It was Barry who first saw the trampers, and away he bounded to meet them. His bark was very fierce until Gretel called him by name, then he almost wagged his tail off, he was so glad to see her. He was even glad to see the strangers, because they had brought Gretel with them.
Franz and Sep and their father were just as happy as Barry to see their little Gretel and her strange friends from America.
It was milking time, and Franz and his father were milking the big, brown cows near the cabin
Soon they were all eating supper together, sitting around a rough table in the small cabin. It was a simple supper, but the hungry boys thought they never had eaten a nicer one. There was a long loaf of bread, and a great round cheese with holes all through it, and a dish of wild strawberries, and a pitcher of warm milk.
While they were eating, they suddenly heard the clear, sweet notes of a horn. The sound came from the high mountain above the cabin. In a moment the same notes came more softly from the mountain on the other side of the alp, and again still more softly they came.
Then the herdsman took his great horn, which was taller than himself, and blew a few long, clear notes on it in answer
"What is that?" cried Joe.
"It is my neighbor, who pastures his cows on the alp above us," said Gretel's father. "He is blowing his great horn to tell us that the sun is just setting behind that snow-covered peak. I must answer him, so he may know that all is well with us."