Gypsy
"Gypsy, one scattered race, like stars in the sight of God"
(Gypsy Motto)
Adam Cartwright was trying to hurry his little brother along from their trip to Virginia City. His father had insisted that Little Joe get a haircut that day and he had drawn the responsibility of taking him. He chuckled to himself, as he wondered that if Joe hated a haircut this bad at seven, what would he be like when he was a few years older. After they had gotten the haircut over with, he had several errands to do, and as usual, having Little Joe with him had had its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages were that he was really a lot of fun to have around, asking endless questions and always adding a little fun to the routine. Also people in town seemed to be drawn to him like magnets and he never met a stranger; ladies of all ages especially seemed to be drawn to him. The disadvantages were that it was almost impossible to keep up with him--he dashed around like crazy, and it was no easy chore to keep him out of harm's way, and the endless questions could sometimes be a bother.
Finally he had gotten his errands run so he had taken Joe over to the ice house for the promised ice cream. He was not above using bribery to accomplish his mission. Joe had requested a double scoop of chocolate and vanilla on a cone. Adam, knowing that he would probably make a mess had told him to sit on the bench in front of the general store while he ate it. Adam had gone inside to talk to Grace Bentley while Joe finished his ice cream. He had asked Grace to be his date for the upcoming square dance in Virginia City and she had accepted. As he got ready to leave the store, Grace had walked slightly ahead of him as they were leaving. She had wanted to see Little Joe before they left. As they came to the door, Grace motioned for Adam to stop and put her fingers to her lips to caution him to be quiet. He didn't know what Joe was doing, but Grace was doing all she could to keep from laughing out loud. As Adam looked out the window pane of the glass, at first all he saw was his brother licking his ice cream cone, right where he had left him. There was a slightly scruffy, but friendly-looking dog sitting at his feet. Adam looked back at Grace with a puzzled expression on his face. She said, "Sshh. Just keep watching." Then as he watched, Little Joe lowered his ice cream cone and let the dog take a lick. As Adam watched astonished, Joe methodically took a lick, then offered the dog a lick. Adam's eyes widened as he watched. Just as he was about to go stop him, Grace tugged on his shirt and pointed to Joe again. Apparently, he had had enough of the ice cream so he gave the dog the rest of the cone. Grace was laughing out loud by this time. As Adam watched the dog finish off Joe's ice cream, he saw Joe begin to look around curiously, which meant he would shortly be in trouble if Adam didn't get back out there. He reached over to open the door, but Grace put her hand on his wrist and said, "Adam, don't make a big deal out of it. He is just a little boy and it won't hurt him." "I wouldn't think of it Grace." He said smiling.
He went out and collected his brother and said, "Come on little buddy, we'd better be getting on home or we will be late for supper and Hoss will eat up all the food".
Little Joe giggled, but said, "Nuh uh, Adam, Hop Sing will save us some."
"Well you should know, you are late more often than you are on time. Pa is gonna get you for that one of these days, Joe, I am warning ya."
Little Joe sighed and said, "Adam why does it matter what time we eat? Why can't we just eat when we're hungry?"
"Because Pa says so, Joe". Adam replied. He knew he dodged the issue that was at the root of Little Joe's question. Little Joe had been a finicky eater all his life, but after he'd had pneumonia a of month ago and Dr. Martin had commented that his being underweight hadn't helped, Pa and Joe had become engaged in a battle of wills over Joe's food intake. Adam had tried to tell his father that his approach was making it worse, but when his Pa had his mind made up, he was used to getting his way and he didn't give in gracefully. Adam believed that in the case of his younger brother, Pa might have met his match. Little Joe had inherited his father's stubborn streak, and that was considerable, but he had also gotten the stubbornness of his mother. Marie Cartwright had been without a doubt THE most stubborn woman he had ever met. So together, he felt they could hardly blame Little Joe for being stubborn. Yet, he knew that trait had already gotten him into trouble and he was more than likely headed for more as he grew older.
Adam was having a hard time getting Joe to keep his pony moving steadily along the trail to home. He kept stopping to look at things and ask questions or point out things. When he pulled up Star for the 5th or 6th time, Adam almost lost his temper, but as he was about to scold him, he realized that he was looking at his mother's grave and he couldn't do it. "Adam can I go say hello to Mama? Please it won't take but a minute." Joe looked at Adam, his green eyes wide open and pleading.
"Oh, all right, Little Joe, but just a couple of minutes and I mean it now." Joe flashed him a smile and quickly headed his pony towards the lake. Adam thought to himself, "Sucker. That is what I am---a sucker." As he turned his horse to follow his brother to the grave site of his mother. Little Joe's mother had been dead for almost two years now. And still Joe periodically had nightmares that would wake the entire household. They seldom could go by this way without Joe asking to stop and generally they all let him, believing that it was somehow good for him to be able to visit his mother's final resting place. Joe first cleared away a few weeds and sticks that had fallen on her grave, then he carefully picked some pretty yellow flowers that grew all around. Then he sat down and leaned against the headstone as Adam had seen his father do so many times in the past. Fifteen minutes later, Adam had to practically drag Little Joe away from the gravesite.
They had made it all the way to the meadow near the road leading to the Ponderosa and Adam was relaxing a little, because although they would be later getting back than he had planned on, they wouldn't be late for dinner. He didn't want to be responsible for touching off another battle between his Pa and Little Joe about dinner. Suddenly Little Joe let out a loud gasp and before Adam could locate the cause of the exclamation, Little Joe had taken off on his pony down to the meadow.
Adam followed Little Joe's direction with his eyes and let out a loud "Oh, no." Camped in the meadow were 4 colorful gypsy wagons. As Adam took off after Little Joe, he knew this was going to be a problem. Previously his father would have given the gypsies one night to get off the Ponderosa and been there early the next morning to make sure they were. However, he had granted a limited passageway to the territory to allow homesteaders to cut through on their way to California. The gypsies could legally camp there for an indefinite period of time if they said they were just passing through. Now that did not give them rights to hunt, fish, cut down a tree or do anything else; however, in the past gypsy travelers had been responsible for stealing cattle, hunting, cutting down trees, and trying to make the Ponderosa their permanent home.
Adam quickly followed Little Joe down to the meadow and caught up with him just a few feet away from the wagon. The little boy's eyes were wide open and he was clearly in awe of the sight of the wagons before him and the people milling about them. Adam counted about 6 adult men, about the same number of women, and 5 children. The women and children were dressed in brightly colored skirts and blouses, while the men were dressed in black and white with colorful sashes or vests. Joe had never seen anything like it before. The wagons were not the typical ranch wagon, or even a covered Conestoga wagon. They were more like homes on wheels. They were covered in intricate designs and with etchings and pictures. The front wagon had a green and blue flag with a red wagon wheel in the center of it.
Adam reached over and grabbed the bridle of Joe's pony and was about to turn the horses toward the ranch house, when several of the men and children approached them. One of the men said loudly, "Welcome to our camp, strangers. May we be of service to you? Would you like to water your horses or are you in need of a meal? You are always welcome at the caravan of the Prasko family."
Adam turned loose of Joe's horse's bridle and turned to speak to the men. As soon as he did that, Little Joe slid off his pony and excitedly joined the children near the wagon. "I'm Joe Cartwright" he said, "What are your names?" The oldest of the children responded, while the smaller children seemed to be wary of the strangers. As soon as Adam saw that Joe had gotten down from his horse, he immediately got off Sport and went to fetch his little brother.
In that split second, Little Joe and one of the gypsy children had become friends. Joe was proudly showing him his horse and inviting him to go for a ride with him on the next day. When Adam walked up to Little Joe with a frown on his face, he was met by his younger brother's grinning face, "Adam, this is my new friend, JOSEPH Prasko. Joseph, this is my big brother, Adam" Joe said proudly. Adam couldn't resist returning the smile and politely greeting his brother's young friends. Adam extricated himself and his brother from the gypsy camp as quickly as possible, though it had not been easy, since Joe was so excited about his new found friends. His new friend had insisted on introducing Little Joe to all his siblings and cousins, as well as to all the adults of the caravan. Each of the women had invited the two of them to join them for supper and Little Joe had clearly wanted to, but Adam had politely and firmly declined. He finally managed to drag Little Joe to his pony, and over Joe's protests, turned the horses toward home. Joe continued to wave and yell back to the children as they left the meadow and headed toward home.
As they rode out of sight of the meadow, Joe turned excitedly to Adam and said "Ain't that great, Adam? I have a friend close by to play with and HIS name is Joseph, too! Wait'll I tell Papa about this!"
