Page:Heidi - Spyri - 1922.djvu/225

 which left her arms bare; and now she clasped the old woman’s hand. “I must go home to grandfather,” she said, “but to-morrow I shall come again. Good-night, grandmother.”

“Yes, come again, be sure you come again tomorrow,” begged the grandmother, as she pressed Heidi’s hands in hers, unwilling to let her go.

“Why have you taken off that pretty dress?” asked Brigitta.

“Because I would rather go home to grandfather as I am or else perhaps he would not know me; you hardly did at first.”

Brigitta went with her to the door, and there said in rather a mysterious voice, “You might have kept on your dress, he would have known you all right; but you must be careful, for Peter tells me that Alm-Uncle is always now in a bad temper and never speaks.”

Heidi bid her good-night and continued her way up the mountain, her basket on her arm. All around her the steep green slopes shone bright in the evening sun, and soon the great gleaming snowfield up above came in sight. Heidi was obliged to keep on pausing to look behind her, for the higher peaks were behind her as she climbed. Suddenly a warm red glow fell on the grass at her feet; she looked back again—she had not remembered how splendid it was, nor seen anything to compare to it in her dreams—for there the two high mountain peeks rose into the air like two great flames, the whole snow-field had turned crimson, and rosy-colored clouds floated in the sky above. The grass upon the mountain sides had turned to gold, the rocks were all aglow, and the whole valley was bathed in golden mist. And as Heidi stood gazing around her at all this splendor the tears ran down her cheeks for very delight and