Early the next morning, the doctor climbed up from Dorfli with Peter and the goats.
When they reached the hut, Heidi was waiting for them with Daisy and Dusky.
"Coming up today?" asked Peter as usual.
"Yes. The doctor is coming too," she replied.
Peter glanced sideways at the doctor.
Then, Grandfather came out, said good morning to the doctor, and hung a bag of food over Peter's shoulder.
It was a little heavier than usual, and Peter grinned at the thought of what might be inside.
They set off up the mountain.
The goats surrounded Heidi until she waved them ahead.
"Run along now," she said.
"I want to walk with the doctor."
Heidi happily chatted to the doctor about the goats and the flowers she wanted to show him.
At a spot where they could look down on the distant valley and up to the snow sparkling on the mountain above, they sat down.
The goat-bells tinkled pleasantly as the herd moved about.
Heidi looked at the doctor to see if he was enjoying the scene.
He could tell from her eyes what was on her mind.
"Yes, Heidi, it's very beautiful," he said.
He thought for a little about his daughter, who had died, and then asked, almost to himself,
"Can a heart forget sorrow and be happy, even here?"
"No one is sad here," Heidi answered. "Only in Frankfurt."
A thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"But what if you can't leave all the sadness behind in Frankfurt?" he said.
"When there is nothing you can do," Heidi said confidently, "tell God."
"Those are good words," said the doctor.
"Can you understand that, even up here, sorrow can cast a shadow so that you can't really see all the beauty?"
Heidi thought about his words, and they reminded her that Grannie would never see the sunlight or the mountains.
Then, she said, "I can tell you one of Grannie's prayers.
She says they always bring light to her heart."
The doctor nodded, so Heidi clasped her hands together and recited Grannie's favorite prayer.
She knew it well because Grannie always asked her to read it three times over.
She ended with the last verse:
To God confide your cares,
On Him your burden cast,
He hears your every prayer,
And sends relief at last.
The doctor listened with his eyes closed.
It was the same verse that his mother often sang to him as a boy, and it cheered his heart greatly.
He patted Heidi's hand and said,
"Thank you, Heidi. We'll come up here again."
All of this was not to Peter's liking.
This was the first day in weeks that Heidi had come up the mountain, and now, she was sitting with the doctor the whole time.
He kicked at the grass and scowled.
At midday, when the sun was overhead, he ran up to them and shouted loudly, "Dinner time!"
The doctor laughed, and they opened up the bag with the food.
Heidi and the doctor shared most of their lunch with Peter, including a large, hearty sausage that Grandfather had included.
For the rest of the month, the doctor often went for long walks with Grandfather in the clear air.
He enjoyed just as much his trips up the mountain with Heidi.
On his last day, he thanked them both.
Heidi waved as he headed down to Dorfli one last time.
The doctor turned for a final look and thought,
"This is certainly a wonderful place for healing.
Life seems really worth living again."