Adam knew that his father would not be quite as happy about this news as Joe thought, but decided to let his father handle the situation. He just said, "Oh, I bet Pa will be surprised, Joe. I bet he will be surprised." As he said this, he reached over and patted Joe on the back and said, "How about we see who can get home the fastest?" Laughing, he watched as his little brother took off for home at full speed. He waited several long seconds before he spurred Sport to speed up a bit, giving Joe plenty of lead so that he would win the "race". He realized he shouldn't have challenged his brother to race home, since Little Joe wouldn't think to slow down and would go into the ranch yard at full speed, something sure to set his father on the warpath.
Adam spurred Sport even faster, hoping to catch up with Joe and slow him down before entering the ranch. He saw as he rode into the yard, that he was too late. Joe went racing into the yard, as fast as his pony would go, and his father stood there watching, his face pale and drawn. Joe's mother, Marie, had been killed in a riding accident in much the same spot that Joe had just ridden into. Adam regretted his part in reminding his father of that painful day. He quickly rode up to try to defuse the situation. However, as his little brother got off the pony, he ran eagerly over to his father and was talking so fast and was so excited, and so glad to see his father, that his father temporarily forgot his concern and scooped Little Joe up into his arms. "Now slow down, Little Joe, I can't understand a word you are saying." Ben said, looking fondly at his youngest son.
CHAPTER 2
Adam and Ben were discussing the presence of the gypsies before dinner. Joe had excitedly told Ben of his new friends, and had not noticed the displeasure that immediately came onto his father's face. He soon saw Hoss and ran off to tell him about his new friends. After Little Joe left, Ben looked to Adam to fill him in on the presence of the gypsies.
"Well, Adam, how many are there?" he asked.
"Pa there are four wagons. I saw about six men, several women and children. I don't know exactly. These gypsies seemed to be a little different than any I have ever seen before."
"Different? How so, Son?"
"For one thing, they didn't try to sell me anything the entire time we were there" Adam said, with a chuckle, since the last gypsies they had on the Ponderosa kept trying to sell them their OWN calves. Ben joined in the laughter. "But that is not all. They had very different wagons, very intricately carved out of fine wood, with a top and very large wheels on the back. I have never seen anything like it." Adam said. "They also had a flag on the first wagon. It was blue and green with a red wagon wheel on it. They introduced themselves and invited us to eat with them."
"Hmm. That doesn't sound like the typical gypsy, I agree. However, it is probably just another con game. We need to be careful and keep a close watch on them. And don't do anything to encourage them to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary." Ben said.
Just at that time, Joe and Hoss came in the front door. Joe was talking rapidly to Hoss, who was smiling and nodding his head at him. Ben and Adam both smiled at the sight of the two, knowing that Hoss was using the same technique they both used to deal with Little Joe's enthusiasm. As they came in closer to the living room, Ben heard the word 'wagons' and knew that Joe was telling Hoss about his new friends.
"Hoss, would you take Joe upstairs and get him cleaned up for dinner, please?"
"Sure Pa, Come on Short Shanks, let's get ready for dinner" he said, guiding Joe up the stairs. Joe was still talking a mile-a-minute as they made their way upstairs.
Ben looked at Adam, "I don't want Little Joe around the gypsies, Adam."
"Pa, now that he has seen them, and they are so close, it is going to be hard to keep him away from them. I heard him tell the boy he would come over tomorrow."
"Well we will just have to keep him busy here then." Ben said, knowing that would be easier said than done. Adam rolled his eyes towards his father, as Joe and Hoss came back downstairs, Little Joe still talking excitedly, telling Hoss all about his new best friend, Joseph Prasko and his wonderful wagon home.
Dinner that night was another battle of wills between Joe and his father. Joe had started out eating all right, as he was trying to talk about the gypsies and asking questions. But his father and brothers kept changing the subject and didn't seem to share his enthusiasm, just smiling and nodding at him. He knew they weren't really listening to him and he decided to prove it to himself.
"I am going to ride Dynamite tomorrow instead of Star" he said out loud.
Hoss and his Papa gave him a half-smile and Adam nodded, and then the three older Cartwrights continued their talk of the branding.
"I am going over to Bec's tomorrow and we are going to go to Beaver Falls and go over the falls." Joe said, with a questioning look on his face, watching his father's reaction.
"That's nice, Son." Ben said. Adam and Hoss nodded.
Scowling now, Joe said, "I robbed the bank and the mercantile today while Adam was sweet-talking Grace in the store."
"We'll see, Joseph. We'll see, son." Ben said, barely glancing Joe's way.
Satisfied that he was not getting the appropriate attention, he decided to try another strategy. If he could get away now, he would be able to go back to the gypsy camp and play with his new friends for a little while before dark.
"Papa can I be excused now?" He said, already rising from his chair.
Unfortunately this statement did not go unnoticed by his father. Ben's attention shifted from his conversation of the ranch to his youngest son----or more accurately to his youngest son's half-eaten meal.
"No, you may not be excused, Joseph. Not until you have finished your meal." He said sternly, giving Joe his full attention.
"Papa, I'm full. I don't want no more." Joe replied.
"Come on now, Son, you have to finish your meal." Ben said, getting ready for the usual battle.
"But Papa, that ice cream Adam got me filled me up" Joe said, glancing at Adam with a hidden smirk.
Ben, too, glanced at Adam with a quizzical expression on his face.
Adam hastened to explain, "That was hours ago and he didn't even eat half of it."
Adam and Hoss spent the remainder of the meal as observers as Father and youngest son engaged in a grand battle. In the end, neither of them could claim a clear victory. Joe had eaten some more food, but not all of it and they were both in a bad mood when Hop Sing, ready to clear the table, declared the meal finished.
"Dinner is Over. Hop Sing must clear table. Soon Hop Sing have to fix breakfast." He said, with a scowl and his arms crossed over his chest.
"All right, Hop Sing. We are finished, I guess. Joseph, you are excused." Ben said, fixing his rapidly-departing son's back with an exasperated stare. Hoss and Adam had been sitting there drinking their coffee and watching the entire battle with a little bit of amusement, trying to see whose stubborn streak was the widest---their father's or their younger brother's. By intervening, Hop Sing had effectively declared the contest a draw, but they knew it was just one round of many more to come. Hoss decided to change the subject so he asked Adam to tell him more about the gypsies that Joe had told him about. While they drank their after dinner coffee, Adam told them of their experience with the gypsy travelers.
"Pa, Little Joe sure is took with 'em. He told me he was going over there tomorrow to play with 'em." Hoss said.
"Yeah, Adam told me of your brother's plans, but I have different plans for your little brother tomorrow. I don't think it is good for him to be hanging around with them. He is too impressionable and impulsive. No telling what kind of crazy notions and ideas he could pick up from a bunch of gypsies!"
CHAPTER THREE
Morning dawned bright and clear on the Ponderosa Ranch. Ben Cartwright awakened early and took his first cup of coffee and walked out to the small balcony of his bedroom, overlooking the back of the ranch house and the view of the snow-capped mountains and the azure blue lake in the distance. He enjoyed this time of the day; he had always been an early riser, as were Adam and Hoss. He smiled as he thought of his youngest son, who generally had to be dragged out of bed every morning. He was feeling very clever because last night he had given Little Joe a list of chores that he had been told to do over the past few weeks and had gotten out of, one way or another. He had told him that he would have to get them done before he had any more free time. Knowing Little Joe's gift for procrastination, he figured he could easily keep him busy until the gypsies were long gone. He knew that this was not the most direct way to handle this, but he didn't want Joe around the gypsies and he didn't want to have to respond to the interrogation he knew he would get if he just told Joe to stay away.
Soon he heard his sons getting up to begin their chores. He finished his cup of coffee, enjoying the view. When he had finished, he shaved and dressed, then went to go downstairs to breakfast. Since he didn't hear a fight going on in Little Joe's room, he thought that Hop Sing must not have made it upstairs to get him dressed yet. He opened the door to his room, but was surprised to find Little Joe gone already. His bed was unmade and his pajamas were strewn on the floor, but Joseph was not there. He was surprised and hopeful that perhaps his son was outgrowing his customary late-rising habits.
The three brothers were coming into the house just as Ben came down to breakfast. Little Joe was talking to Hoss, telling him something about Dynamite and Star but Ben couldn't quite make it out. "Good morning, Boys." He said to all three of them and was greeted in return by enthusiastic good mornings from all three. Joe came over, all smiles and gave his father a hug. His father, as usual, swooped him up in his arms and gave him a bear hug, then plopped him down in his chair.
