Santa Claus
By
Grammagoose
Saturday
A warm fire crackled in the oversized stone
fireplace as the sweet smell of burning Ponderosa pine drifted through the
air. Blissfully enjoying himself, was a dark-haired young man sprawled across
a worn, red leather chair, pulled close to the hearth. Adam Cartwright, the
young man in the chair, had just settled down to read the new book that his
grandfather had sent to him from Boston a week ago. Until now, there had not
been time to even open it. Adam sighed contentedly. He gazed around the great
room, happy to be enjoying the rugged house that he had helped build. The
high ceiling, hand-hewn beams and stucco walls provided a backdrop to the
familiar furniture and furnishings about the room. He closed his eyes and
breathed in the familiar scents of smoke, his father’s pipe tobacco and the
hot apple pie, coming from the kitchen.
Adam was enjoying the peace and quiet. His chores
were done. His father had just left for Carson City to visit some old friends
and wouldn’t be home for several days. At nineteen years of age, Adam was
left in charge of the ranch and his two younger brothers, seven year old Little
Joe and thirteen year old Hoss. At the moment, the boys were out in the barn,
cleaning out the stalls. Adam chuckled when he thought about his brothers.
Cleaning the barn was a job they had earned earlier in the day. The two boys
had been playing just a little too rough in the house and had broken the
glass lamp on their father’s desk. Adam paused, holding his book under his
chin and grinned. He thought about how angry his father had gotten after
the lamp incident. His brother Hoss was as big as an ox. He had been spinning
Little Joe, around in circles, holding onto his arms. It was an accident
that just had to happen.
Adam thought about his family. I sure am going
to miss them when I go to college. Glad Pa is getting a little time
for himself, he sure deserves it. Sighing, Adam opened his book and began
reading. The story was Moby Dick and Adam soon found himself caught up in
the seas.
KLUNK! Adam dropped the book to his lap and
quickly sat up straight. The sound came from the fireplace and he was astonished
to see a large branch lying across the brightly burning logs. The branch was
so long; it stuck out over the hearth and was threatening to slip down onto
the wooden floor, carrying hot embers with it.
“What the h…” Adam sprang from his seat and
grabbed the end of the stick. Knocking the charcoal off the end that had been
in the fire, he grit his teeth. There could be only one explanation for this.
“JOE!” Spinning around on his heals; he took off for the front door.
Little Joe was lying low, or rather, he was lying
high. From the roof of his Ponderosa ranch house he could hear his big brother
yell his name. It sounded almost like he was right next to him. Joe had figured
out how to get up on the roof last year. It was easy from his bedroom window.
But today, he used the more conventional method. While digging around in the
barn, he had found a tall wooden ladder. Hoss was busy hauling hay, so Joe
decided to drag the ladder over to the side of the front porch and go up
for a look around. It was winter and there was a light covering of snow over
all the surrounding land. Little Joe wanted to see what it looked like from
the roof.
There was something else he wanted to check out,
too. Finding a broken branch from one of the Ponderosa pines laying on the
roof, he picked it up and carefully climbed to the very top of the house.
From there, he inched his way to the chimney, where he found the stones hot
to his touch. Standing on his tippy toes, he leaned over the opening and gazed
down into the black hole. For that, he got a nose full of smoke and soot,
“Pfooph, yuck.” Then, he dragged his branch up over his head and pushed it
on end into the opening. As he let go, he tried to watch where it went, but
the smoke forced him to turn away. That’s when he knew it went all the way
down. That’s when he heard his name.
It didn’t take Adam long to figure out where to
find his youngest brother. The ladder was obvious. Angry at having to leave
his comfy chair in the house, he was quickly up the ladder, scanning the rooftop
for the culprit who had dropped the stick down the chimney. He still had
the piece of wood in his right hand and he absent-mindedly whacked it into
the palm of his left hand. “Little Joe, I know you are up here. You better
get over here right now! This roof is slippery with snow and you are going
to fall and break a leg! Is that how you want to spend Christmas? With a
broken leg?”
Little Joe was hiding behind the chimney. He heard
his brother’s words and was seriously considering what he had said. As he
started to crawl out from behind the stone barrier, he saw Adam and the stick.
Adam was ominously pounding the stick into the palm of his hand. Instantly,
Joe pulled back his head.
Adam looks really mad. I think he’s fixin’ to clobber
me with that thing. Joe thought it was best to stay very quiet and not move
at all.
Adam could see his brother’s boot tracks
on the snowy roof. He knew he was up there, but the roof had several angles,
was quite steep and the little scamp could be anywhere. He also did not relish
the thought of trying to chase a 7-year-old all over the top of the house,
“Okay Joe. Have it your way. You can stay up here all night. Bye.”
Joe was surprised at what his brother said. He
thought for sure that Adam was going to hunt him down, hit him with the club,
drag him into the house and give him a long boring lecture on the dangers
of climbing on the roof. Instead, his big brother just disappeared
As Adam climbed back down the ladder he flung the
large stick into a clump of bushes growing near the house. His next stop was
the barn. “HOSS!”
Hoss was just leaving the side door of the barn
with a wheelbarrow full of used hay. He stopped in his tracks when he heard
his name. “What in tarnation are ya’ yellin’ fer Adam?”
“Hoss, where is Little Joe?” Adam stood with
his arms across his chest with that know-it-all look that Hoss just hated.
“I don’t know Adam, he was here just a minute
ago. You know how he is, ya’ can never find him when there’s work to do.”
Hoss was irritated with Little Joe and with Adam’s attitude.
“Well, little brother, I’ll tell you where
he is. He’s on the roof of the house, throwing sticks down the chimney!” Adam
put his arms down at his sides and breathed a heavy sigh.
“Oh, come on Adam, you gotta be joshin’ me.
There’s snow on the roof. He’s gonna’ slip and fall and kill his self.”
Hoss looked at Adam with pleading eyes, “Tell me you’re joshin’ Adam.”
“I’m not joshin’ Hoss. And I’m not climbing
up there to get him either.” With that, Adam turned and stormed out
of the barn.
Little Joe used the time that Adam was with
Hoss to quickly slide down the roof to the porch overhang. It was fun sliding
down and he considered climbing back up, so he could do it again. But the
thought of Adam and the big stick made him change his mind. As he walked across
the porch roof toward the ladder, his feet suddenly slipped from under him
and he landed on his bottom. Stunned, he had nowhere to hold on and continued
to slide down and over the edge of the roof. Luckily the roof was not too
high and a deep pile of hay had been conveniently dumped in the exact spot
he fell.
“Whoa!” The wind had been knocked out of Little
Joe and he lay on the hay, stunned at what had just happened.
Adam saw him fall, just as he was exiting
the barn. He ran to his little brother, “Joe! Are you all right? I just knew
this would happen.”
Joe was very still, buried in the soft hay. Adam
reached out, and carefully holding the child, turned him over. Then he gently
brushed the golden brown curls aside, so he could see his brother’s face,
“Joe, Joe, talk to me!” Adam was worried sick.
A big smile slowly spread across Joe’s face as
he began a quiet giggle, ”Hi Adam….. I fell off the roof…….Sorry.”
Joe blinked his soft green eyes and with his angelic face, he looked as innocent
as a newborn baby.
“Just lay still.” Adam was now annoyed.
He felt down Little Joe’s arms and legs. Nothing seemed to be broken. He looked
intently into Joe’s eyes to check for a concussion but only found mischief.
“You seem to be okay. Move your arms and fingers. Now move your legs.” Joe
did as he was told. “Can you stand up?”
“I think so,” Little Joe spoke in a tiny little
voice. “Are ya’ mad at me, Adam? Please don’t hit me.”
“Punkin’! Are ya’ hurt?” It was Hoss running to
the scene of the accident.
“I’m Okay, Hoss. Honest. Don’t let Adam hit me
with that stick, please.” Joe looked to Hoss with a pleading face.
“What stick, Joe? Adam ain’t got a stick.”
Hoss looked to Adam and scrunched up his face, “What’s he talkin’ ‘bout Adam?”
“Probably saw me with the stick he threw down the
chimney. Is that the stick you’re talking about, Joe? I’m not fixin’
to hit you and I would never hit you with a stick” Adam looked down at his
little brother and wondered why Joe would think that.
“Come on Joe, let’s go rest a bit.” Adam picked
his little brother up in his arms and carried him over to the padded rocking
chair on the porch. Little Joe was small for his age and cuddled comfortably
into Adam’s embrace.
Hoss could see that his brothers needed some time
to talk, so he excused himself to finish the work in the barn.
As Adam rocked in the chair, he began talking,
“Joe, sometimes you are a real pest and I’ve never seen anyone get into more
trouble than you. But you are my brother and I sure don’t want to see you
get hurt. I would never hit you with a stick” Adam didn’t often reveal his
feelings.
Joe was enjoying the words and the closeness. He
had overheard his Papa talking about Adam going away and he was a little worried
about it. Adam was almost as good as Papa. He didn’t know what he would
do if his big brother weren’t there to take care of him. Little Joe closed
his eyes and snuggled closer. He tried to push his worries from his mind.
“Joe, I hope you learned something today. It is
not safe to be on the roof, ever. You were lucky to not get hurt. Why were
you up there, anyway?” Adam stopped the motion of the rocking chair
and gently lifted Joe’s chin so he could look him in the eyes.
“Well, I just wanted to check somethin’ out.” Joe
wasn’t sure he wanted to share this information.
“Check out what Joe?” Adam pressed for an answer.
“Oh, you know, I wanted to see if things can go
down the chimney.”
“Like sticks?” Adam continued the rocking.
“Yeah. Sticks. And people.” Joe looked shyly
into Adam’s face.
“People? Joseph, don’t you ever try to go
down that chimney! You could get stuck or fall and get hurt or burned.
There is a fire in the fireplace, you know.” Adam couldn’t believe his
brother was thinking about going down the chimney.
“Not me, Adam. I’m not going to go down the chimney.”
Joe tried to calm his big brother by patting him on the arm.
“Well you better not, Joe. I mean it. And none
of your little friends are to go down the chimney, either. Promise?”
Joe gave Adam a weak smile. Adam didn’t understand
him and he just didn’t feel like talking about this anymore. “I’m okay now.
Let me go Adam, I gotta go help Hoss.”
“Promise me, Joe. I’m not letting you go
till you promise me that you won’t go on the roof again and you certainly
aren’t going to put anything or anybody down the chimney.” Adam held tight.
He wanted Joe’s word on this.
“Okay, Okay, Adam. Let me go.” Joe
continued to struggle.
Adam wasn’t sure if this was a real promise,
but the conversation was probably over, so he released Joe and helped him
to stand up. “Are you sure you’re okay Little Buddy? You took a nasty fall.”
“I’m fine.” Joe looked down at the
ground. He was biting his lip and seemed to have something else to say. Finally
he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Adam’s neck. “I love you, Adam.”
Before Adam could respond, Joe was off and running to the barn.
Hoss was glad to see his little brother come into
the barn. “Now tell the truth, Joe. You ain’t hurt or nuthin’ are you?”
“I already told you, Hoss, I’m fine.” Little
Joe climbed up on the side of the wooden barrier that created the stall for
one of the horses. “Hoss, what are ya’ gonna get me for Christmas? ‘Cause
if you don’t know I can give you a list if you want. My teacher made us write
a letter to Santa Claus to tell him what we want. So’s my list is already
done. Ya’ wanna’ see it? I got it in my pocket.” Joe had recovered from
his fall and was now ready to torment his brother, Hoss.
“What makes you think I’m gettin’ you anything
for Christmas? You’ve been a pain in the neck all this last year.”
Hoss decided to try some torment of his own.
Joe became worried, “I ain’t been bad every day,
Hoss. Sometimes I been real good. Remember when you was sick and I played
checkers with you, every day? And, I let you win. And remember all the times
I didn’t tell Pa when you was sneakin’ cookies out of Hop Sing’s kitchen?
Remember?”
“Well, that’s true, Joe. But where were you
when we was supposed to be cleanin’ the barn today? Huh? I’ll tell you
where you were, you were runnin’ around on the roof, that’s where ya’ were.
And that’s a really stupid thing to do, too.” Hoss’s voice was rising as
he continued to think of all the times Little Joe had gotten him in trouble
and then somehow escaped the punishment.
“Okay, okay, Hoss. Forget about my Christmas presents.
You’re just too grumpy.” Joe decided it was time to go someplace
else. He jumped down from his perch and ran from the barn.
Little Joe stopped in the yard and looked around.
What should I do now? There were a few horses in the corral, and Charlie,
the ranch foreman, was unsaddling his horse after a day on the range. He looked
too tired to bother. The chickens were scratching and pecking at the ground
and making all sorts of clucking sounds. Joe thought about chasing them.
Adam was back inside the house. Joe looked at the ladder and considered going
back up on the roof for another look around, but decided it was too soon
since he had last been caught. So he headed for the kitchen. He hadn’t talked
to Hop Sing since the morning. Maybe he would be good company. His brothers
sure weren’t.
Joe entered through the kitchen door, slamming
it shut behind him. He plopped down in a wooden chair that was pulled next
to a small oak table, “Hi ya’ Hop Sing. Watcha’ doin’?”
Hop Sing would have demanded that anyone
else leave his kitchen at once. But Little Joe was different. He loved his
little boy. Hop Sing put down his rolling pin and wiping his hands on a towel,
walked over to Little Joe and looked into his face, “Little Joe, what you
have all over face? Face look black. You need wash face and hands. Little
boy velly dirty.”
Joe sighed. What now? He walked over to the pump
at the end of the kitchen and climbed up on the counter. Hop Sing had a small
mirror hanging on the wall just above the pump. Joe peered into the mirror,
“Yikes, Hop Sing. You’re right. Musta’ been the smoke from the chimney.” Joe
crawled over to the pump and worked the handle up and down until he had a
stream of water for his wash cloth. Watching in the mirror, he quickly rubbed
his grubby face. When he was done cleaning, Hop Sing inspected his work.
“Little boy look much better now. Suppa’ be ready
velly soon. Go tell brothers, time get cleaned up. Don’t want suppa’ all burned
up. Go now.” Hop Sing swooshed Little Joe out the door.
“Hey, Hoss! Hop Sing says supper’s ready
and you gotta’ get cleaned up!” Joe watched as Hoss walked across the yard
toward the house.
“I hear you, but there’s some things needin’
done around here ‘cause a certain little brother don’t put nothin’ away,”
Hoss grumbled as he picked up the wooden ladder left standing beside the front
porch.
