Author’s note: I wanted to write something especially for my three sisters. We love each other, understand each other, and accept each other no matter the differences, just like the Cartwright brothers do (hence the title). We may disagree with each other sometimes, but when it comes down to it, we are there for one another through thick and thin. They each enjoy different aspects of a story, so I tried to come up with something that would interest each sister. I hope I succeeded. Deb, Terri, and Carol--I’m happy to have you as my sisters. :)

Trilogy of Understanding

For Carol, who loves Hoss/Joe stories, with a little bit of Hop Sing thrown in.

The Woodpecker

Tatatatatatatatatat.

Hoss Cartwright woke to the same sound for the fourth morning in a row. There was a continuous vibration coming from outside his bedroom wall and it was making him bonkers. It seemed to arrive at the same time every day, the crack of dawn, to play its little song for the biggest Cartwright.

“Dadburnit!” Hoss growled as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. “I’m gonna kill me a woodpecker, if it’s the last thing I do!”

He walked over to the window, raised it and stuck his head out to yell at the annoying little bird, “Get away from here, you little pain in the neck!” Hoss was surprised when the critter looked him right in the eye for a moment before taking flight. “Why you defiant little cuss!” Hoss had to chuckle a bit at the audacity of the creature.

There was a knock at Hoss’ bedroom door, then his younger brother poked his head in and said, “Hoss, what the heck are ya yellin’ at this early? Can’t a guy sleep till the rooster crows at least?” Joe slept in the room right next to his big brother’s, and had been roused from a sound sleep by the racket made by Hoss.

“Sorry, Little Joe, but it was that blasted woodpecker again! I had ta chase him away. Didn’t ya hear him this time?” Hoss was flabbergasted by the fact that no one else in the family had yet been disturbed by the noisy bird. He could sort of understand Pa and Adam not hearing it; their rooms were on the opposite side of the house. Joe’s room being right next to his own, Hoss figured he should have heard it at least once.

“Nope, sorry, Hoss,” Joe said, yawning, “but that shouldn’t be too surprisin’ to ya, I do sleep pretty deep.”

“Yeah, I reckon I know that near about better than anyone, seeing as how I’m the one has to wake you up half the time. Sure don’t see how ya can sleep through that much racket though, Little Joe,” Hoss replied, shaking his head in wonder.

Joe just shrugged his shoulders, “Well, he’s gone now, Brother, so I’m gonna catch a few more minutes of sleep. Try to keep it down, will ya?”

The youngest Cartwright started from the room, but Hoss grabbed his arm before he could get through the door. “Hold up, there Joe. We’re already up now, so what do ya say we try to figure out a way to get rid of that bothersome bird?”

“Nah, think I’d rather go back to bed, Hoss. Sorry.”

“All right, little brother, but just remember, if ya don’t help me out, you may be wakin’ up this early every mornin’ for a long while to come.”

Sighing, Joe walked back in the room, “Okay, Hoss, what do ya want from me?”

Smiling, Hoss pulled out a piece of paper from the desk in his room, and the two brothers put their heads together and tried to come up with a plan to chase away the newest and noisiest resident of the Ponderosa.

Later that morning, Hoss and Joe had a ladder propped up against the house, right outside of Hoss’ bedroom. Hoss was up on the ladder, while Little Joe held it steady. The older brother was tacking long strips of colorful cloth to the side of the house, when suddenly he was disturbed by a familiar, but sometimes frightening, sound. Hop Sing had discovered what the brothers were up to and he was not happy about it, as evidenced by his angry voice.

“Mister Hoss! What you do? You tear up Hop Sing’s good cloth; was being saved for new curtains! You come down right now! Bad boy, velly bad boy!”

“Now, Hop Sing, don’t go gettin’ all excited,” Hoss turned on the ladder to try to answer the cook and caretaker, but he got one of his legs tangled in the dangling cloth in his hand. He tried to grasp the window sill to stop his fall and Joe tried desperately to keep the ladder upright, but his big brother’s weight was too much for him to overcome. Hoss came tumbling down, landing right in Hop Sing’s flower bed.

Once being sure that Hoss wasn’t injured in his fall, Hop Sing began swinging his dish towel at the big man. “Mister Hoss! Now you ruin Hop Sing’s flowers! You fix! No dinner for you till flowers all planted again!”

Little Joe had been trying to quietly slip away during Hop Sing’s tirade, but the housekeeper knew the young man well, and turned, catching him. “You no run off, Little Joe! You help big brother ruin flowers, now you help him fix them!

“All right, all right, Hop Sing,” Joe tried to protect his head as the Oriental took a swing at him with the cloth he had used to swat Hoss.

Hop Sing returned to the kitchen, mumbling in Chinese all the way. The brothers didn’t need to understand the cook’s native language in order to know exactly what he was saying about their antics.

Hoss and Joe spent the next couple of hours doing their best to restore Hop Sing’s flower bed to its former splendor. Of course, they weren’t able to quite achieve the same perfection that Hop Sing could, but he finally gave his approval of the finished work.

“All right, Joe, back to work on the woodpecker problem,” Hoss instructed, as he stood the ladder back up.

“Do you really think these streamers will scare that bird away, Hoss?” Joe asked.

“They sure better! If I get woke up early much more, that little critter’s gonna find himself in Hop Sing’s stove!”

Joe just chuckled to himself; he knew his big brother wouldn’t really eat the poor little woodpecker.

The next morning, the sound Hoss knew so well woke him up once again. Mumbling some words under his breath that his father wouldn’t approve of, Hoss climbed out of bed and went to the window.

This time when he yelled at the bird, it didn’t fly away; it just looked at him and then boldly went back to pecking on the hole it had started. The middle Cartwright son was especially surprised when the critter grabbed a piece of the cloth that was intended to scare it away. Taking it in his little beak, the bird tried to shove the colorful material into the small hole.

“Why you...,” Hoss started, and then turned from the window and left his room. Stomping down the stairs, he then headed right for the door, ran outside, and over to his bedroom window.

“Get away from there, you little pain in the neck!” When the bird continued to ignore him, Hoss reached down and picked a pebble off the ground, tossing it in the woodpecker’s general direction. He didn’t really want to hurt the bird, just frighten it away. He had thrown five or six small rocks when his bedroom window was suddenly thrown open, frightening the bird away this time.

His father stuck his head out the window and shouted down, “Hoss Cartwright, what the heck are you doing, Boy?! Look at you, standing outside in your nightshirt, throwing rocks at the house. Have you taken leave of your senses?”

Hoss looked down, noticing his nightshirt for the first time, “Um...well, ya see, Pa, that blasted woodpecker was back again. I came down here to get some rocks to shoo him away. I plumb forgot I was still in my nightshirt!”

Ben glanced at the side of the house and observed, “I don’t see a woodpecker, Hoss, and for some reason you are the only one in the family who has ever so much as heard him. Now, you’re throwing rocks and prancing around in your nightclothes in front of the neighbors!”

