SUMMER ON THE PONDEROSA
By:
Lynne G.
Summertime on the Ponderosa was seven year old Little Joe Catwright's most favorite time of the year, with winter a very close second. The things he loved to do the most was riding his horse, swimming, fishing, and his most favorite thing about summer was NO SCHOOL !!!!!
For the other members of this lively seven year olds family, summer meant long hot days. There was always something that needed doing on a huge ranch the size of the Ponderosa. Ben Cartwright insisted that he and his sons must also work as hard as all the ranch hands.
Little Joe had his chores to do everyday, and being that he was still a little boy, his chores were fairly easy, but they needed to be done and done right. Even though the boy did his chores-well, most of the time, he would have really wanted to do fun things with his friends.
Little Joe has two older brothers, Adam, who is 12 years older than him , and Hoss who is 6 years older than the little boy. Adam is more like a second father, while Hoss is his best friend.
For the last year and a half, Little Joe has been practicing his calf roping, which he thought was lots of fun. Now this little cowboy was ready to take on the full sized adult cattle, instead of the smaller calves.
One day while he was home with Hop Sing, who was busy in the house, Little Joe decided that this would be the day he would rope the adult cattle.
He saddled his pony and he walked the pony over to one of the small pastures near the barn. He opened up the gate of the corral and led his pony in the pasture. He got up on his pony, got his rope ready and he then rode over to a small herd of six steers. The one thing the little boy forgot to do was to close the gate.
" OK, ya bovines, I'mma gonna get ya." As he rode towards the cattle he was swinging his rope. The cattle stopped grazing and they looked up at this very small cowboy heading towards them. They slowly started to walk away from the boy and his pony.
Little Joe launched his rope and on the first try he got his rope around the neck of one of the steers. The steer just stood there and looked at the boy. " Hey you, cow, yer s'pose ta run ya know." The steer and boy just looked at each other. " Yer no fun," he said to the steer. He got off his pony and took the rope off the steer, and then he got back on the pony to rope another steer. He told the first steer that it could go back and eat grass if it wanted too.
As he took turns roping all the steers, the others would run just a little as the rope got around their neck, and that made the boy happy.
What Little Joe didn't know was that the steers had all walked out of the pasture and they were walking all over the yard, and some of them headed towards Hop Sing's garden.
" Shoo shoo, get out of garden," yelled Hop Sing as he chased the cattle out of his garden. He was waving a towel at the cattle to scare them.
" Little Joe, where you are ?" yelled Hop Sing. The boy heard the commotion from the yard, so he looked over that way and he saw the cattle running around with Hop Sing running after them waving a towel. The little boy started to giggle at the sight in the yard. He rode out of the pasture and into the yard. " Hey Hop Sing, why ya runnin' with the cattle and wavin' that towel for?" asked the giggling boy. " Get cattle back to pasture. Why you let them out ? You bad boy," yelled Hop Sing.
About this time, Ben, Adam and Hoss rode into the yard. They stopped their horses and watched the sight of Hop Sing waving a towel at the cattle and the imp of the Ponderosa sitting on his pony giggling.
" WHAT IS GOING ON HERE ?" yelled Ben. The boy looked over towards his family, and he said, " Oh, hi Pa, Adam, Hoss. " What are you doing, and why are the cattle running around the yard ?" asked Ben. Adam and Hoss were having a hard time not laughing out loud. The little boy sat on his pony, and he put his little hands on his hips and said, " well, Pa, them stupid cows decided to go fer a walk." He had a very serious look on his face as he told this to Ben. " So they wanted to go for a walk, huh?" said Ben " Well, tell me little boy, just how did they get out of the pasture in the first place ?" asked Ben. Little Joe thought for a second or so, and he said, " It's like this Pa, I needed ta practice my cattle ropin', but they ain't no fun. They just sorta didn't wanna run, so they went fer a walk instead." Ben slowly closed his eyes and he shook his head. Adam and Hoss were now laughing out loud. Ben turned and glared at them and he told them," this isn't that funny you two."
" Mr. Cartlight, the cattle run through my garden," said an
excited Hop Sing in English, just before he started to yell in Chinese.
