Years ago, in a little country called Switzerland, there lived a little
girl who was the daughter of a doctor. This doctor sometimes had to
climb up high mountains and sometimes he had to descend slowly to the
deep valleys, always on horseback, to visit the sick people who had sent
for him. Of course there were no telephones, electric lights, steam
trains or automobiles, and so often this doctor was away from home for
two or three days attending the people who needed his help. His trips
took him into little villages where there were only a few hundred poor
people who made a scant living from farming and sheep raising, but he
knew them so well that he became very fond of them, and he shared their
sorrows and joys. When he returned home he would tell his little
daughter, who was Johanna Spyri, about what he had seen and heard. She
became very much interested in the people whom her father told about,
and when she grew up she visited many of the places that he had told her
about when she was a child.

It was not until she was quite a grown woman that she wrote any books,
but the children of Switzerland and Germany loved her stories so much,
that we have decided to translate the story of Erick and Sally for the
children of America. The author knew children and loved them, and wrote
to them and not for them. Thus, every one who reads this story will
follow the sorrows and pleasures of Erick just as if he were a personal
living friend.

The translator understands American boys and girls, for she has been a
teacher in our schools for many years. She also has an intimate
knowledge of the country described in this story for she has often
visited the places mentioned. Through her knowledge and love of the
country about which Madame Spyri wrote, and speaking her language, the
translator, Helene H. Boll, appreciates her thoughts, and has faithfully