Johanna Spyri

“ When all was finished she said, "Now you have seen how I do up the supper work, Wiseli; you can do it hereafter."
When they came into the living room, Chappi was seated at the table with his number book and pencil, as if he intended writing his sums on the table; he now began to stare at Wiseli. She had picked up the stocking on the bench by the stove, but had not dared to go near the light on the table.
"You ought to be working examples yourself," he said to Wiseli; "you aren't the smartest one in school by any means." ”

“ Stineli continued, "and I can do nothing for him, so I have asked God to help him, and Rico has promised that he will do [Pg 117] his part. I feel sure that this burden can be lifted from you in the same way, if you will only ask Him to make it right in His sight. My grandmother has taught me that we are all governed in harmony by the Creator so long as we seek the divine will. It is like a great chorus in which every member sings in tune because he is governed by the harmony of music, and so I always try to put myself back where I belong, when I feel any discord. ”

“ No doubt you've been building air castles at the same time," she said, laughing. "We shall not be late to-day, even if we walk slowly. Do you ever think about that pretty lake any more?" asked Stineli, as they walked along.
"Indeed I do," replied Rico; "I often dream of it, too, and I see large red flowers near the violet-colored hills I told you about."
"But dreams don't count," broke in Stineli. "I have dreamed that Peter climbed up the tallest tree, but when he got to the topmost branch I thought it was only a bird, and then he called to me to dress him. ”

“ Now answer me truthfully, Rico, did you ask me this out of curiosity, or did some one who wishes to buy a violin send you?"
"I should like to buy one," said Rico, a little more bravely.
"What did you say?" broke out the teacher, impatiently. "Such a senseless boy—and an Italian besides—to wish to buy a violin! You scarcely know what a violin is. Can you imagine how old I was before I was able to buy one? I was twenty-two years [Pg 13] old and ready to enter my life work as teacher. What a child, to think of buying a violin! ”

“ See what a lot of pears there are! I have to pick pears from morning until night."
"Your shoes and stockings are soaked," remarked Otto. "Ugh, it is cold here. Doesn't it make you sick to get so wet?"
"Yes, sometimes; but the work usually keeps me warm."
Just then Hans gave such a violent lurch that the basket went over and the pears scattered in every direction.
"Oh," cried Wiseli, "that is too bad! Now we must gather them all over again."
"And that one too," cried Chappi, and he laughed as the pear that he threw hit Wiseli on the forehead hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. ”

“ Miezi's papa and Uncle Max laughed as she ran from the room.
"Who is this man that has the whole household at his command?" inquired Uncle Max.
"You ought to know better than I," answered Colonel Ritter. "Very likely he is an old playmate of yours. I am sure you would enjoy knowing him. Your sister makes us all love him. He is really the corner stone of this household, without whom things generally would go to rack and ruin. It doesn't matter what happens, for 'Joiner Andreas will fix it.' In fact he is helper, adviser, comforter, and friend, all in one." ”

“ We have shining green leaves and large red flowers there. The hills are not so high and black, nor so near, but show their violet colors from a distance. The sky and water are all a golden glow, and there is such a warm, fragrant air that one can always sit on the shore without being cold. The wind never blows like this, and there is no snow to cover one's shoes as ours are covered now."
[Pg 19]
This description convinced Stineli that Rico was not speaking of a place that he had simply dreamed about, so she said half sadly: "Perhaps you can go there sometime and see it again. ”

“ Stineli was tireless in her efforts to please the sick child. She adapted everything at hand to his entertainment. Having always lived with children, she understood how to amuse them. In a remarkably short time she had learned all the Italian that Silvio used. She soon began to tell him stories, although some words failed her and others came with painful slowness for a time.
Now that Mrs. Menotti was freed from the care of Silvio, she formed the habit of going to meet Rico when she saw him coming. She was always eager to express her appreciation of Stineli. ”

“ Chappi was too wise to strike, but he shook his fist in the air and snarled, "Clear out! I don't care to have anything to do with you."
"But I have something to do with you," retorted Otto. "What business have you to drive Wiseli into the drift and then pelt her with snow besides? You are a coward to attack a defenseless child."
Otto disdainfully turned his back upon Chappi and went toward the girl, who was standing knee-deep in the snowdrift. "Come out of the snow, Wiseli," he said gently. "Is it true that you have no sled?" ”

