author - "Johanna Spyri"
show it with great satisfaction to his mother. She was much delighted athis skill and said:
"You are surely going to be a wood-carver, and a very good one."
From that time on Toni looked at every little piece of wood which came inhis way, to see if it would be good for carving, and if so he wouldquickly put it away, so that he often brought home all his pockets full ofthese pieces, which he then collected like treasures into a pile and spentevery free moment carving them.
Thus the years passed by. Although Elsbeth always had many cares, sheexperienced only joy in her Toni. He still clung to her with the samelove, helped her in every way as well as he could and spent his lifebeside her, entirely at his quiet occupation, in which he graduallyacquired a quite gratifying skill. Toni was never so content as when hewas sitting in the little stone hut with his carving and his mother camein and out happily employed, always saying a kindly word to him andfinally sat down beside him at her spinning
ousin of his. We called him uncle, and because we are related on my father's side to nearly all the people in the hamlet they too all called him uncle. He was named 'Alm-Uncle' when he moved up to the Alm."
"But what happened to Tobias?" asked Barbara eagerly.
"Just wait. How can I tell you everything at once?" exclaimed Deta. "Tobias was an apprentice in Mels, and when he was made master, he came home to the village and married my sister Adelheid. They always had been fond of each other and they lived very happily as man and wife. But their joy was short. Two years afterwards, when Tobias was helping to build a house, a beam fell on him and killed him. Adelheid was thrown into a violent fever with grief and fright, and never recovered from it. She had never been strong and had often suffered from queer spells, when we did not know whether she was awake or asleep. Only a few weeks after Tobias's death they buried poor Adelheid.
"People said that heaven had punished the uncle for his misde
r, so that the little body presented a shapelessappearance, as, with its small feet shod in thick, nailedmountain-shoes, it slowly and laboriously plodded its way up inthe heat. The two must have left the valley a good hour's walkbehind them, when they came to the hamlet known as Dorfli, whichis situated half-way up the mountain. Here the wayfarers met withgreetings from all sides, some calling to them from windows, somefrom open doors, others from outside, for the elder girl was nowin her old home. She did not, however, pause in her walk torespond to her friends' welcoming cries and questions, but passedon without stopping for a moment until she reached the last ofthe scattered houses of the hamlet. Here a voice called to herfrom the door: "Wait a moment, Dete; if you are going up higher,I will come with you."
The girl thus addressed stood still, and the child immediatelylet go her hand and seated herself on the ground.
"Are you tired, Heidi?" asked her companion.
"No, I am hot," answe
show it with great satisfaction to his mother. She was much delighted athis skill and said:
"You are surely going to be a wood-carver, and a very good one."
From that time on Toni looked at every little piece of wood which came inhis way, to see if it would be good for carving, and if so he wouldquickly put it away, so that he often brought home all his pockets full ofthese pieces, which he then collected like treasures into a pile and spentevery free moment carving them.
Thus the years passed by. Although Elsbeth always had many cares, sheexperienced only joy in her Toni. He still clung to her with the samelove, helped her in every way as well as he could and spent his lifebeside her, entirely at his quiet occupation, in which he graduallyacquired a quite gratifying skill. Toni was never so content as when hewas sitting in the little stone hut with his carving and his mother camein and out happily employed, always saying a kindly word to him andfinally sat down beside him at her spinning
ousin of his. We called him uncle, and because we are related on my father's side to nearly all the people in the hamlet they too all called him uncle. He was named 'Alm-Uncle' when he moved up to the Alm."
"But what happened to Tobias?" asked Barbara eagerly.
"Just wait. How can I tell you everything at once?" exclaimed Deta. "Tobias was an apprentice in Mels, and when he was made master, he came home to the village and married my sister Adelheid. They always had been fond of each other and they lived very happily as man and wife. But their joy was short. Two years afterwards, when Tobias was helping to build a house, a beam fell on him and killed him. Adelheid was thrown into a violent fever with grief and fright, and never recovered from it. She had never been strong and had often suffered from queer spells, when we did not know whether she was awake or asleep. Only a few weeks after Tobias's death they buried poor Adelheid.
"People said that heaven had punished the uncle for his misde
r, so that the little body presented a shapelessappearance, as, with its small feet shod in thick, nailedmountain-shoes, it slowly and laboriously plodded its way up inthe heat. The two must have left the valley a good hour's walkbehind them, when they came to the hamlet known as Dorfli, whichis situated half-way up the mountain. Here the wayfarers met withgreetings from all sides, some calling to them from windows, somefrom open doors, others from outside, for the elder girl was nowin her old home. She did not, however, pause in her walk torespond to her friends' welcoming cries and questions, but passedon without stopping for a moment until she reached the last ofthe scattered houses of the hamlet. Here a voice called to herfrom the door: "Wait a moment, Dete; if you are going up higher,I will come with you."
The girl thus addressed stood still, and the child immediatelylet go her hand and seated herself on the ground.
"Are you tired, Heidi?" asked her companion.
"No, I am hot," answe