“The Overactive Imagination of a Five Year Old”
by
It was early spring on the Ponderosa, in the Nevada Territory. The day was partly sunny with a slight cooling breeze blowing through the tall Ponderosa pine trees from the north.
Ben Cartwright and his two older sons, Adam and Hoss were walking towards the dining room table for breakfast that would soon be ready. The youngest member of the family, five year old Little Joe was still sleeping in his bed upstairs.
Adam and Hoss were excited as it was a day off of school. Hoss hated school, but Adam loved it.
As Hop Sing the ‘real boss’ of the house brought out large platters of ham, eggs, fried potatoes, bacon and toast Hoss licked his lips in antipation of eating, which made Ben, Adam and Hop Sing laugh. “This sure does look yummy Hop Sing,” Hoss praised the family cook.
“You make sure to eat of your breakfast Hoss,” Hop Sing teased which made Hoss laugh too. “Dunt have ta worry ‘bout me not eating Hop Sing. I eat everything I put on my plate,” Hoss replied as he was now piling on large amounts of food on his plate.
As the family ate their breakfast Ben decided to hand out the chores for the day. Ben also had a few simple chores for Little Joe once the little boy had eaten his breakfast.
“Well boys, I had better go upstairs and wake up your baby brother before he sleeps away the day,” Ben teased as he stood up.
“Oh boy another day of mischief will soon be on its way,” Adam teased as he laughed. “You can say that again big brother,” Hoss said totally agreeing with Adam. “I wonder what that little boy will be today? He could be an Indian, a deputy, a horse. He loves to play like he’s a horse, or maybe he’ll be just plain trouble. With Little Joe, anything is possible,” Ben suggested as he headed up the stairs to his baby son’s room chuckling softly.
“Boy, Pa just described our baby brother perfectly didn’t he Adam?” Hoss laughed. “Yes he did Hoss. It will be interesting to see what in the world that little boy will get into today, besides melting our hearts with that precious smile of his,” Adam replied as he smiled at Hoss. They both knew that their little brother was capable of just about anything.
As Ben stood there looking at his sleeping little boy he had to smile. This child was beautiful with his sweet angelic face, long thick eye lashes, soft thick curly hair and a smile that could melt the hearts of anyone who saw it. The way the child looked at that moment with his tiny thumb still in his mouth made Ben’s heart swell with pride. He knew that he had the most beautiful little boy in the world.
Ben sat down on the edge of the bed and he slowly began to wake up the sleeping child. “Little Joe, it’s time to wake now sweetheart. Come on baby and open your eyes for Papa,” Ben softly begged as he gently rubbed the little boy’s back.
Ben smiled as soon as he noticed a slight movement from the little boy in the bed. Ben continued to talk to his son and he then noticed the sweet little face scrunch up some, then the long eye lashes began to flutter and then two very sleepy looking green eyes appeared followed by a big yawn and some soft mumbling that Ben couldn’t understand.
“Good morning sweetheart,” Ben greeted the sleepy boy as he gave Ben a cute little grin. “Mornin’ Papa, Imma sleepy,” the boy mumbled as he tried to turn over to his other side so he could go back to sleep.
“Oh no you don’t. It’s time to get up so I can get you dressed, washed and down stairs for your breakfast,” Ben told the boy as he held the boy so he couldn’t turn over.
Finally which seemed to take forever to Ben, Little Joe sat up and he reached for Ben who lovingly picked up the little boy and he gave him a big old bear hug and a big kiss, which made the little boy giggle, and he gave Ben a kiss on the side of his face.
“I wuv ya Papa!” the child softly said. “I love you too Little Joe. Come on and let’s get you ready to go downstairs,” Ben suggested as he wished he could stay like this and continue to hold his boy. “Kay Papa.”
Ben gave the child a piggy back ride down the stairs as the child giggled loudly. Finally at the table, Ben sat his son down on his chair. “Here comes mischief!” Adam told Hoss as Ben was coming down the stairs with their giggling little brother. That made them laugh too.
