May

May is presented as a month of lengthening days, clear skies, and renewed growth on the mountain. For Heidi, its brightness accompanies a visit to Peter's Grandmother and a moment of shared reassurance: the prospect of visitors from Frankfurt troubles the older woman, but Heidi's news and their trust in God's purpose help steady her. The month also carries the narrative from the mountain's greening spring into June's flowering season.

The visit to Peter's Grandmother

Heidi goes down the mountain in the early afternoon to tell Peter's Grandmother who is coming from Frankfurt, and, in particular, who is not. She is now able to make the visit alone. The ground is dry, the days are growing longer, and a brisk May wind seems to speed her as she runs downhill. The scene makes the season tangible through Heidi's quick movement and eager anticipation.

Peter's Grandmother is back at her spinning-wheel rather than confined to bed, but she is troubled. Peter had told her the previous evening that a large party was coming from Frankfurt, and she has spent the night fearing that Heidi might be taken away. Heidi sits beside her on a little stool and pours out her news, then breaks off when she notices her grandmother's anxiety. The contrast between the child's excitement and the older woman's fear gives the visit its emotional tension: the same news that delights Heidi threatens Peter's Grandmother with the loss of her company.

Reassurance beneath the night sky

Peter's Grandmother answers that she is glad because the news makes Heidi happy. Their conversation turns to the assurance that events will unfold according to God's good purpose. At her grandmother's request, Heidi reads the verse again, repeating it two or three times; the words give Heidi comfort as well as helping her grandmother hold on to that belief.

When evening comes, Heidi returns up the mountain beneath a sky where the stars appear one by one. She pauses repeatedly to look at them and recognizes their beauty as a reason not to be afraid: God knows what is good for them. The stars' apparent nodding accompanies her all the way home, where she finds Alm-Uncle also looking up. The day's reassurance thus extends into a shared image of the night sky, connecting Heidi's private confidence with her grandfather's presence.

Sunlight and the turn toward summer

May's clear nights are matched by bright, cloudless days. Alm-Uncle marvels at the sustained sunshine and expects it to make the shrubs and plants grow quickly. Addressing Peter as a general, he jokes that Peter must keep his army from getting out of hand through overfeeding; Peter answers with a confident swing of his stick. The exchange brings the mountain's seasonal abundance into the household's familiar playfulness.

As May passes, everything grows greener. June follows with hotter sunshine and long, light days, and flowers spread across the mountain until the slopes are bright with blossoms and scented air. The seasonal transition frames May as more than a calendar marker: its lengthening light and new growth accompany Heidi's joyful anticipation, while the approaching summer supplies the setting for the next change in the mountain landscape.