" LITTLE JOE AND THE SHAGS "

Part three

By: Lynne G.

As Ben was reading his newspaper that had tooth holes in it from the cats, he suddenly heard Little Joe running out of the kitchen giggling loudy. He looked up to see his little imp holding a towel and a couple of Hop Sing's pot holders in his two tiny hands, being chased by the Shags, who were followed by a running Hop Sing who was yelling in Chinese.

" Hop Sing, what's wrong now?" Ben asked. " Little boy steal towel and pot holders and race out of Hop Sing's kitchen, and cats run after little boy," Hop Sing answered as he was trying to catch his breath.

Ben and Hop Sing watched as the small curly haired, giggling boy raced up the stairs closely followed by the cats, who were trilling and chirping. Loud giggling could be heard from upstairs, and soon the little boy and the cats ran back down the stairs.

Ben reached out and grabbed hold of the little boy. The cats stopped and waited to see what was going to happen next. Little Joe was breathing hard as Ben sat down and he sat his child on his lap. Hop Sing took the towel and pot holders back and he stood there looking at Little Joe, with a big smile on his face.

" Joseph, why did you take Hop Sing's towel and pot holders ?" Ben asked. Little Joe looked at the cats who had flopped over onto their sides and they were looking at the little boy. Little Joe then looked up at Ben with those big green puppy dog eyes of his and he had a very serious look on his face. Ben and Hop Sing were holding in their laughs as they expected a funny answer, Little Joe style.

Little Joe while still looking at Ben, reached up and he put each of his tiny hands on each side of Ben's face, as he looked straight into Ben's eyes.

" Well, ya see Papa, dem kitties dun tolded me ta take da towel and pot holders. So I's dun did," Little Joe explained to Ben and Hop Sing.

Hop Sing put his hand over his mouth to hide his big smile, as he tried to look serious. " The kitties told you to take the towel and pot holders?" Ben asked as he was trying not to laugh at the very serious look on his baby's face, and the answer that he had just heard.

" Daz sure dun did Papa !" the youngster replied. " Why did the kitties tell you to do that?" Ben asked, almost afraid to hear what his baby son would say this time.

By now the cats were trilling and chirping as they kept looking at Little Joe. " Daz wanted ta chase me Papa," the boy answered. " They wanted to chase you?" Ben questioned. " Yup !" the boy replied.

" You little imp!" Ben said as he hugged Little Joe. The little boy looked at Hop Sing with a big grin on his face and he said, " I's sorry Hop Sing, but dem kittes needed ta chase me." " Hop Sing understand," Hop Sing replied as he walked back to the kitchen, laughing.

Little Joe continued to sit on Ben's lap, when Nemo jumped up onto Little Joe's lap and he head butted the little boy, which made Little Joe giggle.

Little Joe loved to watch the way the kitties flopped over onto their sides when they were caught in mischief. That also made the rest of the Cartwrights and Hop Sing laugh too, especially at the way the kitties curled up their front legs while they were flopped.

One afternoon while Ben was in Virginia City, Adam was working on the ranch, Hoss was in school and Hop Sing was weeding his garden, Little Joe was suppose to be having his nap, but the little boy wasn't very sleepy, so he decided to get up. The kitties were laying on the child's bed, so when Little Joe got up, so did the kitties.

Once downstairs, Little Joe decided that he wanted to play in the fireplace. He loved to that, and no one in the family could figure out why the little boy loved to do that.

The child was now having a fun time tossing the cold ashes from the fireplace up in the air. The cats were watching, but they hadn't joined in on the fun yet. They were however, trilling and chirping at the little ash covered boy. " Come on kitties, dis is fun !" the child shouted.

Finally the cats joined the dirty little boy in the fireplace. Giggling, trilling and chirping could be heard coming from the house.

About that time, Ben, and Hoss rode into the yard together and Adam had also joined up with them. Hop Sing heard them ride in, so he walked out to the front yard to greet his family home. As they stood on the porch, they could hear loud giggling from inside the house.

As they opened the front door, they stood there in shock at what they saw. Little Joe jumped down from the hearth and he fell to the floor and he laid on his side and he curled up his little arms the same way the kitties curled up their front
legs. The kitties were laying next to the ash covered little boy and they too were flopped over onto their sides with their front legs curled up.

The ash covered imps, which included a curly haired little boy and four ash covered Shags, all laid on the floor trying to look as cute and as innocent as possible.

Ben, Adam, Hoss and Hop Sing were angry, but they also were trying not to laugh outloud at the imps laying on the floor.

" JOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT ! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE IN HERE ?" Ben asked very loudly. " Oh, this should be very interesting," Adam softly said as he was grinning.

Little Joe slowly sat up and he looked at Ben, then over at the fireplace. He was trying very hard to think of something to say.

" Look at room !! Ash everywhere !! All over little boy !! All over cats !! Hop Sing go back to China !" Hop Sing threatened.

" OH NO Hop Sing, ya can't go back ta China ! I need ya ! " Hoss declared. Hop Sing just stood there, as he too was waiting to hear what Little Joe would say.