“Good morning little buddy,” Adam said as soon as the child was seated in his chair. “Mornin’ Adam, Hoss,” the boy replied back. “Thank you and good morning to you too Punkin,” Hoss told his baby brother who gave both Adam and Hoss a big smile.
Adam and Hoss went out to do their morning chores while Little Joe ate his breakfast. As soon as Little Joe had eaten all of his breakfast which made Ben and Hop Sing very happy, Ben told him to go and do his morning chores too.
“Papa, I wanna be Davy Crockett taday please so I gotta get my Davy Crockett clothes on,” the little boy told Ben. “Oh, you do, do you? Chores first then you can be Davy Crockett.
An excited little boy jumped up. “Ok Papa, I go do chores now!” the child squealed as he ran out the front door. Ben stood there laughing at the excitement that was on the child’s face. “So he’s Davy Crockett today is he? This should be very interesting to see,” Ben laughed.
Adam and Hoss were busy doing their barn chores when they noticed a little tornado enter the barn. “Here comes mischief on two short little legs!” Adam laughed as he grabbed the running little boy while Hoss stood there laughing.
“You seem to be in a big hurry little buddy, how come?” Adam asked knowing a silly answer would soon be heard. The winded little boy looked up at Adam with a very serious look on his face. “Gotta do my chores cuz Imma gonna be Davy Crockett taday Adam!” the child announced.
“Davy Crockett huh? Adam replied as he grinned at a smiling Hoss. “Yup, Papa saided I gotta do my chores first ‘fore I play,” Little Joe seriously told his brothers. It was really hard for Adam and Hoss not to laugh out loud at all the expressions that their little brother had all over his face.
As soon as Little Joe had finished all of his barn chores he looked at his brothers and said,” Chores done, gotta get my buckskins on now. Bye bye. Oh yeah, I gotta get Old Besty too. Bye bye!” He then ran out the barn door and straight for the house to get his Davy Crockett clothes on. “Bye, have fun!” both Adam and Hoss told the running child. They were laughing hard now.
“Old Besty?” Hoss questioned as he looked at Adam. “That’s Davy Crockett’s rifle Hoss, remember?” Adam reminded Hoss. “Oh yeah, now I ‘member,” Hoss mumbled as he grinned.
“Papa!” Little Joe shouted as he ran in the house. “Yes son, over here,” Ben replied from his desk. The little boy ran over to Ben’s desk and his little face had excitement written all over it as he was jumping up and down.
“Papa, I dun all my chores! Now I can be Davy Crockett the king of the wild frontier! Can ya help me wiv my buckskins please?” the child pleaded as he looked at Ben with his huge brightly sparkling green eyes and a big smile on his face.
“Ok, let’s get you dressed then,” Ben said as he followed his running little boy up the stairs as he softly laughed. “Where does this boy get all his energy?” Ben thought to himself.
Hop Sing had made Little Joe some clothes made from buckskin for when he played Davy Crockett. Hop Sing had seen the illustrations in Adam’s book about Davy Crockett’. Hop Sing had also made the little boy a coonskin cap just like the one that Davy Crockett had worn.
Adam and Hoss had trapped a very large old raccoon that had been killing some of Hop Sing’s chickens, so Hop Sing made the cap from the skin of the raccoon plus he used the tail from the raccoon that hung from the back of the cap.
As soon as Little Joe [Little Davy] was dressed, he grabbed Old Besty that Adam had made for him and he ran out of his room and down the stairs and outside where he was joined by his four very large Maine Shags.
Ben walked down the stairs laughing at his little son with a very overactive imagination, he quietly said, Davy Crockett indeed.”
Little Davy and his shaggy cats decided to go look for Indians. “Come on kitties we gotts ta look fer injuns. They could be anywhere and we dunt wanna gets captured by em,” the child warned his cats who were looking up at their little master.
Soon the boy and cats slowly made their way over towards the small log cabin that Adam, Hoss and Ben had made for the little boy to play in. It was big enough for his family to sit in as well. This small cabin was between the main house and the creek and it was a favorite place for the little boy to play.