" Ah, Hop Sing, they didn't hurt yer garden that
much," said Little Joe with a big sigh. Hop Sing looked at the boy
and said something to him in Chinese which made Little Joe giggle again.
" JOSEPH, GET THE CATTLE BACK IN THE PASTURE NOW !!!!!!!" yelled
Ben. "
As Ben walked back to the house, he said, " I need a drink." Adam and Hoss were laughing again. " That little imp can get into more mischief, I swear." laughed Adam. "That's fer sure big brother," Hoss told him.
" Joseph, since you didn't get all your chores done over the last few days, and for roping the cattle, and forgetting to close the gate the other day, you are restricted to the yard for the next two weeks. Do I make myself clear ?" asked Ben in a raised voice. " Yes sir, but Pa, how can I go fishin' and swimmin' if'n I gotta stay in the yard ?" asked the child. "Well Joseph, looks like you'll just have to forget about fishing and swimming. Besides, I'm going to make a LONG list of chores that will keep you too busy to think about fishing and swimming," said Ben. " Yes sir," said a now sad little boy. " I'mma gonna go out ta the barn and start my chores now Pa," Little Joe said as he left the room. Ben watched his little boy slowly walk out of the room, and he kinda felt a little sad for his baby son.
As the child was doing his chores, he was also busy thinking just how he could make this restriction fun. After a few minutes he started to giggle, and he said to himself," oh boy, this might be fun after all. Just gotta plan this out just right."
Over the next several days he worked very hard at his LONG list of chores.
That evening Hoss came back into the livingoom with a very confused look on his face. " Pa, is there somethin' wrong with the outhouse ?" asked Hoss. " What, what do you mean 'wrong with the outhouse'? asked Ben looking at Hoss kinda funny now. Adam, who had been reading, put his book down and he looked at Hoss and Ben. " There's a sign on the door that says " out of order ". said Hoss. " How can that be ? How can it be out of order ?" questioned Ben. " I dunno, but that what the sign says." said Hoss.
"
Well, this I just have to see," said Adam as he got up from his chair and
walked over towards the door. Ben and Hoss followed him out to the back
of the house to where the outhouse was. " It looks fine to
Adam opened the door and they all looked inside. " Hum, it seems alright to me," said Ben. " You know, it's probably someones idea of a joke, and it is kind of funny though," said Adam with a big smile on his face.
" Mr. Cartwright, is the outhouse OK ?" asked Charlie as he and Hank walked over to the Cartwrights. " Seems fine to us. Someone probably put this sign there for a joke," said Ben. " That's good to know. We were wondering if it was safe to use," said Charlie. Hoss took the sign off the door, and said, " back to normal now,"
When the
Cartwright walked back into the house they could all hear loud giggling
coming from upstairs. " Wonder what that little boy is up to now
?" Ben said to Adam and Hoss, as they quietly went up the stairs and down
the hall to a certain little boy's room. Ben slowly opened the door,
and all three of them saw the youngest member of the family rolling on the floor
giggling out of control and holding his stomach. The child had
tears running down his face. He tried to look at his family, but he
couldn't stop giggling. " Joseph, Little Joe," said Ben as
he tried to get the boy's attention. He gave up and walked over to the
giggling little boy and he picked him up and he sat down on the bed with
the boy on his lap. After several minutes, he finally got the child to
settle down. " Little Joe, did you make this sign and put it on the
outhouse door ?" asked Hoss as he held out the sign so his baby brother
could see it. The little boy started to giggle again. "
Joseph, did you do this son?" asked Ben. "
The next day it was very hot. Little Joe was getting really hot as he chopped wood. He took off his boots and headed over to the water trough, and he looked around and didn't see anyone, so he climed in the trough and sat down in the cool water. He laid back so only his curly head could be seen. " Ah, this feels GREAT !!!!! He laid in the trough for a long time.
Hop Sing was in the kitchen when he realized he didn't hear the sound of chopping wood. He walked to the kitchen side door to check on Little Joe. When he didn't see the boy, he walked out onto the porch, and looked around and yelled, "Where you are Little Joe ?" The boy opened his eyes and answered back," I'm just coolin' down Hop Sing." Hop Sing looked over to the boy and he walked over to him and looked at him laying in the trough. "What you do in water with clothes on ?" asked Hop Sing. " I got too hot and wanted to get nice and cool before I finish up the wood chopping. Sides can't go around without nothin' on Hop Sing," said the boy. Hop Sing walked back to the house mumbling in Chinese, which made Little Joe giggle.
