Ponderosa Christmas

by Judy

Marie Cartwright was just putting the final bow on a large Christmas present when she heard the front door bang open and heard the sounds of her family returning.  The door banging open would be Hoss of course.  At ten years old, Hoss was already as tall as his older brother Adam at 16, and outweighed him by at least 50 pounds.  He was as graceful as a newborn colt but his lack of grace was more than compensated by his enthusiasm.  Thus, banging doors open, slamming them shut, knocking over lamps, glasses, and anything else that got in his way was not uncommon.  She smiled as she thought of her big stepson with his big heart.  

She wondered what was keeping the rest of her men.  She didn't have long to wonder, because just at that time the door opened again and she heard the voice of four-year old Joseph.  She couldn't quite make out the words, but she could hear the excitement in his voice and knew that he was eagerly relating some new discovery to his father.  The talking turned to giggling as she heard steps coming upstairs and she figured Ben had swung him up on his shoulders to bring him upstairs.  She quickly put the last present under the bed and walked out of the bedroom to meet them. 

She laughed at the sight that greeted her.  It was Ben and Joseph, but rather than seeing Joseph on Ben's shoulders as she had expected, she saw Ben and Adam bringing Little Joe upstairs, swinging him as they did.  Little Joe was giggling uncontrollably as they threatened to throw him as they swung him.  She adopted as stern a look as she could muster as she scolded them. 

"What are you doing?  You put him down before he gets hurt."  Ben and Adam made a great charade of trying to decide what they should do. 

"Mama!  We found a tree and it's so big it is gonna touch the top of the house.  Papa said he may have to cut a hole in the top of the house, it's so big!"

"Well my goodness, Little Joe.  I don't know about a tree that big…."

"Come see, Mama, come see."

" He sure did Short Shanks! I heard him myself."

They all trooped out side to see the tree, still in the back of the wagon.  It was a green Ponderosa pine and it was as Joseph had indicated, huge.   Adam and Hoss quickly pulled the tree from the wagon and stood it up so she could get the full effect.  

"Oh, it is the most beautiful tree I've ever seen.  It will be perfect, even if we do have to cut a hole in the roof!"

"See, Mama?  I told ya and Pa let me pick it out!"

"Well you did a fine job, Little Joe.  It's a beautiful tree, son."

"Let's get it inside and decorate it, Papa."  

"Hop Tseng has sandwiches and hot soup ready for lunch.  Then we will start on the tree."o

Conversation at the meal was loud and very energetic.  Little Joe was chattering on excitedly, paying little attention to the food on his plate.  Ben and Marie did their best to keep him calmed down, but the truth was that they were nearly as excited as he was.  They had always enjoyed Christmas, and this year everything seemed so magical as they viewed it through the eyes of their four-year-old son.  Adam and Hoss were also enjoying seeing Little Joe experience Christmas with his wide-eyed wonder and awe.  He exhibited a complicated mix of guilelessness and impishness that made each tradition of Christmas seem like it was created just for him.

Little Joe was not the only one anxious to begin to trim the tree, so Ben finally gave into the pleas of his three sons and his wife and called the meal concluded.  Hop Tseng fussed in Chinese as he began to clear the table, but none of the older Cartwrights had picked up any Mandarin and they couldn't understand what he was saying.  Ben had often told Marie that he thought it was better that way anyway, so he wouldn't have to fire Hop Tseng.  Little Joe, however, frequently responded to Hop Tseng and pretended to understand him.  His father and brothers laughed at his game, but his mother looked at him and wondered.

Ben, Adam, and Hoss took on the job of sawing the tree and trimming excess branches and nailing the tree to the tree stand.  Little Joe had wanted to help but his father had adamantly refused and he was relegated to assisting Marie bring the boxes of ornaments out of the storage closet to get them ready for the tree.  As they were pulling out the boxes, she came to a particularly sturdy, small wooden box, about the size of a shoeshine box.  She took it out and sat down on the floor and carefully opened the box.  She carefully removed layers of paper and cotton batting that was wrapped around the object inside.

"Come look, Little Joe.  It's my angel." 

She pulled out the delicate glass angel and held it up for him to see.  It was made of a light crystal and was beautifully decorated, with wings that sparkled in the sunlight and a halo that looked as if it were made of diamonds.  Unable to resist, he reached out for the angel.  Marie intercepted his hand and said, 

"Yes, Joseph.  It is beautiful, and look.  See how the halo shines?"

"Wow! It's so purty, Mama.  Where did you get it?"

