Louis and Marie live among the mountains in Switzerland. These
mountains are very high and are called the Swiss Alps.
The cold winds sweep down the mountain-side and rush through the
valleys. Sometimes it blows so hard that it almost blows the thatched
roofs off the houses.
But the mountain people know all about these strong winds. What do you
suppose they do to keep the roof from blowing away? They lay heavy
stones on the roof to keep it in place.
The winters are long and cold; and it snows and snows! You never saw
such deep drifts nor such big fields of ice.
But the summer is beautiful,—the sky is blue and the sun is bright; and
far away the mountain peaks are capped with glistening snow.
Then the grass is green and the flowers blossom everywhere. These are
happy days for the children.
In summer Louis and Marie go out every morning with the goats. Marie
is just a tiny bit of a girl only four years old, but Louis is a big
boy. He is almost nine, and that is very old when one has such a little
sister.
Louis lets the goats out of their yard. They jump and run and caper
about, and Marie hides behind her mother’s dress. She is afraid of the
goats at first.
One of the big goats always runs to the vineyard, he is so fond of
grapes. Louis drives him out with a long stick.
Then the whole herd runs to the wheat field, and Louis runs after them,
shouting at them and driving them away toward the mountain pasture.
Marie runs along with him and Patte Blanche goes, too. Patte Blanche is
their dog, and his name means White Foot.
When the goats reach the pasture land they clamber over the rocks and
eat the moss and the bushes and the sweet, green grass.
Louis and Marie pick the flowers that grow on the mountain-side, and
play little games with the stones. They watch the goats, too, and talk
about them. Sometimes a goat wanders too far away and then Louis sends
White Foot to drive her back to the others.
[Illustration]
At noon the children eat their lunch of barley-bread and cheese, and
White Foot sits beside them and eats the bits they give him.
There is always so much to do and so much to see that the days seem
very short. Soon it is time for White Foot to drive the goats down
from the rocks and the little company starts for home.
One night a very funny thing happened when they were on their way home.
The goats were wandering along, nibbling at the green grass, and the
children were following them down the path, when they saw a strange
man sitting on a log. The man was fast asleep and his head nodded and
bobbed up and down.
Just as Louis saw him, one of the goats spied him, too, and what do
you think she did? She trotted along, ran up behind him and butted him
right off the log. Of course the man waked up and I think he was going
to be very angry, but the goat put her fore feet up on the log and
looked as if she wanted to laugh.
The children laughed, and so the man laughed, too. Then he walked home
with them and helped them drive the goats into their yard.
Louis and Marie will never forget how funny the goat looked trying to
laugh at the man, and they like to tell the story over and over again.