Chapter-4
Heidi was almost seven. This was almost the end of her second winter on the mountain with her grandfather. All this time, she kept on learning new and useful things from her grandfather. The school master used to ask Peter to inform Uncle Alp that it was time to send Heidi to school but he never felt important to send her to school. So, Heidi still did not know how to read and write.
One day, the headmaster himself came to meet Uncle Alp and see Dorfli. Uncle behaved well with the headmaster till he talked about Heidi and her other activities. But as soon he tried to persuade Uncle to send Heidi to school, Uncle got angry and refused him. The disappointed master went away.
A few days later, it was a surprise for both Uncle Alp and Heidi to see Detie standing at the door of the hut when they just returned from an evening walk. She had come back to take Heidi along with her as she was informed by some people of Dorfli that Uncle was not sending Heidi to school.
But there was a selfish reason behind Detie to take Heidi. She had found a rich family where they needed an unspoilt child to come and live with their paralysed daughter. The paralysed girl was stayed on a wheel chair all the time and they wanted a girl of their daughter’s age to make friend with her and play with her. Detie was trying to convince the grandfather with her story.
She also said, “It is a great opportunity for Heidi to get a rich and satisfied life out of here. She would get good clothes and good food. If some day their daughter dies they might adopt Heidi as their daughter.”
“When you are finished with your dream talks then let me know,” said Uncle Alp interrupting Detie.
This made Detie angry and her eyes turned almost red with rage and she got up from her chair and walked towards Uncle Alp who was calmly sitting at his place.
“I have the right to decide Heidi’s future, not you. I have taken care of her when her mother died. She is the only child of my sister and I have the power to decide her fate. You are ruining her life by not sending her to school. You don’t want her to learn anything. You want her to be your slave and work for you. You don’t even send her to church. I am not going to accept this. I won’t let you come in my way. I want to make Heidi’s future better than what you can offer her here,” said Detie in once complete breath.
“If you think this way, you can surely take her. But remember, bring her back again when you realize your aim. You cannot live up to your responsibilities with this child as you did the last time,” shouted Uncle Alp in a rage.
This brought a smile on Detie’s face. She started looking for Heidi who was standing near the shed door listening to the whole conversation. Detie started approaching Heidi but before she could walk more than a couple of steps, Heidi shouted out loud, “You are bad. You have made my grandfather angry.” Heidi was furiously looking at Detie which made Detie feel uncomfortable.
“Come baby; let’s go from here. Your grandfather can handle this alone. We will go far away from here,” said Detie.
“No, I am not coming with you,” replied Heidi.
“Shut up, and come along with me,” snapped her aunt. Then she turned a bit polite and continued, “You can’t even imagine how good the place is where I am taking you. You will enjoy yourself more than ever and have a wonderful life.”
“I don’t wish to come with you. I will stay here with the grandfather,” repeated Heidi.
“Don’t be rigid like animals. Just understand what I am trying to say. Frankfurt is a nice place and you will enjoy over there. Moreover, if you don’t like it there, I will bring you back myself,” snapped Detie again.
These words relieved Heidi a bit. Meanwhile, Detie packed Heidi’s clothes. So finally, they started their journey down the mountain. On their way back, they met Peter. Peter was shocked to know that Heidi was going away.
He requested Heidi to see the grandmother before going but Detie refused saying that they were getting late for the train. She also consoled Heidi saying that she could meet granny when she returned and brought her a nice gift.
The thought of returning back with a gift for the grandmother made Heidi excited about going to Frankfurt. She started running so fast that it was difficult for Detie to catch her up. But she was glad to get along so quickly because they were coming to Dorfli where she knew people would ask questions which might upset Heidi and she wished to avoid that.
Uncle Alp grew more silent and forbidding from the day Heidi went. He stopped speaking to anyone even when he used to come down the valley to buy meat and bread. People created the myth that the child was lucky to escape from the cage. Only Peter’s family supported the old man as they only knew how well he took care of the girl. But no villager ever believed him and everyone still cursed him for ill-treating the child.
