The Overall Boys in Switzerland Read online

  "Father is calling us," said Joe. "He says we shall have just time toeat dinner before we must take the train. Where do you suppose we aregoing next?"

  ABOVE THE CLOUDS.]

  ABOVE THE CLOUDS

  "See it pour! And just hear the thunder!" said Joe, looking out ofthe car window. "It sounds as if giants were rolling rocks down themountain sides. I hope they will not hit our train."

  "Look! The train is stopping," said Jack. "The conductor says we mustall get out here and take another train. How can we change while it ispouring so hard!"

  The rain was really pouring down so fast that umbrellas were of no useat all. But the Overall Boys ran to the end of the platform and climbedinto the high front seat of a queer little car.

  It was certainly the strangest car the boys had ever seen. It was builtso that one end was much higher than the other end, and people had togo up some steps to get into it.

  _"We are climbing right up the side of a mountain"_]

  In a few moments the little train was moving slowly up the steep track.

  "Where do you suppose we are going?" cried Joe. "I believe we areclimbing right up the side of a mountain. My! How it rains! I guess weare up among the clouds."

  "We shall soon be up above the clouds," said Jack. "We are climbingMount Rigi. We are going to stay all night on the mountain, too."

  And so it happened. The train was soon pulled up the steep mountainside until it was above the rain and the wet clouds. The sun wasshining brightly up there, but the valleys below were covered with athick white blanket.

  At last the sun and the wind began to carry great pieces of the cloudblanket high into the sky. Through the openings in the clouds, belowthem the boys could see tiny villages and blue lakes.

  And away down below, hanging in the soft white clouds, was arainbow--all red and orange and yellow and green and blue and violet.

  "Look! We are above the rainbow bridge!" cried Joe. "If only I couldjump over on it, I could slide right down to the earth again."

  "Why, you are on the earth now," said Jack.

  "Oh, so I am! But isn't it wonderful up here!"

  The boys watched the fluffy clouds blow far away, carrying the lovelyrainbow with them. And they watched the great red sun drop down behindthe snow-covered mountains in the west.

  _The boys watched the fluffy clouds blow far away_]

  Suddenly Joe cried, "Those mountains are on fire, Jack! Look! How canthey burn when they are all covered with snow?"

  "It looks as if the red-hot sun had set the world on fire this time,doesn't it?" cried Jack.

  But it hadn't, though the mountains were rosy for a long time afterdarkness had come in the deep valleys below. The great round moonclimbed slowly up the sky, and millions of stars peeped down at theboys.

  They had never been so near the stars before. They were almost sixthousand feet nearer than they were on the ocean steamer, and sixthousand feet are more than a mile.

  At last the boys were so tired they went into a small hotel, high onthe mountain, and were soon tucked away in two narrow white beds. For afew moments they lay very still, then Joe whispered, "Jack, do you hearthose bells tinkling, out on the mountain side?"

  And Jack whispered, "Yes, Joe. They are cow bells. You know fivethousand cows are pastured on this mountain in the summer time."

  "From the sound, I guess they all wear bells, too," said Joe. "Isn't itlovely! The bells make me so sleepy."

  ON MOUNT RIGI.]

  ON MOUNT RIGI

  So the boys were lulled to sleep by the soft music of the tinkling cowbells. But very early next morning they were wakened by another kind ofmusic. It was the clear call of an alpine horn at four o'clock in themorning.

  The horn seemed to say, "Wake up! Wake up and see the beautifulsunrise!"

  Although Jack was still half asleep, he shouted back, "All right! We'llbe up in a jiffy." And they were.

  Everybody hurried out to the mountain top to watch the great sun sailslowly up the sky.

  "Look!" cried Joe. "Last night the sun went down behind those mountainsover there, but now it is coming up away over here. How did it ever getaround here?"

  "Oh, you know, Joe!" said Jack. "The sun always sets in the west andrises in the east."

