" FOUNDERS DAY BULL RIDING CONTEST AND BEYOND " part two

By: Lynne G.

As the Cartwright family rode home, Hop Sing followed in the buckboard. " Pa, please don't be angry with Little Joe, he didn't mean any harm," Hoss pleaded.

" Hoss, do you realize that you could have been badly injured or even killed and you ask me not to be angry with your little brother ? I'm sorry son, but that boy needs to learn that he can't go around doing things like this. That boy doesn't think before he acts !" Ben declared

" Hoss, Pa is right about this. You are very lucky that you came out of this in one piece. Little brother should be punished for what he did," Adam stated.

" I know, but nothin' happened to me," Hoss replied as he hoped Ben and Adam would just give this up, and that Ben wouldn't punish Little Joe.

" Yes, but what about next time. Think about that Hoss. You need to learn to say ' NO ' to Little Joe. I know how he can talk you into doing things, but please for your own good and safety, learn to say no to him," Ben explained.

" Dadburnit Pa, I try, I really do, but when he looks at me with ' that ' look, I just can't say no to him. I promise I will give it a try though, but it won't be easy, that's for sure," Hoss replied, as he knew how hard that would be. " That's all I ask Hoss, thank you," Ben added.

About forty minutes later they arrived home. After they took care of their horses, they went into the house so Ben could have a talk with Little Joe, and Hoss headed off to the washroom to soak in the tub.

While Hoss was soaking in the tub, Ben made his way up to Little Joe's room, but when he knocked on the door, there was no response.

" Little Joe, may I come please?" Ben asked. As he waited for an answer from the boy, he was working out in his mind at what he was going to say to his youngest son.

When he didn't hear anything from the boy, he slowly opened the door and he was surprised to find the room empty. He then checked out all the bedrooms in case his son was in one of them for some reason, but there wasn't any sign of the youngster anywhere upstairs. So Ben went back downstairs.

" Adam, have you seen Little Joe since we've been home ?" Ben asked. Adam looked up from his book and he replied, " No, I haven't seen him Pa. He wasn't in his room I take it ?"

" No he wasn't, and there was no sign of him anywhere upstairs," Ben explained. " We know he's home because Cochise was in his stall and he has been taken care of. Maybe he's in the washroom talking to Hoss. Want me to go and see ?" Adam asked.

" No son, thank you, but I'll go and see and I'll also ask Hop Sing if he has seen that little brother of yours since we've been home," Ben replied as he walked towards the kitchen.

" Hop Sing, have you seen Little Joe since we've been home? I thought that he would be in his room, but he wasn't anywhere upstairs," Ben inquired.

" Hop Sing no see little boy since he leave town before us," Hop Sing replied. " Thank you Hop Sing," Ben answered.

Ben went into the washroom where Hoss was still soaking in the tub. " Hi son, sorry to come in while you are in the tub, but has your little brother been in here at all?" Ben asked.

" No he hasn't Pa. Isn't he in his room?" Hoss asked. " No he wasn't," Ben replied. " Huh, wonder where he is then ?" Hoss questioned. " I don't know, but he could be hiding somewhere," Ben answered.

Ben left the washroom and he headed out to the barn to have a look out there. " Joseph, are you in here?" Ben asked. No reply. Ben looked everywhere but there was no sign of the boy, so he decided to climb up to the hayloft since that seemed to the youngsters favorite place to be when he was in trouble.

Once Ben was in the loft, he glanced around for his young, but he didn't notice the boy anywhere in sight. He walked over to look behind a several sacks of grain and some bales of hay, when he saw who he was looking for.

The boy had crawled behind the grain sacks and bales of hay out of sight and he was now sound to sleep. Ben stood there looking at his sleeping son who looked so innocent when he was sleeping. Ben decided to let the boy sleep for a while longer, so he left the barn and returned to the house.

As soon as Ben walked into the house, he was met by his two older sons. " Pa, did you find Little Joe?" Adam inquired. " Yes, he had hidden himself up in the hayloft behind some grain sacks and some bales of hay, and he is sleeping. I'll wake in time for dinner," Ben said.

