Johanna Spyri

“ Sami listened again. It was really wonderful, how the finch always sounded above the other birds with his emphatic “Trust! trust! trust!” “You must never forget what the finch calls,” continued the grandmother. “See, Sami, perhaps I cannot stay with you much longer, and then you will have no one else, and will have to make your way alone. Then the little bird’s song can oftentimes be a comfort to you. So don’t forget it, and promise me too that you will say your little prayer every day, so that you will be God-fearing; then no matter what happens, it will be well with you.” ”

“ Then he listened again, and again sounded the staccato call, clear and sharp above the singing of all the other birds.
“Do you hear it? Do you hear it?” cried Sami in his delight. “Now he is calling again: ‘Trust! Trust! Trust! Trust!’ And then they all sing together: ‘Only trust the dear Lord!’”
“You are just talking nonsense!” exclaimed Stöffi to the happy Sami. “The bird is more knowing than you are. That is the rain bird; I know him well. ”

“ Stöffi was the first to recover himself.
“We will say that a wheel came off the cart, and it suddenly fell down.” He immediately picked up a big stone in order to pound out the nail and take the wheel off from the axle.
“I shall say just how it all happened, that we quarreled, and upset the wagon,” said Sami calmly.
Then Steffi’s wrath rose to its height.
“You traitor, you spy and mischief-maker!” he screamed. “You are nothing but a ragamuffin. We will force you.”
“You cannot,” said Sami, “and you are no good either! If you were God-fearing, you would not want to lie so.” ”

“ As she sat on her stool, and the little one eagerly sipped the milk, while his tiny little hand tightly clasped his grandmother’s forefinger like a life-preserver, she said, greatly touched:
“Yes, indeed, you little Sami, you poor little orphan, I will do what I can for you and the dear Lord will not forsake us.”
And to the big Sami she said:
“I will keep him, but don’t take any rash steps! In the first great sorrow many a one does what he later regrets. See, you can’t run away from sorrow, it runs with you. Stay and bear what the dear Lord sends. ”

“ Whoever lives so before Him has no reason to fear what may happen to him, for such a man has the dear Lord’s help everywhere, and if he has to meet hardship oftentimes, he knows that the dear Lord allows it so, in order that some good may come out of it for him, and then he can sing as happily as the little birds: ‘Only trust the dear Lord!’ Will you remember that well, Sami? ”

“ Sami promised that he would never forget to pray. Then he became thoughtful and asked somewhat timidly:
“Must I always be afraid, grandmother?”
“No, no! Did you think so because I said God-fearing? It doesn’t mean that: I will explain it to you as well as I can. You see to be God-fearing is when one has the dear Lord before his eyes in everything he does, and fears and hesitates to do what is not pleasing to Him, everything that is wicked and wrong. ”

“ There ask for the sergeant, your cousin, who lives in the house with the big pear-trees near it. Tell him your grandmother was the sergeant’s Mary Ann and your father was Sami. Work hard and willingly, you will have to earn your living. There in the chest is some money in the little bag; take it, it is yours; don’t spend it foolishly. Sami, think of what you promised me. Don’t neglect to pray, it will bring you comfort and happiness which you will need. Try to associate with God-fearing people and live with them, then you will learn only good. Go, now, Sami, and call Herr Malon. ”

“ His heart was so overflowing with joy that he wanted to sing aloud and give praise and thanksgiving evermore like the finch:
“Trust! Trust! Only trust the dear Lord!”
* * * * *
It is now ten years since Sami entered the plane-tree estate. Whoever passes by there on a beautiful Spring day will surely stand still at the high iron gateway and listen for a little, for there is seldom heard such a merry song as sounds from the thick branches of the planetrees. Up in the tree sits the young gardener pruning the branches. ”

“ Then when the evil days, which none escape, come again later on, he can cope with them bravely, because he knows them already and his strength has become hardened; and when the good days come he can enjoy them as no one else can who has never tasted the bad ones.
At this time Sami knew nothing about this and almost never went to sleep without tears; indeed, he often wondered whether the birds were still calling up in the ash-trees: “Only trust in the dear Lord!” and if it were still true that everything would come out right. ”

“ When Karl comes from the university in his vacation, his first question is, “Where is Sami?” and this he asks numberless times every day, for without him he can never get ready. He alone knows where to find everything Karl needs in vacation-time for his amusements, from his old bow and quiver up to his riding whip and gun.
Edward has now given up his donkey cart and instead is interested in strange animals, which have their dwelling-place in the back of the courtyard and often make a great spectacle there. He owns two marmots, two parrots and a monkey. ”

“ From the first the three were angry because Sami had no arithmetic to do, and then one would accuse the other of taking the light away from him, and all three would scream that Sami didn’t need any at all for his work. Then one would pull the lamp one way, and another the other way, until it was upset and the oil would run over the table into Sami’s apples. Then there would be a really murderous tumult in the darkness; all hands would grope in the oil and one would always outcry the others. ”

“ Sami will not tell, for her brothers would laugh at their sister Betti’s endless correspondence which she has with numerous girl friends around on all the estates. Sami is her most devoted friend, for he would run through fire and water for her without hesitation. He never forgets what persuasive words in his behalf Betti used with her father, when, broken-hearted, he was going to fetch his bundle and go away again.
The youngest, Ella, with golden curls, who has taken over the donkey and cart from her brother Edward, is entrusted to Sami’s especial care when she desires to go for a drive. ”