The little cabin had four small windows in it that had shutters on each window so they could cover the windows during storms. Inside the cabin there was a small table and some chairs and a bunk so the child could lie down if he wanted to.
As soon as the little boy and his cats arrived at the cabin, Little Davy told his cats to stay there until he could check out the cabin for Indians. The little boy quietly snuck up on the cabin he stood by the front door and he listened to see if he could hear any sounds coming from inside his cabin. When no sounds could be heard he slowly opened the door with Old Besty pointing straight ahead just in case there were Indians or bad men inside.
He was very relieved that his cabin was empty so he walked back over to the door and he called his cats and they ran over to the little boy and went inside the cabin with the child.
Little Davy sat down and he talked to the cats. “We’s lucky cuz there ain’t no injuns er bad mens in here, but we gotts ta be on guard just in case some injuns er bad mens come,” The cats trilled at the boy which made him giggle.
As Little Davy sat on the small chair, his cats sat in front of the child looking closely at him as he talked to them.
“Wanna hear ‘bout Davy Crockett, kitties? He was a nice man and he was important, at least Adam dun saided he was. He got borned a long time ago in a place called Tennessee. I fink it’s called that. Wonder why it’s called that. Wonder what it has gotts ten of? “
“Did ya knowed that he gotts himself a big old bear when he was only free years old? Hey, that’s younger then me! I gotta gets me a big old bear too. Davy Crockett loved ta go ta lots of places too so he could go ‘splorin’. I like ta go ‘splorin’ too. He fighted injuns and bad mens! Just like me! I ain’t trapped no nannamo’s yet like he dun. I’m a soldier when I play wiv my soldiers.”
“Adam saided he dun gotts killed fighin’ them bad mens, so we gotts ta be careful fightin’ bad mens too! Wasn’t Davy Crockett great? Sure wish I coulda met him. Bet he was fun ta be wiv,” the little boy finished telling his large furry friends. The cats trilled at the child which made him giggle.
After a while Little Davy and his cats walked around outside just looking at nothing in particular before they headed down to the creek. The little boy had something in mind, something very important to him.
Once at the creek, Little Davy looked at the creek to the left then to the right searching for something, while the cats were drinking water from the creek.
“Moby Dick, Moby Dick are ya in the creek? Are ya? Hey kitties, ya gotts ta be careful cuz Moby Dick could be in the creek, and he might eats ya!” the boy told the cats who kept on drinking. The boy continued to call out to Moby Dick. “Hum, wonder if’n Davy Crockett dun sawed Moby Dick when he was ‘splorin’? the child said out loud to his cats, who trilled back at him and once again that made the little boy giggle. He loved all the silly sounds his cats made, and that made him giggle.
By now Adam and Hoss were in the yard getting ready to chop some wood when they heard the distant shouting coming from their little brother in the direction of the creek. “Moby Dick, Moby Dick!” could be heard in the yard.
Both Adam and Hoss looked at each other before heading down towards the creek. “Oh no, he’s calling Moby Dick! He thinks that that whale is in the creek!” Adam said as he and Hoss were now laughing and shaking their heads. “A whale in the creek, what next? That’s plumb crazy. He ain’t in the creek!” Hoss replied as he continued to laugh as he and Adam were now walking down to the creek. “This we have to see,” Adam added.
“Moby Dick where is ya? I wanna see ya! Moby Dick!” the child kept shouting as he was still looking at the creek.
“Hey little buddy, looking for something? Adam asked trying not to laugh at Little Davy. The little boy looked so cute with his curls hanging down from under his cap.
Not knowing that his brothers were standing by him, the startled little boy turned to look up at them. “Hi ya Adam, Hoss, Imma lookin’ fer Moby Dick but he dunt say nuffin’. Why dunt he answer me Adam?” the boy asked with a hurt and serious look on his very dirty, but sweet little face as he continued to look at the creek.
“Well little brother, Moby Dick isn’t in the creek, he’s in the ocean. The creek isn’t big enough for Moby Dick,” Adam tried to tell the little boy. “But just maybe he might show up ya know Adam, cuz the creek is fun ta be in,” Little Davy said trying to convince Adam that the whale just might show up. Both Adam and Hoss coughed in order to hide their laughter.