“ They walked on in silence, and after reaching their favorite place on the bridge, stood listening to the splash of the waves below them until Rico said, "Really, Stineli, if it were not for you, I wouldn't stay here any longer. I would go ever so far away, it would make little difference where, since there is no one that cares for me and I shall always have to live in hotels, and sleep in storerooms, and play for dances where people act as if they were crazy. ”

“ In the home on the hill they talked often of the good joiner and Wiseli. Mrs. Ritter went to see them every morning, and she always brought encouraging news home with her. Otto and Miezi were planning a surprise for Andreas and Wiseli in which they meant to celebrate their friend's recovery. To-day, however, they had a celebration in their own home, for it was their father's birthday. It had seemed like a real holiday to the children ever since they got up in the morning, and now they were about to enjoy the birthday feast. They were all in the best of humor. ”

“ She knew too well what Rico was worth to the landlady and her husband in dollars and cents to entertain the faintest hope of their letting him go from them. She tried to quiet Silvio as best she [Pg 80] could, and affectionately drew Rico to her, saying "You poor little orphan! I wish it were so that you might stay with us."
"What is an orphan? I want to be one, too," said Silvio.
"I am afraid my little boy is naughty to-night," Mrs. Menotti admonished him. "An orphan is one who has neither father nor mother, and no place that he can call home. ”

“ Instantly Silvio's head was out and he said, "Rico's Stineli."
"You must be seated, pastor," said Mrs. Menotti. "I will tell you what Silvio means, for I want your advice very much."
Mrs. Menotti recited in detail all that she knew about Stineli, the reason why they wished for her, and the obstacles in the way of getting her. "I have thought," she said, "that it might be a good thing for the girl to get away from those wicked people, and I wonder if you can think of a safe way to bring her here." ”

“ The teacher was coming down the path from Sils, leaning heavily on his cane. He came directly from the funeral of Rico's father. He was coughing and panting as he greeted the grandmother, and he sank heavily to the seat beside her.
"If you are willing," he said, "I will rest here a few moments. My throat troubles me, and my chest is very weak. Of course, now that I am seventy years old I must expect such things. What a pity that a man of such powerful strength as the Italian must give up life! ”

“ Rico was nearly nine years old and had attended school two winters. There was no school in the mountains in the summer, for every one, including the teacher, was busy farming. Rico did not mind this, however, for he had his own way of passing the time. In the morning he would go out to the doorsteps where he would remain watching the house opposite until a girl with laughing eyes beckoned him to come across. They always had much to say to each other of all that had happened since they were together before. Her name was Stineli, and she and Rico were nearly the same age. ”

“ The song was abruptly ended by the teacher's throwing the violin on the table in disgust. "What are you trying to sing, you foolish children?" he exclaimed. "If I only knew who gets so out of tune and spoils the whole song!"
A lad sitting next to Rico ventured to say, "I know why it went that way; it always does when Rico doesn't sing."
"What is that I hear about you, Rico?" began the teacher, sharply. "You are a very obedient little fellow, but inattention is a serious fault, the result of which you have just seen. Let us try again. Now, Rico, see that you sing this time." ”

“ Naturally the latest news was related first, and, in their eagerness to have Uncle Max know everything, both children wished to speak at once. Among other things they told of the fun they had in school, and that led Otto to tell about his experience with Chappi and Wiseli; how she had been driven into the snowdrift and rudely treated, and how, though she had no sled, she finally had had two rides on his.
"That was right, Otto," said his father; "always take the part of the weak and the oppressed, and honor the meaning of your name. Who is this little girl you speak of?" ”

“ Rico had fallen asleep. He was awakened by the coachman, who wanted to help him from the wagon. Everybody had hurried away except the students, who came to Rico to bid him good luck for the journey and ask him to tell Stineli about them. Then with a merry "good-by" they too departed. Rico could hear them singing Stineli's song as they went.
"If we think not at all,
Can we ever be sad?" ”

“ In the woods the birds were merry, and the warm [Pg 179] sunshine changed the barren waste of winter to a living beauty that made all hearts rejoice.
Probably no one enjoyed the balmy days more than Wiseli, and she felt quite happy as she walked to and from school. At other times there was scarcely a moment to spare, not even to notice the pretty flowers, for not only did she have to work every moment, but she had to work hard. She helped with the garden, and, since the aunt worked in the field on the farm, she had to get the meals and wash dishes as well. ”

