Clara walks, Peter is forgiven, and Herr Sesemann promises that Heidi and Alm-Uncle will never want for anything. Heidi stays on the Alm with her grandfather and her friends.

Heidi is set in the Swiss Alps, in and around the village of Dörfli and the Alm, with a long stretch in the city of Frankfurt in Germany.

Why does Heidi want to leave Frankfurt?

She is homesick. She misses her grandfather, the mountain and the fir trees, and she grows pale and sleepwalks until Dr. Classen sends her home.

Why does Heidi save white rolls?

She wants to bring them to Peter's blind Grandmother, who can only eat hard black bread. When Rottenmeier has them thrown out, Clara promises a mountain of fresh ones.

How does Clara learn to walk in Heidi?

After Peter destroys her wheelchair, Alm-Uncle carries her to the high pasture. Clara wants to stand among the flowers, and with Heidi and Peter supporting her, she takes steps on her own.

Story summary

Heidi summary

A cheerful little girl raised by her grandfather in the Swiss Alps is taken to the city, where she finds a friend, and she longs for the mountain.

Heidi is five when her aunt Dete takes her up the Alm to live with her grandfather, a gruff man who lives apart from the village. In the mountains, with the goats, the hay loft and the roaring fir trees, she is happy. Then Dete returns and takes her to Frankfurt as a companion for Clara.

This is a warm story about home, healing and kindness, with a clear and gentle spirit. It is a good choice for readers who like a children's classic with a strong sense of place, and for families who like a story in which people change for the better.

Main characters

The plot

Spoilers from here on, including the ending.

Up the mountain

Aunt Dete leads Heidi up the Alm and leaves her with her gruff grandfather. Heidi makes herself at home in the hay loft, and by the end of the first night, Alm-Uncle has given her a sheet and a supper. She meets Peter and the goats and sees the mountains turn red at sunset.

Winter and a visit

Heidi and her grandfather ride down to visit Peter's blind grandmother. Alm-Uncle mends the cottage roof. Two years pass, and the Pastor asks that Heidi be sent to school. Alm-Uncle refuses, saying he will not send her among the people who speak ill of him. Soon after, Dete returns in fancy city clothes with news of a wealthy home in Frankfurt, and Heidi begs to stay. Alm-Uncle tells Dete to take her and ruin her, but never to come before his eyes again.

Frankfurt

Dete takes Heidi, now eight, to the Sesemann house, where she meets Clara and the stern Fräulein Rottenmeier. Heidi cannot learn her letters, hides rolls for Grandmother, brings home kittens and sees only stone walls. Grandmamma Sesemann teaches her to read and pray, but Heidi grows pale. When she sleepwalks at night, Dr. Classen finds the cause and says she must go home.

Home again

Sebastian takes Heidi to Maienfeld, and she runs to Peter's grandmother with a basket of rolls. She reads to her, then runs to her grandfather. When she reads him the Prodigal Son, he goes to church for the first time in years and the villagers welcome him back. Heidi and her grandfather walk home to the Alm in peace.

Clara comes to the Alm

Dr. Classen visits in autumn, still mourning his own daughter, and Heidi shows him the eagles and the sunset. Alm-Uncle comforts him, and he goes home promising to send Clara in May. When May comes, Clara arrives with Grandmamma. Peter, jealous of Clara, pushes her wheelchair over the cliff. Alm-Uncle carries her to the high pasture, and there, with Heidi and Peter holding her, Clara takes her first steps.

A miracle and a promise

Clara walks to Alm-Uncle and then to her father, who is astonished. Peter confesses and is forgiven, with a penny a day for life. Herr Sesemann promises that Heidi and her grandfather will never want. Heidi stays on the mountain with her friends. At sunset they stand together on the Alm, and Heidi says that God has made everything beautiful and good, with the mountains on fire with golden light.

Themes

Home and belonging: Heidi's homesickness is so strong that it makes her ill. The story suggests that a person's true home is where they are loved and free to be themselves.
Nature as healing: Mountain air, goat's milk and open skies restore Heidi, Clara and even Dr. Classen. The Alps are shown as a place of health and peace.
Kindness and forgiveness: Heidi's kindness softens her grandfather, and the villagers welcome him back. Peter is forgiven when he confesses, and a good deed grows out of his wicked one.
Faith and reading: Heidi's reading brings hymns to a blind grandmother and the Prodigal Son to her grandfather. Grandmamma teaches her that one can tell God everything.

Questions about Heidi

How does Heidi end?: Clara walks, Peter is forgiven, and Herr Sesemann promises that Heidi and Alm-Uncle will never want for anything. Heidi stays on the Alm with her grandfather and her friends.
Where is Heidi set?: Heidi is set in the Swiss Alps, in and around the village of Dörfli and the Alm, with a long stretch in the city of Frankfurt in Germany.
Why does Heidi want to leave Frankfurt?: She is homesick. She misses her grandfather, the mountain and the fir trees, and she grows pale and sleepwalks until Dr. Classen sends her home.
Why does Heidi save white rolls?: She wants to bring them to Peter's blind Grandmother, who can only eat hard black bread. When Rottenmeier has them thrown out, Clara promises a mountain of fresh ones.
How does Clara learn to walk in Heidi?: After Peter destroys her wheelchair, Alm-Uncle carries her to the high pasture. Clara wants to stand among the flowers, and with Heidi and Peter supporting her, she takes steps on her own.