“I really don’t think Moby Dick would like the creek Little Joe..” “Hey Adam, Imma Davy Crockett, not Little Joe,” the boy interrupted. “Yes you are. I forgot, and I’m sorry Little Davy” Adam replied before he continued on.
“As I started to say Little Davy, Moby Dick wouldn’t like the creek because it…because it isn’t deep enough. Whales need really deep water to live in like the lake or the ocean. You know little brother I sure could use your help carrying the kindling into the house, while Hoss carries the bigger pieces of wood. Will you help us please so we can get it done before lunch? Please Little Davy? Adam pleaded, but what Adam didn’t think about before he said it, was that Moby Dick could be in the lake because of its very deep water.
Little Davy kept that thought in his mind as he smiled at his brothers and he said, “Sure I can. Come on times a wastin’.” With that said Little Davy and his two big brothers walked back to the yard. Adam and Hoss chuckled at that statement.
As Adam chopped some kindling, Hoss would put some of the pieces in Little Davy’s arms so he could carry it to the kitchen for Hop Sing.
“Hey Hop Sing, Moby Dick ain’t in the creek cuz it ain’t deep ‘nough fer him,” the child told Hop Sing who gave the child a confused look as he watched the little boy put the kindling in the kindling box next to the stove.
“Thank you Little Joe. Who Moby Dick?” Hop Sing asked as he had his mind on making lunch and not on what ever the child had said.
Looking up at Hop Sing and with his tiny hands on his hips trying to look very serious, he corrected Hop Sing. “I ain’t Little Joe! Imma Davy Crockett. Moby Dick is that big old white whale in Adam’s book. Bye Hop Sing!” the boy said as he ran out the door. Hop Sing stood there laughing. “Little boy very funny!” Hop Sing said softly as he went back to making lunch, but still laughing.
Back in the yard, the child spoke up. “I tolded Hop Sing that Moby Dick ain’t in the creek cuz it ain’t deep ‘nough and I dun tolded him that I ain’t Little Joe cuz Imma Davy Crockett!” “Oh, was he surprised to hear that Little Davy?” Adam asked with a big smile on his face, while Hoss covered his mouth but he was laughing too but very softly.
“Yup he was. Did ya know that Hop Sing dunt know who Moby Dick is so I dun tolded him who he was and that you gotts a book on him Adam!” the child finished telling his brothers. “That’s right little buddy and if Hop Sing wants to read about Moby Dick then I’ll let him read my book,” Adam replied as he gave the little boy a big hug.
After lunch, Little Davy had to go down for a nap. “But Papa, Davy Crockett dunt gotta have naps, cuz he gotts ta go ‘splorin!” the little boy tried to explain to Ben. “’Splorin’? What’s ‘splorin Little Joe?” Ben asked.
“Papa, I ain’t Little Joe, Imma Davy Crockett. Ya know Papa, that’s lookin’ ‘round fer stuff,” the boy explained to Ben. “Oh I see, exploring huh,” Ben replied acting as if he had just learned a new word. He ruffled up his young son’s hair and slowly shook his head. The boy could come up with the silliest answers at times.
“How about we go and explore your room for a nap. Did you know that Davy Crockett loved to have a nap after lunch?” Ben told his son hoping that naptime would go easier if he knew that Davy Crockett took naps after lunch.
With a big gasp the little boy ran up to his room, which made Ben laugh as he slowly shook his head. He turned to look at his two other sons who sat there laughing. “That was brilliant Pa telling him that Davy Crockett took naps after lunch,” Adam teased. “Thank you I thought so too. Hopefully it will work,” Ben said as he headed up to his son’s room laughing softly.
As soon as Ben entered the child’s room the boy looked up at Ben and said, “I ‘splored my room Papa and now Imma sleepy.” The little boy climbed up on his bed so Ben could take his boots off, and once the boy was laying down Ben covered him up. “Wuv ya Papa!” the sleepy child told Ben. “I love you too sweetheart. Have a nice nap now and I’ll see you later,” Ben said as he left his son’s room.
