,
Or do you get angry and quarrel,
And then cry and make it up,
And then start quarreling again on the next occasion?
' "'No.
Clara is always kind to me,
' answered Heidi.
And Heidi,
Putting Clara quickly,
Has not once tried to quarrel.
"'That's all right.
I'm glad to hear it,
' said her father,
As he rose from his chair.
"'But you must excuse me,
Clara,
For I have had nothing to eat all day.
Afterwards I will show you all the things I have brought home with me.
'" He found Miss Rottermeier in the dining room,
And when he had taken his place,
She sat down opposite to him,
Looking so gloomy,
That he turned to her and said,
"'What is the matter?
' Mr.
Zasaman began the lady in a solemn voice.
"'We have been frightfully imposed upon.
'" "'In what way?
' asked Mr.
Zasaman,
As he went on calmly drinking his wine.
"'Well,
I supposed I was getting a well-behaved and nicely brought up little Swiss girl for Clara's companion.
But I have been shockingly,
Disgracefully imposed upon.
'" "'But how?
What is there shocking and disgraceful?
' "'I see nothing shocking in the child,
' remarked Mr.
Zasaman quietly.
"'If you only knew the kind of people and animals she has brought into the house during your absence.
The tutor can tell you more about that.
'" "'Animals?
What am I to understand by animals,
Miss Rottermeier?
' "'It is past understanding.
The whole behavior of the child would be past understanding if it were not that at times she is evidently not in her right mind.
'" At that moment,
The door opened and the tutor was announced.
"'Ah,
Here is someone,
' exclaimed Mr.
Zasaman,
"'who will help to clear up matters for me.
'" "'Take a seat,
' he continued as he held out his hand to the tutor.
"'And now tell me,
What is the matter with this child that has come to be a companion to my daughter?
' The tutor started in his usual style.
"'If I must give my opinion about this little girl,
I should like first to state that if on one side there is a lack of development which has been caused by the more or less careless way in which she has been brought up.
'" "'My good friend,
' interrupted Mr.
Zasaman,
"'you are giving yourself more trouble than you need.
I only want to know what your opinion is as to her being a fit companion or not for my daughter.
'" "'I should not like in any way to prejudice you against her,
' began the tutor once more.
"'For if on the one hand there is a certain inexperience of the ways of society owing to the uncivilized life she led up to the time of her removal to Frankfurt,
On the other hand she is endowed with certain good qualities and,
Taken on the whole.
.
.
"'Excuse me,
My dear sir,
Do not disturb yourself,
But I must.
.
.
I think my daughter will be wanting me.
And with that,
Mr.
Zasaman quickly left the room and went into the study to talk to Clara.
" "'And now,
My dear,
' he said,
Drawing his chair nearer and laying her hand in his.
"'What kind of animals has your little companion brought into the house?
And why does Miss Rottermeier think that she is not always in her right mind?
' Clara had no difficulty in answering.
She told her father everything about the tortoise and the kittens and explained to him what Heidi had said the day Miss Rottermeier had been put in such a fright.
Mr.
Zasaman laughed heartily at her recital.
"'So you do not want me to send the child home again?
' he asked.
"'You are not tired of having her here?
' "'Oh,
No!
' Clara exclaimed.
"'Please do not send her away.
Time has passed much more quickly since Heidi has been here,
For something fresh happens every day,
And it used to be so dull,
And she has always so much to tell me.
That evening,
When Mr.
Zasaman and Miss Rottermeier were alone settling the household affairs,
He informed her that he intended to keep Heidi,
For his daughter liked her as a companion.
"'I desire,
' he continued,
"'that the child be in every way kindly treated and that her oddities shall not be looked upon as crimes.
"'If you find her too much for you alone,
I can hold out a prospect of help for I'm expecting my mother here on a long visit,
And she,
As you know,
Can get along with anybody,
Whatever they may be like.
'" "'Oh,
Yes,
I know,
' replied Miss Rottermeier,
But there was no tone of relief in her voice as she thought of the coming help.
Mr.
Zasaman was only home for a short time.
He left for Paris again before the fortnight was over,
Comforting Clara with the prospect of her grandmother's arrival,
Which was to take place in a few days' time.
Clara talked so much about her grandmother that Heidi began to also call her Grandma,
Which brought forth a look of displeasure from Miss Rottermeier.
As she was going to her room that night,
Miss Rottermeier waylaid her and gave her strict orders not to call Mrs.
Zasaman Grandma,
But always to say Madam.
'" Sweet dreams,
My friend.
Sleep well.
