Heidi

Peter needs to write an essay about an event that changed his whole life. The first thing that comes to his mind is Heidi’s arrival in Dörfli. He remembers how Heidi was first brought by her aunt to the Swiss Alps to live with her grand-father. Her cheerful nature, enthusiasm and her love of animals bright up the lives of people around her.

Little Swan, the old goat, has died. Heidi and Peter would like to buy a new goat to keep Blackie company, but Grandfather does not have enough money. One solution would be to accept the money offered by an English tourist, Henry Mason, who wants a guide for a dangerous hike to the top of the White Peak. However, the ascent is a perilous one and Heidi does not want Grandfather to risk his life.

It is the Dörfli village fair. Heidi spots a goat called Snowdrop and is upset that she cannot buy it. Suddenly, Mrs. Keller, the grocer’s wife, shouts that she has been robbed and offers a reward for the return of the stolen goods. Heidi and Peter see a way of buying Snowdrop. They investigate and find that the thief is a famished little Italian boy called Rico who managed to cross the frontier.

Grandfather leaves with Mason to climb the White Peak. While they are away, Heidi takes her mind off her anxiety by teaching Rico English. The little Italian is very gifted. Meanwhile, due to Mason plotting something during the hike, Grandfather falls into a crevasse. Mason alerts Heidi who sets off with Peter and some villagers…

Grandfather notices that Rico disappears every day without saying where he is going. Heidi and Peter are busy looking after the goats that are going to take part in a competition. On the way to the event, with Rico, Mrs. Keller notices some worrying red patches on the little Italian’s hands. The grocer’s wife immediately takes this to be scabies, a terribly infectious disease.

Autumn is here. This morning, Peter closed up his treehouse and took out his treasure that has been there all summer. Part of this treasure is the watch that used to belong to his father, a Spanish soldier killed in battle. He decides to wear it to school so as to more precisely measure the time passing. However, during a detour before going to school, Peter loses the watch in the village.

Mr. Traber has had a good idea for the Autumn Festival – Rico will open the festivities with a tune on his violin. The little Italian is delighted, Heidi too but not Theresa. She is offended as normally it is William who opens the ball, playing the Alpenhorn. This is intolerable and, to avoid humiliation for William, Theresa decides to steal Rico’s violin.

A stranger arrives in Dörfli and asks if a little Italian boy has arrived recently; he is his father, Francesco. Mrs. Keller gives directions to Grandfather’s chalet where Rico has found a home. Francesco is delighted to find Rico… but is in a hurry to leave for Marseilles where he hopes to find work.

Peter asks Grandfather to repair the broken watch. The old man accepts… but realises, when he starts, that his hands have started shaking. He is worried and says nothing to Heidi. Peter is disappointed and makes an important decision – he will go to Frankfurt to have the watch repaired and to try to find some trace of his father. But how can he pay the train fare?

The doctor in Maienfeld is adamant; Grandfather must visit a specialist in Frankfurt. The old man refuses. He leaves, grumbling, to repair the Meier Bridge. Heidi and Rico are worried and decide to follow him to make sure that everything goes well. Meanwhile Peter, who is working for the Kellers, hears the grocers talking to Mr. Mason about deposits and seams…

Heidi and Grandfather are staying with the Sesemanns in Frankfurt when they receive Dr. Beckman’s diagnosis – Grandfather must have an operation, or he will lose the use of his hands. As the operation is risky, Grandfather prefers to return to the mountains. Heidi is convinced that he is not making the right choice and wants him to meet Frida, for whom the operation was a success.

Grandfather is about to have surgery. He is discussing with the lawyer his testament, in case things turn out badly. He wants to protect his little granddaughter and keep her safe. While talking to the lawyer, Grandfather remembers good and hard times he had in the mountains. Heidi, despite her worries, stays confident: the operation will be successful!