Joe laughed and said, "Papa, I already ate breakfast."
Seeing his father's puzzled look, he continued, "I ate with Hop Sing a long time ago and I have been doing all my chores, Papa. I am almost finished with 'em, too!"
"Hop Sing!" Ben bellowed, and was a little embarrassed when Hop Sing appeared right by his side. "Is this true, Hop Sing? Has Little Joe already eaten breakfast?" he asked, not believing his son had really gotten up that early. He knew that Hop Sing was the original bona fide believer of "early to bed and early to rise" since he went to bed as soon as dinner was finished, and rose well before dawn, eating his own breakfast before he began housekeeping or preparing the family breakfast. Hop Sing generally had the house cleaned, the laundry done, and breakfast ready before the Cartwrights were up.
"Yes is true. Little Joe eat breakfast long time ago with Hop Sing, velly velly early."
"I see" Ben said, though in reality, he didn't see. While he was looking at Little Joe trying to figure out what had prompted this, he heard the answer in Joe's conversation with Hoss.
"Hoss when you finish the brandin', do you wanna go fishin' with me and Joseph?"
"Wait just a minute young man, what about those chores I told you about last night? You aren't going fishing with Joseph or anyone else until they are done, young man." Ben said, fixing his son with a stern look.
"I know Papa, that is why I got up so early. I been working on 'em for hours so I can get 'em all done." Joe explained patiently.
"Well you just see that you do and I don't want you rushing through them either. You do them right the first time. You hear?" Ben was not really concerned, he had given Joe a list that should be sufficient to keep him busy for quite sometime. "And you will sit right here and have some milk while we have our breakfast, Joseph. Meal time is meant to be family time and you won't miss it, even if you did eat already." Ben said sternly.
"Well Papa, Hop Sing is family, too, ain't he?" Joe asked, his eyes wide and his face creased with consternation.
"Of course he is family, too, Joseph. But I meant with your brothers and your father." Ben explained, somewhat taken aback. Hoss and Adam exchanged an amused look over that exchange. Adam leaned over to Hoss and said, "I think we have to give this round to our little brother, don't you?" Hoss, unable to keep it in, laughed out loud, causing Ben to fix him with a stare and Joe to look up at him and join in the laughter, despite having no clue as to what it was about.
While his father and brothers ate and discussed the ranch, Joe sipped on a glass of milk and day-dreamed about what he and his new friends would do today. He had asked Hop Sing to get him up when he got up so he could get all those chores done. He briefly wondered why his father had suddenly remembered about all those jobs that Joe had long since forgotten about. But since he knew he should have already done them, he wouldn't get anywhere by complaining. It wasn't that he didn't mean to do them, he just forgot. As soon as he heard the list, he knew it would take him at least 8 hours to get them all done and if he started at the regular time, that would mean it would take him all day, and no time left to play with his new friends.
That was when he came up with the idea of getting up with Hop Sing. He regretted it when Hop Sing came to get him up, but he was too determined to have time to play to go back to sleep. He had enjoyed the peaceful breakfast with Hop Sing and had eaten more than usual. Hop Sing, glad for the company had gone out to collect the eggs when Joe had gone out to the barn to begin his chores. Little Joe was just glad that Hop Sing had gone out with him, without realizing that Hop Sing had done it because he knew he would be afraid to go out to the barn alone, since it was still dark. Hop Sing had collected the eggs and fed the chickens and then stayed around, helping Joe with his chores until daylight. Then he had gone back in to prepare the family breakfast and take Ben his coffee. By the time Ben Cartwright came downstairs, Joe had finished over half his chores because of the early start and Hop Sing's assistance.
After the other Cartwrights finished their breakfast, all three sons headed back out to finish the morning ranch chores. Ben, heading into Virginia City, admonished Joe, "You stay right here 'til you get all those chores finished, Son." Ben didn't really believe that Joe could have gotten much done this early, knowing how sleepy-headed he was, so he didn't think to check out just how much remained to be done of the list. "I will be back in time for supper. You boys be on time. And Joseph, I want you to eat a good lunch. Understand?"
Little Joe smiled and said, "I will, Papa. I promise." He then hurried back to working on his list. He was sure that if he kept it up, he could be finished with his list by lunch time.
When Hop Sing called him to lunch, Joe was on the next to the last chore on the list. He hurriedly finished re-buckling the buckle on the last cinch. He had decided that he would just skip lunch and go on working, but he remembered his promise to his father to eat a good lunch, so he ran into the house, planning on eating in record time. He was glad to see that neither his father nor Adam was home. Although his father insisted that they dine together in the evening, often ranch chores made it difficult for them to eat as a family during the noon meal. Often it was just Little Joe and Ben or sometimes just Hop Sing and Little Joe for lunch. Upon those occasions, Hop Sing would either join Joe in the dining room or invite Joe to eat with him in the kitchen. Little Joe had developed a fondness for their shared meals and Hop Sing had taught him much about Chinese food, language, culture, religion, and beliefs during those times.
Today it was Hoss and Little Joe so they sat in the dining room while Hop Sing brought in steaming mugs of soup and sandwiches and fruit. Hoss started telling Joe that he had to go into Virginia City to pick up some supplies that Adam hadn't been able to get yesterday and asked him if there was anything he could get for him.
"I wish I could take you with me, Short Shanks, but you have to finish your chores or Pa will have me and you both for supper."
Little Joe laughed at the thought of their Papa eating the two of them and Hoss joined in the laughter, glad that Little Joe was taking the exclusion in such a good mood. Generally Little Joe was in a bad humor if he couldn't go to town with one of them. It didn't occur to Hoss to inquire about the status of his chore list either. He had seen him working diligently a couple of times, but figured he would still have plenty to do. He wasn't sure his Pa was handling the gypsy situation in the best way, but he sure wasn't going to argue with his Pa about how to handle Little Joe. Joe scarfed down a sandwich and ate his soup, and washed it all down with a glass of milk. Hoss thought that there didn't appear to be anything wrong with Joe's appetite today. As soon as they both finished, Hoss got ready and went to Virginia City, telling Little Joe he would see him soon.
Little Joe waved goodbye to Hoss and then turned his attention to the next and final chore on his list---the woodpile. He got started enthusiastically on the job, but was quickly discouraged---it would take him forever to chop and stack as much wood as his father had directed. Just when he was going to concede that he wouldn't get to go play with his friends that day, Hop Sing again came to his rescue. Hop Sing brought a man and motioned for Joe to give the man the ax.
"Joe, this man ask Hop Sing for food in exchange for chopping wood. He come two or three times a month. He come today and eat so he will chop wood for you. You go finish other chores."
"But Hop Sing, Pa told me to chop..." Joe started.
Hop Sing interrupted, "Is okay, Little Joe. Mr. Cartwright say is always okay for Mr. Jones chop wood for meal. You go. Hop Sing tell Mr. Cartwright, Hop Sing tell you go."
With a huge smile and an enthusiastic "Thanks, Mister. Thanks, Hop Sing." Little Joe quickly headed towards the barn as Hop Sing headed towards the house.
CHAPTER 4
Little Joe quickly saddled Star, although he thought about saddling Dynamite instead. After all, he had "told" his father he was going to. He decided against it, because he knew that his father would ask him if he thought his father had actually heard what he said and agreed to it. His father was always saying something about him getting off with a "tecknoCALotee", whatever that was. He didn't know what it was, but he sure knew his Papa didn't like 'em much and this seemed like the situation that always made his father think he had one. It must be some new kind of saddle or something.
Joe headed over to his friend's camp at about 1 PM. It wasn't as early as he had wanted, but it was much earlier than he had thought he would have been able to get away. He was sure lucky that Mr. Jones had come that day to chop wood, or he wouldn't have made it. Joe galloped right up to the wagons and dismounted his horse. He looked eagerly around and saw Joseph and the other gypsies, sitting around the campfire. Joe boldly walked over to the circle of people. The adults and children all smiled when they saw him and called out to ask him to join them. One man was seated at the front of the circle of people and all eyes were on him. Little Joe slipped in next to Joseph and whispered, "What's going on, Joseph?"