  "But how can it go down on one side of the world and come up on theother?" asked Joe.

  "Because the earth whirls around every twenty-four hours," said Jack."In the morning our side of the earth is whirling toward the sun, andin the afternoon we are whirling away from it."

  "Oh, dear! Are we whirling now?" cried Joe. "I thought the world wasstanding still. I thought it was the sun that was going around."

  "The sun is going around, Joe, but so are we. Father says that ourworld is whirling faster right now than the fastest automobile canrace," said Jack.

  "My!" said Joe. "Is that what makes the wind blow so hard up here? Holdon, or we shall be blown off!"

  "Just look at those cows!" shouted Jack. "They are being milked. Let'sgo and watch."

  Then away the boys raced to a group of big, brown cows that were beingmilked not far away. Great pails full of the rich, creamy milk werecarried into a little house near by.

  _She filled two tall mugs with warm milk and piled aplate with gingerbread cakes, and set before them_]

  "How good it looks!" said Joe. "Let's ask if they will sell us a drink."

  But they did not have to ask, for the old woman who lived in thetiny house saw the boys coming. She knew that they had not had anybreakfast, so she filled two tall mugs with warm milk, then she piled aplate with gingerbread cakes, and set before them.

  The boys were so hungry they ate two plates full of the gingerbreadcakes, and they each drank two tall mugs of the warm milk. They thankedthe old woman very kindly, and told her she had given them the bestbreakfast they had _ever_ eaten.

  By this time the sun was quite high in the sky. Large umbrellas wereraised over small booths on the mountain top, where men and women wereselling picture post cards and all sorts of queer little things--hornsand whistles and small carved wooden men and bears.

  The boys bought a number of things to take back to America with them,and they bought a dozen or more post cards to send to their friends.The very prettiest of these cards were sent to their own littlebrothers, Tim and Ted, and to the Sunbonnet Babies.

  The boys each bought, also, a fine alpine stock to help them on theirlong tramps over the mountains.

  The first tramp was to be taken that very day. Instead of going downMount Rigi by train, as they had come up, they were going to walk.They were going to walk away down to the shore of the beautiful lakeat the foot of the mountain. It was the large lake of Lucerne, but itlooked like only a tiny pond, it was so very far below them. And thebusy steamers looked like toy boats sailing on the tiny pond.

  _Large umbrellas were raised over small booths on themountain top_]

  "Just think," said Jack, "in a few hours we shall be crossing that verylake in one of those steamers. They don't look large enough to carrypeople, do they?"

  After an early lunch, which was eaten in an outdoor restaurant, theystarted to walk down the mountain. A part of the way the path was verysteep. The boys raced along, for it was easier to run than to walk.

  Soon they came to a place where a great mass of rocks had slippeddown across the path during the last heavy rain. The boys could seewhere the rocks had torn up bushes and trees, as they dashed down themountain side.

  The little home of a herdsman, lower down on the mountain, had beencompletely buried.

  When the herdsman came home after the rain was over, he found his househidden under a load of rocks and trees. Of course, the poor man thoughtthat his wife and six little children had all been killed, but he wouldnot give them up until he had tried to save them.

  He saw that one corner of his house was not quite covered, so he dugaway the stones as fast as he could. Some friends came to help him, andat last the herdsman could hear his little children cr
ying. This madehim work even faster, for he knew that they were alive.

  _It did not lake long to make an opening through abroken window_]

  It did not take the men long to make an opening through a brokenwindow. There they found the mother and her six frightened childrensitting close together in a corner of the room. The rest of the littlehouse had been crushed in by the heavy rocks. In some way this onecorner had been protected, and so the mother and her little family weresaved.

  Some kind herdsmen were giving the family a home until they could buildanother house on the mountain side.

  Lower down on the trail the Overall Boys met the father and mother andoldest daughter of this family. They were making hay on one of the tinymountain meadows or alps.