“Pa, he was here, I tell ya, he flew away when ya opened up the window! He must be gettin’ used to me cause he just sat there when I tried opening the window, so’s I came on outsi...um Pa, did you say neighbors?”

Hoss heard a giggle behind him and turned slowly around to find their nearest neighbor’s two daughters standing there, holding the reins to their horses in their hands.

“Oh, uh...Miss Sharon, Miss Susan, uh, how are you ladies this mornin’?” Hoss stammered out, trying to be polite.

“Oh, we’re just fine, Hoss. My, what nice legs you have,” Sharon replied and then both girls burst into laughter.

“If you gals will excuse me,” Hoss backed toward the door to the house as he answered the girls, “I’ll just...um...be going inside now.” With that, Hoss ran into the house, filled with embarrassment.

Adam and Joe were coming down as Hoss went up the stairs mumbling about blasted birds making his life miserable.

“Hoss, are the Johnson girls here yet?” Adam asked. “Joe and I are going riding with them this morning.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, dadburn right they’re here! Just in time to see me like this, too!”

Joe broke into a giggle, just picturing the predicament his big brother had found himself in, as he and Adam went outside to meet their early morning dates.

That afternoon, Hoss came back from Virginia City with a carefully wrapped package. As he brought it into the house, his father looked up and asked, “What do you have there, Son?”

“Somethin’ guaranteed to get scare off that dadburned woodpecker once and for all!” Hoss said with a smile, as he headed for the stairs.

Ben shook his head, grinning at his son’s determination to get rid of the bird. He did know it existed now; Hoss had insisted that his father look at the growing hole in the side of the house. He hoped the young man would be able to chase the woodpecker away before it caused anymore damage to the house.

Hoss laid the package on his bed and tore off the wrapping just as Little Joe burst into his room. “Pa, said ya got something that’ll get rid of the woodpecker, Hoss, and I wanted to see what it is.”

The older brother proudly held it up for Joe to see, causing a look of puzzlement to cross the younger sibling’s face. “An owl, big brother? How’s that gonna help?”

“I found it in the mercantile, Joseph. I been readin’ up in a bird book I borrowed from Adam’s room and it said owls are enemies to woodpeckers. I saw this here decoration when I was gettin’ supplies, and got me an idea.” Hoss then walked over to his window, opened it and propped the wooden owl on the sill. “I figure if I put it right here near where ole Woody always pecks, it oughta scare him off; don’t ya think that sound right?”

Joe looked thoughtful for a minute, and then replied, “Well, it makes sense to me, Hoss, just hope the woodpecker read the same book!”

Joe left the room laughing as Hoss muttered, “Smart aleck little brother, we’ll see who’s laughing when I scare off that little critter.”

The entire family was rudely jerked from a sound sleep the following morning, when what could only be described as a growl, boomed from Hoss’ room. Everyone tumbled out of bed, and ran to the largest Cartwright’s bedroom.

Slamming open Hoss’ bedroom door, Ben worriedly asked, “What’s wrong, Son? Are you hurt?”

Hoss was standing at his window and turned, holding up his wooden owl. “Would you just look at this? The cotton pickin’ woodpecker actually started peckin’ on my owl! Adam’s book said he’d be afraid of an owl and instead the little runt perched on it and just boldly pecked its head!”

With an exasperated sigh, Adam said, “Darn it, Hoss, I’m about sick of hearing about that woodpecker! Here we all thought you were hurt or something, and come in here worried, and it’s the stupid bird again!”

“I have to agree with your older brother, Son,” Ben added. “I’ve had about all of you fighting with that woodpecker that I can stand. Enough! Let it alone!”

“But Pa, I can’t! The dadburn thing wakes me up every morning.”

“Yeah,” Joe put in, “and then you wake us up!”

“Well, I’m right sorry about that everybody, but he makes me so dadblamed mad, I just can’t help it,” Hoss replied. “You’re right though, I have to stop disturbing the whole family. So, tomorrow, I’m gonna finish this for good. I’m gonna sleep outside in a bedroll. When ole Woody starts his tapping in the morning, I’ll be ready for him with my slingshot.”

“A slingshot! Hoss, you don’t like killing anything you aren’t going to eat,” Adam protested. “I hate to see you have to do something like that.”

“Yeah, I know it, Adam, but I’ve tried everything else; it has to be done, we can’t go on this away,” Hoss said sadly.

Ben walked over and put an arm around his biggest son, “I’m sorry, Hoss, I know you’ve tried your best to think of something else.”

“Yeah, I have, Pa, so it’s got to be done. If all of you can put up with this for one more morning, that should take care of it.”

Everyone nodded unhappily; they all knew Hoss was the most softhearted member of the family and he even spent a lot of his time doctoring injured animals. This would not be easy for him.

Hoss was hunkered down in his bedroll that night in the yard in front of his bedroom. He dreaded what he had to do, but he figured he had no other choice. He was trying to get to sleep, when there was a disturbance next to him. He opened his eyes and saw his little brother laying his bedroll out a few feet away.

“What are you up to, Little Joe?” Hoss queried.

“Just thought I’d stay out here with ya and offer some moral support, big brother. You don’t mind, do ya?”

“Mind? Of course not, Joe, that’s real nice of ya!”

“Well, I know I’ve teased you a lot about this woodpecker, especially the part where the dates Adam and I had saw you in your nightshirt; I know this part is hard for ya though, so ...,” Joe drifted off, not putting the rest of his thoughts into words.

Hoss reached out and patted Joe’s arm, “I know what you’re tryin’ to say, brother, and I appreciate the sentiment ... and you joinin’ me.”

Joe smiled at his brother and crawled into his own bedroll. There was no more need for words; each brother knew how the other felt about him.

When the persistent tapping awakened the Cartwright brothers the next morning, Hoss didn’t feel the same aggravation he had the previous mornings. This time was different; it would be the last time.

Quietly sitting up, Hoss reached for the slingshot near his hand, picked up a small stone, and took careful aim at the little bird. It didn’t surprise the young man when the woodpecker picked that precise moment to turn its head and look right at him. Hoss lowered the slingshot in frustration.

Little Joe had seen what happened and knew his brother was having trouble bringing himself to kill something that met his eye in such a manner.

“Hoss?” Joe whispered. “Do you want me to do it for you? I will, you know.”

Hoss considered, but then shook his head. “No, Little Joe, I’ll do it. Thanks for offering though. Just give me a second.”

In a few moments, Hoss again took aim; he pulled back the piece of rubber, with the stone between his fingertips. He was just about to let it fly when he was interrupted.

“Hoss! Stop!”

The rock went flying off course, hitting his bedroom window, shattering one of the panes, and sending the woodpecker flying to safety.

