Homesick + Sleepwalking=Going Back Home

Grandma Lu was so glad to pick up the book called Heidi. It had been a very busy two weeks with company coming and going for her husband's birthday. She loved company, but she also missed her quiet time of reading. "Well now. Where was I at? Oh yes, here is a chapter that I remember. The poor little girl was so homesick for the mountain, the goats, and her grandfather that she quit eating. The mean housekeeper had told her that she couldn't cry. The mean old woman. She deserved to think there was a ghost in the house." Grandma Lu laughed. When she had picked up the book she had read that Clara's father and his friend the doctor had waited up to see what the staff was scared of. Sure enough late in the night there was little Heidi in her little white nightgown at the door. The mystery was solved. It was not a robber, but only a little girl sleepwalking.

The doctor determined that she was wasting away because she wasn't eating and was so sad that she might never recover if she wasn't sent home the very next day. Of course, Clara was upset because she loved her little friend, but her father promised her that she could go visit her in the spring if she minded the doctor's orders and did her school work.

Clara insisted that Heidi's trunk be packed in her room. Guess what was packed in the trunk. Her very special picture book that Clara's grandmother had given her, and twelve soft white rolls for the blind grandmother who lived at the village at the bottom of the mountain. Heidi ran back to her room and gathered up her little belongings like her red shawl and her little straw hat.

The butler was given strict instructions on caring for Heidi because he not only had to watch and care for her on the train, but they had to stay overnight at a hotel half way there. He had to make sure that Heidi didn't sleep walk again. Sebastion, the butler, managed for a man to take Heidi and her trunk to the village. He handed Heidi the basket of rolls a letter for her grandfather and a huge roll of money for him. The butler was going to  miss Heidi. He had become very fond of her in the months that she had lived in the big house.

Heidi caused quite the stir when people in the village saw her. They thought for sure that she would never return.  And Heidi thought for sure that the blind grandmother was dead it had been so long since she had seen her. She went running into the little cabin and surprised the grandmother with the soft white rolls. The grandmother thanked God for the return of the little girl who she had come to love so very much. The grandmother cried many happy tears.

Heidi left her fancy dress and hat with Peter's mother. She remembered what Grandfather had said when her aunt had left with her. She told the blind grandmother that she would return the next day, but that she must go see her grandfather now.

The climb up the mountain was beautiful. She saw her fir trees and the beautiful rosy clouds. The grass looked like gold and she started to cry she was so happy. Then she saw her grandfather sitting on the bench outside his cabin. She called his name over and over as she ran to him. Being grandfather he asked if Clara's father had sent her away. She said, "No. I think the doctor said I needed to come back to you. Here is a letter from Clara's father and a roll of money. He told Heidi that the money belonged to her and after he read the letter he put it in his pocket.

The first thing Heidi did was to climb the ladder to see her bed it was gone! Grandfather told her that he wasn't sure that she would be back, but her would get her another one. But first she must drink some milk! It was the very best that she had ever tasted. She told him that she was sure that it was the best milk in the entire world.

Grandma Lu grinned and thought. "There really is nowhere as good as being home with the people that you love. I'm sure her little goatherder, Peter will be glad to see her. If I remember right, Heidi has some things to share with him. Grandma Lu put the book down, said goodnight to her husband, and laid down happily on her nice soft mattress. As she got her soft pillows and blanket gathered around her she wondered what a bed of straw felt like as she drifted off to sleep.

Clara's Grandmother Visits

 When the housekeeper learned that Clara's grandmother was to come for a visit everything had to be cleaned and polished twice before she was satisfied. The day finally arrived and all the staff met Grandmother at the door with starched and clean as a whistle uniforms. Miss Rottenmeier sent Heidi to her room which did not please Clara's grandmother one little bit. She sent for her and showed her beautiful books she had brought along for Heidi to read. Well, Heidi loved the beautiful pictures but told the older lady that she could not read. It was just a waste of time for the teacher to try to teach her. Clara's grandmother did not accept that and asked Heidi why she thought that learning her ABC's was a waste of time. Heidi told the nice lady because Peter, her friend on the mountain, told her that it was. He said that he had tried and tried and never could figure it out. 

Grandmother said very kindly, "Heidi, you haven't learned to read because you believed what your friend told you. I just know that you will learn how to read. If you do I will give you this book to keep." Grandmother told Heidi the book was about a shepherd and his sheep and his goats. Heidi got so excited to read she couldn't wait for the teacher to come so she could learn her ABC's.

Since the day awhile ago that Heidi had tried to run away and go back to her grandfather, Heidi realized that she would hurt her friend, Clara and Clara's father as well as Clara's grandmother if she ran away again. Clara told her that she couldn't leave for years and years. But when she thought of never returning to the mountain top she completely lost her appetite. She found that she just couldn't eat and got so very homesick that she often cried herself to sleep. 