“Sorry Hoss.” Joe tried to look sincere
as he watched his big brother drag the ladder into the barn.
Then he scampered off toward the front door of
the house. He stopped just short of the door and looked up. Hanging on the
porch post was an old copper dinner bell. Joe had passed by it lots of times
before, but he had never seen anyone use it. He had never heard it ring before.
“This is the perfect time,” Joe said out loud. He pulled up the rocking
chair and balancing carefully on the seat, reached for the string attached
to the metal clanger. DING! DING! DING! The sound was deafening. Soon everyone
came running. Hoss came from the barn. Hop Sing came from the kitchen. Adam
came from the big room. And Charlie, the foreman, came running from the bunkhouse.
“What’s going on?” demanded Adam. He grabbed Little
Joe from the chair and unceremoniously swung him to the ground.
“Supper’s ready, Adam.” Joe just stood there,
looking from person to person, wondering what all the fuss was about.
“Joe, that bell is for emergencies only.
Like if the house was on fire or some outlaws were coming. We don’t use it
just to call people to supper.” Adam was trying to be patient with
his words, but his face showed exasperation.
“Sorry Adam.” Little Joe couldn’t help
but grin. “It sure did work, didn’t it? I mean, look, everybody came running,
didn’t they? Gee, Adam. Maybe this was just practice, huh?”
“Remind me to tell you the story about the
little boy who cried wolf. Looking around the small group that had formed,
Adam released a small laugh, “Sorry Charlie, Hop Sing. At least Joe
now knows what the bell is for.”
Kneeling down to face his youngest brother,
Adam continued, “I thought you knew about that bell, Little Buddy. Guess it
has been awhile since we’ve had a crises around here. Come on, let’s go eat
Hop Sing’s supper.”
Adam sat in Ben’s chair at the dining room
table. Little Joe sat to his right and Hoss sat to his left. Spread in front
of the boys were bowls of hot steaming food: corn, beets, ham slices and mashed
potatoes. As Adam passed the bowls to his left, Hoss enthusiastically piled
the food on his plate. Then Adam passed the bowls to his right and Little
Joe politely told him, “No thanks”. Each time Adam ignored him and
placed a small serving of food on Little Joe’s plate. With each spoonful,
Joe’s scowl became more dramatic.
Joe sat back in his chair, arms folded across
his chest, “How come nobody hears me? I’m not hungry right now.”
Adam rolled his eyes, “There is a time to
work, a time to sleep and a time to eat. This is the time to eat. Hey Hoss,
this ham is real tasty, isn’t it?”
“Oh man, Adam. You sure are right about that.
This ham just melts in your mouth. And the mashed potatoes, I think they are
the best Hop Sing ever made!” Hoss was grinning from ear to ear.
Hop Sing had been standing in the doorway
and overheard the compliments to his culinary talents. “Hop Sing velly happy.
Go slice more ham.”
Joe watched his brother Hoss and wondered
why anyone could get so happy over a piece of ham. Then he looked at Adam
and noticed that he, too, seemed to be really enjoying his food. He looked
down at his own plate and reluctantly picked up his fork, trying to decide
where to stick it first.
“Hey Adam, Santa Claus is comin’ pretty soon,
ain’t he?” Hoss spoke with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.
“I think you’re right, Hoss. Guess he’s probably
watching all the kids pretty close. He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and
nice.” Adam stole a glance at Little Joe.
Little Joe furrowed his brow as he thought
about these words. Without looking up, his fork hit the ham and soon he was
cleaning his plate.
With supper over, the three brothers sauntered
over to the living room. Adam, once again, took up residence in his favorite
red leather chair. The chair was near the fireplace and had a free standing
Victorian lamp next to it. The glow from the lamp often lit up the pages of
his books, late into the night. Hoss stretched out on the sofa, which was
becoming almost too short for his ever-lengthening body. Little Joe scrambled
to sit on top of his favorite perch, the tinderbox. The wooden box was just
his size. It sat on the hearth, right next to Adam’s chair. Being near the
fire, it was toasty warm and it was perfect for keeping track of everything
going on in nearly the entire downstairs of the house.
Adam squirmed in his chair until he
was comfortable and began to once again read his new book.
“Watcha’ readin’ Adam, huh? Lemme see.” Joe
could almost see the words in Adam’s book from where he sat.
Adam pressed his lips together as he turned
his eyes to the left and looked at his small brother, “It’s called Moby Dick,
Joe, and it is written by Herman Melville”. He returned his eyes to the pages
of his book.
“What’s a Moby Dick, Adam? Huh?” Joe
crossed his legs under himself and leaned toward his brother with a questioning
face.
“It’s a whale, Joe. A big whale.” Adam tried
to ignore his brother’s penetrating eyes.
“ How big, Adam? Is it as big as this house?
Huh?” Joe wanted to know more.
Adam sighed, “No, not as big as this house.
But very big. I have an idea, why don’t you play some checkers with Hoss?
That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
A groan came from the sofa, “Oh please, Adam, not
tonight. I’m so plumb wore out. All I want to do is lay here and listen to
the fire.” Hoss didn’t even open his eyes.
“I don’t wanna play checkers either, Adam. I just
wanna watch you read. Does your book got any pictures? I never saw a whale
before. Huh?” Joe was on a roll.
Adam knew it was useless to try and divert
Little Joe’s attention. When he was interested in something, he would not
let it go. Sighing, he turned to his brother, “Come on Little Buddy. Sit on
my lap and I’ll show you the pictures. And I’ll read some for you, too.”
“O-kay!” Joe jumped down from his throne
and clambered onto his brother’ lap. He watched intently as Adam pointed out
the pictures of the whaling ships, harpoons and sailor’s. Joe asked a hundred
questions about the boats and about what the men were doing. It all sounded
so gory, hunting down whales and sticking them with harpoons. Remembering
Joe’s nightmares, Adam tried to soften the information, focusing on the important
products from the whale: oil and blubber.
After awhile, Joe became restless and wanted
to get off his brother’s lap. Adam was glad to let the wiggly boy go.
Nobody noticed the mischievous gleam in his
Joe’s eyes. He jumped up on the solid wooden coffee table, and shouted, “Whale,
whale, I see a whale, dead ahead, Captain! Keep your course, Matey!
Man the harpoon’s!” Before Adam could stop him, Joe lunged from the
table onto Hoss’s stomach.
“Ughhh!” Hoss’s eyes flew open. He had just
drifted off to sleep and was not expecting to be jumped on. “What are ya’
tryin’ to do Joe? Git off me!”
Adam rose quickly, tossing his book aside.
In one step he reached his youngest brother and swiftly lifted him off poor
Hoss’s belly. Joe was giggling uncontrollably, “I got the whale, Adam! I got
the biggest whale you ever saw! ”
Awake now, Hoss started to reach for his
baby brother, “So I’m a whale, huh? Well, this whale is gonna swallow you
whole.” Stumbling past the coffee table, Hoss opened his mouth wide
and began chasing after his two brothers. ”Grrrrah!” Hoss made a loud noise,
unsure just what a whale would sound like.
Adam decided to join the fun. He quickly
swung Little Joe onto his shoulders and began running from Hoss, “Look out,
Joe, that whale looks pretty mean.”
Joe squealed and his giggles turned
to laughing and soon all three boys were running and whooping around the house.
They jumped over chairs, climbed under tables, ran across the hearth and
squeezed around their father's desk.
Hop sing came waddling into the dining
area from the kitchen. He was carrying a glass dish and paused to observe
the antics of Ben Cartwright’s sons. “All boys stop noise now! Hop Sing
make special treat.” He continued onto the fireplace and placed the container
on the low wooden table.
Hoss stopped in his tracks. He whiffed the
air, “Mmmmmmm, Hop sing, did you make what I think you made?”
Adam slowed down and carefully lowered Little
Joe to the floor. He could smell the delicious odor and it brought back warm
memories of cozy winter nights by the fireplace and a feeling of closeness
with his family.
Joe was just sorry that Hoss wasn’t chasing
him anymore.
Adam was the first to reach the table. “Caramels!
I love caramels. Thanks Hop Sing.”
He used a table knife to lift up a 1-inch square of the smooth, sweet
confection. Normally Adam did not like to eat sweet things, but caramels were
different. Before Little Joe’s mother had died, several years earlier, she
had sometimes made the delicious caramel treat for the family and Hop Sing
had kept up the tradition.
Hoss was not far behind as he reached for the knife
to pry out his first piece of caramel. “Your caramels taste so good, Hop Sing.”
Little Joe watched both of his brothers stuff the
gooey globs into their mouths and moan in delight. Talking through a mouthful
of caramels, Hoss motioned to Joe to come join them, “Come on Joe, I’ll get
you a piece, too.”
Joe scrunched his nose in disgust, “No way. I’m
not eatin’ that yucky stuff.”
Adam and Hoss looked at each other and smiled.
“Suits me, Joe. Just leaves more for Hoss and me.” As Adam licked his fingers,
he remembered something.
“This is Saturday night, isn’t it, Hoss?”
“Yep, it is Adam.”
“And what do we always do on a Saturday night?”
Adam raised his eyebrows as he looked in Joe’s direction.
“Noooooooo, not now. Later!” Joe knew what
Adam was talking about and the whining began.
As if on cue, Hop Sing reappeared from the
kitchen, “Hop Sing have bath ready for number three son.”
“That would be you, Little Buddy. If you’re
not eating any caramels, then march to the bathhouse and get started. I’ll
be in shortly to help you wash your hair. Go on, git.” Adam popped another
piece of caramel into his mouth.
“Why do I always gotta’ take a bath first?
It’s not fair!” Joe stomped his foot and sank to the floor in protest.
Hoss piped in, “’Cause you’re the youngest,
Shortshanks. That’s why. Now get goin’ or I’m gonna’ get you. Arrraugh!”
Hoss raised his arms over his head and started for his little brother. This
big ole whale is comin’ to git ya’”.
Joe couldn’t help but be distracted from
his angry mood. “No, you’re not gettin’ me, Hoss!” Crawling on all fours
and then stumbling to his feet, Joe scurried toward the kitchen as fast as
he could. His laughter could be heard all the way to the bathhouse.
It didn’t take long for both Joe and Hoss to take
their baths and get ready for bed. Adam was feeling pleased that he had gotten
that part of his babysitting job out of the way. Now all I have to do is get
Joe in bed and it’s quiet time!
“Joe, your hair is dry now, and it is already past
your bedtime. Come on, I’ll tuck you in.” Adam held his hand out to Little
Joe as he headed for the staircase.
“Noooooooo! I don’t wanna go to bed right now.
I’m not tired. Please? Why can’t I just read some books? Hoss isn’t goin’.
Why do I gotta go? It’s not that late. We didn’t sing any songs. You said
we was gonna sing songs.” The begging and whining began again in earnest
as Joe backed away from his brother.
Adam winced. He just knew things were going too
smoothly. “Joe, why do you make such a big deal out of going to bed? Everybody
goes to bed. We do it every night. Come on.” Adam tried a little reasoning,
knowing full well that reason rarely worked with his little brother.
Joe stuck out his lower jaw, “NO! And you
can’t make me.”
Sometimes Adam loved a challenge. This was
not one of those times. Exasperated, he walked over to Little Joe and easily
hoisted him up and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Why does Joe
think he can get his own way? Adam speculated, as he quickly carried the screaming,
kicking little boy up the stairs to bed.
Joe kicked one too many times, catching Adam
in the belly. As Adam tossed Joe onto his bed, he gave him a solid smack to
the backside. Startled, Joe quickly settled down. He had forgotten that Adam
could get pushed just a little too far.
“Joe, I sure hope Santa Claus is busy checking
on some other little boy right now, ‘cause you’re acting very bad.” Adam
pulled the covers up to Joe’s chin and held him down firmly.
Joe sniffed his nose, “S-sorry Adam. Do you
really think Santa Claus knows everything I do?” He sniffed again.
Adam sat down on the bed next to his little
brother and pondered carefully how to answer this question. “He always knows
what you want for Christmas, doesn’t he?”
Joe nodded his head as he searched his mind. “Last
year he brought me a new sled ‘cause Papa helped me write him a letter.”
“Well, if Santa knew about your sled, stands
to reason that he knows you pretty well, doesn’t it?”
Joe wiped the last of his tears from his
eyes and sniffed again, “Adam, is there really a Santa Claus?” The small
boy let out a sigh. It was the question he had been thinking about all day.
Adam was unprepared for this issue and fought
the urge to smile. “You just told me that he brought you a sled. And who always
eats the cookies and drinks the milk you leave him? What do you think?”
“I don’t know, Adam. Some boys
at school said that it is really your parents who put the Christmas presents
under the tree.”
Adam pondered this for a moment. Joe
looked so young and innocent. “Joe, every year somebody eats your cookies
and somebody leaves you presents. If I were you, I would not listen to what
the other kids say. I think you already know the answer to your question.
Joe looked puzzled. He wasn’t sure
what Adam had just told him. But he was pretty sure the boys at school were
wrong. “ Thanks Adam, I’ll go to sleep now. I promise I won’t
kick you anymore.”
Adam hid his smile with the palm of his left
hand, “Okay, Little Buddy. You still have five days until Christmas to show
Santa how good you can be.” Adam leaned over and gave Joe a kiss on
the forehead. “I’ll leave your lamp down low and the door open, in case you
need anything. Night- Night.”
As Joe watched his brother walk away, he called
out, “Love you, Adam. Tell Hoss I love him, too.”
“Love you, too, Joe. I’ll tell Hoss.”
Joe lay perfectly still, thinking about what
Adam had said. It was so confusing, yet so clear. Yesterday, some of the older
boys at school had teased him about writing a letter to Santa Claus. They
said that all the presents came from your parents and that grown-ups made
up Santa Claus to make little kids behave. They said that nobody could go
down your chimney and fly in a sled. Joe had been struggling with this information.
He was glad he had talked to Adam. Adam never told lies. And anyway, sticks
can go down the chimney. As these thoughts swirled through his head, Little
Joe Cartwright fell asleep.
Sunday
The snow had been falling heavily all night
long, unnoticed by the sleeping brothers. Adam was the first to get up. He
wrapped his wool robe tightly across his chest and securely tied the long
fabric belt in a knot. The house was quiet as he made his way downstairs.
Outside, the wind howled around the corners of the house. Adam pushed back
the heavy curtains covering the window nearest the dining room table. He shivered
as he realized that Mother Nature had been busy during the night. In the
low light of dawn, he could see at least six inches of new snow and drifts
piled against the house that would cover his boot tops. His first thoughts
were of his father. He hoped that the snow would not trap Ben in Carson City,
so close to Christmas time.