“Adam? What’re you doin’ out here? What the heck did ya yell for? You let him get away!” Hoss complained, although he was secretly relieved he had missed.

“I wanted him to get away, brother. I’ve been up the past hour or so, doing some thinking and I came up with a plan. Look at this!” Adam shoved a piece of paper in his brother’s hand.

Hoss studied the piece of paper for a minute and then looked up at his brother, confused, “It looks like a house, Adam, but...”

“It is,” Adam explained, taking the paper back, “a bird house!”

“A bird house? Are you nuts, older brother?” Joe interjected. “Whoever heard of a bird house?”

Adam quickly explained his plan to his younger brothers, “I was trying to think of a way out for you, Hoss, when I remembered something I saw occasionally back east. Some people had little houses in their yards that were used to attract birds; they enjoyed watching them. So, I designed one for you to build for your little friend. What do you think?”

Hoss was flabbergasted. “Well, it sounds like a good idea, Adam, but how do we get the bird to use it?”

“You’ll get it built and then put it on a long pole, right up there near your window. We’ll put some cloth and things birds like in it and hope the woodpecker will want to use it.”

“All right, but that leaves me with the same problem I have now--it’ll still wake me up tapping every morning.”

“No, I don’t think it will; the hole will already be in it, so it can just build its nest; it doesn’t need to drill the hole. If we do find that it still taps, once the bird is used to the little house, we’ll move the pole a few feet every couple of days until it is finally across the yard and you won’t hear the bird anymore.”

A wide grin spread across Hoss’ face. “This is terrific, Adam! I’m gonna start on the house right away! Thanks!”

“You’re welcome; glad I could help.” With that, Adam returned to the house, confident that his plan would work.

Joe threw his arm around his big brother and said, “I’ll help ya, Hoss! I’m sure glad you didn’t have to kill little Woody!”

“Me, too, little brother, me, too!”

The next morning, the Cartwright brothers were watching quietly through Hoss’ window. The little woodpecker first landed on the side of the house, as always. It was only a few moments before it seemed to notice the bright new miniature house just a few feet away. He studied it a minute and then flew over to it. He walked all around the outside and then, finally, went through the opening and examined the inside.

“He likes it!” Hoss whispered excitedly to his brothers. “I’ll be darned.”

The plan worked just as Adam had hoped it would. The little bird made his home in his own house and ceased tapping outside Hoss’ window. At last, all of the Cartwrights were able to sleep until the rooster woke them each morning, instead of being awakened by the growls and yells of the middle son.

For Terri, who loves Pa/Joe, hurt/comfort stories and taught me all I know about trying to write them, though mine will never measure up to hers.

The Accident

The woodpecker dilemma had been solved, but there was still the problem of the damage to the side of the ranch house that he had caused. Since Hoss needed to take care of the window he had broken with a slingshot a couple of mornings before, Joe volunteered to replace the planks of wood that the little bird had pecked holes in near the window.

“You’re volunteering to help with something like that, Joseph?” Ben Cartwright asked, after his youngest son had spoken up at the breakfast table.

“Sure, Pa, why not?” Joe responded. “Just as soon as Hoss and I finish our morning chores, we’ll head out and get started on the repairs. We even picked up the supplies we’ll need when we were in town yesterday, didn’t we, Hoss?’

“Yep, we sure did, and I appreciate you helping out with getting the house fixed, too, Little Joe,” Hoss answered.

Ben seemed a little surprised as he told his sons, “Well, I appreciate both of you taking care of the repairs so promptly, without me having to harp about it. Thank you, boys.”

“You’re welcome, Pa, we’re glad to do it,” Hoss said.

A few hours later, both young men had finished their chores and were getting to work on the house. Hoss was inside his bedroom, working on getting the broken window pane repaired. Joe had the ladder propped against the house and was removing the damaged planks of wood.

“Boy, Hoss, your little woodpecker sure did make a ton of holes out here!” Joe complained.

“Heck, Joe, he ain’t my woodpecker, it just happened that he picked the outside of my room to do what he does best. I’m just glad that’s over and he likes the little house we built for him.”

“That’s for sure, it was getting old having you yell us awake every morning!”

Joe was using the claw side of a hammer to pry loose one of the damaged planks. It was stuck tight; Ben had built this house himself years before and he had done an exceptional job of it. The young man finally got the board loose enough to get a grip on it with his hands. Putting all of his strength into what he was doing, Joe pulled hard. He didn’t seem to be making much headway, but he wouldn’t give in. Taking a deep breath, then giving another mighty tug, the plank suddenly pulled away. It happened so quickly that Joe didn’t have a chance to balance himself and the ladder pushed away from the house. Joe dropped the board and desperately tried to grab onto something...anything! Hoss tried to reach out to his little brother through the window, but he just wasn’t close enough. He watched helplessly as the ladder fell backwards, taking Joe with it. It almost appeared to be happening in slow motion, it seemed to Hoss.

“Joe!” he shouted.

The youngest Cartwright’s stomach jumped to his throat as he fell through the air. While it seemed slow to Hoss, it felt like a split second to Joe.

Ben was in the barn and had heard Hoss yell Joe’s name. He stepped through the wide double doors just in time to witness his youngest son’s plummet to the earth.

“Joseph!” he whispered as the boy fell towards the horse trough in the yard. Ben prayed that the water would break his son’s fall, minimizing any chance of injury, but that was not to be. He heard a sickening crunch when Joe’s head hit the edge of the trough as the young man plunged into the water.

Ben rushed to his son, hoping to see him sputtering and spitting water, but the only movement was the sloshing of the liquid caused by the sudden disturbance. Ben quickly reached into the water, pulling Joe’s head to the surface. In a moment, Hoss was by his side; he had rushed down as soon as his brother fell.

Without a word, the two men grabbed the boy and pulled him out of the trough, laying him on the ground next to it. The young man was so still it was frightening.

“Pa? Is he...,” Hoss started, not daring to finish the thought.

Ben kneeled down next to the boy and laid his head on his chest. He listened for a moment and then looked up, relieved, “He’s alive, Hoss. He wasn’t in the water long enough to drown, but I heard him hit his head awfully hard.”

Ben reached behind Joe’s head and gently felt for a lump. He was distressed to find not only a huge goose egg on the boy’s head, but also what seemed a massive amount of blood.

“Hoss, help me get him to his bed, then you can hurry and get Dr. Martin. You can find Hop Sing at his cousin’s house in town and have him come home as soon as he can, too. Wish Adam hadn’t left for San Francisco yesterday.”

“All right, Pa,” Hoss answered, reaching for his younger brother’s legs, then he noticed something else. “Be careful of his right arm, look at the angle of it; probably broken, he must have landed wrong on it.”

Ben put his hands under Joe’s shoulders and Hoss picked up his feet and they carried him in the house and up the stairs as gently as they could. They laid Joe on his bed and then Ben told Hoss, “I can get him into some dry clothes by myself, Hoss, you just hurry as fast as you can for Paul.”

