Heidi
Many of you may have not heard about the Heidi stories which are
really interesting. This week we carry some information about Heidi and
give you an introduction to these wonderful stories.
Heidi is a Swiss work of fiction, originally published in two parts
as Heidi's years of learning and travel (Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre)
and Heidi makes use of what she has learned.
 It is a novel about the events in the life of a young girl in her
grandfather's care, in the Swiss Alps. It was written as a book "for
children and those who love children" (as quoted from its subtitle) in
1880 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri.
Heidi is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among the
best-known works of Swiss literature.
Adelheid ("Heidi") is a girl who has been raised by her aunt Dete in
Maienfeld, Switzerland after the early deaths of her parents, Tobias and
Adelheid. Dete brings 5-year-old Heidi to her grandfather, who has been
at odds with the villagers for years and lives in seclusion on the alm.
This has earned him the nickname Alp-Öhi. He at first resents Heidi's
arrival, but the girl manages to penetrate his harsh exterior and Heidi
subsequently has a delightful stay with him and her best friend, young
Peter, the goat-herd.
Dete returns three years later to bring Heidi to Frankfurt as a
companion of a 12-year-old girl named Clara Sesemann, who is regarded as
an invalid. Heidi spends a year with Clara, conflicting with the
Sesemanns' strict housekeeper Fraulein Rottenmeier and becoming more and
more homesick. Her one diversion is learning to read and write,
motivated by her desire to go home and read to Peter's blind
grandmother.
Heidi's increasingly failing health, and several instances of
sleepwalking cause hysteria in the household that there is a haunting,
prompt Clara's doctor to send Heidi home to her grandfather. Her return
prompts the grandfather to come back to the village for the first time
in years, marking an end to his seclusion.
Heidi and Clara continue to contact each other. A visit by the doctor
to Heidi and her grandfather convinces him to recommend Clara to visit
Heidi. Meanwhile, Heidi teaches Peter to read and write.
Clara makes the journey the next season and spends a wonderful summer
with Heidi.
Clara becomes stronger on goat's milk and fresh mountain air, but
Peter, feeling deprived of Heidi's attention, pushes Clara's wheelchair
down the mountain to its destruction. Without her wheelchair, Clara
attempts to walk and is gradually successful.
Clara's grandmother and father are amazed and overcome with joy to
see Clara walking. Clara's wealthy family promises to provide a shelter
for Heidi, in case her grandfather will no longer be able to do so.
- Wikipedia
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