Joseph replied, "That is my grandfather, the head of our family. He is telling tales of the way it used to be." Little Joe listened intently as Joseph's Grandfather told of the history of the Gypsy people from the time of their ancestor’s flight from India's Punjab region to escape the invasion of the fighting Arabic and Mongolian warriors, to their spread throughout Africa then Europe and eventually to the Americas. Although Little Joe had never heard of any of the places or people Mr. Prasko mentioned, Joe listened and tried to remember them so he could ask Adam about them later. "Our family traveled from Germany many years ago to escape the forced living confines ordered by the government. My Grandfather, also Joseph Prasko," he said smiling at Little Joe's friend, "decided that his family would not live in the camps, but would have a chance to be free. He worked and raised the money for his family to book passage on the big ships and we come to America. He brought with him two small Cobb ponies, and they are the revered ancestors of our own fine horses."
Little Joe looked around and asked Joseph, "What horses is he talking about?" Joseph motioned for Little Joe to follow him and they quietly left the circle of people. As they got out of hearing range, Joseph started talking, "I didn't think you would come."
"But I told you I would come today" Joe replied, puzzled by the comment.
"Yes, but I didn't think your father was too happy to see us yesterday."
Little Joe looked confused for a minute, then he grinned, "That was not my father, that was my big brother, Adam."
As they were walking, they continued to talk. Joseph told Little Joe that every day for several hours after lunch, his grandfather would talk to everyone who wasn't busy to tell them the story of their people to remind them of their heritage. "It would get boring except Grandfather can make the stories come alive. After he tells the general history of the topic, then he tells exciting stories. You must come tomorrow, he is going to tell us about the history of the Cobbs." Joseph said, still leading Little Joe to a spot behind the wagons.
As they reached a small clearing behind the wagons, Little Joe looked up in amazement at the sight before him. He saw several of the biggest, most beautiful horses he had ever seen. He was speechless for a moment, something that hardly ever happened. When they neared the glade where the horses were tied, Little Joe couldn't contain himself any longer. He walked over to the string of horses, and right up to the largest stallion he had ever seen. The stallion was huge, at least 18 hands high. He was a light cream color with patches of frosty tan in a remarkable pattern. He looked sturdy and sleek as could be. Joe reached up and offered a sugar cube that he always kept in his pockets for his own pony to the horse. The horse reached down, sniffed the sugar, looked at Little Joe as if sizing him up, then deftly ate the sugar cube, while Joe patted the horse's chest and legs. He would have loved to rub his muzzle, but he couldn't reach it!
"Wow. This is the best horse I have ever seen, Joseph. Does he belong to your family?"
"Yes, this is King Frederick Romonov Prasko, the descendant of the ponies brought over from Germany. We call him Freddy." Joseph explained to Little Joe. "When my father comes, he will let us ride him."
"Your father will let us ride this stallion?" Joe asked incredulously, knowing without a doubt that his own father wouldn't let him get this close to the horse.
"Sure, if you are a good rider, that is. He will let us ride one of the others at least."
"Boy, you are so lucky, Joseph. Those horses are better than any on the Ponderosa!" Joe said in all earnestness. Little Joe, like his family, appreciated a good horse and he was becoming a good judge of horse flesh from watching and listening to his father and brothers. He was always trying to convince his father to let him have a bigger, faster horse, but so far he hadn't been able to get anything any faster or bigger than Star, a small, slow and steady pony. How he would love to ride this big stallion and ride as fast as he could go.
"Where is your father, Joseph?" he asked, trying to remember if he met him yesterday.
"He had to go to sell some of the colts and he is to join us here. That is why we have stopped the vardos here."
"What's a vardo, Joseph?" Little Joe asked, curious as ever.
"A vardo is our home on wheels" Joseph laughed.
"Oh you mean the wagons" Joe said.
"Well, yes, but a vardo is much more than a wagon, my new friend. A vardo is home to the gypsy, so wherever we go, we are at home." Little Joe considered this for a minute and thought about the Ponderosa on wheels. The thought made him smile. "Come, the lesson should be over, let us go to the caravan so you can meet my mother and grandmother. I will show you our vardo, too."
Little Joe went with Joseph to the vardos and they were joined by many of the children he had seen yesterday. One of them, a girl, positioned herself close to Little Joe and looked at him with shining dark brown eyes. "My name is Marietta. What is your name?"
Little Joe smiled at Marietta, thinking she was much prettier than the girls in his school. "My name is Joseph Cartwright. My family calls me Little Joe." He told her.
"I saw you yesterday when you came with the dark-haired man. Is he your father?"
Joe laughed again, "No, he is my brother. I live just over that meadow. This is our ranch."
"You mean you always live here?" Marietta asked, with a wistful expression on her face.
"Yeah, of course we always live here." Joe answered, unsure of the meaning of the question.
"Do you have a big bed all of your own or do you share with your brother?" she continued.
"No, I don't share with Adam, he has his own room and I have my own room. We all have our own rooms. Why are you asking that?" Joe asked, trying to understand her questions.
Marietta laughed and said, "Later I will show you our vardo, then you will understand." Joseph walked over just then and said, "Marietta, I am going to show him our vardo right now. Would you like to join us? Joe, this is my cousin, Marietta, sometimes she is called Marie for short." Joseph did not see the sudden change in expression in Little Joe's face. He had thought Marietta pretty before, now he thought she was beautiful.
Joseph pulled Little Joe along to one of the brightly painted and carved wagons, with the flag on the front. "Ma-Ma and GrandMa-Ma, may I present to you, my friend, Little Joe Cartwright? Little Joe this is my mother and my grandmother."
Joe looked at the two smiling women, both dressed in bright, gay skirts and blouses, with bright gold or colored jewelry. He gave them a warm smile and said "Hello, pleased to meet you" to both of them.
The older woman was short and round and had fine wrinkles around her eyes, but she gave the impression of being very lively. The younger woman was a younger version of the older; she said, "Welcome to our vardo, Little Joe Cartwright. Tell me, is your full name Joseph Cartwright?"
Joe grinned and said, "Yes, Mam, but my Papa and my brothers call me Little Joe."
"I see. Hmmm. We shall call you Little Joseph." She said, as if that settled an important problem. "Now then, Joseph, would you and your friend, Little Joseph, and your cousins like some refreshments?"
"Yes, Ma-Ma" Joseph replied.
"Very well, please give us a few minutes and we will serve you outside." She smiled at her son.
"Ma-Ma, may I please show Little Joe our vardo?"
"Certainly, Joseph" she replied.
Joseph motioned for Little Joe to follow him and they climbed up into the wagon. Joe was amazed when they entered the wagon, for it was like no other wagon he had ever seen. He had already noticed that the outside of the wagon was different, being carved of wood and covered with fancy carving and decorative items. However, the inside of the wagon was even more amazing, for rather than having a bench and boxes and storage trunks like most wagons he had seen, this wagon was like a little room. There was a built-in cupboard, a table with benches, a dresser, complete with mirror, and on the wall there were bunk beds. Joseph showed Little Joe how the table could be folded up to give more room, and how the cupboard doors could be locked tight to prevent items from falling out when they traveled. He also showed Joe how there was a small, but serviceable stove built into the side of the wagon. "We only use the inside stove when the weather is too bad for cooking outside, because of its size." Joseph explained. There were also shelves that could be folded down to give more storage space or folded up to give more room to move in the wagon. "Wow, Joseph, this is the nicest wagon I have ever seen. It reminds me of Hop Sing's kitchen!"
"Do you sleep in here, Joseph?" he asked.
"Only when it is too cold or raining so that we can not sleep outside. But if we need to sleep inside, we can all sleep in here." Joseph gave Little Joe a conspiratorial wink, "But GrandMa-Ma snores, so I prefer to sleep under the stars."
Little Joe laughed and said, "I wonder if she sounds as loud as my brother Hoss?"
"We will have to compare their snoring and see" Joseph said.
About that time, Mrs. Prasko stuck her head into the wagon and said, "Come, Children. I have refreshments ready for you. You must hurry before the other children eat them all!"
Little Joe laughed and said, "That sounds like my brother Hoss, too. We had better hurry." The two children quickly jumped out of the wagon and were met by loud laughter and excitement of the other children. Mrs. Prasko gave each child a glass of a sweet, red-colored drink and placed plates of freshly-baked pastries out for the children. Soon the children were enjoying the flaky pastries and drinking the red fruit-flavored drinks and laughing and talking as if they had all known each other for ever. They told Joe of some of their adventures and Little Joe regaled them with stories about his family and the Ponderosa.
Little Joe was having such a good time that he didn't notice that the sun was getting low and that dusk was descending upon the meadow. He probably wouldn't have thought of the time at all except one of the men came over to remind Joseph and some of the other boys that it was time for them to feed and water the horses. About that same time, the girl children began to drift off to assist their mothers and grandmothers in the preparation of the evening meal. Joseph said, "Little Joe, you would be an honored guest if you would like to dine with us this evening. You could help us feed the horses and take them to get fresh water."