“On my way, Pa!” Patting his brother’s leg, not knowing if the kid could hear him, Hoss said, “Hang in there, little brother, ole Hoss will have the doc back here just as quick as I can.”

As Hoss left, Ben began removing his son’s wet clothing. He wanted Joe warm and dry as quickly as possible. In short order, he had the pile of wet clothes lying on the floor next to the bed, and had a warm night shirt on the boy. The father then gently rolled his son away from him, being mindful of the injured arm, so that he could pull down the covers that were under the boy. They hadn’t done it when they first brought Joe in because they didn’t want the sheets to become damp; they wanted to be able to put the young man in a dry bed. After freeing the bedclothes, Ben rolled his son back on his back and soon had the covers up to Joe’s chin. Blood had covered the pillow where Joe’s head was lying, so Ben hurried down the hall to the linen closet and got another pillow and a fresh pillow case. He also grabbed some bandages for the boy’s head.

When Ben came back into the room, he went to the basin of water in the corner, dampened a cloth, then proceeded to clean the boy’s head wound as carefully as he could.

“Oh Joseph, so much blood on the pillow and in these curls. And why aren’t you waking up, Son?” he whispered as he lovingly tended the wound. He was frightened over how hard Joe had hit his head; it wasn’t a good sign that the boy hadn’t stirred at all.

After cleaning the injury as best he could with the blood still seeping, Ben wrapped the bandage around Joe’s head several times. He then replaced the soiled pillow with the clean one. The worried father could then do nothing more for his son except to sit down next to him on the bed, take his left hand in his own hand, and talk softly to him, hoping that at some level, the boy was able to hear him and hang on until the doctor arrived.

Ben was sponging off his son’s forehead and face for what seemed like the hundredth time, when Hoss finally walked back in the room.

“Pa, I brought Dr. Newman; he’s still filling in for Doc Martin, till he gets back tomorrow. Hop Sing will be out just as soon as he can.”

Ben looked confused for a moment; he had forgotten that his old friend Paul was in Sacramento participating in a medical symposium. “That’s fine, Hoss, I’m sure he’s a good doctor if Paul chose him to take care of his office in his absence. Doctor, did Hoss fill you in on what happened?”

Moving to Joe’s side to begin his examination, Dr. Newman replied as he worked, “Yes, he did Mr. Cartwright; any improvement in the boy’s condition since he first fell? Has he regained consciousness at all?”

“No, no improvement, Doctor, except that the bleeding in his head has almost stopped. He hasn’t woken up at all though. He’s been very still, not even moaning.”

The doctor nodded gravely and continued with his appraisal of Joe’s condition. After looking at Joe’s eyes, he said, “The young man has a concussion, that would explain the unresponsiveness. If he doesn’t wake up soon, I’m afraid of what that could mean. I’m going to take advantage of his unconscious state to set his arm though and take a few stitches in his head. At least he won’t feel that pain.”

Dr. Newman expertly snapped the bone of Joe’s arm back into its proper position and then splinted it. “That was a clean break and should heal without a problem,” the doctor informed Ben. “Now, could you gentleman help me carefully turn the lad over without jostling him too much? Considering as far as he fell and as hard as he landed, I want to move him as little as possible. He’s already been moved far more that I am comfortable with.”

With all three men keeping Joe as straight and still as they could, they gently turned him onto his stomach so that the doctor could stitch the back of his head. First, Dr. Newman took out his scissors and trimmed away as much of the hair around the wound as he could. Then, he took out a straight razor and cut away the rest.

“Little Joe sure is gonna be spittin’ fire when he finds out about that bald spot,” Hoss speculated.

“Right about now, I would welcome his complaining and anger, Hoss; at least it would mean he’s awake and has his fighting spirit about him,” Ben answered sadly.

“Yeah, I know what you mean, Pa.”

Father and middle son both winced as the doctor took the needle and stitched up the cut on the back of Joe’s head. The young man had been sewn up quite a few times in his eighteen years, but it never failed to get to his family each and every time.

At last, the doctor finished and placed a clean bandage over the injury, holding it in place with a long strip of cloth around the boy’s head. The men gently turned Joe back over and placed the blanket back on top of him, resting his splinted arm carefully next to his body.

“Five stitches, not too bad,” Dr. Newman explained, “and now, I want to try to get this young man awake.” He walked over to his bag and pulled out a small vial of ammonia, something he kept on hand for just such occasions. The physician returned to Joe’s side, removed the lid from the vial and swiftly ran it under the youngest Cartwright’s nose. He was pleased when the boy turned his head and groaned at the invasion of his sleep.

“One more time, Joe, come on, wake up,” the doctor said as he once more passed the vial under Joe’s nostrils. This time the boy coughed a couple of times and then slowly opened his eyes. “Talk to him, Mr. Cartwright, get him fully awake if you can.”

Ben moved back close to his son’s side and picked up his hand once more. Brushing the hair from Joe’s forehead, the father addressed his son, “Joseph, wake up now! The doctor says you’ve slept long enough. Look at me, Son.”

Joe turned in his father’s direction and after blinking several times, was finally able to focus on his father’s face. “Pa? What happened? Did you say doctor?”

Ben smiled, happy to hear his son’s voice again, “Yes, Joseph, Dr. Newman is here. You had a pretty bad fall, remember?”

“A fall?” he asked groggily, then searched his jumbled thoughts. “Yeah, I think I remember now, the ladder, right?” Joe closed his eyes as the memory of the fall returned to him. “Yeah, I moved too fast and the ladder started falling.” He closed his eyes, hoping to shut out the memory of the free fall down. “Pa, would you take my hand a minute? I’ve got some scary memories here.”

This time Ben was confused. “Joseph, I am holding your hand, see?” The father held up his hand, showing Joe’s hand secure in its grip.

Joe stared at the joined hands, transfixed. “Pa, I can’t feel our hands touching,” he whispered, a look of fear crossing his face.

Dr. Newman quickly moved back to Joe’s side. “Joseph, squeeze your father’s hand for me, all right?”

Joe tightly closed his eyes and strained to do as asked. “I can’t, Doc. What’s wrong with me?” Panic was entering the young man’s voice now.

“I don’t know just yet, Joe, hopefully nothing permanent.” The doctor threw back Joe’s blankets and instructed, “Try to move your legs.” When nothing happened, he added, “All right, just your toes. Try hard, Joe.”

Joe struggled to comply but finally had to give up. He lay breathing hard from the exertion, with fear as his countenance. “Why can’t I move anything?” he cried.

Dr. Newman’s face clouded with anger, “Probably because you were moved after your injury! If only we could educate people on the fact that moving someone after this type of accident can have tragic results!”

Ben and Hoss both looked shocked at the doctor’s outburst. “You...you mean Pa and me might have done this to Joe, Doc?” Hoss asked with trepidation.