Adam pulled the covering
back over the window and walked to the fireplace. He added two more logs and
shifted the embers until he was sure there would soon be a blazing fire to
warm the room. As he gazed into the fire, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
It was Hop Sing, “Make coffee and hot chocolate.
Don’t worry, Mista Cartlight be home on Tuesday, like he say.” Adam
wondered, not for the first time, if Hop Sing could read his mind.
“Thanks Hop Sing. I’m sure he’ll make
it before the snow gets too deep. I know he had some last minute shopping
to do. He’ll be fine.” Adam needed to hear his own comforting words.
Sinking in his chair, he picked up Moby Dick and found where he had left off
the night before. As he sipped his coffee, his imagination returned to the
seas of Captain Ahab.
A half- hour later, a new face descended
the stairs. It was Hoss. He was fully clothed and fully refreshed after his
night’s rest. “Oh man, Adam, did ya look outside? It’s really blowin’ and
there’s startin’ to be some real snow on the ground.” He stood in front of
the fire; hands dug deep into the pockets of his bulky knit sweater.
“ I noticed. Guess we better figure on staying
here instead of trying to go to church. Think I could convince you and Joe?”
Adam said this with a gleam in his eye. Ben insisted that they attend church
services every Sunday, but not everyone enjoyed the long and often boring
sermons.
“ Well, I just think it wouldn’t be safe tryin’
to take those horses out in this snow. Yes sir, Adam. It’s a matter of safety.
I think we should just stay right here.” Hoss tried to keep his face as serious
as possible.
Adam slammed his book shut. “I’m going to get dressed.
Should we get Joe up before we do barn chores or after?”
Together, both boys laughed as they said in unison,
“After!”
Joe was still sleeping soundly as his brothers
entered his room. Their cheeks were rosy from the cold air and they were
both invigorated from their work outside.
Adam pulled back the drapes covering his little
brother’s window and the brightness filled the room. But Little Joe did not
stir. “Why are we doin’ this, Adam? It’s nice and quiet when he’s sleepin’.”
Hoss whispered to Adam.
Adam whispered back, “’Cause, Hoss, if we let him sleep
half the day, he will want to be up half the night, remember?”
“Oh yeah.”
Adam and Hoss each took a side of Joe’s bed and
sat down next to the sleeping boy. Adam spoke first, “Wake up Little Joe.
It’s a bright and sunny day!”
Joe rolled over onto his side, facing away from
Adam.
Hoss rubbed his little brother’s back and got close
to his ear. “You should see outside, Joe. There’s lots of snow.”
Joe moaned, rolled onto his back and stretched
his arms over his head. But his eyes would not open.
“I think the snow is perfect for snowballs
and for sledding. Don’t you?” Adam directed his words across the bed toward
Hoss.
“It’s the best, Adam. I bet ya’ could even make
a snowman if ya’ wanted.” Hoss beamed. He really was excited about all the
fun they could have in the snow.
Joe heard what his brothers said, but could not
get his body to move. His sleepy eyes were glued shut. Finally, he sat up,
and tried to focus on first Adam and then Hoss, “I wanna make a snowman.”
“I think we have his attention, Hoss.” Adam
got up to find some warm clothes for his little brother and Hoss pulled back
the covers.
“Yikes, it’s really cold!” Joe stood on his bed
and began to jump up and down.
“Yes, it is. You need to leave on your long johns
and put on two shirts.” Adam was prepared for the protest, but it didn’t come.
For once, Joe was too excited to bother being contrary. In fact, Joe couldn’t
be more obliging. He could hardly wait to go outside, as he loved snow and
all the things he could do with it.
Breakfast went very quickly and soon all three
boys were out in the yard. They were so bundled in their coats, scarves,
gloves and hats, they could barely move. The wind had stopped blowing and
the sun was shining brightly. It made the snow soft and just right for snowballs
and snowmen.
Joe knelt down and began rolling a small chunk
of snow across the ground. He let it collect more and more snow until he
had a very large ball. “Help me, Hoss. This is my snowman and he’s getting
too fat.”
Hoss came to his bother’s rescue and, together;
they rolled the biggest ball they had ever seen. “That’s a great bottom, Joe.
But now we need to make another ball to put on top of it for his middle.”
But Joe had already started to roll the snow. After
a trip around the yard, he called to Hoss again, “Hoss, is this the right
size? I can’t pick it up.”
“I’ll help ya’. This is just right.” With
that, Hoss lifted the ball of snow and placed it carefully on top of the bigger
ball.
Joe filled in the gaps between the balls with handfuls
of snow and announced that they needed a head. Hoss quickly rolled the head
of snow and lifted it to the top.
Standing back, both boys beamed at their work.
“Gosh, Joe. I think that’s the best darn snowman
we ever done made!” Hoss put his arm around his little brother.
“But he needs arms and eyes and nose and mouth.
And he needs a hat and scarf.” Joe looked up to Hoss for confirmation.
“Right, and I know just where to find some stuff.”
Hoss trudged over to the kitchen door with Joe trailing behind him. “Hop Sing,
we need a carrot for our snowman’s nose.”
As usual, Hop Sing was ready. He had learned the
crazy customs of his new country and was ready with the orange vegetable.
“Now, we gotta find some stones for his eyes and
mouth. Joe, look over there by the garden.” Joe scampered off to fetch
some stones and Hoss stuck the carrot into the center of the top ball of snow.
“You can put the eyes on, if you want, Joe.” Hoss
didn’t want to take over all the fun.
“I can’t reach, Hoss.” Joe wanted to add his stones
for the face.
“No problem, Shortshanks. I’ll give you a boost.”
Hoss wrapped his hands around Joe’s waist and lifted him up. Soon, the snowman
took on a personality of his own as two bright eyes and a lopsided grin appeared.
Adam approached from the barn, pulling three
sleds. “Hey, that’s a good looking snowman. I think he needs some arms and
a hat to keep his head warm.”
“I know where there are some sticks for his
arms!” shouted Joe.
“I’ll bet you do,” Adam responded dryly.
“I’ll get a hat and a scarf.” Hoss ran for
the credenza by the front door where extra winter coverings were kept.
Soon, the brothers were standing back and
admiring their work.
“Now that sure is the best snowman ever!”
Hoss beamed.
“Yeah. I hope he doesn’t melt before Papa sees
him.” Joe took on a look of concern.
“Pa will be home in a couple of days. I think your
snowman will still be here to welcome him,” Adam reassured his little
brother. “Now, let’s go inside and get warmed up.”
“Noooo. I’m not cold. I don’t wanna go in. I wanna
go on the sleddin’ hill.” Joe raced for his sled.
“Hey, I just spent over an hour fixing Hoss’s sled
and brought all the sleds out of the barn so we can use them. A sleddin’ we
will go! But at the moment, you’re wet and cold. We need to get dry and warm
up for awhile.” Adam started for the front door.
“Then pull me to the door. Pleeeze?” Joe
was already sitting on his sled and did not look like he planned to move
any time soon.
Adam was happy to play along, if it got Little
Joe back inside.
“I can’t wait to go inside. I bet Hop Sing made
some hot chocolate.” Hoss was the first one in the front door.
Standing by the fire, the boys peeled off their
snow caked mittens, hats, scarves and coats. They carefully spread the coverings
in front of the fire and began working on taking off their boots. Joe was
having a little trouble, so Adam sat him down on the hearth and pulled the
wet boots off with ease. Soon, three pairs of boots were lined up next to
the colorful array of clothing strewn about the hearth.
“Joe, you need to take your pants off, too.
They’re wet,” Adam stated.
Joe scowled, “Why? You didn’t take off your pants.
Hoss didn’t take off his pants.”
“’Cause we weren’t crawling on the ground and our
pants aren’t as wet as yours. You want to go sledding?” Adam asked seriously.
Joe knew this was a threat and quickly pulled off
his soggy pants.
Soon, all three boys were cuddled together on the
sofa. Joe sat in the middle and a heavy quilt covered them all. Hop Sing brought
hot chocolate and sandwiches and they munched contentedly in front of the
fire. Ben would never have allowed eating food on the sofa and the boys savored
the “badness” of it all.
With tummies full and the fire warm, sleepiness
was in the air. Joe was the first to give in and soon Hoss was snoring softly,
as well. Adam relaxed and watched his two little brothers sleep. He smiled
as he thought about how sweet they looked, knowing full well that, together,
Joe and Hoss could be real terrors.
Joe woke up first, “I gotta’ go, right now!”
Adam startled from his dozing. He knew that Joe
really did mean, now. Quickly he got to his feet and extracted Joe from the
heavy quilt and Hoss’s legs. Setting Joe on his feet he shouted instructions.
“Go to your room. Use the chamber pot. Hurry.” He pushed Joe toward the staircase.
“It’s too cold, Adam,” Joe whined.
“I don’t care- go!” Adam wasn’t about to have an
accident on his hands.
Reluctantly, Joe started for the stairs and was
soon running as fast as he could.
Joe made it in time and bounded back downstairs,
prepared to get his brothers moving. He was determined to wake Hoss from his
slumbers. “Come on, Hoss. If you get up we can go sledding.”
Hoss opened one eye and looked at Joe, “Sleddin’?
Naw. It’s too cold.”
Adam was already up, adding another log to the
roaring fire. He grinned when he heard Hoss and saw Little Joe’s stricken
face.
“He’s just teasin’, Joe. Come on and get dressed.”
Adam handed Joe his now dry pants.
“He better be just teasin’, else he’s gonna miss
all the fun, huh, Adam?” Joe struggled to get his legs into the right
openings of his wool leggings.
Adam noticed his problem and sat down on the hearth
to help his little brother get the pants on straight, as well as his boots,
an extra sweater, coat, mittens, scarf and hat. Then he began collecting his
own winter gear. While he and Hoss got ready to go, Joe ran out the front
door, eager to make sure his snowman was still there.
“What hill are we gonna go to, Adam? I wish we
could go to Devil’s Run, near the woods.” Hoss made his way toward
the door.
Adam was following close behind and grabbed
him by the back of his coat. Turning Hoss around he put his hands on his “little”
brother’s broad shoulders. In his most serious voice, Adam began, “Hoss,
don’t even mention Devil’s Run. You know Pa would never let Little Joe on
that hill and we don’t need to put the idea in his head. He’ll bug us the
rest of the week if you mention it.”
“Awe, gee, Adam. How come we can’t never have any
fun. Just ‘cause Joe’s little don’t mean I can’t have any fun.” Hoss didn’t
usually pout, but Adam could tell he was on the verge of a very dramatic protest.
“Look, Hoss. Pa’s not home. We gotta take care
of Little Joe. When Pa gets back, you can go to Devil’s Run any time you
want. Just not now. Understand?” Adam raised his eyebrows, but did
not take his eyes from Hoss.
“Okay, big brother,” Half-heartedly, Hoss scuffed
the floor with his boot and pulled the door open. “Let’s take the kid over
to that hill up by the corral. Is that one okay?”
Adam gave his brother a friendly push out the door,
“Yeah, that one’s fine.”
Joe already had the rope to his sled wrapped around
his mitten. He had run around the yard several times, pulling the wooden racer
behind him, and was beginning to get impatient. When he saw his brothers emerge
from the front door, his face brightened, “Come on you guys. You’re bein’
too slow. Let’s go to Devil’s Run. That’s the good hill.”
Adam rolled his eyes and looked at Hoss. He was
glad they had already talked about which hill they were going to use. Looking
back to his youngest brother, Adam drew his eyebrows together to look as serious
as possible, “Sorry little Buddy, but that hill is off limits. We’re going
to the hill by the corral.”
“That’s the baby hill, Adam! That hill doesn’t
even go fast.” Whining, Joe stomped his foot. He couldn’t believe his brothers
wouldn’t take him to the big hill.
Hoss decided to speak up, “Gosh, Joe, I like that
hill. It’s a lot longer than Devil’s Run. I can’t wait to get over there.”
He quickly started off in the direction of the corral. He didn’t want Joe
to see the disappointment on his own face.
Adam was right behind him, his long strides allowing
him to catch up to Hoss.
Joe pondered the thought of being left behind.
The idea was not appealing and he was soon running to catch up, “Adam, Hoss,
slow down. Wait for me.” His shorter legs ran to catch up with his brothers.
The hill was not very high and Hoss was doing his
best to keep from complaining. He tried to think of different ways to go down
that would make the trip more exciting. He went down backwards, he laid down
on the sled, and he even tried to stand up on the sled as it glided down
the slight incline. Joe was captivated by Hoss’s creativity and tried to
match his brother’s stunts. Adam scowled and fussed at Hoss, but he too, was
getting a little bored.
After awhile, the sun started to get low in the
sky and Adam called a halt to the sledding.
Only Joe did not want to leave, “Do we gotta go,
Adam?”
“’Fraid so Buddy. Want a ride?” Adam stooped to
pick up the rope to Little Joe’s sled.
“Yeah, Adam. Pull me. You can be the horse and
I can be the stagecoach driver. Giddy up, horse!” Joe plopped down
on his sled and held tight to the sides.
Adam grinned and decided to use the game
to get Joe back to the house, “Take my sled, Hoss. Hang on tight, little
brother. Here we go, flying over the road!” He took off running to
the house; Little Joe laughing with excitement as his sled flew across the
snow.
When they got to the house, Joe didn’t want to
stop, “You’re more fun than that baby hill, Adam. Pull me some more!”
Breathing heavily, Adam shook his head, “Oh no,
this horse needs to get where it’s warm and rest up awhile. And the stagecoach
driver needs to get warmed up, too.”
Hoss soon joined his brothers, eager to get
near the warm fireplace. “I’ll put the sleds away, Adam. You look tuckered
out. I’ll check the horses, too ”
For the second time that day, mittens, hats, scarves,
coats, socks and boots lined the hearth in front of the blazing fireplace.
Adam insisted that they all change into warm and dry clothing.
As the boys descended the stairs, Hop Sing was
setting the table. “Dinner ready. Boys come eat. Need warm food inside, warm
fire outside.”
Dinner included hot steaming beef stew with fresh
buttermilk biscuits and hot chocolate. Little Joe ate all the stew in his
bowl and to his brother’s amazement, asked for some more. Everyone was extra
hungry as the cold and the exercise had increased their appetites.
As Joe started on his second helping of stew, he
stopped with his spoon in the air and blurted out what he had been thinking
about, “How can Santa Claus get up on the roof?”
Hoss considered the question. Adam wished he had
an answer, “Joe, I have a book I want to read to you after we’re done eating.
