Barbie had known Detie for many years However she had only lived in the village for a year There was still much to learn about her neighbors She was hoping to learn about the hermit up the mountain So many questions fl ooded her thoughts Why were the villagers afraid to talk about him and to him Why did everyone call him Uncle Alp Even Barbie herself referred to him that way Having her friend Detie return made her determined to get answers Why is everyone afraid of him asked Barbie I’m only twenty-six said Detie so I don’t know about his younger days He is around seventy now I shall tell you what I know She looked for Heidi to make sure she couldn’t hear the conversation But Heidi was nowhere to be seen There she is said Barbie She pointed to a fi gure below She’s climbing up the slopes with Peter and his goats He’ll keep an eye on her 8
Peter needn’t watch Heidi Detie said calmly Although she’s only fi ve she’s quite clever She also knows how to make the best of things Since the old man has nothing but a few goats that’s just as well Barbie felt pity for the child When Uncle was young said Detie he drank and gambled away all the money he had His parents died from shame and grief when they found out His brother was horrifi ed and ran away Then Uncle Alp ran away Rumors were that he went to Naples and joined the army He wasn’t seen again until fi fteen years later Go on said Barbie He returned with a young son and wanted relatives to take the child in Everyone refused and shut their doors to them He was so angry he said he’d never set foot in the town again So he came here and settled down in the village with Tobias He apprenticed his boy to a carpenter 9
Tobias was well liked but no one trusted the old man Some said he deserted the army But the family had to accept him Our grandmothers were sisters so we called him uncle As we’re practically related to all of Dorfl i everyone started to call him Uncle When he went to live up the mountain it became Uncle Alp What happened to Tobias asked Barbie He married my sister Adelheid Only two years later he was killed while trying to build a house The baby was only months old After his death my sister died of a broken heart My mother and I took Heidi to live with us She was only a year old People blamed Uncle Alp for their deaths saying he never repented for his sins This made him angrier than ever He went up the mountain and refused to come back down Now that my mother has died I can no longer care for Heidi I want to take a good job in Frankfurt It will help me provide for her later 10
So you’re going to hand Heidi over just like that asked Barbie How can you think such thoughts I’ve done my best but I can’t be burdened with a young child any longer She wouldn’t be welcomed where I’ll be working Detie said Barbie sighed This is where we part I need to see Peter’s mother She does some spinning for me in the winter Detie watched Barbie walk toward a little brown house It was a rickety house that if not sheltered from the mountain would have blown off by now It was Peter the goatherd’s home He was eleven years old He would fetch the goats from the villagers below each morning Then he’d bring them up the mountain to eat In the evening he’d return them He worked hard so he could help his mother and grandmother Heidi had followed Peter up the mountain puffi ng and panting as all her clothes made it hard to climb She didn’t complain but envied 11