“It’s entirely possible,” the doctor answered.

Ben had to speak up now, “Doctor, the boy was unconscious in a water trough, we really didn’t have much choice. We couldn’t let him drown!”

Dr. Newman calmed down a touch and said, “No, of course you couldn’t, Mr. Cartwright, I just wish you had left him right there on the ground after getting him out instead of jostling him all the way upstairs.”

At the tremendous look of guilt on Ben’s and Hoss’ faces, Joe felt compelled to answer the doctor, “They didn’t know that, Doctor, it’s not their fault. Why, we always move people to bed when they’ve been hurt.” Joe turned to face his father, “Pa, I don’t hold you and Hoss to blame for this; please don’t blame yourself.”

A tear rolled down the father’s careworn face as he answered, “Thanks for saying that, Son, but how can I help but blame myself? It could very well be my fault that you’re lying there unable to move anything but your head. I’m so sorry, Joseph!” Ben laid his head down on his son’s chest for a moment; he knew the boy couldn’t feel him there, but wanted him to see how very sorry he was. He reached one hand up and brushed away the tears that were falling from his son’s eyes.

“Pa? Please? Don’t do this to yourself, I can’t stand to see you this way,” Joe said quietly. “Pa? Will you do something for me?”

Ben looked into Joe’s eyes, “Anything, Joseph.”

“Bend down here, close to my face.” Ben did as Joe asked. “Closer, Pa.” Ben leaned as close as he could and Joe lifted his head as much as he could, planting a light kiss on his father’s tear stained cheek. “I love you, Pa, this is no one’s fault.” Then Joe looked at his brother, standing nearby in misery. “That goes for you, too, big brother, this is no one’s fault! Besides, I have no intention of staying this way. I will get better, won’t I, Doctor?”

Dr. Newman was regretting the blunt way he had treated this family. He had never before seen or heard of a newly paralyzed person worrying about his family’s reaction instead of worrying about himself. He could sense that this was a special family. Softening his voice, he replied, “There’s a very good chance of that, Joe. It could just be the shock of the injury and the jarring of your spine while it was weakened from the fall. It could be better in a few days or a few weeks. If not, with work, you may be able to get the feeling back, in time.”

Joe forced a smile on his face, “See? I told you, I’ll be fine. Now, I’m feeling kinda tired. I’d like to get some sleep.” With that, Joe closed his eyes and it only took a few seconds for his breathing to become regular, indicating slumber.

Dr. Newman addressed the other family members, “Mr. Cartwright, Hoss? The boy will sleep for a while. Would you both walk me out, so we can discuss this?” Ben hesitated, looking down at Joe, making it obvious that he didn’t want to leave his son. “Only for a few minutes, Sir, then you can get right back to the boy. Please?”

Ben and Hoss followed the doctor into the hall, where he immediately began to apologize for his behavior, “I just want to tell you I’m very sorry for my outburst. I was way out of line; there’s no way a person who isn’t a doctor could know not to move an injured man. Even many physicians are just becoming aware of it. I offer no excuses for my unfair accusation, only a humble apology.”

The man seemed so embarrassed that Ben reached out his hand in a gesture of forgiveness. Dr. Newman’s face showed his relief as he returned the handshake, then shook Hoss’ hand. “Dr. Martin will be back in the morning, and I’ll send him right out to check on your son. He knows the boy well and may be better able to help.”

“Thank you for coming, Doctor, and thank you for the apology,” Ben said, then returned to his son’s bedside.

Ben spent the entire night in his son’s room, tending to his needs and offering comfort when it was wanted. The boy was disturbed by nightmares a couple of times throughout the long night. After one such dream, Ben gently woke his son, and spoke softly to him.

“It’s all right, Joseph, I’m right here. You’re safe now.”

“Pa?” Joe asked groggily. “It was awful. I was falling through the air and I was terrified, but what made it even worse, was I couldn’t move my arms to grab onto anything. I felt so helpless!”

“I know, Son,” Ben whispered, while brushing the curls from the boy’s forehead. He wanted to offer what comfort he could and Joe’s head was the only part of his body he could feel. “It’s over now, and I won’t let anything else happen to you. I’ll be right here all night long.”

“Thanks, Pa, you’re always here when I need you.” Ben lifted Joe’s head a bit and held a glass to his lips so he could drink. Then he gently laid him back down and the young man once more drifted to sleep.

Ben was always happy to see his friend, Dr. Paul Martin, but seldom more so than he was the next day when the man showed up at the ranch. Paul walked into Joe’s bedroom and glanced at the person who had been his patient since the day the boy entered the world. He was saddened to see him wounded once again.

“Ben,” Paul said softly, while gently shaking the man from a light sleep.

The patriarch woke quickly and stretched out the kinks caused by sleeping in a chair all night. “Paul, thank goodness you’re here!”

“How is he, Ben?” Paul whispered, not wanting to wake his patient just yet. He had a few things he wanted to say to the father first.

“He had a restless night, Paul. Had a couple of nightmares about the fall. Of course, his inability to move seemed to be part of the dreams, too. I still can’t believe his paralysis might be my fault. Joe says he doesn’t blame me, but I sure do!”

Paul answered thoughtfully, “Yes, Dr. Newman filled me in on the case, including the things he said to you. He’s a fairly new doctor, Ben, and his bedside manner could use some work, but he truly is sorry for the things he told you and Hoss.”

Ben nodded his understanding, “I know, Paul, he apologized before he left and I could tell that he was truly remorseful. That doesn’t change the fact that he was right.”

“Ben, let’s not dwell on that, there is no way of knowing if he was correct or not. Instead, let’s focus on getting Little Joe better and out of that bed, all right?”

The men were interrupted by a call from the bed. “Pa?” Joe asked with a sleep filled voice, “I thought we covered this last night; it wasn’t your fault.”

Paul and Ben turned to the boy and were surprised to see Joe holding his hand out to his father, wanting him to take it. “Joe! You moved your arm!” Ben said with excitement.

“Huh? Oh, I guess I did!” Joe answered, as an elated sparkle entered his eyes. He wiggled his fingers a bit to prove to himself that he was indeed feeling the movement.

“Well, let’s just take a look at you, young man,” Dr. Martin boomed happily.

Paul gave Joe a thorough examination and everyone, including Hoss, who had come into the room when he heard the happy voices, was thrilled at the findings.

“Well,” Paul informed them, “it looks like Joe already has quite a bit of feeling back. That’s a wonderful indication that he will recover fully, and in a very short time. He can wiggle his hand and feet, and he felt the pin in his thighs and chest when I poked him. Excellent!” Then turning to the boy in the bed again, he asked, “How does your head feel, Joe?”

“Well, it hurts, Dr. Martin, and I’ve never been so pleased to have a headache in my life!” Joe laughed.