"This angel was on the Christmas tree in our house ever since I can remember, Little Joe.  We always put it on the top of the tree at Christmas time.  When I was little, my Papa would lift me up high and let me put it on the tree.  Papa said the angel would protect the person who put the angel on the tree." 

She watched him as he looked at the angel, turning it over and over, tracing the intricate details and holding it up to the light to make it sparkle.  As any proud mother, she thought her child was beautiful and as she watched him with the angel in his hands, she thought to herself that he was an angel holding an angel.  It was then that she decided that he should be the one to place the angel on the tree.

"Little Joe, would you like to put the angel on the tree?" s

"Yes Mama.  Can I please?  I'll be careful. I promise." 

"Well we have to ask Papa and Adam and Hoss, but if it is okay with them, I think you'll do a great job, Joseph." 

So involved was she with Little Joe and the angel, she had not seen Ben and Adam and Hoss had come back in and were watching them. 

Ben laughed and said, "What do you say, boys?  Do you think Little Joe is ready to place the angel on the tree?"

"Why shoot yeah, Pa, but how is he going to reach it?" A

"Well, I'll get the ladder and I'll hold him up there!"  Ben said.

So the afternoon passed gaily in the Ponderosa household.  The great ponderosa pine was placed in the corner by the staircase.  Little Joe was only mildly disappointed that they didn’t have to cut a hole in the roof after all, but it did reach nearly to the ceiling on the second floor.  Hoss and Little Joe made garlands for the tree by alternately stringing popcorn and bright red cranberries, supplied by Hop Tseng.  On about the third trip to replenish the popcorn, Hop Tseng walked away mumbling in Mandarin again.  Hoss looked puzzled and said, "Wonder what he said?" 

Little Joe giggled and said, "He SAID 'Quit eatin' the popcorn', Hoss."

The other Cartwrights all laughed at Joe's interpretation, thinking it was a good guess.  Only Little Joe and Hop Tseng knew that it was no guess.  Since Little Joe spent so much time with Hop Tseng, he was picking up the Mandarin Chinese that was Hop Tseng's native language.

Finally the tree was all decorated, with Marie's ornaments, a real bird's nest, the garland that seemed to be rather skimpy on popcorn and heavy on cranberries, and candles in holders attached to the tree.  Little Joe had been forced to take a nap right in the middle of the tree decorating, but forewarned about Santa's penchant for excluding naughty boys, he had put up little resistance.  He hadn't slept long either, but there was just no way to contain all that excitement. Just as it was getting dark, Hop Tseng announced that dinner would soon be ready. 

Ben announced, "All right boys.  This is the plan.  You go get the barn chores done and then we'll eat and then we'll have Little Joe place the angel and then we will have the official candle lighting.  Now hurry up and get to it." 

This time there was no argument and Adam and Hoss and Joe started to the barn. 

"Hold up, Little Joe.  You have to get washed up for dinner."  

 Finally she held him at arm's length and said, "Perfect.  Just like a little angel."  She laughed when he made a less-than angelic face. 

"Come on, Little Joe."

All the Cartwright men had dressed for dinner that evening and Marie was overjoyed when they sat down for their Christmas Eve meal.  They all joined hands and Ben asked blessings:

"Our heavenly father, I thank you for the wonderful blessings you have bestowed upon this family.  I ask that you continue to guide us and keep us in your protection. We are happy to be able to be here together to share in the celebration of the birth of your son.  I know that the love we share for each other ultimately comes from your love for us.  May we be worthy of that love and may we share that love with others.  In your name, I pray." 

Right away, Little Joe spoke up; "I do Papa."  Ben and Marie smiled indulgently and Little Joe prayed, "Bless my Mama and Daddy and Adam and Hoss and please show Santa Claus how to get to the Ponderosa.  And help me put the angel on straight without dropping it."

Ben, suppressing a chuckle, asked, "Anyone else?" 

But no one said anything, as they were all grinning. 

Ben added, "Amen!"

Everyone except Little Joe was famished after their afternoon spent decorating the tree.  The mounds of popcorn that Hoss had eaten had no influence whatsoever on his appetite and he ate heartily.  There was much talk and laughter, with Little Joe recounting the entire trip to get the Christmas tree, including every conversation and every sight they had seen, and every tree they had looked at and why they had chosen the particular tree.  Little Joe stated several times that Santa could find his way to the Ponderosa and he was reassured several times by his family that Santa would get there on time with no trouble.

"But Papa, how can he find his way all the way from the North Pole?"

"He uses the stars to guide him, Little Joe." Ben told him.

"How does he do that?"

"Because the stars don't move, Joe.  You can tell direction by looking at the stars."

