Toni, the Little Woodcarver | Page 7

hard, that is to say not hard at all. He can go up to
the small mountain with the cows. The herdsman with his boys is on
the big mountain and a man is also there to come every morning and
evening for the milking, so the boy will not be entirely alone and will
have nothing to do but watch the cows so that none wander off, that
they don't hook each other or do anything out of the way. While he sits
there on the mountain he is master and can have all the milk he wants.
A king couldn't have anything better."
Elsbeth was a little frightened by the offer. If Toni had been more with

the farm men, and had been with cows, or if he had naturally a different
disposition, wilder and more roving and commanding-but as he was so
quiet and shy, and besides without any knowledge of such things, to be
for the first time all alone for several months, away from home, up on
the mountains, watching a herd of cows, this seemed to her too hard for
Toni. What would the poor boy, who was not particularly strong, do if
anything happened to him or to the herd? She expressed all her
thoughts to the farmer, but it made no difference; he thought it would
be good for the boy to get out for once, and up on the mountain he
would be much stronger than at home, and nothing could happen to
him, for he would be given a horn and if anything went wrong he could
blow lustily, and immediately the farm man would come from the other
mountain; in a half hour he would be there.
Elsbeth finally thought the farmer understood it much better than she,
and so it was decided that the next week, when the cows went up to the
mountain pasture, Toni should go with them.
"He shall have a good bit of money and a new suit of clothes when he
comes down. That will be a help for the winter," said the farmer finally.
Elsbeth thanked him as she said good-by, and turned homeward.
Toni was at first opposed to this, when he heard that he would be away
so long without being able to come home a single time; but his mother
explained to him how easy the work would be, that he would grow
stronger up there, so as to be able to do better things later on, and that
the Matten farmer would give him a new suit and a good bit of money
as pay. So Toni objected no longer, but said he would be glad to do
something and not let his mother work alone.
Then it occurred to Elsbeth that, if Toni was going to be away the
whole summer she could perhaps go to one of the big hotels in
Interlaken where so many strangers go for the summer. There she could
earn a good sum of money and meet the coming winter without anxiety.
She was already known in Interlaken for she had served as
chambermaid in one of the hotels for several summers before her
marriage.

When the day came for the big herd of cows to be taken up to the
mountain pasture, Toni's mother gave him his little bundle and said:
"Go now, in God's name! Don't forget to pray, when the day begins,
and when it ends, and the dear Lord will not forget you, and His
protection is better than that of men."
So Toni started off with his little bundle behind the herd up the
mountain.
Immediately after this Elsbeth closed her cottage. She took the goat up
to the Matten farm. When the farmer heard that she was going to
Interlaken, he promised her to take the goat, and thought when Elsbeth
came home again, she would give twice as much milk, and what he
made from her, he would give back to Elsbeth in cheese. Then she
started down to Interlaken.
The herd had already been climbing the mountain for several hours.
The herdsman turned off to the left with the big herd, and the man went
with Toni up towards the right, followed by the smaller herd, which
consisted of fewer cows but many young cattle, for not many cows
could be kept on the small mountain pasture, because the milk had to
be carried across to the big one where the herdsman's hut stood.
They now reached the highest point of the pasture. There stood a little
hut. All around there was nothing but pasture, not a tree, not a bush. In
the hut on one side was a narrow seat fastened to the wall in front of
which stood a table. On the other side