Clara's grandmother noticed that Heidi was so very sad and asked her to tell her what the trouble was. Heidi told her that she couldn't tell a soul; not even Clara. So the grandmother asked Heidi if she ever prayed. Heidi said she had not. She had forgotten how. Grandmother explained that when we need somebody to talk to praying really helps. She told her that the Lord comforts us and can even give us  joy. You can tell him anything and He will listen. Immediately Heidi wanted to go pray.

The teacher noticed a big difference in Heidi's reading skills in just a week's time. Grandmother was so pleased that she gave Heidi the big beautiful book. Grandmother promised Heidi that they would read the book together the very next day. Heidi loved the book and especially loved the story of the Prodigal Son. Ever since she had learned to read the days passed by quickly.

Clara's grandmother taught her how to make doll clothes and she also started reading aloud to the older woman. The more she read the stories the easier it was to read the words.

Heidi was very happy that she could read, but she was so very sad. Even though she prayed every night, God didn't seem to hear her prayers. She explained this to the Grandmother before she left. That is when Grandmother told Heidi that God decides what is best for us so sometimes it seems our prayers aren't answered. So Heidi immediately prayed for forgiveness and promised never to forget Him again.

One day as she was reading a book to Clara she read that a grandmother had died. She took it to mean that the old blind grandmother had died and began to cry and sob util the housekeeper told her that if she didn't quit that she would take her book away from her and never give it back.

After that Heidi never cried again, but this had a poor effect on Heidi. She had no interest in food at all. She would just sit at the table quietly and then go to bed. Time passed for her without really knowing how the seasons were passing. She realized that it probably was time for Peter to go up the mountain with his goats and all those beautiful wildflowers were blooming. She became so sad she would go to her room and cover her eyes with her hands until Clara called for her.

The Young Organ Grinder Demanded His Forty Pennies!

 In the story Grandma Lu noticed that Clara was being homeschooled by a man that was called a tutor. Grandma Lu's daughter had homeschooled all of her children because she chose to, however, Clara was probably being taught at home because of two reasons. Her father was very wealthy, but Clara was also confined to a wheel chair making it very difficult to go outside other than on the porch attached to the house.

As Grandma Lu read on the tutor had already arrived for the day when the door bell rang very loudly. There stood the young organ grinder. Well, the butler saw this young dirty boy at the door and started yelling at him to not ring the bell so loud. Sure enough he was there to collect his forty pennies that Clara owed him. (If you remember Heidi had told him that Clara would pay him) Well come to find out he thought that Heidi was Clara. After the boy described the girl to the butler he grinned. He pulled him into the house and told him to follow him to the study. Grandma Lu grinned too when she thought about what was going to happen. "I really like that butler. I think he is a good guy."

"There is a boy here to play a tune for Miss Clara." Clara was so excited to have something so fun to happen during her usually dull school time. After Miss Rottenmeier heard the noise (music) she ordered him away much to Clara's disappointment as well as Heidi's. But the butler gave the organ grinder his forty pennies and sent him on his way.

Suddenly there was another ring of the door bell and there stood a man with a basket full of kittens! One of them even climbed up Miss Rottenmeier's dress and crawled over her feet. Clara loved them! The classes that day were anything but boring. But poor Heidi. Miss Rottenmeier threatened to send Heidi to the basement with the rats. But Heidi wasn't afraid. Her grandfather's basement or cellar as they called it was full of cheese and fresh milk. Clara put a stop to Heidi's punishment and told the housekeeper that her papa would soon be home and let him decide if Heidi was to be punished.

Heidi wasn't doing well with he ABC"s. It seemed to her that she was just like Peter her friend on the mountain. He wasn't able to read either and thought that school was a waste of time.

Heidi was so very homesick for the mountain that one day she packed up the white rolls that she had been hiding for the old grandmother, put on her shawl and old hat and had planned on going home. She got as far as the door when the housekeeper stopped her. Heidi cried and cried and the housekeeper called her crazy and that she was unlucky for the household.

Heidi didn't know it until this day, but the butler, Sebastion was indeed her friend. He could see that the young girl was shaking and had red eyes from her crying. He told her that she should go play with all the kittens. Even that didn't cheer Heidi. That night she didn't eat her supper.

Heidi had been in need of some new clothes so Miss Rottenmeier had been going through Heidi's clothes and had found all of the spoiled rolls in her closet. She told the maid to through away the bread and Heidi's old straw hat.

Heidi sobbed and sobbed and pleaded with the housekeeper not to throw away the bread because it was for the old blind grandmother. Clara heard and saw how very upset Heidi was and promised her that when she went home she would give her a lot of fresh white rolls for the grandmother.

That night when Heidi went to bed she found her old straw hat that the butler had hidden under her covers. She quickly wrapped it up in a handkerchief and hid it in the furthest part of her closet.

When Clara's father came home from his business the housekeeper told him that the Swiss child was a great disappointment. She didn't think that she was right in the head. He tried to talk to the teacher, but he caried on and on about everything but Heidi, but did point out that Heidi had poor education and didn't seem to be able to learn easily. He finally left the teacher and went to the room where Clara and Heidi were. He asked Heidi to go fetch him a glass of fresh water.