After several more minutes of laying in the water, the boy got out of the trough and went back to the wood pile and started to chop more wood.
A couple of hours later, he finally finished chopping all the wood. He was very tired and very hot again, so he walked back over to the trough, and he used the pump to get a long drink of water. Then he climbed back in the trough and he laid down in the water. He soon fell into a deep sleep.
Two hours later, three hot and tired Cartwrights rode into the yard and got off their horses. " Boy, I'm glad that job is done," said Ben. " Me too Pa," agreed Adam. " That goes for me too," said Hoss.
They tied their horses, and Ben noticed the all the wood was cut and stacked. " Looks like Little Joe got all the wood chopped," said Ben with a smile on his face. " Pa, ain't them Little Joe's boots sittin' there ?" asked Hoss. " They sure are son. I wonder where that little imp is ?" questioned Ben. Adam looked around and said," Pa, look over at the trough," Ben and Hoss looked over there and all three of them walked over to the trough and looked in at the sleeping boy.
" Will ya look at that ? Why is he in the trough ?" asked Hoss. " I don't know, but I don't like him sleeping in there. He could drown in there. " Joseph, Little Joe, wake up please," said Ben as he reached in the water to shake the child gently. " Little Joe, come on son, wake up," Ben said again. The boy slowly moved a little and mumbled, " I dun't wanna get up yet," Ben reach back in the water and put his hands under the child's arms and he pulled the little boy out of the water. " Boy, when he's asleep, he's asleep," said Hoss with a big grin on his face. Ben sat the sleeping child on the edge of the trough, and he shook him again and finally Little Joe slowly opened his eyes. " Hi Papa," he softly said. " Hi yourself son. Why were you sleeping in the trough ?" asked Ben. " Well papa, I got so hot and tired while chopping ALL THAT WOOD, that I needed ta cool down, and the cool water felt so good, and I was so tired, I kinda fell asleep I guess," said the boy looking up at Ben. " Honey, I don't mind you playing in the water, but it is much too dangerous to sleep in. " I'm sorry papa," he said softly. " Come on, lets get you out of these wet clothes, and into some dry ones," Ben said as he picked up his soaking wet little boy.
" Pa, how many more days of restriction have I got left ?'" asked Little Joe. " Well, let me think about that son. I seem to have lost count," Ben told his son, trying not too laugh. The little boy looked so sad now. When Ben saw how sad his son looked, he said," It's over now. Now just remember, if you stay out of trouble, you won't be on restriction," Ben said with a smile.
" WHOPPIE !!!" yelled a very happy little boy. The boy ran out the door yelling, " I'M FREE !!" over and over. Ben stood there laughing.
Over the
next couple of weeks or so, Little Joe was a very good little boy. His
family knew this just couldn't last. Then one day it happened again,
MISCHIEF !!. " Hey Pa, can I go fishin' ?'
asked Little Joe. "Have you finished your chores son ?" asked
Ben " Um, not all of em, but I really need
ta go fishin'
The boy mumbled all the way to the barn. He turned around and saw Ben still standing on the porch. " IT AIN'T FAIR ONE BIT !!!!!" yelled the boy as he got to the barn. " Lord give me strength," Ben said as he looked up at the sky.
" STUPID CHORES !! STUPID CHORES !!! Little Joe was saying out loud to the horses in the barn. " You better not let Pa hear you talk like that little brother," Adam said. Surprised at Adam, Little Joe glared at his oldest brother and said," You shut up Adam !" " Oh, are you telling me to shut up little brother ?" chuckled Adam. " You bet," grumped the boy with his little hands on his hips. Adam was having a hard time not laughing out loud. He walked over to his little brother, grabbed him by the arm and held with one arm and he carried him out of the barn all the while the child was yelling and trying kick. " PUT ME DOWN !! PUT ME DOWN !!!yelled Little Joe. Adam continued to carry the boy towards the water trough, and he dumped the yelling boy into the trough. He pushed the boy's head under water. Little Joe popped his head out of the water, spitting water out of his mouth. Adam stood there laughing. Little Joe just sat in the trough with his arms crossed over his chest. He was REALLY MAD NOW !!