Later that afternoon the little boy climbed off his bed, put his boots on and he was now ready to go exploring again. He ran down the stairs and towards the front door. “Bye Papa, Imma goin’ ‘splorin’ wiv my kitties again!” As he went out the door he was followed by Nemo one of his cats who had napped with the boy while the other cats stayed outside on mouse duty.
Ben shouted to his son to have a good time but be careful, before he went back to his desk to continue on with the dreaded bookwork.
Little Davy ran around the yard being chased by his cats. Then he decided to go to the lake to look for Moby Dick. He knew he wasn’t suppose to leave the yard, but he was on a mission. He remembered that Adam said the word ‘lake’. So the little boy and his cats quickly and silently headed off to the lake.
Once at the lake, the little boy played in the sand for a while before trying his luck at skipping rocks in the water which was something that Adam had taught him and he was very good at making rocks skip across the water.
After a while he decided it was time to look for Moby Dick again, so he stood at the edge of the water looking in all directions very carefully for any sign of the whale. “Moby Dick! Moby Dick is ya in the lake? Moby Dick answer me please!” the child shouted over and over.
Much later in the afternoon Adam and Hoss had arrived home with the mail which they took straight in the house to give it to Ben. “Hi Pa, here’s the mail, oh and Roy said to say ‘hi’ to you,” Adam said as he handed the mail to Ben. “Thank you son. How are things in town?” Ben asked as he looked through the mail. Hoss grabbed an apple and began eating it.
“Everything seems fine,” Adam replied as he too grabbed an apple and began eating it. “Hey Pa, is Little Joe still sleeping?” Hoss asked in between bites. “No he’s in the yard playing with his cats and being Davy Crockett again,” Ben answered before adding; “Didn’t you see him out there?” He was beginning to get an uneasy feeling. “Nope didn’t see him or his cats out there at all Pa, now that you mention it,” Hoss nervously replied as he looked at Adam who had a worried look on his face now.
“If that boy has left the yard again, then his little bottom will be getting some attention when I, I mean when we find him,” Ben said as he quickly headed for the door and opened it. “LITTLE JOE, LITTLE JOE, WHERE ARE YOU?” Ben shouted very loudly. No response at all. Ben waited a couple of minutes before calling out to his youngest son again. “Pa remember he’s Davy Crockett,” Adam reminded Ben. “Yes, I forgot,” Ben said.
LITTLE DAVY, ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW! Ben shouted yet again. Still no response. “I thought that if I called Little Davy he might answer me back, but I see that didn’t work!” Ben told Adam and Hoss.
“Come on boys let’s go and look for your baby brother,” Ben suggested as they went out to get on their horses and look for the missing Cartwright.
It didn’t take them long to notice the little boot prints in the dirt. “Looks like he’s heading for the lake! Just wait until I get my hands on that boy!” Ben threatened but just the thought of his five year old baby son alone at the lake made his heart skip a beat. They rode fast to the lake.
As they got closer to the lake they could hear the boy before they could see him. Loud shouts of “Moby Dick” could be heard coming through the trees. Ben was confused as to why his little boy was calling out to Moby Dick. Adam and Hoss knew why and Ben just shook his head and smiled.
“Oh no, he’s calling Moby Dick again! Boy, I am so sorry that I ever read that book to him!” Adam spoke out. “It’s not your fault son, that little boy and his overactive imagination!” Ben replied as he slowly shook his head.
Once they arrived at the lake they had to laugh at the sight of Little Joe who was running back and forth on the beach calling out for Moby Dick and being closely followed by his cats.
His family stood next to their horses watching the youngest Cartwright running along the beach. “You have to admit Pa he looks pretty silly running along the beach and calling out for Moby Dick with his cats following him,” Hoss said as he was laughing.
“I know he looks silly Hoss, but that boy knows that he isn’t supposed to leave the yard like this!” Ben told Hoss. “I know Pa, but please don’t be too hard on him, please,” Hoss begged.
