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18. New dangers:

In the Kohlwald there was a beech-tree that grew out over a rocky cliff higher than a tower, so that I could walk along its trunk as upon a path, and look down from it into a hideous black depth, then where the boughs grew from the trunk it grew upright again. I often climbed up into this strange eyrie, and took great pleasure in looking down into the frightful abyss, and watching a little stream that plunged into it close by me, dissolving into spray. But one night this place appeared to me in a dream in such a fearful aspect that from then on I did not go there again.

Another time [...] a young goat had lost its way climbing up between two steep rocks, and was uttering plaintive cries. I climbed up after it to help it. The way was so narrow and steep and winding between the precipices that I could see neither upwards nor downwards, and often had to creep upon my hands and knees. In the end I quite lost my way. Above me stood a crag that I could not scale, below the ground seemed to fall almost sheer for I could not say what height. I began to shout and pray as loud as I could. At a little distance I saw two people walking through a field. I could see plainly that they heard me, but they mocked at me and went their way. At last I resolved to dare the utmost, and rather meet death at once than hesitate any longer in this painful situation, and at last be unable to hold on longer. I cried to God in fear and distress and let myself down upon my belly, with my hands spread out above me so that I might, as well as I could, cling to the bare rock. But I was tired out and fell down as swiftly as an arrow - luckily it was not as high as I had supposed in my fright - and came to rest, miraculously, upright in a cleft where I could regain my footing. I had, to be sure, torn my skin and my clothes, and my hands and feet were bleeding, but how fortunate I thought myself, to escape with my life and no bones broken! My little goat must have made a leap to safety, I soon found it with the others.

Another time, when I had been merrily following my flock on a fine summer's day, towards evening the sky became overcast with black clouds, the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled in a violent storm. I hurried towards a cave in some rocks - this or a great fir-tree was my wonted refuge at such times - and called my goats together. They, for it was almost the time, thought they were starting for home, and bounded helter-skelter away from me, so that I could not see hide nor hair of them. I ran after them. It began to hail with frightful violence, so that my head and back ached from its blows. The ground was thickly strewn with hailstones; I ran over them at top speed, but often fell upon my backside and travelled long stretches as if I were on a sledge. At last, going through a wood, where the path went steeply down between large rocks, I completely lost my footing and slid to the very brim of a precipice, whence I would have plunged many fathoms down and been dashed to pieces, if God and His angels had not preserved me. The storm was now gradually abating, and when I reached home I found that my goats had already arrived there half an hour before me. For several days I felt no ill consequences from this incident, but them suddenly my feet began to burn as though someone were boiling them in a kettle, and soon they were paining me severely. My father examined them and found, in the centre of one sole, a great hole with moss and grass in it. Now I remembered that I had trodden on the sharp root of a fir-tree, and that moss and grass had entered the wound. Father scraped it out with a knife and bound up my foot. For a few days I was obliged to hobble slowly after my goats, then I lost the bandage, mud and dirt filled up the hole and it was soon healed.

Many other times, when my way led through rocky places, the animals would run over the slopes ahead of me and dislodge large stones that whistled close by my ears. Often I climbed cliffs to reach a cowslip or a wild orchid or some other flower, a pastime likely to break my neck. Again, I would fire the foot of half-rotten fir-trunks, sometimes they would smoulder for eight or ten days before they fell. I would look at them every morning and evening to see how they were progressing. One day one of them came near to killing me outright, for as I was driving my goats from it, lest it should fall on them, it collapsed in great pieces right by my side. [...]

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