When Hoss rode into the yard he saw his little brother sitting in the trough and Adam standing there loudly laughing. " Hey Adam, what's with little brother ? He sure looks mad," laughed Hoss. " Yup, he's mad alright," Adam said. " I see he's back to normal again," laughed Hoss. Adam and Hoss were laughing as they headed towards the house.
Finally after sitting in the trough for a while, Little Joe stood up dripping wet. " Well, I'll show them. I'mma goin' fishin'." He climbed out of the trough and went into the barn, where he saddled his pony, grabbed his fishing pole and headed to the lake.
Adam told Ben about Little Joe being mad and ending up in the trough. They all had a good laugh over that.
A couple of hours later Ben went into the barn to see if Little Joe had settled down and finished up his chores. He noticed the boy's pony and fishing pole missing. " Why that little imp !" Ben said angrily. He went back into the house to get his hat, and he told Adam and Hoss that their little brother had snuck out to do some fishing, and that he was going to bring him back home. After Ben left, Adam said to Hoss,' looks like restriction time again. No truer words were spoken. Little Joe was on restriction again.
The next day when he finished up his list of chores for the day, Little Joe decided to have some fun. He went into the barn and drug out several bags of grain. He put then them outside in front of the barn, in just the right place. He then found a rope and he headed up to the barn loft. Once up there, he opened the upper barn door to the outside and he tied the roped to one of the ceiling beams. He made sure it was tied good and tight.
He grabbed hold of the rope and he started to swing out of the door back and forth. After swinging for a couple of minutes, he would let go of the rope and land on the sacks of grain. Now this was fun!!!
He ran back up to the loft to swing back and forth again and again. He did this over and over for an hour, and each time he made a perfect landing on the sacks of grain. He was having a great time !
When his family
rode into the yard, the first thing they saw were the bags of grain on
the ground. " WHAT THE HECK ?" questioned Ben, as he, Adam
and Hoss got off their horses. All of a sudden, the swinging little imp
came swinging out high above them. They stood there in total shock
for a few seconds, not believing at what they were seeing.
" JOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT !!!!!!!!!! " yelled Ben as loud as
he could. Being startled at the sound of Ben's voice, Little Joe let go of
the rope and he landed on sacks of grain. " Ah, Ah, H....Hi Pa, whats ya doin'
home so early?" asked the boy with his hands now behind his back
protecting his little bottom. " WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS YOUNG
MAN ?" yelled Ben. " Um, I dunno
The next day while his family was gone, he made up some more signs for the ranch.. he made signs for the barn, house, outhouse, corral, and the water trough. All the signs said " 4-SALE ."
He gathered
up all the signs, got on his pony and headed down to the road that lead up to the
ranch, not too far from the barn. He knew that his family had gone into
He rode down the road that lead to the ranch, and he put up his sign, which read, " FAMILY NOT FAIR !!!" After he had that sign up, he stood there and looked at it, and was happy at how it looked.
He got back
on Star and rode a mile or so farther down the road that lead to
Then he
headed back towards home. About half way up the rode, he put up another
sign that read, " RANCH 4
Once he got back home, he put Star in the barn, unsaddled him, rubbed him down, fed and watered him. Then he put out the rest of the signs. From there, he went up to his room and wiated for his family to get home.
A few hours later as the Cartwrights were riding towards home, they noticed the first sign. " What the heck is this ?" shouted Ben as he read the sign " BOY HELD AGAINST HIS WILL !!" Adam and Hoss both started to laugh, and Adam said," OH NO- little brother. What have you done now?" " Why THAT little imp," yelled Ben. " Hey Pa, why dun't we just leave these signs here ? No one will know what they mean anyway," suggested Hoss. " Oh sure they won't," said Ben. " Come on Pa- it's kind of funny," laughed Adam. Ben kinda glared at his two oldest sons. Ben left the signs in place.
