It was not long before the latter had made the long-wished-for acquaintance of little Snowflake, the lively Greenfinch, and the well-behaved goats belonging to grandfather, as well as of the many others, including the Grand Turk. Peter meanwhile stood apart looking on, and casting somewhat unfriendly glances towards Clara. When the two children called out, "Good-evening, Peter," he made no answer, but swung his stick angrily, as if wanting to cut the air in two, and then ran off with his goats after him. The climax to all the beautiful things that Clara had already seen upon the mountain came at the close of the day. As she lay on the large, soft bed in the hay loft, with Heidi near her, she looked out through the round, open window right into the middle of the shining clusters of stars, and she exclaimed in delight,-- "Heidi, it's just as if we were in a high carriage and were going to drive straight into heaven." "Yes, and do you know why the stars are so happy and look down and nod to us like that?" asked Heidi. "No, why is it?" Clara asked in return. "Because they live up in heaven, and know how well God arranges everything for us, so that we need have no more fear or trouble and may be quite sure that all things will come right in the end. But then we must never forget to pray, and to ask God to remember us when He is arranging things, so that we too may feel safe and have no anxiety about what is going to happen." The two children now sat up and said their prayers, and then Heidi put her head down on her little round arm and fell off to sleep at once, but Clara lay awake some time, for she could not get over the wonder of this new experience of being in bed up here among the stars. She had indeed seldom seen a star, for she never went outside the house at night, and the curtains at home were always drawn before the stars came out. Each time she closed her eyes she felt she must open them again to see if the two very large stars were still looking in, and nodding to her as Heidi said they did. There they were, always in the same place. At last her eyes closed of their own accord, and it was only in her dreams that she still saw the two large, friendly stars shining down upon her. CHAPTER XXI HAPPY DAYS FOR THE LITTLE VISITOR