“ To go home with her uncle meant to live with the aunt of whom she was so afraid that she had always dreaded even meeting her. Then there were the three rude cousins, of whom Chappi was [Pg 161] the oldest. The thought of how Hans and Rudi were always throwing stones at children made her shudder. How could she go there to live, and yet how dared she refuse?
All these thoughts flashed through Wiseli's mind as she stood hesitating. "You needn't be afraid," said her uncle kindly; "there are a good many of us, to be sure, but you will find that all the more interesting." ”

“ The grandmother frequently spent the summer evenings sitting in the front yard, and Stineli and Rico liked to sit with her and listen to the stories she told them. When the vesper bell rang she would say, "Remember, that is the signal for our evening worship." Then the three would devoutly repeat the Lord's Prayer.
"Your evening devotion ought never to be neglected," the grandmother continued one evening; "I have lived many more years than you have, and I have known many people, but I have observed that there is a time in the life of every one when prayer is needful. ”

“ Do you know the way?"
"No," answered Rico, "but I know that you have to go up the Maloja. I have been as far as that with my father, and he showed me the road that leads ever and ever so far down toward the lake. It is such a long way that you could hardly get there."
"It would be easy enough," remarked Stineli. "All you have to do is just to keep right on going farther and farther and at last you must get there."
"Yes," said Rico, "but father told me something else too. You have to go to hotels to eat and to sleep on the way, and it takes money for that." ”

“ Ritter, "that we might help to find a place more suited to the child. She has a sensitive nature as well as a frail body, and she ought to be somewhere else. She will hear a great deal that is coarse and rude where she is, and will have to work much too hard for her delicate constitution. We shall have to accept the situation, but I am sorry that we cannot help her in some way."
Miezi cried, and Otto struck the table with his clenched fist to emphasize how he would deal with Chappi if he were unkind to Wiseli. ”

“ Stineli was delighted with the change in Rico. "How well and forcibly he speaks," she thought. "He was timid and shy before he went away. He seems to inspire confidence, and he looks wonderfully strong and capable."
A bed was prepared for Rico in the attic. He did not unpack his lunch until the following morning, when it provided a real feast for the children. The figs were a novelty to them, and the abundance of good things assured the parents that Rico was among friends in the valley. They had no further fears about letting Stineli go with him. ”

“ Rico looked inquiringly at his companion.
"Don't you see?" she added hastily. "Now that you have a violin and know a song, it is very simple. You can stop at the door of the inns to play and sing; then the people will give you something to eat and let you sleep there, for they will know that you are not a beggar. You can keep on going until you get there, and you can come back in the same way."
They were still discussing the plan when they noticed that it was growing dark. They had not heard the vesper bell. Running down the hill, they found the grandmother out looking for them. ”

“ Can it be that little Andreas with the violets has become your hero? Now I comprehend the intimacy, Marie."
"The violets!" broke in Colonel Ritter. "I have heard nothing about the violets."
"Why, I see that scene before me as if it were but yesterday," continued Max, "and I am going to tell you about it, Otto. You have no doubt heard Marie tell about the teacher we had in those days, [Pg 146] who believed that the bad should be whipped out of children and the good whipped into them. Consequently he was much of the time engaged in punishing us for one or both purposes. ”

“ This was Rico's aunt, who kept house [Pg 4] for the father and himself. In the winter, when she sat spinning beside the stove and it was too stormy to be out of doors, Rico had to be very careful of his behavior. Everything he did seemed to annoy her. The faultfinding made the loneliness still harder to bear when, as often happened, the father's work kept him away from home for days at a time.
Sometimes when Rico tried to escape from the presence of his aunt, she would say sharply: "Shut the door and sit down, Rico. You are forever letting the cold air into the house." ”

“ Now the grandmother's rebuke made her ashamed. "I will go back," she said, as she stepped out into the dark field. "Rico may have come home while I have been standing here." In her heart she knew that she would be glad to find this true, but the little house was empty and still.
Early the next morning the neighbors set forth to search carefully in the ravines and along the approaches to the glacier. When Stineli's father noticed that she had followed the others he said, "That is right, Stineli; you can get into places where bigger folk could not go." ”