  A narrow cart had been filled with the sweet, dry hay, and the fatherwas about to haul it down the trail. He greeted the Overall Boyspolitely, saying in odd German, "Good evening, my boys. May you returnagain to our alp."

  When their father told the boys what the man had said, Joe answeredquickly, "Oh, thank you! May we come up to your alp some day and helpyou make your hay?"

  And so it was arranged that the boys should climb up to the alpinemeadow some day very soon, to help the herdsman make his hay.

  They were going to spend two whole weeks by Lake Lucerne at the foot ofthe mountain, so they would have time to do many interesting things.

  After leaving the herdsman and his family, the boys hurried on down thetrail. It took them nearly three hours to reach the shore of the lake,where a steamer was waiting to carry them across the water to the cityof Lucerne.

  It was one of the steamers which the Overall Boys had seen from the topof Mount Rigi that very morning. Away up there it had looked no largerthan a plaything, but they now found that it was quite a grown-up boat.

  SHOPPING IN LUCERNE]

  SHOPPING IN LUCERNE

  So the Overall Boys had their first sail on lovely Lake Lucerne, themost famous lake in all the world.

  The sun went down in a glory of color behind the city of Lucerne at theend of the long lake, and the great, round moon came hurrying up, eagerto lend her light to this beautiful part of the world while the sun wasaway.

  It was a wonderful evening. It was almost as wonderful as the eveningbefore, when the boys had been up above the clouds on Mount Rigi.

  To-night they were very tired after the long tramp down the mountain.They were too tired to look around much as they were driven quicklyalong the brightly lighted streets and up the hill to their boardingplace.

  But in the morning they were ready for anything. The first thing tointerest them was breakfast. Jack led the way down the stairs to thelarge dining room, but it was empty. There was nothing to eat on any ofthe long tables.

  "Oh, dear! We are too late," cried Joe. "I shall starve before noon. Iknow I shall."

  "No, you won't," said Jack. "Look out there under the trees. The peopleare having a breakfast party."

  "Oh, my!" cried Joe. "Are we going to eat out there, too? I hope so!"

  "Father and mother are waiting for us over by the tall rose bushes,"said Jack. "We can have a little table all to ourselves."

  "Is it really a party, or is it just breakfast?" asked Joe.

  "I expect it is just breakfast," said Jack. "Mother has said thatpeople here in Switzerland eat out of doors whenever they can."

  "Oh, goody! let's have our breakfast out here every morning," said Joe.

  And so they did. Every morning when it did not rain, the Overall Boyshad their breakfast of rolls and honey and hot chocolate on a small,round table in the rose garden.

  _They often sat in front of their shops while working_]

  It was lots of fun. It was almost as good as a real picnic. Eachmorning while they were eating, they planned what they should do duringthe rest of the day.

  Some days they spent the forenoon visiting interesting little shops.They liked to watch the pretty Swiss girls at work on their fineembroidery. These girls, dressed in their quaint Swiss costumes, oftensat on the sidewalk in front of their shops while working.

  But the boys liked best the carved wood shops. Sometimes they saw boys,not much older than themselves, carving jumping-jacks and bears andqueer little dwarf men out of blocks of pear wood.

  Many Swiss boys learn wood carving when they are quite young, so theycan earn their living in that way when they are grown up.

  The Overall Boys coaxed their father to buy a fine carved bear to takehome with them. The bear was as tall as Joe. He sat on his hind legs,crossing his fore paws in front of him, and he looked as if he mightgrowl any minute.

  The boys' mother said the bear should stand by the front door at home,where he could hold umbrellas for people when they came to call.

  "What fun we shall have when we introduce the Sunbonnet Babies to Mr.Bear!" said Joe.

  "I know a fine way to do it," said Jack. "We will stand him under thebig maple tree in the back yard at home. Then, the first time Mollyand May come to see us, we will take them out to meet our new playmate."

  "Oh, that will be great!" shouted Joe. "I can almost hear Molly and Mayscream now."