" Poor kid, he's probably scared about his punishment," Hoss softly said. " Well he should be !" Ben declared. " Pa, please don't be too hard on him. He's just a boy," Hoss pleaded.

" Hoss, I know he's only a boy, but we went through this on our way home from town, remember?" Ben stated. Hoss just nodded, as he hated to see his baby brother in trouble.

An hour later Hop Sing announced that dinner would be ready in a few minutes. " Pa, want me to get Little Joe?" Hoss asked. " Yes, please. Thank you son," Ben replied.

Hoss went out to the barn and up to the hayloft to wake up his little brother. Hoss stood there looking down at the sleeping boy and he smiled.

" Hey sleeping beauty, wake up. It's time for dinner," Hoss said as he gently shook the boy's shoulder. Little Joe slowly opened his eyes, and yawned several times. He looked up at Hoss and smiled a little smile.

" Hi Hoss," the youngster greeted. " Hi yourself Punkin. Come on, it's time for dinner. You gotta get washed up now. Look little brother, Pa is plenty upset with ya, so do as he says and maybe he won't be too hard on ya," Hoss suggested. The youngster just nodded as he slowly stood up and stretched. He was feeling very nervous at what Ben would say and do to him.

As the family sat down to eat dinner, Little Joe wouldn't look at Ben because he knew that after dinner, he would be punished for entering Hoss in the bull riding contest. He wasn't eating anything, as he was pushing the food around on his plate with his fork.

Ben noticed the way his youngest son as acting and he was beginning to feel sorry for the boy. He didn't like to see any of his sons upset, especially Little Joe. The boy was a very sensitive boy and he was easily upset.

" Little Joe, please eat your dinner," Ben said. " I ain't hungry Pa," the boy quietly replied. He was fighting the tears that threatened to spill from his very sad looking eyes.

Little Joe suddenly looked up at Ben, jumped up from his chair, and he sadly said, " I'm so sorry Pa, Hoss, Adam. I..I.. Please don't hate me !" Then he took off running towards the stairs and he raced up the stairs and up to his room in tears. His shocked family just sat there at what the boy had just said and at the way he had run off up to his room.

" I'll be back in a few minutes," Ben said as he stood up and headed up to his young son's room. He didn't realize that the boy was so nervous and upset, and he felt bad knowing that he needed to punish his son.

Ben slowly walked into the boy's room, and when he saw his son laying on his bed crying his heart out, Ben wasn't sure what to say. He sat down on the bed and he pulled his son into his arms and he held him before he said anything.

" Little Joe, please son, tell me why you are so upset. Are you sick?" Ben asked as he was concerned by the his son's actions.

" I know you are really mad at me and that you must hate me, cuz I entered Hoss in that bull ridin' contest. I'm so sorry Pa. I..I..I," as all the boy managed to explained before his crying became even harder. Ben could feel the boy trembling.

" Sweetheart, I want you to listen to what I'm going to explain to you. First of all, I DON'T hate you. I LOVE you more than life it's self. I have NEVER hated you, and I could NEVER hate you son," Ben explained, hoping his young son would get that ' hate ' idea out of his head once and for all.

" I am upset with you for entering Hoss in that contest. He could have been badly injured or even killed. Bulls are very dangerous animals and they really shouldn't be ridden. The bulls we have here on the Ponderosa are quite tame compaired to those in that contest today," Ben said.

" Now, I want to know why you decided to enter your brother in that contest ?" Ben asked as he continued to hold the boy.

Little Joe took a deep breath and he began to explain to Ben why he had entered Hoss in the contest for. " When I saw the poster about the contest and saw how much money the prize was, I wanted Hoss ta win it. I just knew he could ride a bull. I would never want him ta get hurt Pa. Ya gotta believe me. Ya just gotta ! I love Hoss, Pa. He's my best friend. I thought that he would love ta have that much money, and I dun't want any of it. Please Pa, ya gotta believe me, please !" Little Joe cried as he felt so bad.

" Son, I know you would never do anything to hurt Hoss or even Adam either, but you need to think about what you are planning before you decide to go through with your ideas. Do you understand what I'm trying to explain to you? Ben asked.