A few minutes later, they noticed another sign that said, " FAMILY NOT FAIR !!" Again Adam and Hoss laughed. " It looks like that little brother of yours has been busy today. So, he thinks his family isn't fair does he ? Well he will be very busy tomorrow taking down all these signs." said Ben.
The next sign they saw read, " RANCH 4 SALE-CHEAP !!"
" Hey, I wonder how much he is asking for the ranch ?" asked Hoss. " Well knowing our baby brother, he would probably take a bag of marbles, and some candy for the ranch," laughed Adam. Ben just sat on Buck slowly shaking his head. " Geez, I wonder how many more signs are around ?" asked Ben.
Well, they
didn't have long to wait. When they got into the yard, and off their
horses, all of them looked around at all the " 4
By now all three Cartwrights were laughing out loud. " Hey Pa, how do you sell an outhouse, and who would want to buy it anyway?" asked Hoss. " I don't know son. I just don't know," said Ben as he slowly shook his head.
" Hey, look over there. That steer is for sale too," laughed Adam as he pointed towards the steer.
When they
entered the house, there were more signs that read," EVERYTHING 4
" Don't worry Hop Sing, nothing is for sale-except maybe that little boy. " You can't sell little boy," said a now very excited Hop Sing. " No No Hop Sing, I'd NEVER sell that little imp for all the money in the world," Ben said to Hop Sing. Hop Sing was very relieved now.
" Hop Sing, where is Little Joe?" asked Ben. " He go up to room. Not come back," said Hop Sing. " Thanks Hop Sing," said Ben.
Ben, Adam
and Hoss headed up the stairs to the imp's room, and they gently opened the
door, which also had a sign on it that read, " 4
Before them on the bed was a sleeping little boy, with his arm hanging off the bed. His family just stood there watching the baby of the family in deep sleep, and looking like a little angel.
" I really hate to do this, but I need to wake him up for dinner," said Ben softly. " Do ya have ta Pa? It's so nice and peaceful in the house right now," said Hoss as he looked down at his baby brother. Ben looked at Adam and Hoss and told them as much as he hated to, it was time to wake the imp.
During dinner, Little Joe was fairly quiet, and he kept looking at Ben, Adam and Hoss. " So Pa, have you settled on a price for the Ponderosa yet?" asked Adam. Little Joe's eyes opened up really big now, as he stared at Ben. " Yes I have Adam. The only price I can't figure out yet, is the price for Little Joe," said Ben as he winked at Adam and Hoss. Little Joe opened his mouth-not saying anything. He was in shock. " I can see where that is a hard price to come with," said Adam.
"P..P...Papa,ya ain't really gonna sell ME and the Ponderosa?" Little Joe asked softly. " Yes son, with all the signs on everything, I'm selling," said Ben.
Little Joe jumped up from his chair and ran out the door and headed for the barn where he jumped up on Star and rode out of the yard.
His family sat there laughing, when Ben suddenly said, " I think he really believed us. I'd better go after him." Ben felt kind of bad right now. " Pa, wait. Just give him some time to settle down a little." said Adam. " I know Adam,but it will be dark soon and I don't want that little boy out by himself in the dark," said a concerned Ben.
Little Joe rode to where all the signs were and he gathered them all up, and then he rode back home. His family heard him come back and they were relieved for that.
After Little Joe put Star back in his stall, fed and watered him, he picked all the signs and he carried them into the house and dropped them all on the floor. " Pa, please don't sell the Ponderosa. Here, I got all the sign back," said the little boy.
He walked over to Ben and said he was sorry for making all the signs. Ben grabbed him and he started to tickle the boy, with Adam and Hoss joining in on the tickling of the boy. Little Joe was giggling loudly now.
Later that evening Ben asked Little Joe when he made all the signs and why he did? " Well, Pa, I was kinda upset, and I though it would be kinda funny too," said the boy. " Well, it was funny son," Ben told him as he had a big grin on his face.
" Ya know little brother, ya sure had us believing it," laughed Hoss. " Hey little buddy, how cheap is cheap for selling the Ponderosa in your mind?" asked Adam. " Ah, how bout marbles, candy and a pinto?" said Little Joe with a twinkle in his eyes and a big smile on his face. They all laughed.
THE END