It has some nice pictures and it might answer your question”.
That did it for Joe, he was done eating as soon
as he heard about the book. He tried to leave the table, but Adam insisted
that he finish his milk. Joe dawdled and came close to spilling the milk several
times. Finally, Adam was finished and rose from the table.
“Now, Adam?” Joe couldn’t believe how slow his
brothers could be sometimes.
“Now, Joe. Just wait on the sofa. I’ll be right
back.” Adam went up to his room, two steps at a time. He knew exactly where
he had hidden the book. He had purchased it for Little Joe the last
time he was in San Francisco. The book was A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement
Clark Moore. He was captivated by the colorful drawings by Thomas Nast. The
story was really a poem about St. Nicholas and his visit to a family on Christmas
Eve. Adam was saving the picture book to give Little Joe for Christmas, but
with all the talk about Santa, he decided that now was the perfect time to
share the book.
By the time Adam returned to the sofa, Joe was
already yawning. Adam sat down next to him and Hoss plopped down and cozied
up to Adam on the other side.
“ I wanna hear this story, too, Adam. Is that okay?”
Hoss still liked to hear his brother tell stories. He had a way of saying
the words that made you feel like you were right there, really in the story.
“Of course, Hoss. There are some great pictures,
so both of you get close, so you can see.”
Joe did not need an invitation. He leaned hard
into Adam and rested his head on his chest, “Come on Adam, read it!”
Adam began,
“The name of the book is, “A Visit From St. Nicholas.”
\
“Who is St. Nicholas? That picture looks like Santa Claus.
How come it isn’t a visit from Santa Claus?”
“St. Nicholas is just another name for Santa Claus,
Joe.”
“Oh.”
“Twas the Night before Christmas when all through
the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were
hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.”
Joe sat enraptured; hanging on Adam’s every word.
“The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
as visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.”
“What’s sugarplums, Adam?”
“Its like candied fruit, you know, dates?”
“Oh. Keep readin’”
“ And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap had
just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.”
Joe and Hoss giggled at the thought of settling
brains. “Why do they got hats on to sleep?” Joe interrupted again.
“It’s to keep them warm.” Again, Adam tried to
continue.
“When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew
like a flash, tore open the shutter and threw up the sash. The moon on the
breast of the new fallen snow, gave the luster of midday to objects below,”
Joe spoke up again, “What’s a cluster of
midday, huh?”
Adam sighed, “Joe, just listen to the story all
the way through. Listen hard and look at the pictures. You can figure out
what it is about. Ask questions when we are all done reading.”
Joe frowned. He was just trying to figure it out,
“Okay.” And then he yawned again.
Adam pressed on, “When what to my wondering eyes
should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.”
“Oh, look Hoss. There he is. There’s Santa Claus!”
Joe reached across Adam’s lap to pull Hoss’s head around to face the book.
“I see, Joe. Sure ‘nuf is!” Hoss smiled at his
little brother’s excitement.
Licking his lips to avoid grinning too much, Adam
continued, “With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment
it must be St. Nick.”
“Hoss, that’s really Santa Claus!” Joe was truly
enjoying this story.
“More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: Now Dasher! Now Dancer!,
Now, Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen! To the
top of the porch, to the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away
all!” Adam paused to turn the page and Joe’s eyes became very large as he
gazed at the reindeer landing on the rooftop, right next to the chimney.
“Reindeers fly and take Santa’s sleigh up on the
roof. Reindeers do it, Adam!” Joe pointed to the picture.
Adam nodded.
“As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly, When
they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, So up to the housetop the coursers
they flew, With the sleigh full of toys and St. Nicholas too.”
“That’s were he keeps the toys. In the back of
his sleigh,” Joe pronounced this as fact.
Adam sighed and continued, “And then in a twinkling,
I heard on the roof, the prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew
in my head and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with
a bound.
“See? See? See him go down the chimney? I just
knew that was what Santa Claus did.” Joe bit his lip and seriously studied
the picture.
“He was dressed all in fur from his head to his
foot. And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. A bundle of
toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his
pack.”
“See that sled? That’s my sled,” Joe said confidently.
Adam smiled and continued, “His eyes how
they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose
like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard
on his chin was as white as the snow. The stump of a pipe he held tight in
his teeth and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.”
Hoss chuckled, “Just like ole Charlie!”
Adam smiled and read on, “He had a broad face and
a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.”
“Just like you, Hoss!” Joe teased his brother
and Hoss tried to reach him with a punch.
“Now, boys, settle down or I’ll put the book away,”
Adam threatened.
“Noooo, finish it, Adam. Pleeeze?” Joe was not
about to let the story stop now.
“Okay, here we go,” Adam shifted a little bit.
“He was chubby and plump a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw
him in spite of myself. A wink of his eye and a twist of his head soon gave
me to know that I had nothing to dread. He spoke not a word and went straight
to his work and filled all the stockings and turned with a jerk. And laying
his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod up the chimney he rose.”
“So that’s how he does it. I wondered how he got
back up the chimney,” Joe whispered and yawned widely.
Adam knew he had Joe well on the way to dreamland.
“He sprang to his sleigh and to his team gave a whistle and away they all
flew like the down of the thistle. But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out
of sight, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!”
For a full thirty seconds Joe did not speak or
move. He sat and stared at the picture of Santa Claus flying across the sky
with his sled and reindeer. Finally he spoke, “Wow. Did you hear that Adam?
Did you hear that Hoss? Did you guys see those pictures?”
“Well of course we did, Joe. We was sittin’ right
here and Adam was readin’ the story!” Hoss shook his head in amazement
of his little brother.
“But did you see? He just whistled and all them
reindeer went flyin’. I thinks it’s magic. That’s how he can fly. Right, Adam?”
“That sounds right to me, Little Buddy.”
Adam caught Joe yawning again and announced the next activity, “ Glad you
liked the book, Little Joe. But it is time for bed. No arguments.”
Joe thought about arguing, but he was sleepy and
he had plans to take this book to bed and read it again, by himself. “Okay,
Adam, but can I take this book with me?”
“Sure, Little Joe,” Adam was more than willing
to concede on this issue, if it would get his brother in bed and asleep.
A half-hour later, all three boys were sound asleep
in their warm inviting beds. Two hours later, Adam had a night visitor, “Adam?
Can I sleep with you? I had a bad dream about a whale and it was in a sled
and the wind was making it blow all around and then bad people were poking
some reindeers with long sticks and…..”
“Okay, okay, Joe. I get the picture. Come on and
get in.” Adam lifted the blankets and soon Joe was snuggled close with Adam’s
protective arm draped across his small shoulders. Adam smiled at the amazing
creative mind of his little brother. He hoped that Little Joe would believe
in Santa Claus for a long time to come.
Monday
There was no school this week. Parents kept
their children home to get ready for the holidays and to give the teacher
a little break. Even if there had been school, the snow would have kept Hoss
and Little Joe at home because another inch had fallen in the night. Adam
was up first and when he saw the white stuff, he felt a little cramp in the
pit of his stomach. Please Pa, get home! Only three more days till Christmas!
He placed another log on the fire and went upstairs to wake Hoss.
At the same time, a few miles out from Virginia City…
Nick Grinrich threw another log on his fire,
as well. Only his fire was outside in the cold and the chubby man shivered,
despite the rising flames. He stood looking at the burning embers, deep in
thought. His large belly hung over his belt and since there had not been money
to spend on a barber, or even a new razor, he sported a bushy white beard.
The beard framed his round face and his cheeks were red and ruddy from the
cold air. His little mouth held the stump of a corncob pipe. On either side
of his face, the beard joined up with more long white hair that covered the
top of his head.
Grinrich was down on his luck. For the last year,
he had been digging for gold in a claim staked out in the hills near Virginia
City. The measly chunks of gold he was able to find were only enough to buy
a few supplies of pipe tobacco, coffee, whiskey, and watery stew. He was tired.
Tired of the sun and heat in the summer. Tired of the cold and the snow in
the winter. Tired of the dirt and rocks. Tired of the grub and mostly tired
of being tired. And now his two younger bothers from St. Louis had joined
him, thinking they would share his “wealth”. He laughed at this thought, Well,
I hate to disappoint you, brothers, but there ain’t nuthin’ to share.
“Hey Nick! Ain’t you got nothin’ but this ole’
watered down stone soup?” Stan Grinrich was feeling very grumpy. When
he and his twin brother, Sam, started out for Virginia City, six weeks ago,
they had dreams of gold and riches, not dirt and rocks.
Sam groaned from his blanket on the ground, “Dang,
its cold. Nick, this just ain’t gonna work. We gotta do somethin’ ‘bout this.
Stan and Sam were scrawny men. Shorter than their
big brother, they had comical faces and long, straggly hair. Without meat
on their bones, the Grinrich twins were feeling the ill affects of the cold.
“I don’t know why you two are complainin’. Nobody
asked ya’ to come here, anyways.” Nick wasn’t a mean man, but he had little
to offer his brothers and was definitely feeling cranky and a little bit like
a failure.
“What about that town we wuz in the other day,
Virginia City, why don’t we go there and maybe find us a warm spot?” Sam
was ready to go anywhere, besides this god-forsaken patch of dirt.
“Yeah”, shouted Stan, “I need to find some food.”
“You two got any money? ‘Cause they don’t give
food away, you know!” Nick wished he could go into town and get a warm supper,
himself.
“Now, you know it took all our money just to get
out here, Nick. And, Pa, he didn’t give us no money, either. He was so mad
at us, all he did was yell and tell us to get out of the house.” Sam grimaced
at the thought of his father’s anger on that terrible day.
“You two need to tell me what happened. I mean
the whole story. I can’t believe Pa would just kick you two out in the street.
It must have been somethin’ real bad. What did you do, kill somebody?”
Stan and Sam looked at each other and then shouted
at the same time, “No, we didn’t kill nobody! We ain’t that bad.”
“Okay, then one of you tell me what ya’ did then.
I’m waitin’ to hear,” Nick sat down hard on one of the large rocks. His brothers
were 10 years younger and when he had left home, five years ago, they were
only 15 and still in school. They were a handful back then, always playing
pranks on their teachers and the neighbors. He hated to leave them alone with
his father, a widower of only one year. But Nick yearned to see the world
and besides, he was going to get rich and help his father out.
“Well, the fire wasn’t really our fault,”
Stan started the story.
“Yeah, ya’ see, there was this dance down
at the docks. Remember that place?” Sam asked of his older brother.
Nick thought back to easier times, “Yeah, went
to plenty of great parties down there. Did you two start a fire at the docks?”
“No, not at the docks, silly,” Stan was insulted.
“Then, where did you start a fire?” Nick now had
his arms crossed and was beginning to get tired of yet another thing, this
story.
“We told ya’, Nick, the fire wasn’t our fault!
It just kinda happened.” Stan got quiet and bit his bottom lip and became
lost in deep thought.
Sam realized his brother was not going
to tell anymore, so he took up the story, “It’s really very simple, Nick.
See, there were these girls.”
“Shoulda’ known, there were girls,” Nick
moaned.
“Not just any girls, Nick!” continued Sam. “These
were the Lombardi girls.” Sam’s face lit up as he envisioned the girls in
his mind. “See, we took the girls to the dance and then we wanted to be alone
with them. Pa’s always nosin’ around. He never let’s us be. We had to find
a place where we could, huh, talk. And stuff. Alone. Anyways, we went to the
livery stable down on Pickens road. Stan paid Jeff Pickens a little money
and Jeff promised to get scarce for awhile. It was Stan who brought the cigarettes
and the matches. It just happened so quickly, Nick. Before we knew it, the
whole place was burnin’. It’s not like anybody got hurt or anything. Heck,
we even got the animals out safe.”
“Yeah, Nick. But Pa was real mad. Jeff Pickens
came by and told Pa the whole story. Even the part about the Lombardi girls,”
Stan looked glumly into the campfire. “Pa had to pay Jeff for all the damages.
It was a lot of money.”
“Pa said me and Stan are a couple of bums. Just like
you, Nick. That’s when we decided to come find you. We figured if we’re all
bums, we might as well be bums together!” Sam beamed at his older brother.
Nick jumped to his feet, “I ain’t no bum! How can Pa
call me a bum? He ain’t even seen me in five years!”
Nick sat back down on his rock. He looked down
at his clothing. Maybe his father was right. He sure did look like a bum.
He cringed at the thought that his two younger brothers now looked up to
him, as a role model. He sure didn’t want them following in his footsteps.
He thought quietly about what he could do while Stan and Sam began exploring
his crumbling gold mine.
Meanwhile, at the ranch…
Three other brothers were also pondering what to
do with a new day. On their breakfast table were piles of apple pancakes,
hot maple syrup, sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs. Hoss ate greedily and
washed the food down with gulps of cold milk.
“Slow down, Hoss. There’s no hurry. Not much you can
do today, anyway,” Adam said thoughtfully.
“There’s lots we can do Adam! We can make snowballs
and a snow fort and maybe a Mrs. Snowman and we can make snow angels and we
could go sleddin’ again. Maybe go to Devil’s Run and…..” Little Joe
did not stop for a breath of air.
“Hold it right there, Little Buddy. I already told
you, you’re not goin’ to Devil’s Run. And you may have lots of ideas for fun,
but I need to think about runnin’ this ranch.” Adam gave his stern face.
Little Joe stuck out his chin and glared back,
giving his thoughts away, “You’re bein’ bossy, Adam. You think you’re a big
shot, just ‘cause Pa’s away.”
“Yes, I am a big shot, little brother. Eat your
breakfast or you aren’t even going to go outside today or go with Hoss and
I when we go look for a Christmas tree.” Adam raised his eyebrows and
looked intently at Little Joe’s face, waiting for a reaction.
He got what he expected. Joe’s eyes and face lit
up with joy, “Really? Are we really going to get a Christmas tree? Even if
Pa isn’t here yet?”
“Yes, really. I think Pa will be very glad that we got that
chore out of the way. He is probably going to have a rough trip back from
Carson City and won’t be too interested in more snowy adventures like hunting
for Christmas trees.”
“Adam, why are ya’ callin’ it a chore? I
like lookin’ fer just the right tree.” Hoss loved being outdoors doing anything.
“Me too!” Shouted Little Joe.
“Then let’s finish breakfast and get going!” Adam
exclaimed.
The coats, mittens, hats, scarves, socks and boots
were still lined up by the fireplace and felt toasty warm as the boys quickly
got dressed. Joe still needed a little assistance with his boots. Adam and
Hoss got the big sleigh out of the barn and hitched up a team of horses.