“ So she wandered with him over the mountains. In the little village of Chailly, which lies high up on the mountain slope and looks down on the meadows rich in flowers and the blue Lake Geneva, they found work with the jolly wine-grower Malon. This man, with curly hair already turning grey and a kindly round face, lived alone with his son in the only house left standing, near a crooked maple-tree.
Mary Ann received a room for herself and was to keep house for Herr Malon, and keep everything in order for him and his son. Sami was to work for good pay in Malon’s beautiful vineyard. ”

“ But Betti still remains Sami’s greatest friend. She can call him at any hour of the day she pleases, Sami is immediately on the spot, and Betti knows he is more devoted than any one else and besides can keep secrets like a stone. No one knows how many little notes he has to carry every week to the neighbouring estates. ”

“ Nothing had ever tasted so good to Sami in all his life as this soup. It was not a thin soup, it was as thick as pulp, of cooked peas and potatoes, and with this quite large lumps of meat came into his spoon.
When he had finished, the woman said:
“You can go to sleep whenever you want to. In the back of the wagon there is room, and your bundle will make a good pillow.” ”

“ They would find a smaller hoe at home for Sami to take with him in the afternoon, for pulling up the weeds was too slow work.
After the boys had worked several hours in the afternoon, they sat down in the shade of an old apple-tree to eat their luncheon, and the piece of black bread with pear juice tasted very good after the hot work.
“Have you ever seen a bear?” asked Stöffi of Sami.
He said he had not.
“Then you would be fearfully frightened if you should suddenly see one,” continued Stöffi; “only those who know them are not afraid of them. ”

“ Only trust in the dear Lord! He always helps us, although we may often think there is no possible way.”
Then Mary Ann left the low wall, took her basket up again on her arm and went through the fragrant meadows of Burier up towards Chailly. From time to time she cast an anxious look in the direction of St. Legier. She knew that young Marietta was lying sick up there and that her son Sami would now have hard work and care, for a much smaller Sami had just come into the world. Tomorrow Mary Ann would go over and see how things were going with her son and if she ought to stay with him and help. ”

“ He might run errands; all boys can do that. I never get through with the running about and the four bawlers, and the cooking besides; take him!”
“Well, stay here,” said the man; “you can carry the pan back; it is very good that you know the way.”
Sami had suddenly found a place; he did not himself know how, but he was very glad about it. Quite content, he started out with his pan and did exactly as the tinker had told him. He wandered through the long street of La Tour, went into every house and showed his mended pan. ”

“ We are just exactly as God-fearing as you, and even much more so!”
Suddenly a new thought came to Stöffi. He ran off with all his might, and Michael and Uli rushed after him. Sami saw that they were hurrying to the house; he followed slowly after. The farmer’s wife had come back to the house by a shorter way, and the farmer was just returning home too from the field, when the three boys came rushing along. The whole family was standing in great excitement at the door and all were talking loudly together and making threatening gestures, when Sami came along. ”

“ Nine-year-old Edward had decided with satisfaction that Sami was the one he had for a long time needed, for since the donkey, which had been given to him at Christmas, had overturned him and his little cart three times running, his father had forbidden him to drive out again without the coachman, Johann. But when Edward wanted to go out driving Johann was always occupied some other way, and when Johann announced that he could go it didn’t suit Edward at all. Now Sami was found, an attendant whom he could call whenever he wanted him. ”

“ I have run myself half dead for you. Sit down in the carriage, you naughty little thing. The little tramp can go where he likes. No, he must come back again; his bundle is lying in the courtyard. So he can pull the carriage if he has to come with us.”
Little Betti did not seem very much frightened by this lively speech. She climbed quickly into the carriage and said gaily: “Go ahead, Sami!” ”

“ The shining blue silk on the white cloth looked so beautiful that Sami could not keep his eyes away from it. Suddenly it became plain to him that the strange figures were letters, but he had never seen any like them in his life. Their appearance captivated him more and more. Then he began to try to see if he couldn’t spell them out and perhaps read the words. He tried as hard as he could, but it was difficult. Sami kept beginning over again from the first. Finally he made out all the words. It was a proverb which read thus:
This proverb reminded him so much of his grandmother ”

“ Finally, however, the farmer had spoken harshly:
“Now speak out, and tell why you can’t get through your work faster; you are quick enough when anyone is watching you.”
Then Sami had accordingly told all the truth, and the father had threatened to beat the boys if they didn’t do their work themselves. Afterwards Stöffi had thrashed Sami to punish him, and had warned him that he would do it every time Sami complained of him. ”

“ Sami thought for a moment, then he said:
“First I came from Chailly and then from Zweisimmen.”
“No, no,” interrupted the little one warmly. “People are never from two places, only from one. I am from Berlin, in Germany, you see. Then Papa bought an estate and now we are living on Lake Geneva. ”

“ Sami ran along. There stood the two younger boys, Michael and Uli, with great hoes on their shoulders, and Stöffi beside a cart which had to be taken along. They waited for their father, and then all went out to the field. Here Stöffi and Sami had to rake together the grass, which the father cut, and load it on the cart, and bring home to the cows. Michael and Uli had to hoe the weeds in the next field near by. Now it appeared that Sami did not know at all how to use the rake, for he had never done such work. ”