" Yes sir, but it's so hard ta think when I get excited ' bout something like that," the boy tried to explain to his loving father.

" I am sorry son, but I need to punish you for endangering your brother the way you did today. Don't worry, I'm not going to tan you, but I want you to do all of your brother's chores for the next two weeks, plus all of your own chores as well," Ben explained. " Yes sir. Thank you sir for not tanning me," Little Joe softly replied, as he felt relieved that he wasn't going to be tanned.

" Why don't we go back downstairs and eat dinner," Ben suggested. " I ain't hungry Pa. I'm really tired. I ain't been sleeping so good lately cuz I've been too nervous about taday," the boy replied.

" Son, you haven't eaten anything today or very much for that fact for the past couple of weeks. You need to eat before you make yourself sick," Ben explained.

" I know Pa, but my tummy is just too upset ta eat right now. I will eat tamorrow. Please, I just wanna go ta sleep," Little Joe begged. " Alright son. Good night. I love baby, " Ben said as he gave his son a kiss and a big hug. " Love ya too Pa. Night," the boy replied back. " Oh Pa, thanks fer not tanning me," the boy added. Ben smiled at his son's statement as he left the room.

Once Ben was back at the table, Hop Sing brought back his plate that he had put in the warming oven. " Thank you Hop Sing," Ben said as he smiled at Hop Sing. Hop Sing smiled back and went back out to the ktichen.

" Pa, is Little Joe alright," a worried Hoss asked. " He's fine. He was very upset that I was so angry with him and he thought that I hated him for entering you in that contest. He was also afraid of what his punishment would be. We had a nice long talk and I told him that there was no way that I could ever hate him, but that I loved him so very much," Ben explained.

" Oh, that poor kid. Ya ain't gonna tan him are ya Pa ? I ain't mad at him," Hoss stated. Before Ben could answer Hoss's question, Adam spoke up. " You have to admit Hoss that, that was a stupid thing he did and he should be punished. Look at it this way, you could have been badly hurt or even killed. Just think about that, please."

" I'm not going to tan him Hoss, but for the next two weeks, he s going to be doing all of your chores, plus his own as well," Ben told Hoss. " Thank you Pa, but I can do my own chores ya know," Hoss replied.

" I know you can son, but that is your little brother's punishment," Ben declared.

" I know you said he was upset Pa, but that's no way to act by running off like that in tears the way he did," Adam added.

" Boys, your little brother is exhausted. He hasn't slept for the last several nights and he hasn't been eating hardly anything either, and nothing today. He said he didn't want any dinner tonight because his stomach was upset. All he wanted to do was go straight to bed," Ben explained.

" Adam, I don't want you to give him a hard time tomorrow when he helps you with that section of fence that needs repairs in the lower pasture," Ben told Adam.

" I won't unless he goofs off. Can't those repairs wait until Hoss can help me? I really don't want to work Little Joe and I'm sorry about that Pa, but that's the way I feel," Adam angrily announced.

Ben was a little taken back at what Adam had just said. " Adam, your little brother knows how to repair fences, so it's not like he hasn't done that before. He has helped repair fences since he was six years old, and I might add, he does a good job too. Adam, I'm asking you to please go easy on him," Ben pleaded.

" Pa's right Adam. Our little brother does good work and he works hard too. Just be patient with him. He might not work as fast as you want him too, but like I said, he does good work. Remember big brother, he's just a boy !" Hoss told Adam.

" I guess I'm out numbered here, but I will try to be nice to him," Adam replied even though he still didn't like the idea of working all day with his youngest brother.

The next morning after breakfast, Little Joe did all of Hoss' chores and also his own as well without any complaints. It didn't take him long to do them and soon he and Adam were on their way to the lower pasture.

The trip to the pasture was a fairly quiet one. Little Joe had asked Adam some questions about the repairs that they were going to be doing. Adam answered all his brother's questions, but that was all, so the boy decided to keep quiet. He had a feeling that his oldest brother wasn't happy about having to work with him all day.

Adam could be that way from time to time, so the youngster just had to put up with Adam's moods.

