The Thief

By: Lynne G.

The thief struck fast and silent. No one heard or saw the mystery thief. The thief struck both during the day and in the night.

Ben Cartwright was very worried but yet at the same time, he was very relieved that no one had been injured by the mystery thief.

So far nothing of value had been taken, but it was still just the thought of a stranger coming into the house and stealing items that the family used.

It had all began a couple of weeks ago when Hop Sing suddenly came out of the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face.

" Mr. Cartlight, you see Hop Sing big wooden spoon? It missing from kitchen. It there yesterday," Hop Sing told Ben.

Looking up from the desk, Ben replied, " I'm sorry Hop Sing, but I haven't seen your spoon. Where did you last see it?" " Hop Sing use spoon yesterday when he smack number three son's little bottom. He not listen to Hop Sing and he make big mess in livingroom !" Hop Sing explained.

" I see. You don't think Little Joe took your spoon do you Hop Sing ?" Ben asked knowing all to well what his little boy was like.

" Hop Sing not know if little boy take spoon. He might think if spoon gone then Hop Sing not smack little bottom with spoon, but Hop Sing have plenty other spoon for little bottom," Hop Sing explained as he smiled at that thought.

Ben had to smile at that statement. " You could be right about that thought. When Little Joe gets up from his nap I'll ask him if he has seen your spoon. I'm sure it will turn up one of these days Hop Sing," Ben suggested knowing that his little son had taken the spoon.

When Adam and Hoss returned home from school that afternoon, Ben asked them if they had seen Hop Sing's wooden spoon.

" Nope, ain't seen it Pa. You don't think Little Joe took it do you?" Hoss asked. He knew that Hop Sing would smack the little boy's bottom some times just as he had done with he and Adam when they were younger. Even now Hop Sing would sometimes do a sneak smack to their bottoms if he had mind to.

" I just don't know son, but I plan to ask your little brother that question as soon as he gets up from his nap,"
Ben replied. Adam hadn't seen the spoon either, but like everyone else, he just figured that Little Joe had taken the spoon.

" Pa, ya know little brother ain't no thief, and I've never seen him steal anything 'cept for a cookie or piece of candy," Hoss added. " I agree to that statement Hoss, but there is always a first time for everything," Adam added.

" Yes, I'm very well aware of that and we do know that at times your baby brother can be very sneaky," Ben reminded them as he chuckled. Adam and Hoss agreed and they to laughed knowing their baby brother all to well.

No sooner was that said when a certain little boy came running down the stairs with a big grin on his sweet little face followed by Rusty, one of Little Joe's four large shaggy cats.

Little Joe noticed that his family and Hop Sing were all standing there looking at him. He wasn't sure what that was all about so he smiled back at them.

" Did you have a nice nap sweetheart?" Ben asked as he looked at the little boy with the huge bright green eyes. " I's sure did Papa and Rusty sleeped wiv me too !" the child declared.

" That's nice son. Joseph, have you seen Hop Sing's wooden spoon, you know the one I mean?" Ben asked as he looked into those big green eyes.

With wide open eyes, Little Joe sheepishly replied, " Ya mean the one that he dun spooned me wiv ?" " Yes, that one," Ben replied.

" Nope. I ain't seen it since yesterday when he spooned my butt !" the child declared as he rubbed his little bottom trying to look sad and hurt. It was very hard not to laugh at that look on the boy's face and at his actions too.

" I hate to ask you this son, but did you take Hop Sing's spoon and hide it?" Ben asked as he felt bad for having to ask that kind of question to a five year old.

Little Joe looked at Ben and Hop Sing and he replied back, " I dun't take it Papa."

Several days later the thief had struck again and like the time before, no one had seen or heard the mystery thief. This time it was one of Ben's pipes that had disappeared from his pipe holder that sat on a small table in the livingroom.

The pipe was the one that Little Joe loved to hold and look at because it was so beautifully carved and the little boy found it very fascinating.

Ben hardly ever used that pipe because it was so fancy. It was one of his favorite pipes, but just to look at.

As Ben searched all over the livingroom for his missing pipe, Adam and Hoss came through the front door and they noticed Ben searching for something.

" Hey Pa, whatcha lookin' for ?" Hoss asked. " Oh hi boys. I can't find my carved pipe anywhere. Have either of you two seen it laying around ?" Ben asked as he continued to look for the missing pipe. " I could have sworn it was in my pipe holder this morning, but then again I could be wrong." Ben added.

" Sorry Pa, I haven't seen it anywhere," Adam said. " Me either," Hoss added.

" Wait a minute, isn't that the pipe that Little Joe likes to look at all the time?" Adam suggested as he thought back to the night before when he remembered seeing his baby brother holding the pipe and looking at it.