“Pleased?” Hoss asked, confused that anyone could be happy with a headache.

“Hoss, after not feeling anything for nearly twenty-four hours, this headache is very welcome!”

“I see what ya mean, little brother!”

They were all laughing as Hop Sing entered with Joe’s breakfast. “All body go downstairs, eat breakfast. Hop Sing feed Little Joe. He be fine. After eat, father go take nap, Hop Sing here now.”

“He’s right, you know, Ben. After you eat, you get some rest. Joe is in capable hands with Hoss and Hop Sing to take care of him,” Paul re-emphasized what the little cook had told him.

“I will, Paul, Hop Sing. I promise,” Ben answered. With that, the men all left the room with lighter hearts, knowing the youngest member of the family would heal and immensely relieved that they hadn’t crippled the boy for life.

A couple of weeks later, the only signs that Joe had even been hurt, were the cast still on his right arm, and the bald spot and small scar on the back of his head. Joe, of course, had done much grumbling about his hair when he had discovered that! He had been assured that the hair would grow back to its former state in short order and he had grudgingly forgiven his family for allowing it to be shaved off. Adam and Hoss had finished the repairs to the side of the house, and the family was once more back to normal, and marveling at all the trouble that could be traced right back to that little woodpecker

For Deb, who enjoys many kinds of stories, including a little romance and those with a lesson.

The Rules

It had been several weeks since Joe Cartwright’s accident with the ladder and the water trough; the young man now had his cast off and was virtually recovered. He was extremely lucky not to have any lasting effects from the temporary paralysis.

Joe was crossing the yard in front of the house, on his way to the barn, when his oldest brother, Adam, rode in.

“Hey, Joe, glad you’re out here. I ran into Susan and Sharon Johnson on my way home from town. Now that you’re well and able to ride again, they wanted us all to get together for a picnic. What do ya say, want to go tomorrow?”

“Sure, Adam, sounds great! Haven’t been on a date in weeks!”

“Yeah, Kid, I know, and if someone would have told me a year ago, I’d be double dating with my youngest brother, I would have told them they were nuts! Who could have known we’d meet sisters whose father only allows double dating?” Adam laughed.

“Well, all this double dating is cramping my style, older brother. I wonder if we could talk the girls into each couple going their own way for a while tomorrow afternoon.”

“Oh yeah, Joe, and have their daddy coming after our hides tomorrow night! I don’t think so. A rule a rule and we agreed to follow it so he’d let us date his daughters.”

“I’ve been thinking, Adam, ain’t that Susan a little young for you anyway? Heck she’s only a few years older than me! What does she want with an old man like you?” Joe laughed and ducked the fist Adam jokingly swung at him.

“You better be glad she does want an ‘old man’ like me, KID, or you wouldn’t be dating her younger sister, who, by the way, is a year older than your little baby self!” Adam threw his horse’s reins at his little brother. “Here, put my horse up for me, Little Joe! I’m just feeling too ancient to do it. Besides, you know the rules around here; younger brothers obey older brothers!” With that, Adam headed for the house, leaving his brother wondering how he ended up with the job of stabling the horse.

He went to the barn grumbling about being pushed around by older brothers, even at the ripe old age of eighteen. When will it stop? Ever? I doubt it. Hoss and Adam will always be older, and I will always be younger and subject to their silly rules. Oh, well, he shrugged to himself, guess big brothers aren’t all bad. They’re always around when I need them (and sometimes when I don’t!) and Adam’s right, I wouldn’t be dating Sharon if he wasn’t dating Susan.

The next day, the two brothers headed off for their date with the sisters. Joe had been given some reminder words of warning from his father, just as he was given before any date, about appropriate rules of behavior with young ladies. Adam no longer got those lectures; Ben figured by now he was old enough to know what is acceptable and what is not.

As the brothers rode up to the sisters’ house, the girls came running out to meet them. The boys dismounted and walked to greet the young ladies. Adam and Joe were surprised when both girls threw their arms around Joe!

Adam waited a minute and then said, “Hey, what am I over here, chopped liver?”

The girls laughed and said, “Ah, I didn’t mean anything, Adam, we just haven’t seen Little Joe in a while.” Susan broke away from Joe and went over to hug Adam.

When the two couples arrived at the meadow where they planned to picnic, Joe took a blanket and Sharon’s hand, and started to lead her to a secluded spot away from his brother and Susan.

“Joe, where are you two going? You know the rules--we all stay together,” Adam reminded the boy.

“Don’t worry, older brother, we won’t go far. Don’t you want to be alone with your gal?”

Adam couldn’t deny he would like that, so he turned to Susan, “Is it all right with you?”

She was tired of her father’s strict rules and readily agreed. Adam shrugged and Joe ran off with Sharon.

An hour later, Joe and Sharon had finished their lunch and gone for a walk. When they returned to their blanket, Joe leaned over and gave Sharon a sweet kiss which she returned. One kiss lead to another, and it didn’t take them long to find themselves in a passionate embrace. Sharon unfastened the buttons on Joe’s shirt, and ran her hands over his smooth, muscular chest. Joe was overwhelmed with the desire to do the same to her, but somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he remembered the rules set down by both his father and hers, and as difficult as it was, he kept his hands in a proper place. He tangled his fingers in her luxurious auburn hair and pulled her face closer for an even deeper kiss.

“Sharon,” he whispered breathlessly, “ you’re lips are so sweet. I could do this all day.”

“Oh, me too, Joe, me too,” and she pulled him against her.

“We better stop,” Joe reluctantly pulled away from her.

“But why, Joe? I thought you were enjoying this,” she pouted.

“Oh, I am, believe me; I’m enjoying it too much, which is why we better take a breather,” he began buttoning his shirt, just as he heard Adam calling his name from the other side of the boulders they were behind.

“Coming!” he shouted, as they gathered their things.

Adam gave Joe a quizzical look as the two young people joined them. He planned to have a talk with the boy once they returned the girls to their home.

“Joe, what went on between you and Sharon on that picnic?” Adam asked later, as the two brothers headed for the Ponderosa.

Joe looked embarrassed and answered defensively, “What makes you think anything did?”

Shaking his head, Adam laughed, “Joe, your shirt is buttoned wrong and if you had seen the condition Sharon’s hair was in, you wouldn’t even have to ask that!”

Looking down at the mismatched buttons, Joe grinned sheepishly and answered, “Oh, well, I reckon we did a little kissing, that’s all.”

“Looks like it may have been more than a little to me, younger brother. You just better remember the rules. We broke them by separating today. You shouldn’t have made it worse by engaging in inappropriate activities. Now, fix those buttons before we get home or Pa will give you a long lecture, reinforcing those rules!”

Joe started buttoning his shirt correctly as he explained to Adam, “Well, maybe we started to do more than we should, but believe it or not, it was recalling those rules that stopped us.”