As soon as they began to repair the fence lines, Adam finally spoke up. " Alright, what's the real reason why you entered Hoss in that contest ?" Adam asked as he stared at the boy.

" I already told ya why I did. I wanted Hoss ta win that money, and I just knew he would win !" Little Joe politely replied.

" I don't know what is wrong with you kid. I thought that you had a good brain in that head of yours, but I was so wrong. You are totally brainless ! You never think before you do things. You don't care if anyone gets hurt in your little skeems, do you? You are just plain stupid !" Adam thoughtlessly said.

" That ain't true Adam. I never want anyone ta get hurt er killed. I know I ain't as smart as you, but I ain't stupid. I would NEVER tell anyone if they were stupid ! That ain't very nice ya know," a very hurt Little Joe told Adam as tears filed up his eyes.

" Just how much money are you planning to ask Hoss for?" Adam angrily asked.

" I already told ya, I dun't want any of Hoss' s money ! Why dun't ya ever listen ta what I say?" the boy asked. " I don't believe you, that's why, and don't raise your voice at me little boy !" Adam shouted.

" Well, I'm really sorry that ya dun't believe me Adam, and that's the truth," Little Joe replied softly while fighting back tears. The two brothers went back to work while keeping silent.

While Adam took a lunch break, Little Joe kept on working very hard. He had no appetite as he was still very hurt by all of Adam's hateful words. All he wanted to do was to finish up his work and go home.

By the time all the repairs had been made, the brothers were heading home. Little Joe was exhausted, not only from working hard all day non-stop, but he was emotionally exhausted from all the emotions of the day he had gone through with Adam.

After they had arrived home, Adam told Little Joe to take care of Sport for him, because he was tired. The youngster accepted his ' order ' without complaining and he took Cochise and Sport into the barn so he could take care of them.

When Adam walked into the house, Ben asked him how the repairs had gone. " They went just fine Pa," Adam replied.

" Where is your little brother ?" Ben asked. " He's taking care of the horses, at least he better be !" Adam declared.

Ben looked at Adam and he wondered what that was all about. " Did Joseph give you a hard time today? The way you said, that he better be taking care of the horses," Ben inquired.

Adam let out a big sigh, and he said, " No, he didn't give me a hard time. He just worked all day, non-stop is all. We did argue, which was my fault. Let me refraze that. I argued with him."

Ben looked at Adam, wondering what Adam was talking about. " Would you care to please explain what you are talking about ?" Ben asked.

Adam went on to explain to Ben what had transpired between him and Little Joe that day. Adam really felt ashamed at himself with all the hateful and hurtful words he had shouted at his little brother that day.

Ben took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a couple of seconds before he spoke. " Adam, why did you have to do that ? For heaven sakes, you call yourself intelligent and you go and tell your little brother that he is stupid and brainless ! I just don't understand you sometimes. As soon as Little Joe comes in the house, I want you to apologize to him !" Ben angrily told Adam.

" I plan to, and I'm really sorry Pa," Adam admitted. " Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one who you hurt, and you know that," Ben replied, as he was extremely upset with his oldest son.

As soon as Little Joe finished in the barn, he went into the house by way of the kitchen. When Hop Sing saw the exhausted youngster looking so sad, he became very concerned.

" Little Joe, what wrong? You look so sad. You ok ?" Hop Sing asked as he took a good look at the boy. " Hi Hop Sing. I'm really tired is all. If'n ya dun't mind, I'm gonna go up to my room," the boy mumbled.

" You need dinner first. Need to eat," Hop Sing softly and lovingly said as he put his arm around the youngster's shoulders.

" I really ain't hungry Hop Sing. I'm just too tired. Please, can I go up to my room now ?" Little Joe begged as tears filled up his eyes.

Hop Sing didn't know what to think. He knew the boy was exhausted, but he also wanted Little Joe to eat something first, but he decided not to force the youngster into eating.

" It ok. You go up to room and sleep. You need to sleep," Hop Sing said as he smiled at the boy he loved so much. " Thank you Hop Sing," Little Joe replied as he walked up the back stairs. Hop Sing watched the boy slowly walk up the stairs and he slowly shook his head.

The End of part two.

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