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. "

Trickery And A Lot Of New Rules

 Grandma Lu had had a really busy week. She had had a lot of company, went to the nursing home every day to help a friend, and enjoyed going out to lunch with a friend. Her husband and son had friends over and of course, she had to go and watch them play pool. She smiled to herself as she was cleaning up the counter after washing up a few dishes. "Today I think I will go back to the book Heidi. I got so that I wasn't happy with it, but I have to return it to the library in just a few days so I might as well finish it. If I remember right it does have a happy ending, but the middle is kind of sad." She gave the stove a final polish and walked into the living room to give herself a little rest.

She settled herself with the book and read how very angry Heidi's grandfather was when Heidi's aunt came to take her away to the city in Germany. He yelled at her and said, "Take her away then, but don't you come back begging me to take her back with her fancy hat and clothes. Go! And be on your way!"

Heidi told her aunt that she didn't want to go and leave her grandfather. She wanted to stay and play with the goats and her friends Peter, his mother, and especially the old grandmother that couldn't see. Grandfather didn't want her to go to church or to school, but that was okay she was so very happy right where she was. Her aunt promised that she would bring her back, but was instead going to take Heidi to a wealthy family who had a daughter that was very lonely. She was also in a wheelchair and couldn't run and play like Heidi could. Heidi's aunt was tricking her and not telling her the truth.

As Heidi and her aunt were leaving Peter saw them. He carried a bundle of hazel rods on his shoulder. He asked where they were going. Heidi's aunt told him that they were going to Frankfurt. Heidi wanted to stop and see the grandmother, but the aunt wouldn't hear of it. She told Heidi that in Frankfurt they would get the old grandmother soft white rolls to eat instead of the hard black bread that she always had to eat. Well Heidi started to run to get the soft white rolls. That gave the village people the wrong impression. They thought that Heidi was running away from the grandfather and figured he had been mean to the girl. Grandma Lu thought, "It was so mean of Heidi's aunt to trick her like that. She was such a trusting child."

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                                                       CLARA

Clara had a pale thin face with beautiful blue eyes. She knew that Heidi was supposed to be coming soon and she couldn't wait. She often was so very lonely with only her strict housekeeper for company. Clara lived in a large house and she also had a butler that answered the door and a maid that appeared when they pulled on a rope. The housekeeper's name was Miss Rottenmeier.

 The maid took Heidi and her aunt to meet Miss Rottenmeier which with one glance Heidi could tell that the housekeeper didn't think that she was a favorable choice for a companion for Clara. She was too young, she couldn't read, and didn't even like her name! Heidi's aunt had promised Heidi that they would return to the mountain the next day so she figured she would just be as nice as she could because she wanted to get some soft white rolls for Peter's grandmother. She stood very still in one spot while the housekeeper questioned her. Clara had been watching and listening to their conversation from her wheelchair. Heidi said that the butler looked like Peter and that made Miss Rottenmeier leave the room telling them all to go to the dining room. She was furious with even the sight of Heidi. Clara had to be lifted from her wheelchair onto a regular chair to eat her supper. This also made Heidi sad because her new friend couldn't run and play. She couldn't even walk!

Heidi saw soft white rolls on the table and a plate full of fish. She expected the butler to put the fish on her plate but was told she was to help herself. The butler smiled when he saw her put a soft roll in her pocket. She was told never to talk to the butler unless it was very important and was told an endless list of other rules that Heidi had to obey while she was there. She promptly fell asleep while she was being lectured and had to be awakened to go to bed.

When she awoke the next morning she had forgotten that she was not in her comfy straw bed on the mountain. There were no sounds of fir trees or birds chirping. She got out of bed and discovered that the windows were so high that she could not see outside. She was so very sad. Suddenly  the maid came to tell her that breakfast was ready. Heidi followed all of the rules so she didn't get scolded. Clara asked Heidi a lot of questions about her life on the mountain and Heidi asked to open windows so that she could see outside. Then a man came that was called a tutor or teacher. They went to a place in the huge house that they called the study. There were all kinds of books and papers and stuff they called ink in a bottle and pens to do writing when she learned how. All of a sudden she heard a noise that sounded like a coach. She jumped up to see if she could see it and when she did she caught the tablecloth and the ink spilled all over the carpet and many of the papers. Miss Rottenmeier said the child would bring nothing but trouble to the house as long as she was there.

