Grandfathers -- Fiction; Mountain life -- Switzerland -- Fiction; Orphans -- Fiction; Switzerland -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction
"When you do not know what more to do you must go and tell
everything to God," answered Heidi with decision.
"Ah, that is a good thought of yours, Heidi," said the doctor.
"But if it is God Himself who has sent the trouble, what can we
say to Him then?"
Heidi sat pondering for a while; she was sure in her heart that
God could help out of every trouble. She thought over her own
experiences and then found her answer.
"Then you must wait," she said, "and keep on saying to yourself:
God certainly knows of some happiness for us which He is going
to bring out of the trouble, only we must have patience and not
run away. And then all at once something happens and we see
clearly ourselves that God has had some good thought in His mind
all along; but because we cannot see things beforehand, and only
know how dreadfully miserable we are, we think it is always going
to be so."
"That is a beautiful faith, child, and be sure you hold it
fast," replied the doctor. Then he sat on a while in silence,
looking at the great overshadowing mountains and the green,
sunlit valley below before he spoke again,--
"Can you understand, Heidi, that a man may sit here with such a
shadow over his eyes that he cannot feel and enjoy the beauty
around him, while the heart grows doubly sad knowing how
beautiful it could be? Can you understand that?"
A pain shot through the child's young happy heart. The shadow
over the eyes brought to her remembrance the grandmother, who
would never again be able to see the sunlight and the beauty up
here. This was Heidi's great sorrow, which re-awoke each time
she thought about the darkness. She did not speak for a few
minutes, for her happiness was interrupted by this sudden pang.
Then in a grave voice she said,--
"Yes, I can understand it. And I know this, that then one must
say one of grandmother's hymns, which bring the light back a
little, and often make it so bright for her that she is quite
happy again. Grandmother herself told me this."
"Which hymns are they, Heidi?" asked the doctor.
"I only know the one about the sun and the beautiful garden, and
some of the verses of the long one, which are favorites with
her, and she always likes me to read them to her two or three
times over," replied Heidi.
"Well, say the verses to me then, I should like to hear them
too," and the doctor sat up in order to listen better.
Heidi put her hands together and sat collecting her thoughts for
a second or two: "Shall I begin at the verse that grandmother
says gives her a feeling of hope and confidence?"
The doctor nodded his assent, and Heidi began,--
Let not your heart be troubled
Nor fear your soul dismay,
There is a wise Defender
And He will be your stay.
Where you have failed, He conquers,
See, how the foeman flies!
And all your tribulation
Is turned to glad surprise.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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