“You sure it wasn’t just hearing Susan and I call your names, Kid?” Adam teased.

“No, I’m telling the truth, Adam, we stopped before that!” Joe finished taking care of his shirt and took the reins back in his hand. “Thanks for telling me about my shirt Adam; I sure didn’t relish a lecture from Pa!”

“Well, lucky for you, I saw Susan tell Sharon to fix her hair up a bit, too, or you would be receiving that lecture from HER pa! Believe me, you do not want to sit through a lecture from the angry father of a gal. He’s liable to tattoo those rules of his on your forehead!”

As they made it back home, the thought going through Joe’s head was, Well, sometimes older brothers can be bossy and irritating, but I have to admit, Adam probably saved me a ton of aggravation this time. I understand the reason for the rules fathers make about dating a little better now, too.

The following day, Hoss and Joe were riding on the buckboard, heading for a day of fence mending. Joe was doing the driving on this day and he was chatting to Hoss along the way. Since he and Hoss seldom had secrets from one another, Joe filled his bigger brother in on the happenings of the day before, of his date with Sharon.

“Wow, little brother, sounds like you were playing with fire! Don’t you go gettin’ in any trouble with that little gal.”

“Don’t worry about that none, Hoss. Guess all those lectures Pa’s been layin’ on me all these years must have sunk in. Here I thought I was tunin’ him out, and turns out I was listening all along. Go figure, huh?” Joe chuckled.

“Well, Pa makes a lot of sense, Little Joe. Course, back when I was your age, I wasn’t too hot on lectures and rules either, I reckon.”

The two brothers arrived at the section of fence that was in need of repair and got to work. They had been mending for the better part of the morning, when they noticed they were almost out of nails.

“Well, it’s too early in the day for quittin’ so I figure one of us better ride on back to the ranch and get some more, Little Joe. You wanna stay and work on this part, or go fetch the nails?” Hoss didn’t really need to ask the question, he knew what the answer would be. When given the choice between working or riding a horse, Joe would choose the equestrian activity every time!

“I’ll get the nails, big brother! See ya as soon as I can.” Joe ran to saddle one of the horses they had used to pull the wagon. They always carried a saddle in back of the wagon for just such occasions, like running out of equipment, and emergencies.

Hoss shook his head in wonder and disbelief. The boy had torn off on the horse like his tail was on fire. He knew better than that--his mother had died of injuries caused by a fall from a horse, and Ben had made strict rules about reckless riding from that day on.

A half-hour later, Joe raced into the yard of the ranch house, stopping short in front of the barn. He leapt from the saddle and was heading into the tack room for more nails when he heard his father’s voice boom out from the barn door.

“Joseph Cartwright! How many times have you been told not to gallop into the yard that way?”

Joe had thought the yard empty and pasted a sheepish grin on his face at getting caught. “Um, sorry Pa, I was just in a hurry to get some nails so I can get back to work.”

“You’ll have to come up with a better excuse than being in a hurry to work, Joseph. Somehow, you just can’t pull that one off! Did you run that animal all the way from where you and Hoss are mending fence?”

Joe thought about telling a half truth about that one, but his father knew him too well; he would know he wasn’t telling the truth right away. He also knew horses; one look at the one he had been riding would reveal the facts. The poor animal was coated in sweaty foam.

“I guess maybe I did, Pa,” Joe answered quietly.

“I see,” Ben replied with a voice that warned Joe he was walking on thin ice. “Joseph, you take care of that horse, rub him down and give him water. Then, saddle a new one for the ride back. I better not hear later that you ran the second horse the same way or you’ll be sorry, young man. Do I make myself clear?”

Joe nodded, “Yes, Sir.”

“Fine. You and I will have a little talk tonight about breaking the rules I set down. Now get moving.”

Joe hurried to do as he’d been told as quickly as possible. Darn it, I managed to avoid a lecture about dating yesterday, only to face one about riding too fast today, he thought as he worked. One day I’ll learn to follow the rules. Hopefully.

In typical Joe fashion, the young man forgot all about the trouble he had just been in with his father for breaking the rules, and once away from the yard, spurred the replacement horse into a gallop. One thing in his favor--at least this time he wasn’t racing the animal into the yard, as before; he was running him through the meadows and pastures of the Ponderosa. He tried telling himself that he was hurrying to get back to his big brother to help him finish the work, but he knew that wasn’t the truth. He couldn’t help himself; he simply loved the feel of a strong horse beneath him and the wind and scenery whipping past him. He did consider the horse this time, however, and slowed to a trot every few minutes so the animal could cool off and rest a bit.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the horse in a trot as he returned to the spot where Hoss was working; it was in a full gallop once more. He approached Hoss and dismounted, only to face another dressing down for breaking the rules.

“Little Joe, what would Pa say if he saw you riding in like that? You’ve been told a thousand times not to race a horse right up into the yard or as you approach people!”

“I know exactly what Pa would say, Hoss...because he caught me doing the same thing at home. He told me I can expect a lecture when we get back to the house tonight,” the young man confessed.

Hoss just shook his head in amazement at the boy’s audacity, “I don’t understand you, little brother; you’re already in trouble for breaking a rule and you turn around and break the very same one again!”

Since Pa already had plans to address this issue this evening, Hoss decided to let it go and the brothers went about finishing the repairs on the fence.

Late that afternoon, the brothers were on their way home after completing their assigned task. Joe was once again at the reins, guiding the team toward home. As he and Hoss chatted, the boy steadily increased the speed at which they were traveling. Hoss didn’t notice at first, then realized they were going alarmingly fast, and a blind curve was coming up soon.

“Joe! Slow this wagon down, boy! You know better; this can be dangerous!” Hoss shouted.

Joe ignored the warning and continued at the same speed. “Don’t be a stick in the mud, Hoss, you ain’t so old that you don’t find this excitin’!”

“I mean it, Joe! Give me those reins!” With that, the older brother reached over and removed the reins from his younger sibling’s grasp, and immediately slowed them down. “What’s wrong with you today, Joseph? You know you aren’t supposed to run the team like that, especially with all these curves.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Joe grumbled, then suddenly sat up straight in his seat as they rounded the blind curve he had been approaching so dangerously fast a minute before. There, in the middle of the road, was a huge boulder, plus a few smaller ones, from a rock slide that had occurred earlier in the day.

“Oh geesh, Hoss,” Joe exclaimed, as the color drained from his face, “if I had still been driving, we could have been killed! I’m sorry, big brother, real sorry.”

Glancing at his little brother and seeing that he seemed to have learned his lesson, Hoss told him, “Now maybe you understand Pa’s rule about not drivin’ the wagon too fast a bit better.”

“Yeah, Hoss, I definitely do. Reckon I deserve that lecture I’m gonna get later on, especially when Pa hears about this.”