At this point of the book Grandma Lu thought that this was a strange request because in order for Heidi to get him fresh water she would have to walk down the street for several blocks to find a fountain that had fresh water. But as she continued to read, at the fountain there was a nice older man there that told Heidi to give his regards to Mr. Sesemann, which was Clara's father. When Heidi described the man Clara's father knew immediately who he was. He was his doctor!

That evening after Clara's father heard all the real facts about the kittens and even a turtle that made him laugh he told the housekeeper that from now one Heidi was to be treated kindly and that Clara loved her and wanted her to remain her companion. Heidi was not to be punished for just being different. Clara's father could only stay at home for two weeks before he had to go back to Paris for his business. He made sure, however, that his mother would soon be visiting. He knew that she loved children and would make Heidi happy and probably even help her with her reading.

Pandemonium In The Big House!

 Having lived the free life on the mountain with her grandfather, Heidi was feeling closed up and needed to see the outside. The windows were too high up for her to see outdoors. So she asked the butler if he would open the door for her so that she could see outside. That he did. When Heidi walked outside all she could see were streets of stone and lots of chimneys. That is not what she wanted at all. So she decided to take a walk. She was sure that she would find flowers and mountains that would make her happy again. Sebastian was the butler's name. He had told Heidi that the building with the golden dome on a church was high enough that she would be able to see everything. It seemed like her search brought her nothing but more buildings and lots of people walking on the sidewalks. Then she saw the strangest thing. She saw a boy with an organ on his back and a strange monkey on his arm. She thought for sure that he would tell her where the building with the golden dome was. 

The boy with the organ and the monkey was called an organ grinder. Well, he would not tell Heidi where the church was unless she paid him twenty pennies. She had no money, but she told him that he would get paid when she got back to Clara's house.

When Heidi and the organ grinder boy finally arrived at the church she was surprised to find out that she had to pull a rope that rang a bell. In the mean time the organ grinder told her that now he wanted forty pennies to show her the way home.

Finally an old man opened the door and started yelling at Heidi. He said, "Can't you see this is only for people that want to see the tower?" Heidi told him that she too wanted to see the tower. The old man tried to slam the door in her face and told her not to come back again. For some reason he felt bad for her when he saw that her eyes were full of tears. He finally agreed to let her climb the many stairs to the very top. The old man opened up a window. Much to Heidi's disappointment once again all she saw was chimneys and roofs of houses. The old man told her that she must go now and never come back again.

On their way back down they passed a room where a large gray cat was sitting by a basket full of her kittens. Heidi was so excited to see the kittens. The kittens would jump in and out of the basket and play. The old man figured this was an easy way to get rid of the kittens. He loved the old gray cat. He had had her for many years. She was a fine mouse catcher. The old man smiled at Heidi and asked her if she would like to have a kitten to take home with her. She was so very excited when he told her she could have as many as she wanted. The old man knew Clara's parents and where they lived. He told Heidi that he would deliver the kittens there the next day. In the meantime he put a kitten in each one of Heidi's pockets. She couldn't wait to show Clara!

The boy knew where Clara's house was by the way Heidi described it to him. It seemed like in no time they arrived back to Clara's house. She pulled the rope to let the butler know that she was back. Oh my, the butler was upset. He said, "Hurry, Miss. They are all waiting dinner for you. Miss Rottenmeier looks furious! How could you run away? You must never do that again."

Heidi sat down at the table. Nobody said a word until Miss Rottenmeier said, "I will speak to you after you finish your dinner. You must never walk about until so late again." Miss Rottenmeier didn't like the name Heidi so she called Heidi by her Christian name which was Adelheid. It seemed to Heidi that that lady didn't like anything about her. She wanted to go home.

Grandma Lu grinned when she read that part. "I can remember being called my whole name when I was in trouble."

Heidi started to talk to defend herself when one of the kittens in her pocket said, "Meow!"

Well the butler ran from the room and Miss Rottenmeier said, "That's enough out of you. You leave the room this minute!"

Then a whole bunch of meows started and Heidi explained that the kittens were doing the meowing, and that she wasn't  being disrespectful.

Well that really set Miss Rottenmeier off. She started screaming and ran into the study and locked herself in. She was scared to death of cats and even the little kittens.

When Sebastian had finished laughing he came back into the room and saw such a beautiful sight. There was Clara and Heidi each petting and playing with a cute little kitten.

He promised the girls that he would fix the kittens a bed and that they also should get ready for bed.

After quite some time Miss Rottenmeier opened the door of the study just a couple of inches to make sure that the little kittens were gone. The butler assured her that they were. Miss Rottenmeier was exhausted to say the least and went to bed immediately. So Heidi was spared a good talking to that the housekeeper had promised her.

Grandma Lu chuckled at the pandemonium the kittens caused and thought, "I wonder what will happen when the old man delivers the rest of them the next day and what about the organ grinder; is he still standing outside waiting for his money? Guess I'll turn the page and find out. "