Page 82 - English Expedition Class 2

The doctor put the little girl to
bed, covering her up carefully. He
waited till Heidi had calmed down
and stopped shaking. Then he said

kindly, ‘Now everything is all right.
Tell me, where did you want to go?’
‘I did not want to go anywhere,’
said Heidi, ‘I did not go on my own.

I was there all of a sudden when
I woke up.’
‘I see, and were you dreaming?
Did you see or hear things very

clearly in your dream?’
‘Yes, I have the same dream every night. I think I am with my grandfather again and
can hear the fir trees outside, and I see the stars shining so brightly, and then I open
the door of the hut and it is so wonderful! But when I wake up I am still in Frankfurt,’

said Heidi, trying to control her sobs.
‘And do you have any pain – in your head or back?’
‘No, but I feel as if a big stone was pressing me here,’ Heidi said touching her throat.
‘As if you had eaten something that won’t go down?’

‘No, not like that. But as if I wanted to cry very much.’
‘So then you cry out, don’t you?’
6
‘Oh no, I must never do that, for Ms Rottenmeier has forbidden it.’
7
‘Then you swallow it down ? Do you like to be here?’
8
‘Yes,’ was the faint, uncertain reply.
‘Where did you live with your grandfather?’
‘Up on the mountain.’
‘But wasn’t it a little boring there?’

‘No, no, it was so beautiful!’ Heidi cried but could say no more. Tears rushed
9
violently from her eyes and she broke out into loud sobs.
The doctor said, ‘There, there, it is okay to cry. Go to sleep afterward and when you
wake up, everything will be all right.’ Then he left the room.

10
Joining his friend downstairs, he said, ‘Sesemann, the little girl is a sleepwalker and
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12
has unconsciously scared your whole household. Besides, she is so homesick that

6 forbidden: banned 10 sleepwalker: a person who walks while asleep
7 swallow it down: hide it; not let it out 11 unconsciously: without being aware of one’s actions
8 uncertain: not completely sure 12 homesick: sickness wherein one longs for home
9 violently: (here) in a strong manner
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