“Hoss, Pa’s correct about our baby brother leaving the yard. Anything could happen to him,” Adam explained to Hoss. Hoss hated to see his younger brother in trouble. That little boy was his best friend and he loved him more than anything else in his life.
Ben could see how upset Hoss was getting, so he put his arm around his large and very sensitive son. “Adam’s right Hoss. Don’t worry I won’t be too hard on him, I promise,” Ben told Hoss.
Of course Little Joe had no idea that his family was watching him, but his cats could sense them so they stopped running, and they stood there and trilled then looked over to the rest of the Cartwright’s.
“JOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF THE YARD? DON’T YOU KNOW THAT YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THE YARD?” Ben shouted trying to sound very angry. Little Joe stopped dead in his tracks, swallowed deeply and he very slowly turned around and he put his tiny hands behind his back to protect his little bottom, because he knew what was going to happen next.
With his huge sad looking green eyes and now quivering chin on his very dirty little face framed by his curls that were hanging down from his coonskin cap he looked up at Ben, who was standing in front of the little boy with his hands on his hips.
“H...Hi Papa, whatcha doin’ here?” the boy nervously asked knowing he was in big trouble. “I might ask you the same thing little boy!” Ben replied still trying to act angry. His heart was melting at the sight of his little son with some tears that were slowly running down his face.
It was hard for Adam and Hoss not to laugh at their little brother. “Umm, umm, I…we- ya knowed my kitties and me was ‘splorin’. I maded rocks skip Adam, just like ya taughted me! Umm…umm…then I was lookin’ fer Moby Dick cuz Adam saided he could be in the lake er the ocean too, the child finished telling his family.
Shocked at being part of this now, Adam spoke up to defend himself. “I did NOT say he was in the lake!” “Yes ya dun did Adam! Ya saided that he ain’t in the creek cuz it ain’t deep ‘nough! Ya saided he’s in deep water like the lake er the ocean!” Little Joe told Adam as he glared at his oldest brother.
Ben turned and glared at Adam. “Adam, did you tell him that or not?” Ben asked his son. Trying to think back to that morning down at the creek, Adam couldn’t remember if he had motioned something about the lake or not.
“I’m not sure. I could have said that. Sorry Pa, but I really can’t remember,” Adam mumbled still trying his best to remember what he told his baby brother.
“Adam, ya dun did say lake, but Moby Dick ain’t here!” Little Joe told Adam. Ben decided to speak up again. “Little Joe….”Imma Davy Crockett Papa, not Little Joe!” the child interrupted.
“Of course you are. Sorry sweetheart. Little Davy, Moby Dick can only live in the ocean because….because only the ocean is big enough for him. He needs a lot of fish to eat every day and only the ocean has more than enough fish for him, and he also needs a lot of water to swim in and only the ocean has enough water for him to swim in too, so you see son, Moby Dick can only live in the ocean, not the lake or the creek, He needs to swim in salt water. “Ben finished explaining to his young son with the sad looking dirty little face. “We could put salt in the lake water Papa fer Moby Dick,” the child suggested. “Lakes don’t have salt water, only fresh water son,” Ben told the boy.
“Imma sorry Papa. Ya can tan me if’n ya wants ta. I only wanted ta see Moby Dick, but I guess I cants. Papa, did Davy Crockett’s Papa tan him too?” the little boy softly asked as more large tears ran down his dirty little face.
“Oh Little Davy. I am so sorry that you can’t see Moby Dick, and to answer your question, yes Davy Crockett received spankings when he disobeyed his Papa too,” Ben said as he held his now crying son tightly.
“Come on boys lets go home now,” Ben suggested as he put Little Joe up on Dusty and he climbed on behind his young son and soon the Cartwright’s were on their way home with Little Joe’s four large furry cats following behind.
Little Joe was punished lightly for leaving the yard and his family knew that before the little boy was grown up, he would receive many more spankings for disobeying his Papa.
Little Joe never did go looking for Moby Dick again, but he never got tired of hearing about the huge white whale from Adam’s book.
The End.