Clara however, was quite amused and for once in a very long time she was not bored and yawning. She told the teacher and the housekeeper that Heidi should not be punished because it was an accident.

Miss Rottenmeier found Heidi at the door and scolded her for not sitting still during the lessons and if she ever did that again that she would tie her to a chair. Grandma Lu frowned, "Tie that precious little girl to a chair. I certainly hope this gets better and Heidi gets happier."

Grandma Lu Feels Sad While Reading The Book

Grandma Lu cleaned up the kitchen and decided she would read a little bit before watching television with her husband. He was going to watch a rerun show that she wasn't interested in. As she picked up her book she noticed she was almost half way through. "This is going faster than it did when I was a little girl and had to write down all the words I couldn't pronounce or didn't know. She shook her head at her mother's insistence  to learn how to use a dictionary. "Now I just ask Google. What a difference a few years make." Let's see now what happens next in this little girl's life."

 Peter rushed into his house after school. It so very cold outside. He was surprised to see Heidi there. "Hello, there. Did you come to visit my mother and grandmother today?" His grandmother was surprised that the afternoon had gone so quickly. Heidi's visit had been such a wonderful surprise. They asked Peter about school and he kind of shook his head and said, "The same, I guess." Grandmother was sad because she had been waiting for Peter to read from her old prayer book, but it didn't seem that Peter could learn to read so therefore her disappointment was great.

Peter's mother lit a lantern because it was starting to get dark. Heidi had promised her grandfather that she would return when it became dark. Heidi explained that she had promised to return to her grandfather's hut by dark and had to leave. Peter was told to go with her so that she didn't fall. She had not brought a shawl with her and that upset both Peter's mother and grandmother, but soon Heidi and Peter were met by her grandfather whom had brought a heavy cover. Peter's mother saw what alm-uncle had done and told Peter's grandmother. I can't believe how nice and how caring he is towards the girl. Grandmother hoped and prayed that the little girl would visit again. She so enjoyed that little girl, called Heidi.

When Heidi and her grandfather got home she told him that he must repair grandmother's house because so many noises came from broken shutters and boards. He promised her that they would go back to grandmother's house the next day and fix all the rattles. And that they did. Grandfather fixed and fixed until he had no nails left. Peter's mother tried to thank him, but he said, "No need. I know what you think of me." It seemed to Grandma Lu that the folks in the village did not like Heidi's grandfather one little bit.

The visits continued and Peter's grandmother became less sad as did his mother. They looked forward to her visits and the days went by quickly. In fact before they knew it two years had gone by. Heidi was now eight years old! 

Grandma Lu smiled as she read the story. "Heidi is now the same age I was when I started reading this book so many years ago. Oh I think I remember this part. The Parson from the church came up the mountain and told Grandfather that he must send Heidi to school. Oh my. That didn't go over well at all. The Parson told him to attend church and be with God. Well that didn't go well either. The Parson's visit made Grandfather very angry. Grandma Lu thought, "I had been in school almost three years and could read and write by this time in Heidi's life. "I wonder why her grandfather didn't want her to go to school. Probably because he loved her and wanted her to stay with him. He was lonely and didn't want to admit it." Grandma Lu smiled to herself. "You should probably keep reading this book and maybe you will find out."

When Grandma Lu started reading the next part of the book she remembered how she felt when she read it so many years ago. A tear fell from her eyes in sadness and in anger. What a terrible way to treat a child. I can't read this today. I may not finish this book. I have a couple of weeks before I have to take it back to the library. I think I will play the piano for a little while. I need to practice. Plus playing the piano makes me happy. I don't need to be sad today over a book."

She walked over to her piano and opened up her song book and the first song was Mansion Over a Hill Top. "Well, Heidi didn't live in a mansion on the mountain, but if I remember right, she is about to live in a mansion whether she wants to or not.  There is going to be some trickery going on and things are not going to be a bit good. Maybe I should read just a little bit more. Tomorrow. Yes, I'll make some time tomorrow because right now I need to practice a lot on these hymns."