A Bell for Ursli

All through the summer in the Engadine Mountains of Switzerland the cattle feed in the mountain meadows, carrying bells round their necks. The calves have little bells and the cows have big ones. When they come into their sheds for the winter the bells are taken off. In March when the winter is over, the Spring Festival comes, and the bells are rung in the village to celebrate the end of the cold, dark days. All the boys march in procession through the street, each one carrying the biggest bell he can, and they ring their bells to drive the winter away and welcome back the sunny spring. And the village people smile, and fill the bells with cakes and nuts and apples. But only the big boys can carry the big bells: the little boys come at the tail of the procession carrying little calf-bells. This is the story of Ursli, and of the adventure he has when the Spring Festival comes round and he decides that he is old enough to have a big bell for the first time.