Little Joe laid on the ground and made snow angels.
“Get off the ground, Joe. We’re going to have to
leave you here if you get too wet. Hoss, go yell in the door and see if Hop
Sing will bring us a couple of blankets.” Adam was thinking ahead.
The sleigh was soon ready and Joe clambered on.
He loved it when they used the big red sleigh. It had bells that jingled and
soft leather seats. It glided so smoothly over the snow, it was like flying.
Not like wagons with wheels that bumped and jerked along. Joe imagined that
his sleigh must be just like the one Santa Claus used.
“Look you two! Hop Sing gave us some blankets and
some cookies and some hot chocolate. Let’s eat the cookies now.” Hoss climbed
up next to Little Joe.
“Wait a minute. We just finished breakfast, Hoss.
Save that stuff for later.” Adam climbed up and sat down on the other side
of Joe. He grabbed the reins and shouted, “Giddy-up!” The sleigh quickly glided
down the trail as the Cartwright brothers headed toward the hills.
On the other side of town…
Nick shivered as he hunkered down to keep
his hands warm by his dwindling fire. “Hey, you two! How about we mosey on
down to Virginia City and see what’s goin’ on. Maybe they got some kind of
soup kitchen. After all, it is almost Christmas.”
Stan and Sam sighed heavily. They had never known
such a gloomy holiday. They hated to admit it, but they kinda’ missed their
Pa. If they were home, at least they would be warm and have a Christmas tree
and presents. The brothers climbed up on the rickety old buckboard and Nick
hitched up his only horse. The trip to town was slow going, as the snow had
drifted deeply in the gullies and the wheels slipped on the icy crystals.
Somewhere on the Ponderosa…
“Look, Adam and Joe, over there!” whispered Hoss.
He was bubbling over. He had just caught sight of a white tailed deer, running
into a thicket of bushes. “She’s probably looking for something to eat, like
roots or berries.”
“Where? Where? I didn’t see it!” Joe scrambled
onto his knees and leaned across Hoss trying to find the animal.
“Hush, Joe. Ya’ gotta be real quiet-like or the
deer will get scared and run off. Now sit here and don’t move. Maybe she’ll
come back.” Hoss held Joe on his lap.
Two minutes passed and Joe was disappointed. No
deer showed up. “Awe, it ain’t never comin’ back,” Joe scowled.
“Well, that deer may not be comin’ back, but over
there is a whole herd of them.” Adam stopped the sleigh and pointed to the
other side of the road.
“Wow, I never seen so many deers all at once! There
must be a million of them.,” exclaimed Little Joe.
Together, the boys sat quietly and watched the
animals as they silently made their way past the sleigh and deeper into the
woods. Finally, the last white tail slipped behind a tree.
Hoss reached for another cookie.
“Hey, Hoss! You ate all the cookies.” Little Joe
peered into the empty bag.
“Ya’ gotta be quick if ya’ want some of Hop Sing’s
cookies, Joe.” Hoss winked as he stuffed the last bite of sugar cookie into
his mouth.
“What do you say we look in this area for a Christmas
tree? Looks like there might be some pretty nice ones and it would be easy
to get the sleigh between those bushes.” Adam nodded toward a stand of Scotch
pine that the herd of deer had just passed through.
“Looks good to me, Adam. Hey, did you bring
the hatchet? And some rope?” Hoss was just now beginning to think about what
they might need.
Adam’s face was a blank, “Didn’t you remember?”
“Awe, come on, Adam. You’re jokin’ me.” Hoss’ face
was screwed up in worry.
Little Joe sat quietly, looking from one big brother
to the other. He couldn’t believe Adam would forget anything.
Suddenly Adam’s face broke into a wide grin and
he let go a hearty laugh, “You should see the look on your face, Hoss! Of
course I’m joshin’. I got the hatchet right under the seat.” And with a flourish,
he pulled out the sharp tool, along with a long piece of scratchy rope.
Joe and Hoss joined the laughter, relieved to know
that Adam had only been teasing.
The brothers wandered from tree to tree, discussing
the merits and problems of each prospect. All the trees they looked at were
either too fat, too skinny, too tall or too short. Adam had trouble keeping
track of Little Joe. Every time he turned around, the child was nowhere to
be seen. Adam called and just as mysteriously, his brother would reappear.
“Stay by us, Joe. You could very easily get
lost in these woods.” Adam was starting to get a headache. This was much easier
with Pa’s help.
Finally, the perfect tree was found. It was tall,
12 feet at least, and it had the perfect shape. “This one will look great
next to the fireplace,” exclaimed Hoss. His brothers agreed and Adam began
the job of cutting it down.
“Stand back, Joe, this tree is going to fall right
where you’re standing.” Adam continued to whack at the trunk, close
to the ground. Joe did not move. He was too busy watching some birds flying
overhead. Before he knew it, he was looking up into a Christmas tree as it
fell from the sky.
“Joe!” yelled Hoss as he lunged at his little brother’s
legs. In the nick of time, he pushed Little Joe to one side, thus avoiding
the imminent collision of boy and tree.
Little Joe was stunned, “What did you knock me
down for, Hoss? I’m gonna knock you down!”
Hoss was now lying on his stomach in the snow and
he looked at his little brother, “In case you didn’t notice, I’m already knocked
down.”
Adam quickly came around the tree to see what happened,
“Are you two alright? Didn’t you hear me, Joe? I told you to move. That tree
could have killed you. You need to stop daydreaming and start listening.”
Adam helped Hoss and Little Joe up off the ground and began roughly brushing
the snow from Little Joe’s pants.
“I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t hear you, honest. Ouch.” Adam
was brushing the snow so hard, Joe was certain he was getting swatted, not
cleaned off.
“Well, let’s get this tree tied on back of the
sleigh and start heading home. It’s almost lunch time and Hop Sing is probably
wondering where we are,” Adam stated.
He and Hoss soon had the tree trussed up and securely
tied to the sleigh. Joe was wrapped in blankets and told to stay in the seat
and for once, he did what he was told.
The trip back to the ranch house went quickly.
Hoss and Little Joe were both excited and couldn’t wait to put the tree up.
Adam’s headache was getting worse and he couldn’t wait to get home and curl
up in the chair by the fire and read Moby Dick. He tried to ignore his little
brother’s chatter until it was impossible.
“I have an idea, boys, let’s sing songs.” Adam
thought that at least the noise would be harmonious.
“Yeah, let’s sing Jingle Bells!” shouted Little
Joe. And so, on a snowy Ponderosa mountain, deep in the woods of Nevada’s
hill country, the sound of music rang out. “Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! Jingle
all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!”
The sled flew across the snow.
Meanwhile, on another trip…
Nick Grinrich and his brothers were not flying
across the snow. They plodded along. They weren’t singing, either. They were
grumbling. As they reached the outskirts of town, they decided to leave their
horse and wagon in an open field and walk the rest of the way. There was
certainly no money to pay for the livery stable. As they walked down “D”
street, they heard the sounds of pianos, men laughing and women squealing.
Stan and Sam wanted to stop and take a peek inside, but their older brother,
Nick, had other ideas.
“We don’t have money or time for that stuff, boys,
let’s go up by the church and see if they’re givin’ anything away.” He literally
dragged his smaller brothers across the street and up the hill to “A” street.
He had seen a church up here once before, on the other end of town. On the
way they passed delicious smells from restraunts and bakeries. Their stomachs
were grumbling. Finally they arrived at the Virginia City nondenominational
chapel, a small white building with stained glass windows and a tall steeple.
It was set off from the other buildings and had shrubs and trees in the front
yard. A stone path led up to a white front door. In honor of Christmas, the
door was decorated with a large green wreathe made of Ponderosa pine branches
and a big red bow.
Nick took a deep, calming breath and strode
up to the door. He tried to remember that he was doing this for his brothers.
He knocked on the door and waited. Nobody came. He knocked harder. Nobody
came to the door. Losing patience, he spun around, nearly knocking Sam to
the ground. “Dang! There ain’t even anyone at home at this here church. Come
on, we’re goin’ down to one of them there saloons and get us a beer and some
grub. I still got a few coins in my pocket.”
Stan and Sam grinned. It was what they wanted to
do anyway.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
The Cartwright boys were home. The sleigh had been
put away and tree dragged to the front porch. The horse had been rubbed down
and fed. The other animals were also fed and water buckets refilled. The familiar
routine of shedding winter wraps had been completed and once again, the fireplace
was adorned with colorful winter wear. The house was warm and cozy and filled
with the yummy aromas of Hop Sing’s work. It was baking day and the Chinese
cook was making more goodies than usual. The Cartwrights always had friends
over for food, singing and stories on Christmas Eve. Hop Sing was sure that
this Holiday would be no different. Mr. Cartlight said he would be home on
Tuesday. That would be in plenty of time for the party on Wednesday evening.
Hot cups of steaming soup were placed at the dining
room table and Hoss, Adam and Little Joe warmed their hands as they held the
containers. Joe let the steam pass over his nose as he held his face over
the soup. It was a little too hot to drink, so he blew across the hot liquid,
“Autchoo!”
“Bless you, Joe,” Hoss stated automatically.
“Thank-you, Hoss,” Joe responded, just as automatically.
It was just something that Papa and Mama had taught the boys to do. Nobody
really knew why.
Hop Sing brought in a plate of hot roast beef sandwiches
resting between thick slices of warm bread that had just come from the oven.
“MMMMM, this sure looks good.” Hoss grabbed a sandwich and started eating
before the platter hit the table.
“Autchoo! Autchoo!” Joe sneezed two more
times and Adam eyed him suspiciously.
“Pa is supposed to be home tomorrow. We’ll wait
for him to help us put up the tree. Shall we put it in the usual place, over
by the gun racks?” Adam began munching his sandwich.
“Why can’t we just put it up today, Adam? Autchoo!
Autchoo! Autchoo!” Joe wiped his nose on his sleeve.
“Uh Oh, Adam. That was three times.” Hoss looked
worriedly to his older brother.
Before Adam could respond, Hop Sing had returned
from the kitchen with a bottle of brown liquid and a spoon. He looked to Adam
and said, “You hold boy. I put medicine in mouth.”
Joe was taken by surprise. He hadn’t even thought
about the consequences of sneezing within earshot of Hop Sing. Before he could
protest, Adam had him pinned down and the horrible tasting concoction was
down his throat, “Yuck, yuck, yuck! I need some water! I don’t like that stuff.
Autchoo!”
Hoss smiled his silly grin, “You better get used
to it little brother, ‘cause as long as Hop Sing hears you sneezin’, you’re
in for it!”
After the bitter taste invaded his mouth, Little
Joe lost his appetite and refused to eat anything else. He also felt very
tired and asked if he could lay down on the sofa. Adam was surprised, but
he was more than happy to let his non-stop brother lay down. He pictured himself
soon curled up in the red leather chair, reading Moby Dick.
“Hoss appreciate food. Hoss eat all rest of sandwiches.
Now Hoss help Hop Sing. Need more fire wood. Need boy crack nuts.” Hop Sing
stood behind Hoss with his arms folded across chest.
Hoss was glad to help Hop Sing. He would do anything
for his friend and housekeeper. Besides, the wood would be used to bake more
goodies and the nuts were probably for Christmas cookies and cakes.
Adam finally got his wish. Joe had fallen asleep
and he covered the boy with a warm quilt. The house was still and peaceful
as Hoss was helping Hop Sing in the kitchen. There was really nothing else
that needed to be done. So Adam went back to sea with Moby Dick and Captain
Ahab.
The clock struck four o’clock and Adam looked
up from his book. He had been so engrossed in the story; he hadn’t noticed
the passage of time. Hoss was either with Hop Sing or outside and he was amazed
to see that Little Joe was still asleep. Putting his book aside, he stood
up and walked over to the sofa. He rested his hand on his little brother’s
forehead. Sure enough, it was slightly warm. Oh great, he’s going to get sick.
Pa, please get home soon.
Tuesday
At the ranch…
A good night’s rest had benefited everyone. Joe
was up earlier than usual, Hoss was full of energy and Adam’s headache was
gone. It was also the day that Pa was supposed to get home. Even the weather
had cooperated and the sun shone brightly. As they sat around the breakfast
table, the boys discussed their plans for the day.
Adam shared first, “ Think I’ll take a ride
with Charlie and check the herd up in the back forty. We need to make sure
there is still plenty of hay and that the water hasn’t frozen over. Think
we’ll check that fence up by the creek, too. I want to make sure the snow
hasn’t knocked it down. ‘Cause if it did, you can be sure those stupid cows
will discover how to get out and they’ll be roamin’ all over the countryside.
And I sure don’t want to be chasin’ cows on Christmas day.”
“Sounds good, Adam. Meybe I’ll come with you.”
Hoss looked to his older brother.
“Naw, not this time, Hoss. I think you better stay
here and keep an eye on that one,” Adam gave a nod in Little Joe’s direction.
Little Joe was carefully buttering his toast, seemingly
oblivious to the conversation about ranch business. But Adam’s message did
not go unnoticed.
“I’m comin’ with you, Adam. I’m okay. I didn’t
even sneeze yet.” Joe liked action and staying home was not his favorite
thing to do.
“That is the key word here, Joe, “Yet”. The
only reason you aren’t sneezing right now is that you got a good night’s rest.
If you go out in the cold today, you are likely to start sneezing again. So,
you aren’t leaving the house. Stay here, keep warm and rest. Is that clear?”
Adam made his pronouncement in no uncertain terms.
Joe wanted to argue, but for some reason, he just
didn’t feel up to it. Instead, he made a face and returned his attention to
his toast and butter knife.
Adam was very sure of his decision when he got
no response from his little brother. The silence could only mean one thing;
Joe was still on the verge of getting sick.
Hoss watched this exchange with interest, “Well,
Shortshanks, you and me can string some popcorn and some cranberries for the
tree. Then we can dig out all the Christmas decorations and start fixin’ up
the house.”
“Tell you what, Hoss. I’ll get Charlie and he can
help you and I put that tree up before we head out for the north forty. Then
you and Joe can start decorating it. That should keep you two busy most of
the morning.”
“That’s a great idea, Adam. What do ya’ think,
Shortshanks?” Hoss had a big grin. He had never been in charge of the tree
before.
Joe shrugged his shoulders and sighed, “Okay Hoss,
but you gotta’ help me with the top branches.”
“It’s a deal. Let’s go Adam.” Hoss was eager to
get started.
The bare tree was soon standing in the great room
and snow was melting in puddles on the floor. Hop Sing mopped up the water
and muttered, “Mr. Cartlight need come home soon. Bad boys make big mess in
house.”
