Now the aunt came down again.
“Everything is ready for you,” she said. “And look, nephew, over there is the stream, where you can wash yourself. No one will disturb you there. I laid a towel for you on the bench. Good-night.”
The cousins all wished him good-night, too, but Jos turned round once more.
“Are you coming up to the pasture with us tomorrow morning, Vinzi? Do you expect to stay with us all day while we mind the cows?”
“Yes, certainly,” replied Vinzi. “I’ll help you all I can, but you must tell me which I have to mind most. Please call me in the morning, so that I shan’t be late.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll call to you loudly through the round air-hole,” Jos promised. “You’ll be able to hear me well enough.” With that he ran away.
Vinzi was left alone. Climbing up through the door, he inspected his barn. In a corner on a high, soft pile of hay his bed was spread. Beside it the hay had been pushed away to give room for the table and the bench, and at the wall stood his little cupboard. It all looked like a cosy and inviting little room. But he was not able to sleep because the unusual happenings of the day had excited him so much. Sitting down on the board which formed his threshold, he looked outside. The stars were glowing above him in the heavens and just then the moon rose from behind the mountains. It was beginning to light up the dark trees and meadows and the little church looked very white, and the high snow-peak rising above the rocky ranges became more and more brilliant every minute. Vinzi opened his eyes very wide, for in his great terror of what lay before him he had seen practically nothing after the gloomy house on the mountain desert. He had made up his mind that only frightful things would happen to him. How different was the scene now before him from what he had anticipated!
There was no stony desert here. On the contrary, the moonlight gleamed peacefully down to the green slope and sparkled on the tops of the larch trees over the way. In the peaceful silence he could hear the continuous soft gurgling of the near-by stream. Vinzi listened to the sound while the tones grew fuller and louder till lovely melodies could be distinguished. He must have been sitting there for a considerable time when a strong gust of wind suddenly pushed the door to against his knee and woke him from his dreaming. He had never in his life seen the stars above him sparkle as they did that night. His mother’s words that the good God in Heaven was above him everywhere and could hear and watch him now suddenly occurred to him. Many times he had heard her say these words, but at that moment his heart fully realized them. It gave him a sense that Heaven was very near him and filled his soul with gratitude to God who had let him find happiness where he had anticipated evil. How groundless had been his fear of his uncle and aunt! They had received and treated him so kindly that he already felt at home. In his joy he would have loved to fill the night with a loud song of praise, but it was too late for that. Not a single light could be seen about him; everyone in all the cottages, far and near, was apparently fast asleep.
After shutting and bolting the door, he sought his fragrant bed, which was soft and splendid, for no hay could prick him through the heavy sheets. Opposite his bed an especially bright star kept gleaming in through the round hole in the wall. He tried to shut his eyes, but it shone so brightly that he could not help gazing at it. Even when his lids seemed to be closing he opened them again to see it. Yes, the star was still shining. What was more, Vinzi could distinguish some faint, beautiful music, which finally put him to sleep. The star was singing to Vinzi so that he could hear it even in his dreams.
Next morning Vinzi was awakened by a dreadful noise, caused by his name being screamed by many voices at once. Stefeli had never called as loudly as that to waken him, thought Vinzi, still half asleep. But all of a sudden he realized where he was and whose loud voices had apparently been shouting for a long time in vain. Rapidly putting on the most necessary clothing, he opened his door wide and leaped down among his noisy cousins.