Little Joe was sorely tempted, but he knew he couldn't stay any longer without getting in trouble. He had to get home and get his evening chores finished. "I had better go on home, Joseph, but I would like to come back tomorrow. Then maybe you could come with me to the Ponderosa!"
Joseph said, "You may certainly come back, Little Joe, anytime that you wish. However, we will have to see what your father says about a visit to the Ponderosa."
Little Joe loved the way Joseph said "Ponderosa", making it sound even more wonderful than it was. "My Papa will be happy for you to visit us, Joseph. I am sure of that. I will see you tomorrow." With that, Little Joe said good bye to his new friends, including the adults in the caravan, then he went over and mounted Star for the short ride home to the Ponderosa. As he rode to the Ponderosa, he imagined that instead of riding Star, the placid pony, that he was riding King Frederick Romonov Prasko as fast as he could go.
Little Joe was feeling very good and was in a very cheerful mood as he turned into the courtyard of the Ponderosa. He smiled eagerly and enthusiastically when he rode into the yard and saw his father standing there, as if waiting for someone. Little Joe's smile faded when he saw the look on his father's face. Little Joe did a quick mental run-through of the list of chores and was sure that he had finished all of them. "He must be mad at Hoss or Adam" he thought to himself, relieved that it wasn't him who was going to feel his father's wrath.
However, as he approached closer to the barn, he heard his father yell "Joseph Francis Cartwright, you get off that pony and come directly inside!"
"Uh-oh" he thought, "I must have forgotten something!"
CHAPTER 5
Joe quickly got off his pony and walked her into the barn. Once inside the haven of the barn, he slowed down, stalling for time as he tried to figure out just what he had forgotten. He again tried to go over everything his father had told him to get done. Although he didn’t have a written list, he was usually able to remember something by recalling the conversation in his head. But he could not think of one thing he had forgotten to do, but he must have because his Papa sounded as mad as he had been the time he had sneaked that skunk into the outhouse at the school. He slowly unsaddled Star and rubbed him down and gave him clean water and grain. Finally when he could think of nothing else to do to stall, he slowly headed towards the ranch house.
Just as he got to the barn door, he was met by his father, obviously coming to hurry him along. "Boy, I must be in big trouble this time. Maybe Mitch had told his Pa about them skipping school the last week of school to go fishin." He thought. "Well you certainly took your time, Joseph. Come along into the house, though it might save time to have this conversation in the barn." Ben said, looking ominously at his youngest son. Joseph sometimes was able to talk his father out of punishment, but there were other times when his father held firm. Joe had no doubt that this was one of the latter, not former times. Still he didn’t know what his father was so upset about. Generally his father was the most upset when he disobeyed a direct order and he couldn’t recall having done that recently. He sighed and dejectedly followed his father into the house, preparing for the lecture and punishment to come. His father took long strides in front of him, stopping at the door to hold it open for him, and pointing for him to go over to his desk. Little Joe meekly followed his father’s direction and took a seat facing his father’s desk.
When his father took his seat behind the desk, Joe continued to stare at his boots, ashamed to meet his father’s gaze, for although he didn’t know what he had done, he was sure it must have been something truly awful for his father to be so upset. He waited for his father to speak; he didn’t have long to wait. "Well, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?" his father asked.
Joe was really confused now, because he had NO idea what to say for himself, since he didn’t know what his offense was. He continued to look down at his boots, hoping he would get swallowed up by the earth or struck by one of those meteors Adam was reading to him about. But no meteor or hole in the ground was going to save him.
His father, sensing he was not going to answer, continued. "When I leave you a list of chores, I expect you to do them. What do I find when I come home instead of you working on your chores?" Hearing this, Joe felt a moment of hope, but before he could say anything his father went on, "I will tell you what I find, I find you gone and no one knows where you are. That’s what I find. Did you think I would just forget about your chores, young man? I thought I could depend on you to obey me, Joseph."
"But Papa, I did my chores!" Little Joe interjected, speaking fast and loudly. He knew that he had to get that in somehow or his father would carry on for some time.
"Don’t raise your voice to me, Joseph."
Little Joe sighed and mumbled, "That’s the only way you’d hear me."
This made his father stop talking and glare at his son with his eyes narrowed, "And I will not tolerate impertinence Joseph. Now what do you have to say for yourself?" His father paused in speaking and looked at Joseph, expecting a response.
Joe took a deep breath and said, "Papa I finished my chores---all of ‘em."
"Joseph, I don’t see how you could have finished all those chores in one day."
"But Papa, remember I got up early and started on ‘em."
"Even so, Joseph, there were many chores that I told you to complete. Are you sure you did them all?" Ben was becoming confused himself. He had purposely put more chores on the list than his son could possibly get done in one day---there were easily enough for two full days at least. He hadn’t bothered to check up on Joe’s progress when he came home and found him nowhere in presence, he had assumed that Joe had left them undone to go off to play with the gypsies. He began to question Joe about each task on the list, and each time, Joe assured him that the chore was finished. And Ben knew his son well enough to know that he would not lie to him. What was going on here? he wondered. When he got to the wood chopping and stacking, he was sure there was no way Little Joe could have stacked and chopped as much wood as Ben had told him to do in one day. "And the wood Joseph?"
At mention of the wood, Joseph blushed a little and a look of consternation came across his face. "Uh oh, what if the man hadn’t finished the wood chopping?" he thought to himself.
Ben, seeing the look on Joe’s face, thought "that is it—he forgot the wood." Ben was not really upset with Joe for having forgotten the wood, after all, he had just wanted to keep him busy so he would not be able to leave the Ponderosa. If he was mad at anyone, it was himself for not being more direct with Little Joe. Out loud he said, "Why don’t we go take a look at the woodpile, Joe, and just see how well you completed that chore?" He got up and led the way towards the door, with Little Joe following slowly behind him. However when they approached the woodpile, their expressions changed. Ben’s turned from a frown into bewilderment and Little Joe’s turned from dejection into elation. Mr. Smith had chopped even more wood than Ben had ordered Little Joe to chop, and it was all neatly stacked by the side of the house, and the wood-box was full! Joe smiled and couldn’t resist laughing a little out loud.
Ben turned to him and said, "Joseph, this is impossible. How did you get all this wood chopped and stacked?"
Joe said, "Well, Papa I didn’t chop all…"
Ben interrupted, "Oh you didn’t? Didn’t I tell you that I expected you to chop this wood?"
"Yes, sir" Joe answered, losing the smile quickly.
At that time, though, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen to get wood for the stove. When he saw Ben and Little Joe and saw the expressions on their faces, he sensed what was occurring and intervened on Little Joe’s behalf. "Mr. Cartwright, Hop Sing tell Little Joe leave wood for Mr. Smith to chop. Mr. Cartwright tell Hop Sing Mr. Smith can always chop wood for meal. Mr. Smith come, eat very big meal today, so he chop very much wood today. Hop Sing tell Little Joe to go finish other chores and leave wood. Did Hop Sing do wrong?"
Ben sighed and turned to Hop Sing, "No Hop Sing, you did right. That is very good." He then turned toward his youngest son, swallowed and said, "Joseph, it seems your Papa made a mistake. Please forgive me. You did all your chores, just as I asked you to."
Little Joe, relieved to be off the hook once again, was in the mood to be generous. He smiled at his Papa and said, "That’s okay, Papa. You must have one of those "tecknoCALoties", huh?
Ben looked slightly puzzled for a minute, then broke out in laughter and grabbed his son up in his arms and hugged him tightly, until Little Joe said, "Papa I can’t breathe." Then he released him, put him down, and said, "Go get washed up for dinner, Joseph." Joseph scurried off, not wanting to give his father any reason to change his mind nor his mood.
On the way past Hop Sing, though, he reached and gave him a hug, too. Hop Sing returned the hug, then said somewhat gruffly, "Little Joe go wash up now." But the gruff words didn’t fool any of the three.
As he rode into the courtyard, Adam noticed his father standing on the veranda apparently lost in thought. He asked one of the ranch hands to care for his horse and walked over to his father and said, "What’s on your mind, Pa? You look troubled about something."
Ben smiled at his oldest son, always sensing when he was wrestling with a problem. "I was trying to figure out how to keep your younger brother away from the gypsies, Adam."
"I thought you gave him enough chores to keep him busy for a week at the rate he procrastinates. Did he sneak off without doing them?" He asked, surprised that Joe would be that blatant—subtlety was more his style.