Carefully maneuvering the wagon around the fallen rocks, Hoss told the boy, “Well, ifn you think you’ve truly learned your lesson about this, maybe I won’t say nothin’ to Pa about it.” Seeing Joe nod that he had, Hoss continued, “All right then, I ain’t tellin’, but if I ever catch you doin’ somethin’ like that again, it won’t be Pa you’ll have to worry about; I’ll wallop ya myself! Got it?”

“Got it.” Joe was surprisingly quiet during the rest of the ride, thinking about how he could have seriously injured, or even killed, not only himself, but his big brother as well. It was a lesson he wouldn’t forget.

The next day found Joe and his father in town picking up supplies and taking care of other business. Joe had survived his lecture the night before and had, in fact, surprised his father with his attitude during it. While the boy usually stopped just short of rolling his eyes during a talk from his father, and never failed to offer at least some argument, this time he listened respectfully and promised to improve his behavior of riding too fast in the future.

Joe was loading the supplies on the wagon when Ben told him, “Joseph, I have some business at the bank and the cattleman’s club. You finish the loading while I take care of it, all right?”

“Yes, Sir,” he answered, then asked, “Pa, it’s mighty hot out today. Is it okay if I go over to the Bucket of Blood and have a beer when I get finished?”

Ben patted the boy on the shoulder and replied, “Sure, Joseph, you’ve worked hard getting this wagon loaded. Enjoy yourself, but remember, no more than two beers.”

“Okay, Pa, and thanks,” the boy grinned at his father, happy that he would be able to quench his thirst before going home.

“I’ll meet you in the saloon when I finish my business, Son. You behave yourself and don’t get into any trouble, all right?”

Joe smiled at his father once more and said, “I won’t, you can count on me, Pa.”

With one last pat on the back, Ben walked off in the direction of the bank.

Joe had finished with the supplies and was already draining his second beer in the Bucket of Blood. It was definitely hitting the spot. He debated on whether to have a third. He knew Pa’s rule about him only being allowed two at his age, but it really was hot outside, and what could happen?

It’s not like I’m an underage little kid, he thought. I can handle my beer just fine and Pa won’t even know. I’m tired of so many rules in my life. If he hadn’t already drank down two beers so quickly that they were making him a little lightheaded, Joe may have thought things through more carefully, but he had drank them fast, so he wasn’t thinking as clearly as he should have been. He had already forgotten the lessons he had learned the previous two days about the importance of rules.

Once he ordered and finished a third, he had no qualms about ordering a fourth. He was slowing down by then, and wandered over to join a poker game at a table in the back. Noticing that the young man was a little unsteady on his feet, the men in the game had no problem with letting the boy join them, especially once he pulled out his wallet. Joe had recently been given his wages and hadn’t spent any of them yet, so the men were ready and willing to have the tipsy youngster play a few hands.

When Ben showed up at the saloon less than an hour later, he found his youngest son sitting at a table staring into an empty wallet.

“Joseph? Something wrong?” his father asked him.

“Huh? Oh, hiya, Pa. Yeah, sumthinsss wrong, I wasss cheated, isss what!” the boy said with a bit of a slur in his speech, which of course, Ben immediately picked up on.

“Cheated, huh? Could it be that you got into a game after getting a little drunk and maybe you weren’t playing your best, Joseph?” Ben asked sternly.

“Drunk? Me, Pa? You know I wouldn’t do that. You told me only two beersss, `member?”

Ben grabbed his son by the arm and hauled him to his feet. “Yes, I remember, son, but I don’t think you did. Come on, let’s get you home.”

As they headed for the exit, the bartender called out, “Hey, Joe, you didn’t pay for them beers yet!”

It took the words a minute to register and then Joe fumbled for his wallet once more. “Sssorry, but my moneyssss all gone. Pa, can ya help me out?”

Releasing the boy’s arm, Ben went over to the bar and put down enough money for two beers. “Um, Mr. Cartwright...,” the bartender spoke up, “Little Joe had four beers.” With a disgusted look at the man, and a withering look back at his son, Ben pulled out the money for two more drinks, “Shame on you for serving a boy enough to get him this tipsy. From now on, if you’re on duty, Joe gets no more than two beers, understand?”

“Yes, Sir, Mr. Cartwright, ” the man answered, while pocketing the money.

Ben walked back to Joe, grabbed his arm once more, and led the boy down the street to the wagon. It took the young man a minute, but he finally managed to pull himself up onto the seat.

The patriarch lectured his son all the way home on the evils of overdrinking and on the consequences of disobeying the rules he set down.

“I hope not having any money for the next two weeks will help teach you a lesson about drinking and then gambling, young man! You get no more until the next payday!”

The road was weaving in front of his eyes, but Joe swallowed and answered his father, “Yes, sir, it sure did, Pa. I’m sorry.”

Ben wasn’t sure how much of what he was saying was getting through to his son in his present condition, but he continued anyway. Once home, he ordered the boy to unload the wagon by himself.

“Ah, Pa, I’m not feeling ssso well, can’t Hoss help me?” he whined.

“Not a chance, Joseph, now get to it. One day you’ll realize that rules are for your own good and maybe then you’ll follow them!”

About halfway through unloading the wagon, Joe had to run to the bushes and spill the contents of his stomach. After sampling the beer in reverse, the boy didn’t think he would ever want to drink any again. His head was pounding like a hammer was hitting it.

Ben showed his son a little mercy and allowed him to go on to bed without further lecturing that evening. Joe chose to go without his supper, also.

The next morning, Joe was no longer tipsy, but he was a long way from feeling like his old self. He thought things through for a while and then went down to face his father. Walking over to Ben’s desk, Joe sat in the chair in front of it and addressed the man.

“Pa, I’m real sorry about yesterday. I don’t know what possessed me to go over the limit.”

“Well, I must say, Joseph, I was very disappointed in you for blatantly disregarding the rules I’ve set for you.”

“I know, sir, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that. I’ve had several experiences this week that have taught me just how important rules can be. Pa, I can’t promise it will never happen again, but I’m going to do my best to follow all of your rules from now on. I do know from experience that you always have a good reason for making them.”

“Well, Joseph, if you’ve learned something from all of this, then maybe it was worth it. I think losing all your money, plus the miserable way you feel right now, may be punishment enough in this case, so I’ll forego anymore lectures. Try to remember what you’ve learned this week though, Son. The rules truly do serve a purpose; I’m not just being a mean old man!” Ben explained to the boy.

Joe smiled at his father. “I know that, Pa, you could never be a mean old man! Do you forgive me?”

“Of course, Son, just don’t let it happen again.” Ben came around the desk and Joe rose to meet him. Father and son hugged, Ben knowing that the boy would do his best, but would probably have a few more run ins with rules before reaching full adulthood. Joe knew the same thing, but he did promise himself that he would try harder from now on. If he had only learned the lesson about rules a day sooner, he wouldn’t have an empty wallet!

The End

July 2003

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