Hoss and Joe ignored the fussing of their
housekeeper and stepped back to admire the tall conifer, “Man, Hoss, that’s
the biggest tree I ever saw!” Joe was deeply impressed.
“Dadburnit, Joe, this here tree almost goes right
through the roof!” Hoss tilted his head back and looked at the top of the
tree.
Hop Sing gathered up the wet towels and scurried
to the kitchen. Minutes later he was back and he brought dried cranberries
and corn for popping in the fireplace. He also brought a pan with a long handle.
He helped Hoss pour a handful of unpopped corn kernels and some oil into
the pan. “Put pan on fire. Move all time or corn burn. Maybe Hop Sing do.”
Hoss frowned, “Don’t worry none, Hop Sing, I ain’t
gonna let it burn.”
Little Joe watched with excitement. He wanted to
shake the pan in the fire, too. But he knew he would not be allowed. He was
never permitted to do anything that involved fire. They think just ‘cause
I’m a little kid, I’m gonna burn the house down or somethin’. He scowled at
the thought.
After several attempts, Hoss had a large bowl of
popcorn ready. Then, Hop Sing brought some thread and two large needles. “Hop
Sing show boys how thread the needle. Need be velly careful not stick finger”.
Joe sat on the hearth and watched intently. Soon the boys were threading popcorn
and cranberries onto their long cords. For every kernel of popped corn strung,
Hoss ate five. The big bowls of popcorn were quickly disappearing.
“I’m gonna make mine really, really long. Mine
is going to be longer than yours, Hoss.” Joe was concentrating very hard
on his task. His tongue stuck out and seemed to work as hard as his fingers
to get each cranberry and each piece of corn on the cord.
“You think so? Well, I got news for you, little
brother. Mines gonna’ be a whole lot longer than yours.” And so the challenge
was set. But Hoss knew his youngest brother well. There would be no contest.
Joe was soon bored with threading the berries and corn and his attention moved
onto something new. He began browsing through the box of ornaments that had
been sitting on the low wooden table.
“I like this one, Hoss,” Joe held up a frilly wooden
ornament that was in the shape of a star. It had ribbons and dried flowers
glued on the front and it was painted in light blue and green and pink hues.
“That one Pa gave to your mama for Christmas one
year. I remember. She really loved it,” Hoss smiled at the memory.
Little Joe held the ornament tenderly and announced
that it was going to have special place on the tree, right in front and down
low so he could see it real good. Then he pulled another ornament from the
box. “What’s this one, Hoss?” Joe held up a small wooden sailing ship. It
was complete with little ropes and sails and even had a tiny steering wheel.
“Oh, that one, Adam’s mama gave to papa. That’s
a real special one, too. Don’t break it,” Hoss admonished.
“I’ll be careful. I wish I could play with it.
Think I’ll put it right next to mama’s. What about this, Hoss?” Joe held
up yet another ornament. It was a round glass ball with silver sparkles all
around it. It shimmered in the firelight and seemed to glow from within.
Hoss quickly put down his string of popcorn and
gently took the bulb from his little brother’s fingers, “Careful, Joe. That
one is glass and it could break real easy. My mama gave this one to papa.
Let’s put it up real high, so’s it don’t get knocked down real easy.” Hoss
stretched far out of Joe’s reach and placed his favorite ornament on an upper
branch. He stepped back and admired the work of art.
Joe continued to pull ornaments from the box and
question Hoss about their origin. He had just about filled the bottom branches
when Hoss suggested Joe take a break. He wanted to put at least some of the
ornaments on the top branches. There were little wooden ornaments of people,
birds, animals, small tin replicas of drums, trumpets, and even a little tin
guitar. Joe remembered that one belonged to Adam.
“There!” Hoss stood up and showed Little Joe his
handiwork. He had 6 feet of popcorn and cranberries hanging from his outstretched
arms to the floor.
“Golly, Hoss. You did pretty good!” Joe was
impressed, “Let’s put it on the tree.”
The two boys carefully placed the garland across
the branches.
“What about yours, Joe? Ain’t ya’ gonna finish
it?” Hoss held up Joe’s much shorter creation.
“I’m gonna finish it later, okay?” Joe hated to
admit it, but he felt worn out. “Let’s read this story,” Joe grabbed his latest
most favorite book from the chair and layed back on the sofa. Hoss plopped
down next to his little brother and, together, the boys, again, read the
story of “A Visit From St. Nicholas”. Hoss finished the last page and looked
down at his brother. Joe was sound asleep, so Hoss helped the child get comfortable
and then tucked a quilt around him.
In Town…
The Grinrich twins were just waking up from their
long winter’s nap. They were in jail. “Dang, my head hurts,” Stan rubbed his
scraggly head. “I think my belly hurts, too.”
“Well, it aught to, you two boys pretty nearly
drank yourselves under the table. If it weren’t fer that brother of yours,
we’d be pickin’ out a head stone, ‘stead of lookin’ at your sorry faces.”
Sheriff Coffey had seen all types of men in his jail and these were some
of the most needy he had ever laid eyes on.
Sam tried to stand up and swayed a little before
he grabbed hold of the bars. “Where is our brother?”
I ‘spect he’s tryin’ to find some way to pay for
the damages you done in the Bucket of Blood last night.”
Sam looked down at his twin brother, “What did
we do, Stan?”
Stan just shrugged his shoulders. All eyes flew
to the door as big Nick Grinrich pushed into the small jailhouse, “Sheriff,
I’m here to get my brothers. Do we owe ya’ anythin’?”
Roy Coffey pondered this question and then slowly began
to talk, “I don’t reckon you owe me any money. The night in jail is pay enough.
But you better settle up with Jim at the saloon. I do expect your gonna pay
for the damages.”
“Well, sheriff, that’s just it. I ain’t nothin’
but a poor miner. I ain’t got no money. I’m willin’ to put my brothers to
work to pay off our debt, but I don’t know where they can get some work, with
it bein’ so near Christmas and all.” Nick had removed his hat and looked
very sincere.
“Maybe it’s just the season or maybe I’m just getting’
old and soft, but I tell you what, you do a few chore around here and I guess
I can pay ya’ enough to pay off Jim. I need some repairs done out back and
the office and jail cells really need a good scrubbin’. Think you boys can
handle that?” Sheriff Coffey didn’t often help his prisoners out, but
it was Christmas and this gang just sort of tugged at his heart.
Stan and Sam looked to their brother with big sad
eyes, “We can help.”
“Help? Why you two no good bums are going to do
more than help! Just get them out of there, Sheriff and I’ll make sure they
do what ever you want.” Nick Grinrich stuck the stub of his pipe in
his mouth and stood with his hands on his hips.
At the ranch…
Adam slammed shut the large wooden front
door. He stomped his boots to release the clinging snow and took off his
gun belt, hat and jacket. “Hey, where is everybody?” he shouted.
“Shhhh!” Hoss came running down the stairs,
“Little Joe is asleep.”
“No I’m not,” said a small voice. A mop of unruly
brown curls appeared over the back of the sofa. Under the curls was an adorable
little face with sleepy green eyes. Joe blinked his thick dark lashes and
Adam noticed the dark circles.
“How are you feeling Little Buddy?” Adam crossed
the room to the sofa and came around to the other side to sit down next to
Little Joe.
“I’m fine. I put the stuff on the tree. See? Autchoo!
”
Adam put the palm of his hand on Joe’s forehead
and turned to look at the tree.
“The tree looks very nice but you are still a little warm.” Adam sighed,
“And I am starved. Let’s get some lunch!”
Hoss was already at the table and watched as Hop
Sing brought in some bowls of steamy soup, “That sure smells good, Hop Sing.
What is it?”
“Split Pea and Ham. Velly good soup.” The
cook disappeared into the kitchen.
Joe heard what lunch was to be. He hated peas.
How could anyone make soup with peas? It could only be the most horrible
tasting food in the whole world. Maybe I am just too sick to eat, he thought.
“I’m sick Adam, so I guess I can’t eat lunch.
That’s okay.”
Adam was to have none of Joe’s foolishness, “Nothin’
doin’ Buddy. You need to eat so you can get better.” With that, he scooped
Joe from the sofa and carried him to his chair. He plunked his brother down,
secured a napkin around his neck and placed a spoon in his hand, “Eat!”
“Autchoo! See? I am sick.” Joe tried out his most
sick face.
Adam ignored him and sat down in his own chair.
“Well, that fence was broken. It’s a good thing Charlie and I went up there
today, before the cattle wandered off. Those cows were thinking it over when
we arrived. I could see it in their faces. Mmmmm, this soup sure is good.”
“Yeah, I really like these ham chunks. Taste extra
good this way,” Hoss was licking his lips.
Joe was unimpressed and continued to scowl.
“Pa should be getting home any minute now,” Adam
said.
“I keep thinkin’ I hear his horse comin’. Think
he’ll have some presents?” Hoss raised his eyebrows.
“Maybe. Just one more day and it’s going to be
Christmas. Santa must be really busy. He’s probably checking his list of
good boys and girls,” Adam said to Hoss.
Oh yeah, thought Little Joe. He tried a chunk of
the ham. I guess this isn’t too bad.
“How can Santa Claus make toys for all the kids
in the whole wide world?” Joe looked to his older brothers. Surly they would
know the answer.
Hoss looked to Adam, “Tell him, Adam.”
Adam smiled weakly, “Well, he has help.”
“What kind of help?” asked Little Joe.
Adam was not sure, so he said, “Elves.” Liking
this idea, he continued, “That’s right, little elves. They scurry all over
Santa’s workshop, building toys and painting toys and then they test the
toys. Yeah.” Adam put his elbows on the table and leaned toward Little Joe,
“See, Santa doesn’t want to send out any playthings that are broken or don’t
work, so the elves have to try them out. Yep, Joe. It’s elves. Santa has
lot’s of elves.” Adam smiled. He liked his answer.
Joe was thrilled. He couldn’t wait for school to
start again, so he could tell the other kids what he knew about Santa Claus.
“Will ya’ look at that, Joe? You ate all your soup
and I bet you didn’t even notice,” Hoss looked across the table at Joe’s bowl.
Joe was just as amazed, “Autchoo! Autchoo! Autchoo!”
Like magic, Hop Sing was at Joe’s side with his
bottle of medicine.
The afternoon was long. Joe whined because he wasn’t
allowed to go outside. “But what about my snowman? I need to check on him.
What if he melts? I’ll put lots of shirts on, Adam. I can even wear three
pairs of pants, if you want. Please? It’s borin’ in here. I don’t got nuthin’
to do.” Joe climbed over the sofa. He tried flips from the seat of the blue
chair and landed on the floor with a thud.
Hoss busied himself with finishing the tree. He
had “fixed” Joe’s work so that the ornaments were spaced out more evenly and
added the other decorations from the box. “How does the tree look? I got
everything on ‘cept the candles. Let’s wait for Pa so he can help us do that
part.”
Adam had his head buried in his book. From time
to time he looked up and nodded, gave an appropriate response to Hoss or told
Joe to quit whatever he was doing.
“I want my Pa. When’s my Pa gettin’ home? I miss
him. My Pa would let me go outside.” Joe’s voice began to get on Adam’s nerves.
He couldn’t wait for Joe’s Pa to get home.
Just as Adam was about to put his youngest brother
in his room, he heard the sound of a horse trotting into the yard.
“It’s my Pa!” Joe ran to the door and pulled
it open, letting in a gust of cold air. “Pa! Pa!”
Adam sprang to his feet and almost collided with
Hoss on his way to the entrance, “Joe! Get in here and shut the door. Your
Pa will be here in a minute.”
Joe looked angrily at his big brother but all he could
get out was, “Autchoo!”
Adam pulled Joe inside. Hoss put on his hat and
coat and announced that he was going to put their father’s horse away, “Pa
must be awful cold. He needs to get inside and warm up by the fire.”
Ben slipped off Buck’s saddle and lifted his bags.
He was glad to be home. The roads between Carson City and the ranch were slippery
and deep with snow. He had traveled carefully as he didn’t want any accidents
to delay his return home. He beamed as he saw Hoss coming toward him.
“Pa, I’m so glad your home! I missed ya’ lots.”
Ben gave Hoss a big bear hug, “I missed you too, Erik. Son, I think you grew
another inch while I was gone! Thanks for putting Buck up for me. Be sure
to give him some extra oats. He worked real hard today.”
“Sure thing, Pa”
Ben took a deep breath of the cold mountain air
and headed for the front door. As he opened the door, he was caught by surprise
as a small child slammed into his legs.
“Papa!”
Ben stooped and grabbed Joe under the arms and
swung him up into the air, “Joe!”
“Sorry, Pa, he’s just a little excited,” Adam gave
a half-smile.
“No problem, Adam. Here, can you take my saddlebag
and this other bag? Put them in my room. Thanks.” Ben gave Adam a knowing
wink. “ Joe, I need to put you down so I can get my coat off and then
I can give you a proper hug.”
Joe let his father put him back down on the floor.
Ben carefully removed and put away his coat and outer clothing while his youngest
son waited impatiently. Deciding that his father was ready, Little Joe pulled
him toward the fireplace, “Come on, Pa. You have to get all warmed up. Autchoo!”
Ben frowned at the sneeze as he allowed himself
to be dragged to the sofa. “Come here, Little Joe. Sit on my lap. I missed
you so much!” Ben pulled Joe close and squeezed his youngest child tightly.
“You have to tell me all about what you did while I was gone.”
“I did lots of stuff Papa,” Joe’s innocent eyes
shown brightly.
Adam came down the steps and joined his family
on the sofa. “Yeah. He did lots of stuff, Pa. He wore me out. It’s a good
thing you came home when you did, ‘cause I was just about to banish him to
his room,” Adam leaned back and tousled the curls on Joe’s head.
Ben looked at his oldest son. He was getting so
mature and right now he looked very grown up. “Adam, thanks for taking care
of the boys while I was gone. Believe me, I know how tiring it can be. I have
been taking care of three boys for some time now!” He reached out and patted
Adam on the back of his hand.
“Whew, three! You deserved a few days off. I don’t
plan on being a Papa for a very long time,” Adam grinned and looked at his
little brother.
Joe looked at his father and said in a very serious
voice, “Pa, Adam is a little bit bossy. I don’t think he should ever be a
Papa. Autchoo!”
Ben chuckled, “Now tell me, what is the sneezing
about?” Ben looked first to Joe and then to Adam.