" JOSEPH ! I'm waiting for an answer, son !" Ben said again. Little Joe stood up, took a deep breath, and he walked over to Ben and he looked up at Ben with his huge green eyes that had mischief in them. He also had his tiny hands behind his back as if they were protecting his little bottom.

It was very hard for Ben not too laugh at his ash covered baby who's looks were melting his heart.

" Papa, um, um, I was justa showin' da kitties how much fun it was ta play in da fireplace is all. Ya know Papa, it really is a lot of fun. Ya should try it sometime !" Little Joe explained.

By now everyone was laughing at what Little Joe had just said. " Son, what am I going to do with you ?" Ben asked.

Little Joe continued to look up at Ben, and he smiled and said, " How's 'bout justa wuv me Papa ." He wanted Ben to pick him up and hold him, and Ben could tell by that look on Little Joe's face.

" I'm not going to hold you until you have a bath young man," Ben declared. As soon as Little Joe heard that word ' bath', he took off out the front door yelling, " NO BAFF !" over and over. He was closely followed by the four trilling cats.

" Hop Sing, we'll clean up this mess for you," Adam said, hoping that would make Hop Sing happy. " Thank you. Hop Sing appreciate that !" Hop Sing replied.

Luckily, but unluckily for Little Joe, Hop Sing had lots of hot water on the stove for a certain little boy's bath. Ben had gone upstairs to get some clean clothes for Little Joe.

Once the clean clothes were in the washroom, Hop Sing began to put water in the tub for the unpleasant chore of bathing Little Joe.

The cats had cleaned themselves by shaking the ash out of their fur. Little Joe tried to do the same thing, but he wasn't as successful as the cats had been.

While Little Joe was busy trying to shake himself, Ben snuck up on him and he grabbed the child and he held the now struggling little boy under his arm while he walked towards the washroom.

Very loud, " DUN WANT NO BAFF !" could be heard all over the yard and in the house too.

" Sounds like Pa captured little brother, and he doesn't sound very happy about that !" Adam said as he and Hoss continued to clean up the mess that their little brother and the Shags had made.

Ben finally reached the washroom for which he was very grateful for. Once he had his ash covered son undressed, he put the child in the tub.

" Papa, I's dun want no baff ! I's be good !" Little Joe promised. " Sure you will, you little imp," Ben laughed as he bathed his little unhappy son.

" My goodness, you even have ash in your ears too baby," Ben declared as he had to smile. Finally, Little Joe was all clean again and into clean clothes.

" Papa, can I go play wiv my kittes?" the boy asked. " Not now sweetheart. Dinner will be ready soon. How about I hold you instead ?" Ben suggested. The child agreed as he really wanted to be held for a while.

Little Joe was a good boy and he ate all of his dinner, which made Ben and Hop Sing very happy. For dessert, Hop Sing had made a fresh blueberry pie.

After dinner, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe all went out to the barn to do their evening chores. Little Joe finished his chores before his big brother's did.

Hoss had asked Adam some questions about George Washington, which Adam was happy to answer.

In the meantime, Little Joe and the cats had climbed up to the hayloft to watch Adam and Hoss work.

A little while later, Hoss looked around and he noticed that Little Joe wasn't in sight or the cats. " Wonder where little brother went?" he asked. Adam looked around and he started to laugh and he pointed up towards the hayloft. Hoss looked up that way, and he too started to laugh.

For, looking over the floor of the hayloft were Little Joe, Nemo, Sam, Kitty and Rusty. The cats had their chins resting on their huge paws, while Little Joe had his chin resting on his tiny hands. It was a very funny sight indeed.

" Oh little brother, you should see yourself and the kitties," Adam said as he continued to laugh. Little Joe wasn't sure what Adam meant, so he looked at his hands, then over at the kitties, then back down at Adam.

" Ok, I's dun sawed myself and da the kitties. What's so funny?" he asked. That statement made Adam and Hoss laugh even harder, and they now had tears running their faces from laughing so hard. That sight of their little brother and the Shags looking down at them was priceless.

Ben had walked out on the porch and he could hear loud laughing coming from the barn, so he decided to go and see what was so funny.

As soon as he entered the barn, he noticed both Adam and Hoss looking up at the hayloft and they were still laughing, so he looked up, and he started to laugh also.

Adam and Hoss looked over at Ben as soon as they had heard him laughing. " Ain't that just the funniest sight ya ever saw Pa?" Hoss said.

" Yes, it is, and it is also very cute too," Ben replied as he continued to laugh.

" Hi ya Papa ! I's dun dided all my chores, so da kitties and me comed up here ta watch Adam and Hoss. Adam was tellin' Hoss somethin' 'bout a George Washington man, so da kitties and me was listenin' too," the little boy explained.

" Ok Little Joe, it's time for you to come down from the loft now. Come over to the ladder and I"ll help you down," Ben suggested. " Ok Papa, but ya gotts ta help my kitties gets down too," the youngster declared.