"OH no, he didn’t sneak off---he got them all done!"
"All of them? That is impossible; I couldn’t have gotten them all done."
"Well as luck would have it, a man that Hop Sing feeds periodically for chopping wood came by today and did the wood chopping. Joe did everything else."
Adam laughed and said "That kid is the luckiest little cuss in the world." Ben joined in the laughter, and said, "Here comes Hoss, we better hurry and get ready for dinner. You know Hoss won’t want to wait."
Dinner that night was a loud, lively affair. Little Joe would not be denied his attention that night. He chattered nonstop throughout the meal, telling them about his afternoon with the gypsies, telling them about the huge horses, the wagons, the history of the gypsies, the children, and everything he could remember about the gypsies. He was so excited that he didn’t notice that his father and older brother were exchanging concerned looks over some of his stories. Hoss, unaware of the depth of his father’s concern about Joe’s involvement with the gypsies, asked questions and provided appropriate enthusiasm to keep Joe engaged in the story telling without noticing that all three of them were not equally interested.
Ben sat listening to his son, trying to figure out what to do about the situation. It was obvious that Little Joe had already come under the influence of the gypsies---just what he had wanted to avoid. Little Joe was so impulsive and impressionable and drawn to fun and excitement and the gypsies were flamboyant, carefree, and exciting—at least on the surface. They were also unproductive, non-law-abiding, and shiftless---all things he didn’t want Joseph to become. He had wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with Little Joe about the gypsies, because he hated to have to tell him that sometimes people are not what they appear to be. Joe had a very trusting nature and he hated to have to change that, but there was no other way that he could see. He decided to talk to him at bedtime and tell him the facts about gypsies. He belatedly noticed that while talking and laughing about the gypsies, Joe had eaten without commenting on the food. For once there was no meal-time battle about Joe’s eating habits.
After dinner, they went about their usual routine. Ben worked on the ledgers briefly, then settled into his chair by the fire to read the papers that he had brought back from Virginia City. Adam, too read the newspapers, then got into the book he was reading about astronomy. Hoss and Little Joe played several games of checkers with Little Joe winning the majority. Joe’s mother had taught him to play checkers and he had a natural ability for it. Hoss wasn’t as good at it, mainly because he lacked any amount of ruthlessness—he tended to avoid making moves that would be detrimental to the other player. Instead he tried to make moves that would keep his men safe, but not jeopardize the other player. After a few moves, this strategy was always unsuccessful because Little Joe was ruthless in his competition and delighted in jumping Hoss’s checkers. After getting beaten 4 out of 5 games, Hoss declared he was through playing checkers that night.
Little Joe looked around at Adam and Pa for one more game. His father was deeply engrossed in the newspaper, but Adam had closed his book and was watching them play. "Adam, want to play a few games with me?" Little Joe asked. He and his brother were more evenly matched. Adam was much better at strategy than Hoss and didn’t mind beating his little brother; however, Adam lacked the intensity for playing the game that Little Joe had. It was this intensity that Joe had that frequently got him into trouble. Whether he was playing checkers or performing some other activity, he generally gave 110% effort, unless of course it was something that he didn’t want to do---then it was a job to keep him at it.
He and Adam played two games, with Joe winning the first one in 5 moves and Adam winning the second one after a long game. They had just started the third one when Ben noticed the time and said it was time for Little Joe to go to bed.
"But Papa this game isn’t over yet. I have to beat Adam in this game, Papa."
Ben relented, and said "You may finish this game if you do it soon. No long drawn out games, though, Joe, it is already past your bedtime.
"Don’t worry, Pa, I am gonna beat him in two moves" Joe assured his father.
Adam had been studying the checker board and quickly made a move and said, "Oh I don’t think so, younger brother."
Little Joe looked at the board, studying the impact of Adam’s move on his strategy, then all of a sudden, said loudly, "You are right, Adam, I am gonna do it in just one move", and with that he jumped in succession over all Adam’s remaining checkers, winning the game.
Adam was left staring at the board, trying to reconstruct Joe’s moves to make sure they were legitimate. Finally he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Lucky little cuss" and laughed. Hoss and Ben and Little Joe joined in the laughter.
"Come on Son, it is bedtime" Ben said, grabbing his youngest son’s hand and leading him toward the stairs. "I’ll read you a bedtime story and then we are gonna have a talk. Tell your brothers good night, Joseph." Joe ran over and gave Hoss and Adam a quick hug and they all said their "good nights".
CHAPTER SIX
Putting Little Joe to bed was something of a mixed blessing to Ben. He enjoyed the closeness with his son, but it could sometimes be a battle as Little Joe resisted going to sleep and tried every way he could think of to postpone the inevitable. Tonight was no exception and he stalled by asking questions, telling his toys long drawn-out good nights, interrupting the bedtime story frequently to ask questions, and finally saying a long bedtime prayer, asking God to bless everyone living in the Nevada territory---by name. At these times, Ben longed for Marie, who somehow managed to get Joe to bed in a reasonable amount of time without putting either of them in a bad humor.
Finally, Little Joe was settled down and about ready for sleep, and Ben took this opportunity to broach the subject of the gypsies to Joseph. "Son, I was worried about you when you weren’t at home today. I don’t want you going off without telling someone exactly where you are again. Is that understood?"
"Sure, Pa, I didn’t go far and I told you the night before I was going to go see my new friend, Joseph. I am going back tomorrow. Can he come for supper tomorrow night, Papa?" Joe asked, already planning what he was going to ask Hop Sing to cook for supper. He had liked the sweet pastries that Joseph’s mother had made so he wanted Hop Sing to make something as good.
"Joe, I think it is best if you do not go back over to the gypsy camp."
Joe looked a little surprised, but figured his Papa just didn’t understand how close they were, so he explained, "Papa they don’t live far, I have been farther than that by myself. You can ask Adam."
"Joseph, the distance is not the issue. I do not want you in that gypsy camp. Nor do I want you inviting the gypsies over here. It is better that way." Ben realized that Joe was looking at him with wide eyes and disbelief in his face and it made him uncomfortable and a little defensive. "Is that understood, Joseph?" he asked, a little more forcefully than he meant to.
"But Papa, Joseph is my friend and…" Joseph began, but Ben interrupted him.
"Joseph, you have only known those people for a little over a day. They can’t possibly be your friends in that period of time. Now you just stay away from them and I don’t want to hear anything else about it."
"But Papa" Joe said, loudly with tears forming in his eyes, which he was blinking back.
"Joseph, that is enough."
"NO, Papa, Joseph is my friend and I will go see him. I will. I will. I will!" Joe shouted, his jaw set and his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Ben could see a full-blown temper tantrum in the making and he wanted to spare the household that if at all possible. "Joseph, you will lie down right now and go to sleep. This discussion is over." He looked at his son with a look that even in his bad temper, Little Joe could recognize as a warning that he was approaching the point of no return. Little Joe continued to stare at his father for a few seconds, then he lay back in bed, still staring at his father. His father reached over and pulled the covers up to his son’s shoulders and kissed him lightly on the forehead and said "good night, Joseph". Little Joe continued to stare at his father and didn’t say anything; he was concentrating on holding back the tears. He made it just until his father went out and closed the door behind him. Then he turned over in bed and sobbed into his pillow. However, the early hour of arising and the hard work and play he had done that day quickly robbed him of his wakefulness and he was soon asleep, tear tracks visible on his cheeks.
When he awoke the next morning, Ben had a foreboding that it was not going to be a pleasant day. He had felt badly after his talk with Joseph, he knew his son wasn’t old enough to understand why he had forbidden him to interact with the gypsies, and wished he had been able to do a better job of explaining it to him. He hoped Little Joe would soon forget it and become interested in something else. Joe was passionate about things that interested him but he was also quick to change interests. He prayed that this would be one of those times; if it weren’t Joe would do everything possible to make sure that everyone knew he was not happy. Ben half-smiled at that thought, his youngest son’s moods had a way of rubbing off on the whole family. Hop Sing summed it up best when he said, "Little Joe not smile, everybody on Ponderosa frown."
As he headed down stairs he stopped and checked to see if Little Joe was up and found that he was. The bed was unmade and his pajamas were in the usual spot on the floor. Ben went on downstairs, and saw that Hop Sing was beginning to serve breakfast. Hoss and Adam were coming in to breakfast with Little Joe in tow. They each had a firm grip on his hands, half-dragging and half-walking with him into the dining area. One look at his face was enough to convince Ben that Joe was indeed still in a bad temper. He decided to ignore it, if possible. "Good morning" he greeted his sons cheerily. "Let’s have some breakfast. I smell sausage and pancakes, Joe." Everyone knew that pancakes were Joe’s favorite breakfast food.