  * * * * *

  "Let's visit the cuckoo shop," said Jack one afternoon. "And let's tryto be there when the cuckoos all come out."

  "Well, then, let's go now," said Joe. "It is ten minutes of five. Weshall have just time to get there before the clocks begin to strike andthe cuckoos begin to call for five o'clock."

  So Jack and Joe hurried down the street into the old, old part of thecity. They found the little shop just in time. An old man standing inthe doorway invited the boys to go in, and of course they accepted.

  On the walls around the small room hung many beautiful brown clocks ofall sizes. They were very different from American clocks. These clockslooked like tiny Swiss houses or chalets. There was a round clock facein the front of each chalet, and two long swinging arms hanging downbelow. But the clocks were all saying, _tick_, _tick_, _tick_, _tick_,just as American clocks do.

  "Now watch!" cried Joe. "The doors are beginning to open. Here come thecuckoos."

  And sure enough, as the boys stood looking at the clocks, a little doornear the top of each swung quickly open and a tiny cuckoo bird steppedout and flapped its wings.

  The clocks all began striking and the cuckoos began calling just likethis:--One, cuckoo; two, cuckoo; three, cuckoo; four, cuckoo; five,cuckoo.

  It was five o'clock. The cuckoo birds folded their wings and steppedquietly back into their tiny houses. The doors closed quickly in frontof them and all was still once more, except for the _tick_, _tick_ ofthe many clocks.

  _A cuckoo clock_]

  "We just _must_ buy one of those cuckoo clocks to take back to Americawith us," said Joe.

  "We must buy two of them," said Jack. "We must take one to Molly andMay. They will think it is splendid."

  "Let's ask father about it," said Joe. "I know he will tell us to buyone for the Sunbonnet Babies and one for Tim and Ted."

  "I am going home to supper now," said Jack. "This is Saturday, andthere are fireworks on the shore of the lake every Saturday evening,you know."

  "Oh, so there are!" cried Joe. "I had almost forgotten about them.Let's hurry."

  SATURDAY EVENING ON LAKE LUCERNE.]

  SATURDAY EVENING ON LAKE LUCERNE

  Long before it was dark the Overall Boys were walking up and down thebeautiful shore front, waiting for the first sky rocket. Hundreds ofother people were waiting and watching, too. A band was playing andeverybody was happy.

  "Listen! The band is playing _America_!" cried Joe. "Three cheers forthe red, white, and blue!"

  "Wait a minute, Joe," said Jack. "Father says that is one of thenational hymns of Switzerland. The music is the same as for ournational hymn, _America_, but the words are different."

  "It is fine, anyway, and I feel like shouting.--Three cheers forSwitzerland!" said Joe.

  "So do I!" said Jack. "Switzerland is a
Republic and has a President,just as we have in the United States, you know. Its national motto is'All for each, and each for all.'"

  "I thought it seemed more like home than any other country over here,"said Joe. "I shouldn't like to live in a country which has a Kinginstead of a President. I like Presidents."

  "But just think of it, Joe, the whole of Switzerland is only one thirdas large as our state of New York, and the city of New York has amillion more people in it than this whole country has; father said so."

  "Well, even though the country is so small," said Joe, "it hastwenty-two Cantons or states, and each Canton has a special flag. I amgoing to buy them all for my flag collection."

  "Puff! puff! There goes a sky rocket!" shouted Jack. "And there goesanother! The fun has begun, Joe!"

  During the next hour the boys forgot all about national hymns andPresidents and flags. They were watching fire balloons sail far outover the dark lake and disappear behind tall mountains. They werewatching rockets shoot high into the sky and burst into wonderfulshapes--into ships and bears and pots of flowers. They were watchingthe mountains glow under lovely red and blue and yellow lights. Andthey were imagining that they were in a fairy city, beside a fairylake, with the wonderful mountains of Fairyland all around them.