During a walk in a park, Grandfather is shattered by a lady dressed in red. He thinks he has seen Grandmother Anna, his great love and the mother of Tobias. The doctor believes that his hallucination comes from his surgery. But, while reading the newspaper, Heidi discovers that the lady in red is the Countess Alice Di Borgo who is in Frankfurt on family business.

Troubled by discovering Mr. Sesemann, for lack of girlfriend, decline an invitation for the Winter Bal, Heidi and Clara decide, unwittingly, to find him one. They think that Susanne Linke, Clara’s young and pretty dance teacher, would be the ideal candidate. The two girls have to use cunning and imagination to bring Clara’s father and the dance teacher together.

Clara made significant progress in dancing. Miss Linke confirms that she is ready to try to join the conservatory. Full of joy, Clara announces this great news to her father. Meanwhile, Mr. Sesemann and Elisabeth announce their future marriage. Despite the happy atmosphere in the house, Clara can’t hide her sadness. She has the feeling that her dad will forget her deceased mother.

Heidi is surprised to see Peter arrive in Frankfurt, determined to find some trace of his father, the watchmaker Anton Bendorf. Heidi helps him and calls on Rudy the street urchin and Frida to assist them.

Now, Peter lives with his father. Despite an enthusiastic start, he is not happy in the watchmaker’s shop where his father has taken him on as an apprentice. Peter doesn’t know how to talk to his father about it. He has the unpleasant surprise of learning that his dad has been chosen by the authorities to repair the huge clock of the library’s belfry.

Under the initiative of Grandfather, Heidi invites Frida for Christmas Eve. The little orphan is full of joy and entrust Heidi that she will write a letter to her brother Ulrich as she is able to read now. Frida gives the letter to Frau Decker who pretends to post it...

When she returns from Frankfurt with Grandfather, Heidi is delighted to see her friend Rico again, along with her beloved mountains. Unfortunately, some bad news is waiting for them – during their absence an avalanche has destroyed their chalet. Despite being forbidden by Grandfather, Heidi and Rico, along with Joseph the dog, go into the ruins to recover some precious souvenirs.

Overhearing a conversation between the Kellers and Mason, Heidi discovers that the Englishman has something to do with the avalanche that destroyed Grandfather’s chalet. Along with Rico, she secretly follows Mason to White Peak and uncovers his secret; he did not come to the mountains for a holiday but to look for a kind of precious quartz.

Mr. Keller has a bad accident while taking a money order to Grandfather. He ignores the safety measures and a tree, felled by Grandfather and Francesco to repair the chalet, falls on him. Mr. Keller is rushed to hospital. Theresa, now alone, is comforted by Heidi. However, Mrs. Keller chases Heidi away, telling her daughter that Grandfather was responsible for her father’s accident...

Spring has arrived in Dörfli and with it the Wolpertinger, a mythical animal who symbolizes the spirit of Winter. According to legend, the Wolpertinger prowls around the village, looking for a place to haunt until the return of winter. Traditionally, the villagers hang little good luck charms on the doors of their houses to protect themselves.

Heidi has sent a letter to Alice Di Borgo along with a photograph of her grandmother, Anna, holding a tablecloth embroidered with a butterfly that closely resembles the one on Alice’s handkerchief. Alice Di Borgo is intrigued by this coincidence and comes to visit Heidi in Dörfli.

Now back in Dörfli, Peter has taken up beekeeping and cheesemaking. Rico, who, along with Heidi, has looked after the goats well, asks Peter to let him take the test to become a General Goatherd. Unwilling at first, Peter finally accepts. However, he is unfair to Rico and demands the impossible.

Heidi wrote to Peter’s father so that he could come and see his son’s first honey harvest. However, the evening before, the hives are hit by lightning and any hope of a crop disappears. To make things worse, Mrs. Keller discovers the financial deal between Peter and her husband which allowed the boy to buy his hives. She now demands repayment and threatens to take Peter’s goats.