"I ain’t hungry" Joe said. Adam and Hoss rolled their eyes at Ben, as if to say, "Here we go again.", but they didn’t say anything out loud. The battle lines were drawn and the battle would begin with breakfast.
Ben met his son’s eyes and grimly set his jaw and mentally prepared for the battle. "Joseph, take your seat and let’s have no more pouting." Ben then motioned for Hop Sing to resume serving their breakfast. Hop Sing served them, beginning with Ben then moving down the sons by birth order. When he came to Little Joe’s plate, he noticed that Joe had a sullen, stubborn expression on his face and was sitting with his arms crossed in front of him. Hop Sing served his plate, putting three pancakes on his plate, along with sausage. He poured an overly generous amount of warm thick rich maple syrup over his pancakes. He had already poured him a glass of cold milk. After Hop Sing had completed serving them, Ben bowed his head and said grace, silently adding a prayer to aid him in the coming battle. Saying "amen", the three older Cartwrights began to eat.
Little Joe remained sitting as he was, arms crossed, not saying anything and not making any move towards eating. Ben waited a few minutes, hoping the aroma of the pancakes would prove to be enticement enough to make Joe begin eating. He talked to Adam and Hoss about their plans for the day, ignoring Little Joe altogether. Joe was surprised at this, since he was not used to being ignored. In reality, Joe was having a hard time maintaining his refusal to eat, as he was really hungry and he did love pancakes. The smell of the pancakes was making him hungrier by the minute and he wished his father would notice that he wasn’t eating. Ben continued to ignore the fact that he was not eating and Little Joe was completely baffled. He was determined however, so he continued to sit there, not eating, staring at the food on his plate or when no one was looking, stealing glances at his father to see if he was looking.
Adam and Hoss were also confused by their father’s indifference to Joe’s refusal to eat. Apparently he was trying a new strategy and they would just have to wait and see what that strategy was. When they finished their breakfast, Hoss and Adam got up to leave, saying a hasty goodbye to their father and to Joe. They felt kind of torn between wanting to get out of there fast and staying around to see what was coming next. What they didn’t know was that their father was sitting there trying to decide exactly what was coming next too. He thought he’d gotten an insight about Joe’s eating habits over the past couple of days and he hoped he could use it to Joe’s advantage. Doctor Martin had voiced some concern over Joe’s small size when he had pneumonia and since then he had been trying to encourage Joe to eat more. But watching him eat a good meal last night when he was excited and no one was paying attention to his food intake had made him reconsider his strategy. In contrast, this morning Joe was deliberately not eating, despite this being his favorite breakfast. He was trying to decide the best way to handle the situation in light of these revelations. He decided to try to call Joe’s bluff and see how long he would go without eating.
"Joseph, if you are not going to eat, I suggest you get on out to the woodpile and begin filling the wood box for Hop Sing. When you have finished that, come see me. I will be at my desk." Ben said as he casually poured himself another cup of coffee. Joe was flabbergasted, but he would not give in, so he got up noisily from the chair and started abruptly for the door.
"Just a minute, young man" Ben said. Joe, relieved thought his father was now going to insist that he eat his pancakes and was inwardly relieved, but managed to keep a sullen look on his face. He was even more surprised when his father reminded him simply, "Joseph, when you leave the table, you must ask to be excused."
"Excuse me" Joe said, really confused now.
"Certainly, Joseph. Now go get started on your chores. After you fill the wood box come straight inside to my study."
After Joe had left the dining room, Ben sat there, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Adam had tried to tell him several times that he was making Joe's eating problem worse by calling attention to it and he knew in his heart that he was right. Yet Joe had been so sick and Dr. Martin had mentioned that if he gained a little weight, it might give him better resistance. But he realized that the more he tried to make Little Joe eat, the less cooperative he became. Joe had never been a big eater, he remembered countless mealtimes when he and Marie had both used subtle and not so subtle methods to get Joe to eat more and after her death, Ben periodically tackled the issue, with varying results. This morning's refusal to eat was just his way of showing his displeasure over his restriction from playing with the gypsy children. Well he would just wait and see what happened at lunch time. He wouldn't starve by missing just one meal anyway.
Little Joe went outside and if he were in a bad mood before breakfast, which his brothers would certainly attest to, he was really in a bad mood now. He was still angry with his father about not being allowed to play with Joseph and his other new friends and now to top it all off--he was hungry. He had thought that if he wouldn't eat, then his father would ask him why he wasn't hungry and he would have had an opportunity to bring up going to play with his new friends again. When his father said end of discussion, Little Joe had learned that it was easier to bring up the subject again with an opening created by his father. Usually a sure-fire way to do that was to get into a disagreement with his father over something else---and lately, his eating had become a frequent source of an argument. Well it didn't work this morning and he had had to sit there and watch three of Hop Sing's delicious pancakes, practically drowning with warm syrup lay on his plate and get cold. He had watched the syrup that initially had been flowing rapidly over the pancakes, slow down as it cooled and eventually stop moving altogether and begin to congeal. Although he tried to push the thought out of his mind, he was a little afraid that he had pushed his father too far and maybe now his father just didn't care about him anymore. Maybe he didn't care if he starved to death. Maybe he wouldn't let him go play with his new friends because he didn't care about him. What other reason could there be for his father to not let him play with his friends?
As he began to collect the wood that had been chopped and stacked beside the house and carry it to the wood box next to the kitchen, Joe alternated with being mad at his father for being so mean to him, and sad that he had so disappointed his father that he didn't care about him anymore. The logs were heavy and awkward to carry and he couldn't carry more than a few logs at a time. On his fourth trip to the wood box, when he was trying to carry more than he could safely handle, he stumbled and as he tried to keep his balance, he dropped the logs. One of the logs scraped the length of his arm from the elbow to his hand as it slid out of his grasp. Wincing, he looked at the scrape, fascinated by the bleeding. He was just about to wipe the blood off with his other hand when his father said, "Wait, Joe, let me see that" and took hold of his arm. Joe, startled to hear his father because he had not heard him open the door, jumped slightly at his father's voice.
His father held his arm and looked at it carefully, then looked at Joe and smiled, "That doesn't look too bad. Let's go get it washed and cleaned up though." And started leading Joe into the house.
When Joe had looked into his father's brown eyes when his father was looking over his scrape, Joe had been reassured that whatever the reason his father wouldn't let him go play with his new friends---it wasn't because his father no longer loved him. Of course if someone had heard the commotion Joe made during the few minutes that it took to wash and put some ointment on his scrape, they would have thought that someone was surely killing him. "Papa, it's clean enough. Stop. Please Papa. That hurts!" Joe said loudly, with tears in his eyes.
Ben, quite used to this kind of reception to simple first aid, not just from Joe, but from his older two sons, as well, just shook his head and continued to perform the necessary first aid. Finally, when he was satisfied that the wound was clean and had been protected with ointment, he released Little Joe's arm and said, "There. All done, young man." Immediately the yelling stopped and Joe carefully scrutinized the scrape to verify that his arm was still intact after the treatment.
Ben helped him down from the kitchen table and said, "Now let's go get that wood picked up before Hop Sing gets back from town." As his father helped him finish filling the wood box, which took only one more trip, Little Joe was more confused than ever about his father's actions. He wondered again though, as he often did, why his father insisted that he fill Hop Sing's wood box. His father or Adam or even Hop Sing could completely fill the wood box in two trips. Heck he had seen Hoss fill it with just one trip; but it took him six or seven trips to fill it up to the top the way Hop Sing insisted. Why didn't his father see what was so obvious to him?
After the wood box was finished, Ben said "Now come on inside, I want to talk to you." Joe managed to remain quiet and cool to his father, without being openly hostile. Inside his emotions were in turmoil as he tried to understand his father's recent actions. "Boy grownups are impossible" he finally concluded. Out loud, he shrugged and squared his shoulders and went inside with his father, expecting to get a lecture about his behavior last night. And indeed, his behavior last night was the topic of discussion, although it was not quite as bad as Joe had anticipated.
