" What Happened ?"
" NO, NO ! HELP ME PA, PLEASE !" came the ear piercing scream in the middle of the night from Little Joe's room.
Quickly rushing to his son's room, Ben almost ran into Adam and Hoss, who had also heard their little brother's scream, as they all ran towards the boy's bed.
Once the lamp had been lit, and there before them on the bed, struggled the youngest Cartwright hopelessly tangled up in his blankets and quilts that seemed to hold him captive.
" I'm not a horse ! Oh Pa please help me ! PA !!!!!!!" Little Joe cried out, as he was still basically asleep.
A very concerned Bem grabbed his son and tried to wake him up, while softly talking to him. " Pa, why won't he wake up?" Hoss asked. " I don't know son," Ben replied.
" Joseph, son, please wake up. Come on Joe, open your eyes !" Ben pleaded as he was gently shaking his son's trembling shoulders, trying to wake the boy up.
Finally Little Joe's eyes began to open, and they were soon open as wide as they could be. Little Joe was breathing hard as he was looking around his room at his very worried family.
It took a few minutes, but Little Joe was finally settling down a little, as he continued to take a couple more deep breaths, and he laid back down on his bed.
Ben was starting to get his son untangled from his bedding, while Adam and Hoss looked at their little brother with a lot of concern.
" That must have been some awful dream you had little brother?" Hoss suggested. Taking another deep breath, Little Joe replied back, " Yeah, it was awful ! Just awful !"
" Would you care to tell us about your dream son? It will help to talk about it," Ben suggested as he kept looking at his son, who was looking rather pale at the moment.
" I tell ya, it was the strangest dream I have ever had. Please dunt laugh at me when I tell ya about it please. Just hear me out ok?" the boy asked as he nervously looked at each of his family members. They nodded back to him.
" Ok, here goes, " taking another deep breath as he laid there, Little Joe began to talk about his dream.
" Hoss
and me had gone inta
" While we sat there drinking our beer, this really weird, and I mean really weird lookin' lady...at least I think it was a lady, but just not sure, came walkin' in the saloon, and she...she just stared at me. It was like she was lookin' right through me. It was scary."
" Then she kinda...floated over ta our table and she continued ta stare at me. Then she stood there and mumbled somethin' that wasn't in English, but the last word she said was in English, and that word was....'horse', and see pointed at me when she said that."
" Then she just...floated away, and vanished inta thin air. I mean, she...she just ....vanished ! Gone !" Little Joe excitedly said but his voice was rather soft as he spoke.
" Oh come on now little brother, ya gotta be teasin' us. A lady floatin' in the air. That's the craziest thing you've ever said," Hoss laughed as he looked at Little Joe. Adam was shaking his head in disbelief and Ben was just plain confused.
" Boys, let your little brother continue on," Ben suggested.
" Thanks
Taking a deep breath, Little Joe wasn't how this next part was going to go over either. " Um...um...well that night..I...I..now please dunt laugh, but...I...I sorta turned inta a ....horse...and the next thing I knew I was in the barn laying on the floor with a ....bridle on my head and some hay in my hair. STOP THAT LAUGHIN' YOU GUYS !" Little Joe shouted.
Trying to get back under control of their laughing, Ben finally spoke up, " Sorry Joe, but a horse?" " Continue please," Ben added, trying to hold in his laugh.
Little Joe glared at his family, and continued. " As I was sayin', I was in the barn laying on the floor and Pa was laying next ta me with his heavy coat on."
Adam and Hoss were almost rolling on the floor by now with what their little brother was telling them.
" It must have been that spicy chicken you ate for dinner little buddy," Adam suggested, as he laughed at his brother.
" Yeah I spose, but it was so real though. Anyway, Pa was layin' there listenin' ta me talkin' 'bout bein' a horse. Oh man, what a dream !" Little Joe declared.
" I'll tell you one thing little brother, you certainly have the strangest dreams. A horse indeed !" Adam said as he smiled at his brother. " This kid needs help," Adam thought to himself.
" Yeah, and I bet he was a pretty little horse for sure !" Hoss laughed, before he added, " Whinny, whinny !"
The End
Lynne G.