" Yes, come to think of it, he loves to look at the carving on the pipe," Ben said as he too thought back to the night before when he had seen his little boy looking at the pipe. " But why would he want to take my pipe ?" Ben mumbled.

No sooner than Ben had made that statement, when the front door suddenly flew open and the little tornado with the brown curly hair ran into the room closely followed by all four of his shags.

" Hi ya Papa, Adam, Hoss ! Me and my kitties is playin' !" the winded little boy declared. Ben had to laugh at the little boy with the dirty face and messed up hair with a look of pure innocence written all over that face.

" Hi yourself son. By the way, have you seen my carved pipe, the one that you love to look at all the time?" Ben asked as he looked into those eyes.

" Um, I sawed it the other night Papa, but not since then. Why, is it gone somewhere er sompfin'?" the child softly asked.

" Yes son, and I can't find it anywhere," Ben told the little boy.

" You didn't take it did you Joseph ?" Ben asked, again feeling bad that he had to ask that question. " Nope, I dunt take it Papa," the youngester answered quickly, but he did know who took it and he wasn't about to tell.

The little boy had actually seen the thief with the pipe and he knew where the thief had hidden the pipe along with Hop Sing's big wooden spoon.

Over the next several days, Hoss's carving knife set had gone missing along with one of Adam's small books of poetry.

" Pa, now just hear me out ok?" Adam suggested. Ben nodded. " Ok, now so far Hop Sing's wooden spoon, your carved pipe, Hoss's carving set and my poetry book have all disappeared, right?" Again, Ben nodded.

" Who in this house has had contact with all those missing items?" Adam asked as he waited..." It's got to be Little Joe !" Adam suggested.

" Yes, but he has no interest in poetry, so why would he take your book?" Ben wondered outloud.

" Well, that's the part I haven't figured out yet. Maybe he thought that if the book disappeared then we wouldn't suspect him as the thief," Adam explained.

" I don't know what to think Adam, but you could be correct about that," Ben replied as he was at a total loss of what to think.

When Little Joe walked in the room eating a cookie, Ben asked him if he had taken Adam's book of poetry.

" I dunt take nuffin Papa ! See, ya can look in my pockets. Ain't nuffin in em !" the child declared. Ben smiled as he ruffled up the child's soft thick curly brown hair.

The next day while Hop Sing was doing some weeding in his garden, Little Joe ran to see what he was doing.

" Whatcha doin' playin' in the dirt Hop Sing?" the little boy asked. Looking up at the boy, Hop Sing replied, " Hop Sing not play in dirt. Weeding garden. Little boy go play and stay out of Hop Sing's way !"

" Kay. Bye bye !" the child said as he ran off to play. " Little boy always in mischief !" Hop Sing mumbled as he went back to his weeding.

Little Joe ran up to his room to get his wooden rifle that Adam had made for him. He also put on his deputy badge, his holster and he got his handcuffs too.

The little boy ran back down the stairs and out to the yard and he began to march back and forth across the yard with his rifle resting on his tiny shoulder. He had his hat slightly back on his head so his curls stuck out from under his hat. He was on guard duty.

Following Little Joe were three of his shags, Rusty, Sam and Kitty. Nemo, the largest of the shags was in the house sleeping on the settee.

After several minutes, Little Joe suddenly spotted the thief coming from the side of the house carrying some of Hop Sing's pot holders. The thief headed for his hiding place. Little Joe stood there giggling at the thief.

About twenty minutes later, Ben, Adam and Hoss rode into the yard and when they saw Little Joe marching back and forth across the yard with all four of the shags following the little boy, they started to laugh at the silly sight.

" What are you doing Little Joe ?" Ben asked, knowing a silly answer was about to be heard. Adam and Hoss always loved their baby brother's silly answers.

" Hi ya Papa, Adam, Hoss ! I'mma on guarded duty. Gotta guarded the house from the feeth !" Little Joe told them as he had a very serious look on his face, but inside he was laughing.

" Well, that's nice to know, but you be careful and don't let the thief hurt you if he shows up," Ben suggested. " I be careful Papa. Ya dunts gotta worry 'bout me, cuz I'mma a big boy !" Little Joe proudly said as he puffed up his little chest. Ben just shook his head as he walked towards the house.

Once Ben, Adam and Hoss were in the house, they were met by Hop Sing who told them that three of his pot holders were missing. " Oh no, not again, and why would someone take pot holders?" Ben wondered outloud. He was at a loss of what to think anymore.

