Moni the Goat Boy Author:Johanna Spyri Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II MONI'S LIFE ON THE ALP On the following morning Paula was awakened earlier than ever in her life before by a lusty song. "I shouldn't be at a... more »ll suprised if this were the goat-boy," she said, jumping out of bed and running to the window. Just as she had guessed, Moni, with fresh, rosy cheeks, stood by the open shed. He had just brought out the old goat, and now fetched the kid. She saw him swinging his staff in the air and leading the way forward with his goats, which were leaping and jumping about him as they had started on their way. Suddenly raising his voice again, he sang out loud, while the echo resounded from the mountains: Up on the fir trees The merry birds sing, For after a rain-storm The sun's like a king. "He must sing me his whole song to-day," Paula now said, for Moni had already disappeared, and she could not follow the words any more. Rosy clouds were trailing overhead, while Moni's cheeks were fanned by the morning breeze. He loved this delicious cool air when he was climbing. In his extreme well-being he could not restrain himself from a lively yodel. Many sleepers in the hotel opened their eyes in astonishment when they were wakened thus. Soon, however, they gladly shut them again in the happy consciousness that another hour still was left for sleep. They were all familiar with the voice of the goat-boy who was up and about so early. Meanwhile Moni with his goats was climbing higher up, till after an hour's time he got near to the steepest crags. The further up he went, the more beautiful the scene became. Looking about him from time to time, he would gaze upat the sky that was turning a deeper blue every minute. Moni began his song now, which swelled louder and clearer the higher up he went. Up in the fir-tree The mer...« less