was again, sitting right beside his playmate.

Heidi now called to him to come down, but as reply he only grumbled:
"Shan't come."

"But you must; come quickly, for I want you to help me. Quickly!"
urged the child.

"Don't want to," sounded the reply.

Heidi hurried up the mountain now and shouted angrily to the boy:
"Peter, if you don't come this minute, I shall do something that you
won't like."

Those words scared Peter, for his conscience was not clear. His deed
had rejoiced him till this moment, when Heidi seemed to talk as if she
knew it all. What if the grandfather should hear about it! Trembling
with fear, Peter obeyed.

"I shall only come if you promise not to do what you said," insisted
the boy.

"No, no, I won't. Don't be afraid," said Heidi compassionately: "Just
come along; it isn't so hard."

Peter, on approaching Clara, was told to help raise the lame child
from the ground on one side, while Heidi helped on the other. This
went easily enough, but difficulties soon followed. Clara was not able
to stand alone, and how could they get any further?

"You must take me round the neck," said Heidi, who had seen what poor
guides they made.

The boy, who had never offered his arm to anybody in his life, had to
be shown how first, before further efforts could be made. But it was
too hard. Clara tried to set her feet forward, but got discouraged.

"Press your feet on the ground more and I am sure it will hurt you
less," suggested Heidi.

"Do you think so?" said Clara, timidly.

But, obeying, she ventured a firmer step and soon another, uttering a
little cry as she went.

"Oh, it really has hurt me less," she said joyfully.

"Try it again," Heidi urged her. Clara did, and took another step, and
then another, and another still. Suddenly she cried aloud: "Oh, Heidi,
I can do it. Oh, I really can. Just look! I can take steps, one after
another."

Heidi rapturously exclaimed: "Oh, Clara, can you really? Can you walk?
Oh, can you take steps now? Oh, if only grandfather would come! Now
you can walk, Clara, now you can walk," she kept on saying joyfully.

Clara held on tight to the children, but with every new step she
became more firm.

"Now you can come up here every day," cried Heidi. "Now we can walk
wherever we want to and you don't have to be pushed in a chair any
more. Now you'll be able to walk all your life. Oh, what joy!"

Clara's greatest wish, to be able to be well like other people, had