" I'd like to know who this thief is," Ben declared. " Pa, we all know it's Little Joe, so let's just go and ask him why he is stealing things from the house !" Adam suggested. " Adam's right Pa. We gotta stop little brother before he gets too carried away with his stealing !" Hoss added. Ben just shrugged his shoulders.

A couple of nights later as Hoss and Adam were in the barn, Hoss started to look for the curry comb. " Hey Adam, ya seen the curry comb anywhere ?" Hoss asked.

" No I haven't seen it since...Little Joe had it yesterday when he was grooming his pony. Why that little thief !" Adam declared. " That boy has had mischief written all over that little face of his lately," Hoss told Adam. Adam nodded his agreement to that statement.

" What we need to do Hoss, is to catch him in the act of stealing. That is the way to put a stop to this whole silly thing. After all, we certainly don't want to put our baby brother in jail now do we?" Adam teased.

" Naw, he wouldn't like to be in jail, but yet he sure loves to play in the cells when we visit with Sheriff Coffee," Hoss reminded Adam. " Very true," Adam addded as they both started to laugh.

The next day was a warm day so the front door was left open so fresh air could come in the house. Adam, Hoss and Little Joe had gone down to the lake to do some fishing for the afternoon, while Ben was concentrating on his monthly bookwork, a chore he never looked forward to, but it needed doing every month.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, Ben noticed a movement so he kept quiet. To his surprise, it was Nemo, one of Little Joe's Maine shags.

Ben watched as Nemo ran up the stairs and out of sight. " Strange " Ben thought to himself. Usually Nemo and the other cats went most everywhere Little Joe did. Ben had seen the other cats following the little boy as he had left with Adam and Hoss earlier, but come to think of it, Nemo wasn't with them. Hummm.

About two minutes later, Ben could hear Nemo running down the hall towards the stairs, so he sat as still and as quiet as possible.

Ben couldn't believe what he was seeing, as there came Nemo running down the stairs with one of Little Joe's toy horses in his mouth. Ben's mouth was open as he sat there.

Nemo ran out the door, so Ben quickly jumped up so he could watch to see where Nemo was going with the toy in his mouth.

Ben watched as Nemo ran into the barn and he ran after the cat. He was in time to see Nemo climbing up to the hayloft and disappear behind some gain sacks.

Slowly climbing up to the loft, Ben saw Nemo standing there looking at him. The large shaggy cat quickly flopped over onto his side, curled up his front paws and he laid there looking at Ben trying his best to look as cute and as innocent as possible while he was also trilling at Ben.

Ben stood there looking at Nemo and he had to smile. " Nemo, are you our thief?" Ben asked as he slowly shook his head back and forth. He felt silly for asking that question to a large furry cat who was still looking at him.

Nemo continued to look at Ben and he was also blinking his eyes at Ben as well. Ben walked over to look behind the gain sack and he could see something burried under the hay.

To Ben's big surprise, there were all the missing items from the house, plus the curry comb too.

" Nemo, Nemo, Nemo ! So it was you. You naughty kitty !" Ben said as he started to laugh. He gathered up all the items then climbed back down from the loft and he headed towards the house, closely followed by the furry thief.

When he was back in the house, he called out to Hop Sing to come to the livingroom. As soon as Hop Sing heard his name being called he headed for the livingroom.

To Hop Sing's big surprise there was Ben standing there with a big grin on his face and in his hands were all the missing items that had been taken from the house.

" Mr. Cartlight, where you find missing things?" Hop Sing asked as Ben handed him the wooden spoon and pot holders.

" Well Hop Sing, I was sitting at my desk doing bookwork when I saw the thief go up the stairs. Then he came back down the stairs with one of Little Joe's toy horses."

" The thief headed for the barn and up to the hayloft to hide the toy. When I saw the thief go to the loft I climbed up there and that is when I found all the missing things," Ben finished telling Hop Sing.

" Little Joe not here so little boy can't be thief. Who thief ?" Hop Sing asked. For the life of him he couldn't figure out who the thief could be.

" The thief is here in this room Hop Sing !" Ben said as he smiled. Hop Sing was thoroughly confused. He knew that neither he nor Ben was the thief and the only other living thing in the room was Nemo, was had flopped over on to his side looking ever so cute.

Hop Sing looked down at Nemo who trilled at him and, he softly said, " It Nemo ? He the thief ?" " Yes, it was Nemo," Ben replied as he started to laugh.

Hop Sing looked down at Nemo and he shook his finger at the flopped fur ball on the floor. " You naughty kitty !" Hop Sing scolded and with that said, Hop Sing returned to the kitchen mumbling to himself.

Ben sat down and slowly shook his head at their furry thief who had just jumped up on Ben's lap and was now purring loudly as he laid there as if nothing had happened.