“I think Joe is getting sick. He has been sneezing since
yesterday afternoon and Hop Sing has been giving him the tonic.” Adam moved
to the red chair and sank down in its comfortable embrace.
“I am not sick! My nose is just a little bit tickly.
Adam’s so mean. He won’t let me go outside or anything.” Joe crossed
his arms in front of his chest and frowned. He forgot all about using his
illness as a way to avoid split pea soup at lunch.
One look at Joe’s bright eyes and the dark circles
under them, told Ben what he needed to know, “Joe, you are very lucky to have
a brother like Adam. You are sick and Adam was right to not let you go outside.”
Joe began to protest, but he was cut short when
the front door slammed shut and Ben’s attention was diverted to Hoss’ entry,
“Brrrrr, it’s gettin’ cold again. I took care of all the animals. They should
be nice and cozy tonight. And, oh yeah, Charlie told me to tell you “Hi”,
Pa.” Hoss removed his coat and mittens and hat and joined the rest of
the family by the fireplace.
“Thanks, Hoss. Have you boys had dinner yet?” Ben
had not stopped for lunch and his stomach was beginning to growl.
As if he had heard, Hop Sing’s head came round the corner
from the kitchen, “Hop Sing glad boss back. Boys need father. Boys velly noisy,
velly messy, when Papa not home. Dinna ready.”
Ben smiled. Well, he got his report from Hop Sing
on how the boys had behaved in his absence. Velly noisy ,velly messy thought
Ben. Wonder what that means?
Dinner was joyful as the boys filled their father
in on all that had happened while he was in Carson City. Ben noticed, however,
that Little Joe was subdued, “Joe, were you a good boy while I was gone?”
Joe thought back over the past few days and tried
to remember if there was anything that his father would consider “bad”. Well,
there is the roof thing, thought Joe. “Yep. I was good,” and he smiled at
his Pa.
Ben looked to Adam for confirmation.
Joe looked to Adam for mercy.
“Yep, he was good,” and Adam grinned.
Joe smiled at Adam.
Adam winked at Joe.
Ben knew that Joe had probably not been an angel,
but it was so close to Christmas, he really didn’t want to know the details,
“Well, that’s good to know. I’m sure Santa Claus will need to know that, too.”
“Oh, he already knows, Pa. Adam said Santa Claus
knows when you are being bad or good. Santa Claus has a list of good kids.
And you know what else? Santa Claus’ other name is St. Nicholas and he has
a sleigh and 8 reindeer and they fly in the sky and Santa Claus goes down
your chimney and then when he goes up, he just puts his finger on his nose,”
Joe demonstrated. “ It’s magic. And Santa has elves and the elves help him
make toys and elves are little and they wear green clothes and Santa has a
big white beard and he has a belly just like Hoss and he smokes a pipe and
he can make smoke circles just like Charley and, and …… Autchoo! Autchoo!
Autchoo!”
“Joseph! Slow down. Take a breath, child.” Ben
looked to Adam and Hoss, with a big grin, “Where did he hear all that?”
“Oh, most of it is in a book I bought in San Francisco.
Joe has been reading it quite a bit lately. I’m sure he will want to share
it with you,” Adam rolled his eyes, glad that his father would be the object
of his younger brother’s constant attention.
And so it was. By bedtime, Ben knew the story of
St. Nicholas by heart. Joe fell asleep on the sofa and was carried to bed
in his father’s arms. Weary after his long trip, Ben could not wait to get
into his own bed. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, a party and a very busy time.
Meanwhile, back in town…..
“Now, look here, Nick Grinrich, this here jail,
ain’t a hotel. You can’t expect me to let you and your brothers stay here
tonight. Ain’t you got any other place to stay?” Roy Coffey was getting
a little impatient with his newest gang. They weren’t bad boys. They had done
a fairly decent job of cleaning the jailhouse and fixing the lean-to out
back. They even replaced the seat in the outhouse. But he was beginning to
think they had moved in.
“Look, Sheriff, my brothers and me have been workin’
all day. We haven’t even had time to look for no place to stay. All I got
is a worthless mine up in the hills and an old nag that’s probably half froze
to death in a field outside town.” Nick grimaced; he really didn’t know what
to do next.
“Froze to death? You need to get that poor animal
up here. You can put it in the lean-to you just fixed. Go on, git!”
If there was one thing Sheriff Coffey hated, it was cruelty to animals.
“Shucks, Sheriff, you’re more worried ‘bout our
horse than us!” Sam sat up from the cell cot on which he had been resting.
“Well, I can only do so much, boys! Tell you what,
you can stay here tonight, but then you just gotta’ come up with some other
plans. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I got a party to go to on the Ponderosa.
My friend Ben Cartwright always has a party on Christmas Eve and I ain’t missin’
it fer nothin’. Why, I’ve been goin’ to those parties since his youngest was
just a wee thing. Yes, sir, Ben Cartwright and his three sons are like family
to me. I wouldn’t miss Christmas with my family fer nuthin’. Now, I’m goin’
home to my own bed. You boys know where everything is, just make sure you
put the lanterns out before you sack out. The last thing I need is a fire.
And don’t forget that horse. Goodnight.” With that, Sheriff Coffey
made his way out the front door.
“Get your sorry butts up. We’re gonna go get my
horse. Dang, never thought I’d be glad to spend the night in a jail,” Nick
grumbled as he pushed his two brothers out the door. He was going to have
to do some heavy thinking. If it were just himself, he could get by, staying
in his mine and living off his meager earnings. But his brothers needed a
home. Somehow, he would have to find one.
Thursday, Christmas Eve
At the ranch…
Ben woke with a start. He had almost forgotten
where he was. He relaxed when he realized he was in his own bed, at home,
on the Ponderosa. He crawled out from under his warm blankets and walked
to the window. As he pulled back the curtain, bright light spread across
the room. Must have slept late, thought Ben. He quickly got dressed and stepped
into the hallway. On the way downstairs he checked his son’s rooms. He found
that Hoss and Adam were not in their beds, but when he looked in Little Joe’s
room his heart melted. There was his youngest, curled up on his side. His
left thumb was in his mouth and his right hand held his worn out teddy bear.
The blankets were on the floor. Ben entered the room and covered his child
up, carefully tucking the edges of the blanket under the sleeping boy. He
silently left the room, sure that sleep was what Joe needed most.
“Good morning, Pa!” Hoss was just coming
in the front door. “Guess what, Pa? I think one of the cows is going
to have a baby. She’s out in the pasture, by the corral. Adam and Charlie
are out there tryin’ to help her. They sent me in here to get some coffee
and biscuits. Not for the cow.”
Ben chuckled, “Well, that’s a hard place to have
a baby, out there in a cold snowy field. How about I help you gather up some
food and we’ll both go check on the situation. I’ll tell Hop Sing to keep
an eye open for your little brother. I think we’ll let him sleep for as long
as possible.”
“Great, Pa! It sure is good to have ya’ home. Me
an’ Adam learn how to take care of stuff when you ain’t here, but I sure like
it better when you’re home,” Hoss beamed as he scurried to the kitchen.
Ben dressed warmly in his hat and coat and then
followed Hoss to the kitchen to get the supplies that would be needed. Hop
Sing wasn’t in the kitchen, so Ben assumed he was in the root cellar. He was
anxious to check on the animal. Babies usually waited for spring to come into
the world. He knew that it might take all day for the calf to be born.
In town…
“Good morning, boys. Have a nice night at the Virginia
City lock-up hotel?” Roy was feeling good this morning and he tried to be
humorous.
Sam and Stan shared the cot in one of the cells
and their large brother, Nick, slept on the cot in the other cell. When they
heard the Sheriff come in the jailhouse, they all raised their heads. Nick
began his usual grumbling as he fumbled through his meager belongings, looking
for his pipe. He liked a smoke when he first woke up. It just seemed to help
him get going. Stan and Sam had had a hard night. They fought over the blanket
all night long and woke often, pushing each other and shoving the other one’s
bony knees out of the way.
Stan was the first to respond to the Sheriff, “Hi
Sheriff. I guess this place is a little better than the cold ground. You got
any food? I’m hungry.”
“I brought some coffee and sweet rolls. Don’t be
thinkin’ this is room service. I’m just feelin’ kinda generous, with
it bein’ Christmas and all. You fellows figured out what yer gonna
do next?” Roy sat down at his desk and began unwrapping the food.
“You know anyplace we could find some work?” Nick
was starving and he tried to not show it as he moved quickly from his cell
to join Roy Coffey.
“You boys are going to have a hard time. Most places
are kinda’ slow right now, what with the holidays. You might try down at some
of the saloons, or check some of the ranches around here.” Roy sipped his
warm coffee.
“Where is it your goin’ later today, sheriff? Didn’t
you say you were goin’ to a ranch or somethin’?” Nick knew exactly where
the sheriff was going. He had heard of the Ponderosa during several of his
visits into town. He had even ridden across a section of it once.
“I’m goin’ to the Ponderosa. Dinner’s usually at
6pm and then the music begins directly after that. I hear the Grundy Boys
are playin’ and they got a real mean fiddler. Might even be some dancin’.
Why I remember the time …..” Roy’s voice faded out as he started reminiscing
about past Christmas parties at the Ponderosa.
“Come on boys, get dressed. I have a plan.” Nick
wasted no time getting on his coat and boots.
“Where we goin’, Nick?” Sam and Stan followed in
their brother’s footsteps, out the front door of the Virginia City Jail.
Sheriff Roy Coffey kept talking. He didn’t even
notice the exodus of his jailhouse buddies.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Little Joe opened his eyes. The room was bright with
sunshine, and the boy slowly sat up in bed. As his eyes focused, he took
inventory of his room. There was his rock collection, in a box on the floor.
His bow and arrow that Hoss had made for him was hanging on the wall next
to the dresser. A wooden toy box with his name on top was under the window.
And laying on his rocking chair, was a pile of neatly folded clean clothes.
All at once, Joe remembered what day it was, and he found himself eager to
get out of bed. In a flash, he was dressed and down the stairs.
“Pa! Pa! Where are you, Pa? Adam? Hoss? Hop Sing?”
Joe yelled out everyone’s name, but nobody responded. He searched the entire
downstairs and couldn’t find his family. Joe was perplexed as he was seldom
left all alone. He found some toast and milk on the dining room table and
took them over to the coffee table. He sat back on the sofa, crossed his legs
in front of him and began to munch the dry toast. As he sat, he gazed
at the crackling fire and hummed his favorite Christmas song, Jingle Bells.
To his right, the Christmas tree loomed tall, and as he sat, an idea formed
in his head. The tree needed something else. It needed some bright cheerful
candles. Joe had a wonderful thought, I can put the candles on and surprise
everybody. I just won’t light the candles.
With that idea consuming his mind, Little Joe jumped
up from the sofa and started digging, once again, in the Christmas decoration
box. He found the wrapped package of candleholders and untied the string holding
them together. It was difficult to get the holders to attach securely to
the branches, but with some effort, the bottom branches were soon filled with
candles. Joe went back to the sofa and leaned back to admire his work.
As he sat quietly, he began munching, once again,
on his toast. The house was too quiet. Nobody was home. Joe began to think
again, I wish the candles were lit. He sighed deeply. I could light those
candles. I would be really careful. “ I’m going to do it.” Joe whispered out
loud. As he slid off the sofa, he thought to himself, I’ll surprise everybody.
When they see that I lit the candles, they will be so proud of me. Pa and
Adam and Hoss will know that I am grown up.
The first obstacle was to reach the matches. They
were kept in a silver tin on the mantle at the far right side of the fireplace.
Joe dragged the tinderbox over so it would line up with the matchbox. He climbed
up and holding onto the rocks that formed the fireplace with his right hand,
the fingers on his left hand felt for the match container. They were still
too high. Joe glanced around the room and spied a thick book on Pa’s bookshelf.
After placing the book on top of the tinderbox, he mounted the pile. However,
the mantle was very high and he had to stand on his toes and stretch his
arms. Finally, he touched the matchbox. Joe bit his lower lip as he felt
a twinge of guilt, but it quickly passed as he reasoned that he was helping
his busy family. Obviously everyone was working so hard, they didn’t have
time to put the candles on the tree, or light them. With the box in his arms,
the boy climbed back down to the floor.
Holding his breath, Joe struck the first match.
It flamed so quickly, the child was taken by surprise and immediately dropped
the match. Golly, that’s scary, thought Little Joe. Once again he struck
one of the long matches and this time he was careful not to drop it. Slowly,
he transferred the flame to the first candle. It lit easily and the candlelight
shown brightly in the little boy’s face. Joe was delighted, so he struck another
match and lit another and another of the candles. Soon he had six candles
burning. Joe was so excited, he didn’t notice the first candle begin to tilt
over. Slowly it tipped until its flame was touching the branch on which it
was attached. A spark took hold of the branch and it grew into a little ember
that burned brightly. The little ember became a flame. On the other side
of the tree, Joe continued to strike match after match, lighting still more
candles. He did not notice the growing flame until he returned to get more
matches from the box. When he saw the fire, his eyes grew wide and his mouth
dropped open. Uh Oh.
Outside…
The ride from Virginia City to the Ponderosa was
a lot longer than Nick remembered.
“Gee, Nick, do you really think this is a
good idea? You don’t even know this Ben Cartwright fella. How do you know
he’s gonna’ give us a job?” Sam whined.
“I don’t know nuthin’ fer sure, ‘cept what I hear.
Everybody says ole’ Ben’s a real nice guy. He’s helped lots of people around
here, so’s I figure he can help us, too. ‘Sides, all I want is a job!”
“Hey, Look! There it is!” Stan pointed his
finger toward a log cabin house, nestled between towering Ponderosa pine trees.
“I see the house, but what’s that kid doin’?” Nick
squinted his eyes as he watched a young boy on the front porch. It seemed
that he was standing on a rocking chair, and loudly ringing a bell attached
to the side of the house. DING! DING! DING! DING!
“Well, what in tarnation is goin’ on? Come on boys,
I think somethin’ is wrong here.” Nick began to run toward the house,
his brothers following close behind.
Joe was concentrating on ringing the bell so hard,
he didn’t even notice the approach of the three men until he heard them speak.
“I said, what’s the matter, sonny?” Nick
was shouting above the sound of the bell.
Joe turned around and almost fell down. He couldn’t
believe his eyes, “S..S..S.. Santa Claus? P..P…Please help me.
The tree is on fire and my house is going to burn down.” As the words
tumbled out, tears tumbled down his cheeks.
Nick wasn’t sure what the boy had said, but it
was something about burning and he could smell smoke coming from the open
door, “Come on, boys, let’s see what’s goin’ on!”