"But Papa, don't they all look alike?"

"No, Son, they sure don't.  In fact, right before bedtime, I'll take you outside and show you some of the stars that Santa will use to guide him.  How about that?" 

Ben was delighted by the curiosity of his young son and it was never too early to begin to teach him to be self-sufficient.  As soon as dinner was over, Ben placed the tallest ladder against the wall near the tree and taking hold of Joseph, climbed the ladder.  Joseph held the angel carefully protected in his hands.  When Ben reached the top of the ladder, he firmly took hold of Little Joe and held him up so that he could set the angel on the spike at the top of the tree.  When the angel was in place, the others clapped.   Then when they had climbed down from the ladder, Adam and Hoss lit the candles and Marie blew out all the other lamps, leaving the house lit only by the soft illumination thrown out by the flickering candles.  The reaction from the whole family was every bit as enthusiastic as that of Little Joe.   They sat down and watched the tree for a few minutes, enjoying the beauty and peaceful scene before them. 

"Adam, would you bring me the family Bible please?" 

Adam quickly retrieved Ben's Bible from his study and Ben read the Christmas story found in Luke.  No one said a word while Ben read the story in his deep, rich baritone voice.  Marie noticed tears in Little Joe's eyes during the part about the Inn not having a vacancy.  She smiled and drew him nearer to her, putting her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

After Ben finished reading about the first Christmas, they sat silent for a little while longer, no one really wanting to break the spell.  Marie noticed that Joe was yawning and fighting desperately not to fall asleep and motioned to Ben to call attention to him.  Ben, picking up on the cue, said loudly, "All right, we'd better get to bed before Santa comes or he won't stop." 

This was the one night of the year that Little Joe would not fight going to bed.  He jumped up and took his mother's hand as she held it out to him. 

He said, "Good night, Adam.  Good night, Hoss,"and was fixing to tell his father good night when he remembered something. 

"Papa you said you would show me the stars and how Santa will get here by looking at them."

"Yes I did, Joe.  Come on and we will do that right now!" 

He picked up Little Joe and then picked up a blanket off the sofa and wrapped it around him and headed outside.

"Coming, Marie?"

"You go on, let me get my coat."

Ben took Joe and walked out into the middle of the courtyard so they could get a good unobstructed view of the stars.  He began to point out the constellations and the individual stars that he had used as a ship's captain to guide his ship. He told Joe their real name, as well as their common name and holding Joe's hand, he traced the pattern of the stars making up the various constellations of stars. 

He was pointing out the North star when Marie said, "Ben, the way you describe them, I can see them with my eyes closed."  

She put her hand on his arm as she spoke and a shiver of excitement ran through him at her touch.  He moved Little Joe over to one arm and put his other arm around Marie.  They stood there, gazing at the stars until Marie said, "I sure hope Santa isn't up there." They watched Little Joe's eyes widen slightly.  

"You don't want to be responsible for Santa not visiting us do you, Ben?"

"Papa stop!" Joe yelled, starting to cry.  "You're hurting Mama.  Stop Papa."

Joe touched his father's face and turned it toward him.  Their laughter stopped abruptly when they realized that he was upset. 

"Oh no, Little Joe, Papa and I were just playing.  He didn't hurt me at all"

"Oh Son, I would never ever hurt your mother." Ben reassured him. 

Little Joe looked deeply into their eyes and then relaxed as he realized that they were telling the truth.  "Well you sure sounded like you were hurting Mama, Papa." He said with a slight frown on his face.

Ben said, "Little Joe do you remember that time that Adam and I were acting like we were gonna throw you down the stairs and you were laughing and Mama told us to stop it?" 

Little Joe thought for a minute and then said, "Yeah Papa, I knew you weren't really going to throw me down the stairs."  

"Well Mama knew I wasn't going to really squeeze her too hard, too."

This explanation was sufficient for Little Joe so he smiled at them both.  Marie said, "Now then, young man, we'd better get you to bed so Santa can come to visit you." 

Ben and Marie took Little Joe upstairs and got him in his nightshirt and listened to his prayers and before his head hit the pillow practically, he was sound asleep.  Ben and Marie stood together at his bedside for several minutes, just watching him sleep, his face again angelic in appearance.  When they finally turned to go, Marie said softly, "Good night, my real little angel." 

Ben and Marie walked arm in arm into the hallway.  Marie started back downstairs, but Ben held her arm and stopped her from going.  She looked at him quizzically and said: "Ben, we have to put out all the Christmas presents."  "Later" he said and pulled her close to him again and arm in arm they walked into their own bedroom and he closed the door.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL 
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

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