Down at the lake fishing had gone well and there was enough fish for dinner that night.

" Still can't figure out who that thief is," Hoss wondered even though he just figured it was his little brother. " Let's just say that he can't be very smart because of what he has taken," Adam said as he watched his baby brother's face when he said that.

Looking up at his big brothers, Little Joe felt upset at what Adam had just said so he spoke up. " But he is smart cuz he ain't got caught yet ya know !"

" That's ture. We had better get these fish back to Hop Sing so he can cook them for dinner," Adam suggested. " I can almost taste em already !" Hoss declared. They all laughed at that statement.

When the boys returned from the lake and had given Hop Sing the fish, they headed for the livingroom.

" Hi ya Papa ! We dun gotts lots of fish fer dinner !" Little Joe excitedly told Ben as soon as he had seen Ben sitting there with Nemo on his lap. " Hi ya Nemo !"

" Hi boys. Sounds like you had a good day of fishing by the sound of it. Can't wait to taste the fish," Ben said as he smiled at his boys.

" By the way, I have some wonderful news for you boys. The thief has been caught and all the missing items have been found !" Ben told them.

" Now that is wonderful news Pa, but who is the thief?" Adam asked as he had thought that Little Joe was the thief, but it looks like he had been wrong about, and he was happy that his little brother wasn't the thief after all.

Little Joe just stood there with a very nervous look on his dirty face. " Who is it Pa?" Hoss asked as he too just figured it had been Little Joe, and he was very relieved that it wasn't his baby brother.

" Well boys, our thief is none other than...Nemo !" Ben said. When Nemo heard his name, he trilled.

" Nemo ?" both Adam and Hoss shouted at the same time. Little Joe looked down at Nemo and he grinned. Nemo was still purrring loudly.

Ben told them the story of how he had discovered it was Nemo. " Joseph, did you know it was Nemo ?" Ben asked as he noticed how nervous his little son was.

Little Joe looked at his family and then at the floor. " Son, I'm waiting for an answer," Ben asked again.

" Y...y...yes Papa, I knowded it was Nemo," the child very softly replied as he continued to look at the floor.

" Why didn't you tell me it was Nemo Little Joe ?" Ben asked softly as he raised up the little boy's head so he could look into his eyes.

" Cuz ya dunt ask me Papa," the boy quickly answered.

Adam and Hoss were now laughing. " Who would have ever thought our thief was Nemo ?" Adam declared.

" Little Joe, how did Nemo get things out of the house when the doors were closed? Do you know son?" Ben asked.

" Yes Papa. Wanna knowded how he dun it?" the child asked as he looked at his family who were all smiling at him. That made him feel much better to see the smiles on their faces.

" Yes sweetheart, we would all love to know how he did that," Ben suggested.

" Well, he goes up ta my room wiv stuff in his mouf. Then cuz my window is open he goes out the window and he walks on the roof. When he gets ta the side he he drops the stuff out of his mouf and it falls on the ground. Then he jumps ta the lower part of the roof and jumps ta the ground."

" Then he picks up the stuff and runs ta the barn ta hide stuff in the loft," Little Joe finished telling the story of the thief's get away.

" Unbelievable ! Just unbelievable !" Ben declared.

" Nemo, ya gotta stop stealin' stuff cuz ya will end up in jail and then after that it's off ta prison. Ya dunt's wanna live in prison does ya Nemo ?" Little Joe tearfully asked his big furry kitty.

Nemo meowed at the little boy, while everyone else laughed at what the child had just told his kitty.

The little boy looked at Ben and softly asked, " Papa does Nemo gotta go ta jail fer stealin' stuff?" Looking at the tears running down his baby boy's face, Ben picked up the child and held him tightly.

" No sweetheart, Nemo doesn't have to go to jail as long as he doesn't steal things anymore," Ben explained.

" Ya hear that Nemo ? No more stealin'!" Little Joe told his cat who had just flopped over onto his side once again, looking very cute and very innocent which made everyone laugh.

The End


Footnote:
I want to thank Donna for the suggestion of having Little Joe's cats getting into trouble for which Little Joe gets blamed for.

The furry thief was modeled after our youngest Maine Coon cat, two year old Bigfoot Corky Nemo Kat. Corky is a thief and anything he can pick up and carry in his mouth he will steal.

He will steal pens, pencils, silverware, toys, small books and even frig magnets right off the frig. He is 23 1/2 lbs. of total silly mischief. Plus he flops onto to his side, lays there with his huge front paws curled and he tried to look as cute and as innocent as possible everytime he is caught in mischief or if he has already been into silly mischief.

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