" Sweetheart, the kitties can get down by themselves. After all, they go up in the loft all the time to look for mice," Ben told the child. " Oh yeah daz does dunt day," the child replied as he grinned at Ben as he began to come down the ladder and was now within Ben's reach. Ben now had his little boy in his arms and he gave him a big hug and kiss.

Several days later, after lunch, Little Joe started to head for the front door to go outside and play. The cats suddenly jumped up and got between the little boy and the front door. All four of them began to growl deeply and they wouldn't let Little Joe go near the door.

The kitties actions scared the little boy and it made Ben, Adam and Hoss very nervous. They had never seen the cats act like that before, and they didn't know what to think. Ben kept talking to the cats, but they continued to growl. Even Hop Sing didn't know what to think as he too had heard the growling.

Adam had made the decission to take a look by way of the back door, and he took his gun with him. " Please be careful son," Ben warned.

The cats continued to growl and they also had their backs arched and their fur was all puffed up, which made them look even bigger.

Adam very quietly opened the backdoor and very carefully snuck around to the side of the house to see what was out in the yard that had the cats so bothered.

What he saw was a big shock, as there in the yard stood two large coyotes between the barn and the house. Adam took careful aim and he fired his gun twice hitting both of the large coyotes, who fell to the ground.

Ben just about panicked as soon as he had heard the two gun shots. The cats had now relaxed and they walked over to Little Joe and they rubbed up against their little owner and trilled at him. Little Joe had tears running down his little face, as he was still scared.

The front door suddenly opened and Adam walked in, much to the relief of Ben. " Pa, there were two large coyotes in the yard standing between the barn and the house. I got both of them," Adam explained.

Ben, Adam, Hoss and Hop Sing all looked at the cats, realizing that they had sensed the danger to Little Joe from the coyotes and they were protecting their little owner.

" If I wouldn't have seen the way the cats had acted, I never would have believed it. They saved my baby's life," Ben declared. Everyone totally agreed with what Ben had just said.

" Good kitties !" they all said as they petted the cats and they also thanked God for the cats that the Pearsons' had given Little Joe, and they couldn't wait to tell the Pearsons what the cats had done.

The next day, the Cartwrights rode over to the Pearsons to tell them that the cats have saved Little Joe's life, as they had sensed the danger to the little boy.

" That is totally amazing Ben. I know that Shags are very protective of their of owners. Thank you for telling us this. I am so very happy that we gave Little Joe those Shags," Fred said as he looked at Little Joe and he was so very proud of the Shags too.

" My kitties saved me from dem nasty old coyotes !" Little Joe declared. " They sure did honey. They love you very much Little Joe and they want to keep you safe," Emma told the little boy.

A few day later, Little Joe and the cats were playing in the creek behind the house and they were having a fun time. Ben went out to look for his son, when he heard giggling coming from towards the creek.

" Oh no, not again. Little Joe what are you doing in the creek again?" Ben asked as he stood there with his hands on his hips.

" Hi ya Papa. We's justa playin' in da water," the child explained. " So I can see. Come on, you need to get some clothes on because dinner is almost ready, and we don't want to be late and make Hop Sing mad at us, do we?" Ben suggested.

" Comin' Papa !" the child said as he took hold of Ben's large hand and father and son made their way back to the house, so Ben could get his little imp into some dry clothes before dinner.

" Little boy all wet again !" Hop Sing said as he looked at the wet child. Little Joe smiled sweetly at Hop Sing. " Little boy always into mischief," Hop Sing laughed.

Ben asked Adam to please go up to Little Joe's room and get him some dry clothes. " Sounds like little brother got all wet again," Hoss laughed. " You can say that again," Ben replied as he too was grinning.

Ben was finishing drying Little Joe when Adam walked into the washroom with the dry clothes. " Thank you son," Ben said.

" Hi ya Adam. Me and da kitties was playin' in da creek," Little Joe said to Adam. " I figured it was either the trough or the creek !" Adam said as he was laughing.

Another day had come to a close on the Ponderosa, as the Cartwright family, Hop Sing and four very large Shags slept peacefully.

The End


Footnote:

Maine Coons are very protective of their owners. The first time I heard Carbie growling I wasn't sure why he was growling. He stood between me and the front window and continued to growl. I looked out the window and the meter reader was out by the street checking the meter.

I told Carbie that he was good boy, and that it was alright. Once he knew that I knew what was going on, he ran and hid under the bed.

Everytime a stranger comes into the neighbors yard, Carbie will growl just to let let me know that there is a strange person in the yard next door, and everytime I tell him it's alright, he will go and hid under the bed. The other cats will also growl when something seems different to them, and they too will go and hid under the bed.

I want to thank the gals here on Bonanza Legacy who suugested that I do a story about Little Joe and Maine Coons. Thanks ladies !!!!!!!

The ideas for all the cat mischief come from what I have seen our four Maine Coons, THE BIGFOOT GANG do. They are our female Kasey, our male, Carbie, another male, Murphy and Corky our kitten, also a male. Murphy and Corky are our two biggest mischief makers, and they are the feline version of Little Joe, with being into mischief all the time.

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