Upon entering the spacious room, Nick saw immediately,
a glowing flame on the side of a beautiful tall Christmas tree. He wasted
no time and grabbing a quilt from the sofa, he ran to smother the fire. His
two brothers jumped around excitedly shouting, “Put it out, Nick, put it out!”
Little Joe watched in amazement as Santa Claus
and his helpers stopped the fire and saved his house.
Ben and the boys were still in the pasture beyond
the corral, waiting for the new calf to be born. The mother had to be moved
to a more sheltered location and straw was put under her. “Listen, what’s
that sound?” Adam had a puzzled look on his face that suddenly broke into
understanding, “That’s the bell at the house! Darn that Little Joe, if he
is playing with that thing again, I’m going to tan his hide. He knows that
thing is for emergencies only.”
“Well it might be an emergency, Adam. How do you
know he’s just playing?” Hoss was always quick to defend his baby brother.
Ben was concerned, “Well, I don’t care, we can’t
take chances, let’s go see what is going on. If there is a problem, it must
be one Hop Sing can’t fix.”
“Hop Sing?” questioned Adam. “How could Hop Sing
do anything? He went over to the Bailey’s to pick up some pies. Hey, who is
with Little Joe?” Suddenly Adam grew quite still and looked around at his
family.
“The Bailey’s?” shouted Ben. “I left Joe in bed
this morning, thinking that Hop Sing would be there when he woke up. Oh, Lordy.
Let’s go see what the damages are.” Ben’s face became grim with worry.
All three Cartwrights ran for the house.
As the family rounded the corner of the barn, the
first thing they noticed was the front door standing open. Cautiously, they
entered the house, not sure what they would find. Ben, Adam and Hoss stopped
in their tracks behind the sofa. Ben was the first to speak and his voice
bellowed across the room, “What is going on here? Who are you people? What
are you doing, Little Joe? And why does it smell like something is burning?”
Nick had just snuffed out the last of the flames
and the tree was no longer on fire. The booming voice caught him off guard.
His brothers just stared, with their mouths hanging open.
“Afternoon, sir. Pleased to meet ya’. Sorry ‘bout
yer tree. Guess the little one was tryin’ to light the candles,” Nick tipped
his hat in greeting.
“Pa! This is Santa Claus and those two are his elves.
He put a blanket over the fire. He saved the tree and our house. Isn’t he
the greatest, Pa?” Joe threw his arms around Nick’s large middle.
Ben was so flustered, he didn’t know what to say, so
Adam spoke up, “Joe, are you saying this is Santa Claus and those two are
his elves?”
“Yep,” Joe stated proudly.
“ And Santa Claus just put out a fire on the tree?” Adam
questioned.
“Yep,” Joe was beaming with a grin that went from
ear to ear.
“ And so, this fire started when you were lighting
the candles?” Adam continued his line of thought.
“Yep,” Joe was very proud of himself and Santa
Claus.
By this time, Ben had recovered from his initial
shock, “JOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT! You go to your room this very instant!”
Joe’s face fell. No longer was he smiling, “B..B..But
Pa. This is Santa…”
“I don’t care if this is George Washington, Abraham
Lincoln and the mayor of San Francisco all rolled into one! I told you to
go to your room and I mean it. Right now!” Ben’s voice bellowed.
Joe’s bottom lip began to tremble as he realized
that he was in a whole bunch of trouble and Santa Claus saw it all. Spinning
around, he ran up the stairs to his room as fast as his feet could carry him.
Ben surveyed the scene. The tinderbox had
been pushed across the hearth, his favorite book was lying on top, used matches
were lying all over the floor and a large black area on the side of the Christmas
tree was still smoldering. “That child knows he is not to touch the matches!
What is the matter with him? If we leave him for more than a minute, there
is always some sort of catastrophe.” Ben sighed a deep sigh and sank down
into his blue velvet chair.
“Pa, Joe don’t mean no harm. He’s just full of energy
is all. Look, we can turn the tree a little bit and that burned spot don’t
show at all,” Hoss struggled to move the tree.
Nick, Sam and Stan continued to stand quietly.
Obviously, Ben Cartwright was a man to be reckoned with and they didn’t want
to say anything to encourage his obvious wrath.
Adam cleared his throat, “Umm, Pa, what are we
going to do with Santa Claus?”
Ben suddenly looked up, remembering the visitors,
“I’m sorry. I have forgotten all my manners. May I ask, who are you people?
Where did you come from?”
“My name’s Nick and these are my brothers, Sam
and Stan.” The twins tipped their hats. “We was just lookin’ fer a job and
saw that little guy ringin’ the bell. Well, he was in a real pickle, what
with the fire and all, so’s we just tried to help. That’s all.”
“Well, we are certainly lucky that you folks passed
by at just the right moment. Joe could have burned down the house. I really
thank you for all you did,” Ben rose to shake the hands of the men.
Adam watched with a bemused expression, “With that
white beard of yours, I can see why Joe thought you were Santa Claus. And
your smaller brothers fit my description of little elves.”
Nick laughed, something he had not done in a long
time. And when he laughed, his belly shook like a bowl full of jelly.
“Pa! I got an idea. Why don’t we hire Nick to be
Santa Claus for tonight’s party? We already have a costume from last year.
I saw it in a box when I was lookin’ fer Christmas stuff.” Hoss was excited.
Ben pondered the idea. He didn’t know these men
and he wasn’t sure he even wanted children to be near the strangers, let alone
consider them to be Santa and his elves. “Well, I’ll have to think about
that, Hoss. Why don’t you men come to the bunkhouse with me and we can talk.”
The bunkhouse was almost empty at this time of
the year and Ben showed the Grinrich boys where they could get cleaned up
and bed down for the night. Then, he and Nick sat down at the table, “Tell
me about yourselves, I don’t usually get people looking for jobs on Christmas
Eve.”
Nick poured out his story, telling Ben how he came
to Virginia City to get rich and how his brothers followed him. He left out
no detail, including the fire that had gotten his brothers in trouble.
Ben was feeling very compassionate, “Tell you what. How
about, I pay you, Stan and Sam to come to our Christmas party as Santa and
his elves. You can listen to the children and give them some candy. When you’re
done, you can slip back out here to the bunkhouse. Then, at the crack of
dawn, you boys can borrow our sleigh and head back into town. Leave the sleigh
at the livery stable and we’ll pick it up later. With the money I pay you,
I want you to get tickets for the first stage out of town for St Louis. Go
back to your father and smooth out the hard feelings. It is important for
family to stick together and I am quite certain that your father is missing
his three sons very much.”
Nick couldn’t believe his good fortune. Everyone
was right, Ben Cartwright was a wonderful person. “Gosh, Mr. Cartwright, I
don’t know if I can be Santa Claus. I’m just a scruffy ole’ miner,” Nick looked
shyly at his benefactor.
“Nonsense, Joe knew you were Santa Claus, didn’t
he?” Ben was sure he had made a good decision. “Now, there’s some water heating
on the stove. Get yourselves a bath, some clean clothes and some food in your
bellies. I’ll be expecting to see you come in the front door about 7pm. Someone
will come out to get you. Oh, by the way, Hoss will bring out the Santa suit.
I think it will fit just right.”
Nick, Sam and Stan smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Cartwright.
We’ll do a great job. You won’t be sorry! And I’m going to take your offer
of the sleigh. Goin’ back home sounds pretty good right now. My brothers need
a family and a home. Thanks.” Sam and Stan rushed to Ben’s side and
shook his hand.
Little Joe had been in his room for a very long
time. First he cried, then he considered running away from home. “Pa was so
mad, probably he isn’t even going to let me go to the party or nuthin’,” Joe
said out loud. Tears started again and the door finally opened.
Joe sat on his bed and looked up at his father, “I’m sorry Papa. I was just
gonna surprise you.”
Ben kept his stern face, “I was surprised, Joseph.
How many times have you been told to not touch the matches?”
Joe wasn’t sure if he was supposed to answer, besides,
he didn’t know.
“Joseph, you could have burned down the house and
everything in it. What you did was very wrong. I am disappointed in your behavior,”
Ben sat down next to his son on the bed continued his lecture, “I should
spank you. You certainly deserve it, but because it is Christmas Eve, I have
decided not to. This should be a happy time of love and understanding and
we will be having guests here very shortly. Besides, it is partly my fault
for not making sure that Hop Sing was in the house. However, if you ever
touch a match again, you will be one sorry boy. Joseph, do you understand
that?”
“Yes sir, Papa. I promise I won’t ever touch
matches again,” Joe’s voice was small and weak.
Ben pulled his son up onto his lap and hugged him
tightly, “I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you, child.”
“Autchoo!” Joe sneezed in Ben’s face.
Ben quickly pulled out his handkerchief to wipe
Joe’s nose and eyes. He held the back of his hand to his son’s forehead, “Mmmm,
you are still a little warm. Let’s get you downstairs so you can have some
of Hop Sing’s tonic and some lunch.”
“But Papa, what about Santa Claus? Where did he
go? I wanted to talk to him.” Joe was very worried Santa would put him
on the “bad boy” list.
“You are a very lucky little boy. Santa said he
would come to the party tonight and you can talk to him then.” Ben held
Joe’s hand and together they went downstairs.
After lunch, Little Joe was sent back to his room
to take a nap and the house became a flourish of activity. Adam and Hoss moved
furniture, Ben finished hanging the greens, mistletoe and other decorations,
and Hop Sing fussed. Soon, the house looked like a Christmas card and everyone
went off to get dressed for the party.
As the clock neared six, guests started to arrive.
They brought more food and it was placed on the dining room table. The downstairs
guest bedroom was used to store hats and coats. Presents were tucked under
the tree. Joe sat on the stairs, watching and waiting for his friends. He
couldn’t wait to tell them about Santa Claus.
“Hey Pa, the Grundy Boys are here!” Shouted Hoss.
“Well, tell them to set up and let’s get the music
going,” Ben loved music and singing. He was considered to have a beautiful
voice by many of the town’s ladies. Adam also sang well and played his own
guitar in accompaniment.
When everyone had arrived, Ben proposed a toast,
“To love, friendship and peace the whole world through.” Everyone joined
the toast and the party began in earnest.
Joe was enjoying himself. He had several of his
friends on the steps and he was telling them about Santa. His audience was
enthralled. Even his best friend, Mitch, was excited, “Joe, those boys at
school are going to be so sorry, ain’t they?”
“They sure are, Mitch. I’m glad you guys will be
here to see, just in case they don’t believe me. Autchoo!” Joe wiped
across his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.
Adam caught the action and quickly sidled up next
to Joe, “You kids having fun?” Without skipping a beat, he held his handkerchief
to his brother’s nose and told him to blow. Then he wiped Joe’s nose and tucked
the cloth in his brother’s jacket pocket, “Use it, little buddy.”
Joe scowled. His nose was beginning to hurt from all
the wiping. “Adam, could you read that new book about Santa to my friends?”
Adam was busy trying to flirt with Annabelle Williams,
but agreed to read the book, “Come on over to the sofa.”
Soon, all the guests were gathered ‘round as Adam
read “The Night Before Christmas”.
“That is a beautiful poem, Adam,” Annabelle looked
at Adam with adoring eyes. “You have such a wonderful way with children.”
Just at that moment, the front door
flew open and Santa Claus burst into the room. His elves followed closely
behind, ringing sleigh bells. “HO HO HO, Merry Christmas!”
Joe and his friends turned and got up on their
knees to look over the back of the sofa. Together they shouted, “Santa, Santa!
It’s Santa Claus!”
Ben laughed with delight, “Come on, Santa, you
and your elves come over by the tree and sit in this special chair. I think
the children would like to talk to you.”
One by one, the children came and sat on the jolly
man’s lap. They told Santa what they wanted for Christmas, for themselves
and for their families. Santa gave each child a small bag of candy and a candy
cane. All the children had their turn except Little Joe.
Hoss nudged his brother, “Don’t you want to talk
to Santa?”
“Why Hoss? He ain’t gonna bring me nuthin' anyway.
I been too bad. He saw that I almost burned down the house.” Joe was close
to tears.
Nick looked around the room. He knew there was
one more child he had not talked to. Then he spotted Joe, sitting with Hoss
on the steps, “ Aren’t you Little Joe? Come here, son. We haven’t had a chance
to talk yet.”
Tears rolled down his cheeks as Joe shook his head.
Ben spotted his son and became concerned. Crossing
the room, he sat down next to Little Joe, “Joseph, what’s the matter?
I thought you couldn’t wait for Santa.”
“I wanted him to come, but he probably doesn’t
like me, ‘cause I’m bad.” Joe sniffed and Ben wiped his nose and eyes with
another cloth.
“Son, maybe if you just talked to him, he might understand.”
“No, Pa, he won’t understand.”
“Let’s try,” and Ben took Joe’s hand and led him
to Santa Claus.
“Come here, Joe. Aren’t you the brave boy who rang
the bell when there was a fire today?” Santa could tell the boy was
very upset. Come here and sit on my lap. Tell me how you knew to ring that
bell.”
Reluctantly, Joe climbed onto Santa’s lap and told
his story. Nick listened with interest. Little Joe played with Santa’s buttons
and told him how sorry he was and that he would never touch matches again.
Nick was so impressed with the boy’s story, tears started to form in the corners
of his eyes, “Son, have you told your father how sorry you are?”
“Yes, Santa Claus. I told him.”
“Child, everyone makes mistakes. If we are truly
sorry for what we do, and learn from our mistakes, that is what is important.
Why don’t you go over there and give your Papa a big hug and tell him you
love him. Everything is going to be okay.”
Joe’s smile spread from ear to ear. He knew everything
was going to be okay, Santa and his father would forgive him. He jumped down
from Santa’s lap and ran to his father. Throwing his arms around his neck,
he said, “I love you Papa.”
Santa stayed a little longer. He and his elves
ate some cookies and drank some punch. Then, they listened as Ben read the
story of the First Christmas. Just as the story ended, Nick motioned to his
brothers and they slipped out to the bunkhouse.
The Grinriches slept happily that night. They were
sure that going back to their father was the best thing to do. Stan and Sam
wanted to make sure their father knew they were sorry for what they had done.
Nick wanted to hug his father and offer his help. They couldn’t wait to leave
and very early in the morning, a sleigh silently left the barnyard and headed
toward Virginia City. One thing the Grinriches didn’t notice was a small,
curly-haired boy, watching from his upstairs window. The boy smiled, knowing
that Santa had, indeed, visited his house this Christmas.
The End
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