INTRODUCTION

There is here presented to the reader a careful translation of "Heidi," one of the most popular works of the great Swiss authoress, Madam Johanna Spyri. As particulars of her career are not easily gathered, we may here state that Johanna Heusser was born at Zurich, June 12, 1827. She wrote nothing in her youth. She was happily married to the Advocate Spyri. Later, the Franco-Prussian war evoked from her a book devised for a charitable purpose, and the success of this volume revealed her future. She died at her home in Zurich in 1891. Her fame has spread to all countries, and her many books have delighted not only the children for whom they were so artfully written, but they have become favorites with lovers of children as well.

As to "Heidi," itself, wherever mountains are seen or read about, the simple account of the early life of the Swiss child, amid the beauties of her passionately-loved home, will be a favorite book for younger readers and those who seek their good.

Johanna Spyri lived amidst the scenes she so gracefully described. In all her stories she shows an underlying desire to preserve her young readers alike from misunderstanding and the mistaken kindness that frequently hinders the happiness and natural development of their lives and characters.

Among her many works are the following: "Arthur and His Squirrel," "On Sunday," "From the Swiss Mountains," "A Scion of the House of Lesa," "The Great and the Small All May Aid," "From Near and Far," "Cornelius," "Lost but Not Forgotten," "Gritli's Children," 2 volumes, "Without a Country," "What Shall Then Become of Her?," "Sina," "From Our Own Country," "Ten Stories," 2 volumes, "In Leuchtensa," "Uncle Titus," "A Golden Saying," "The Castle Wildenstein," "What Really Happened to Her," "In the Valley of the Tilonne," "The Hauffer Mill."

M. H. M.

CONTENTS

I. Heidi's First Mountain Climb 13

II. A New Home with Grandfather 22

III. Little Bear and Little Swan 29

IV. Shooting Down the Mountain Side 40

V. A Railroad Journey 52

VI. Clara, the Patient Little Invalid 60

VII. The Unfriendly Housekeeper 67

VIII. Surprises for the Children 79

IX. Mr. Sesemann Takes Heidi's Part 87

X. Clara's Lovable Grandmother 91

XI. Home-Sickness 98

XII. "My House Is Haunted" 102

XIII. At Home Again on the Mountain 112

XIV. The Coat with the Silver Buttons 126

XV. A Great Disappointment 135

XVI. The Doctor Comes with Presents 140

XVII. Excursions Over the Mountains 149

XVIII. A New Home for the Winter 157

XIX. Heidi Teaches Obstinate Peter 167

XX. A Strange Looking Procession 176

XXI. Happy Days for the Little Visitor 191

XXII. Wicked Peter and the Unlucky Chair 199

XXIII. Good-Bye to the Beautiful Mountain 217

ILLUSTRATIONS

Up the Mountain to Grandfather (_color_) FRONTISPIECE

Heidi Tenderly Stroked the Two Goats in Turn 27

Heidi Drank in the Golden Sunlight, the Fresh Air and the Sweet Smell of the Flowers (_color_) 33

Heidi Now Began to Give a Lively Description of Her Life with the Grandfather (_color_) 48

"Why, There Is Nothing Outside but the Stony Streets" 72

Miss Rottermeyer Jumped Higher Than She Had for Many Long Years (_color_) 80

Grandmother's Kind Advice Brings Comfort to Heidi (_color_) 96

Heidi Learns to Make Doll Clothes 99

The Doctor Discovers Heidi's Home-Sickness 109

"Our Milk Tastes Nicer Than Anything Else in the World, Grandfather" 123

It Was Not Long Before the Fir Trees Began Their Old Song (_color_) 144

A Strange-Looking Procession Was Making Its Way Up the Mountain (_color_) 192

The Little Invalid Finds That She Is Able to Walk 208

"We Must Not Overdo It," He Said, Taking Clara Up in His Arms 212

Peter Went Rolling and Bumping Down the Slope 222

"Are You Really My Little Clara?" (_color_) 232

CHAPTER I