"Joseph, I want to discuss your behavior at bedtime last night. That was not acceptable." Joe just looked at his father and didn't say anything. "Now I can make allowances for disappointment. I realize that you were excited about the possibility of having friends your own age nearby." Joe was about to interrupt, when his father held up his hand and said, "I am not finished speaking, Son." "Regardless of that, your behavior was intolerable and I can not allow that to go unpunished." By this time, Joe was sitting still, his eyes narrowed and his jaw set as he felt that somehow he was not being treated fairly. He didn't say anything and his father continued speaking. "There are three things that I absolutely expect from you and your brothers---obedience, honesty, and respect. The three things that I absolutely will not tolerate are disobedience, dishonesty, and disrespect." (Gentry, personal communication, 1998) Ben paused, briefly and looked at his son, sitting there with a hard, stubborn look. "Joseph do you know what those words mean?"
Ben stared at Joseph, who didn't want to reply, but as his father stared at him, he felt compelled to answer, "Yes, sir."
"Good. Your tantrum last night was disobedient and disrespectful. I will not tolerate an outburst like that again. Is that understood?"
Again his eyes bored into Little Joe, overcoming his inclination to refuse to answer his father. "Yes, sir."
Ben relaxed and smiled at his son and said. "All right then, I want you to go clean your room and then remain in your room until I call you for lunch. You will return to your room and spend the afternoon reading or practicing your writing until time for your evening chores. Now get going."
Little Joe got out of his chair and turned and headed up the stairs. He was quiet outside, but he was shouting inside. "That's not fair, Papa. Why can't I go play with my new friends? I promised 'em I would come and now they are gonna think I am a liar and they won't want to play with me anymore."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Joe went to his room and just at the last minute, caught the door to keep it from slamming shut and likely bringing his father up the stairs after him. But inwardly he slammed it---he slammed it hard. He headed straight for the window and opened the window and slipped up onto the window ledge---one of his favorite places to think. From his vantage point, he could see most of what was going on around the ranch. He could see the barn, the corral, the bunkhouse, and the yard. He sat there, trying to calm himself down and to figure out exactly what he was feeling. As he sat there, he gradually looked around the room and smiled---his room was already clean. Hop Sing had already cleaned it.
Although cleaning his room was something he was expected to do on his own, Hop Sing most times did it for him. Hop Sing, although non-emotional and seemingly detached on the surface, was extremely attached and protective of Little Joe. He sometimes disagreed with his father's child-rearing methods and in his own, unobtrusive way, he spoiled the little boy that he loved so much. Little Joe recognized this and he and Hop Sing had a special relationship that was mutually beneficial to them. Hop Sing, with a different cultural philosophy, was able to provide some of the "softer" touches that a little boy needed, and in return, his relationship with Little Joe filled a need for him to be needed.
Little Joe sat on the window sill for a long time, trying to make sense out of what was going on with his father and trying to think of some way to get his father to change his mind. After a time he found himself day-dreaming and imagining what it would be like to live with his friends in their cozy wagons and to be able to roam free much of the time. Joseph had told him that the gypsy children didn't attend school. The adult men taught them how to perform the chores, work with the horses, and some of the other trade skills that they would need. The women taught the children to read and write, but they didn't have to do their lessons at any certain time. His friends had been remarkably free to play and left pretty much to entertain themselves; however, the adults were always eager to stop what they were doing and play with the children. Joe was envious of this, because although his father and brothers would play with him, they always made it clear that the work had to be done first. Joseph's family seemed to look upon play as just as important as work. As he sat in the window and day-dreamed about the gypsies, it became more and more important to him that he get to know them better. As always, when Little Joe became still and quiet, he became sleepy. He finally got up and lay down on his bed and within seconds of touching the pillows, he was asleep.
About an hour later, his father came up stairs and knocked softly on the door, hearing no movement, he quietly opened the door and was not surprised to see that his youngest son was sound asleep. He noted the cleanliness and tidiness of the room and the carefully made bed and knew that Little Joe had not been responsible for doing it. He shook his head and smiled, he knew it was useless to talk to Hop Sing again about teaching Little Joe responsibility---Hop Sing had his own ideas and he was not going to change his mind. As usual, Ben decided to feign ignorance to keep the peace. He walked softly into the room and noticing the open window, he gently closed it and since the room temperature was a bit cool, he pulled the bedspread up over his son. He stood there for a few minutes, watching the angelic face of his son in deep slumber. All that could be seen was his dark hair, which despite being cut just a couple of days ago, were already starting to curl softly. Smiling, he quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.
********************
"Hey, Short Shanks. Wake up." Someone was shaking Joe and had pulled the cover down. Joe realizing that there was something bothering him, quickly turned away from the intrusion and continued to sleep. More forcefully this time, Hoss shook his shoulder and spoke louder, "Joe, get up. It's lunch time and I am hungry. Get up, you gonna sleep your life away?"
Joe slowly rolled over and groggily looked at the giant who had so rudely woke him. As his eyes focused, he was relieved to see that the giant was his brother Hoss. He smiled at him and said "Hi, Hoss. Is it morning already?"
"Mornin'? " Hoss replied, laughing. "You ain't been sleeping that long, Little Joe. Come on, let's go eat lunch. I am starvin'."
Joe, whose stomach reminded him that he was hungry, too, quickly got up and jumped off the bed onto Hoss' back, who was all set to give him a piggyback ride downstairs. As they went down the stairs, Hoss pretended to be a bucking bronc and Joe had to hang on tight, squealing with delight when Hoss stopped at the landing and pretended that he was going to throw him over the railing. When they got further down, Adam said, "Well, it's about time, you two. I thought Hop Sing was gonna throw it out." He reached over and swung Joe down from Hoss's shoulders and swirled him around. "How you doing, Buddy?" he asked his little brother.
"Fine, Adam. Let's eat." Joe said, spying the fried chicken and potato salad and corn on the cob on the dining room table. Hop Sing had even put the red and white checkered table cloth on the table, the one that Little Joe said made him think they were at a picnic.
"Where's Papa? Joe asked, looking around and not seeing him and noticing that there were only three places set at the table.
"He had to go over to Charles Milford's house to talk to him about something." Hoss said. "Pa said you are supposed to have lunch with us, then go back to your room 'til we come get you for chores this afternoon." Joe frowned, realizing that his father's absence didn't mean the end to his punishment. Adam and Hoss seeing the frown, gave each other a smile and rolled their eyes at each other. They knew exactly what Little Joe had thought and what he had been thinking.
"Well let's hit the chow" Hoss said. Hop Sing had placed all the food on the table and after Adam said grace, they served themselves. Joe took one of the largest pieces of fried chicken and began to eat it hungrily. Adam and Hoss exchanged amused glances over his appetite, in light of his abstinence at breakfast. Ben had cautioned them to make sure that Little Joe ate, forcing him if necessary. They realized that was not going to be necessary this meal for sure. After they had finished with the meal, Hop Sing came into the dining area bringing dishes of home-made apple cobbler, piping hot from the oven. All three of the boys dived right into the steaming hot apple treat. No one had to be forced to eat anything at that meal.
When they had finished eating, Hoss and Adam were talking about their plans and Little Joe was sticking with them, hoping they wouldn't remember he was supposed to go back to his room. Both of them remembered, but neither of them wanted to make him. They both lingered in the house as long as they could, pretending to be discussing business and talking to Little Joe. However, eventually they both realized that they had to go on about their own jobs and started to leave. Adam said, "well Hoss are you ready to head back out?"
"Yeah Adam, I guess we better." Hoss replied, with a glance at Little Joe. He saw the look of disappointment come across Little Joe's face, and he reached over and ruffled his hair and said, "Cheer up Short Shanks. You are getting off easy and you know it. We will be back before you know it. Now you go on back up to your room and wait for us or Pa. Ya hear?" As he said this, he gently, but firmly pushed on Joe's back, heading him toward the stairs.
"But Hoss don't you need me to help you get Chub ready to go?" Joe asked. Hoss frequently pretended that he couldn't get Chub to open his mouth and accept the bit, without some assistance from Little Joe.
"Now, Little Joe you go on upstairs now before you get into even more trouble." Hoss said firmly and again headed him toward the stairs. Joe realizing that he was getting no where with Hoss looked at Adam to see if he would have any better luck, but the look on Adam's face mirrored that of Hoss' so he knew he would not get any further with him. He slowly headed towards the stairs, shuffling his feet and with his head down, looking as if he had lost his very last friend in the world.
Seeing him, Hoss lost his resolve and started to speak to him, but Adam put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head and said, "Come on Hoss, he will be fine and if you take him outside, Pa will have YOUR hide, too." Hoss shrugged and nodded and walked out with his brother. They both turned back at the door and watched Little Joe go on up the stairs as if he were going to an execution instead of his own bedroom.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Little Joe went up the stairs slowly and entered his room. Once there, he went quickly over to his window so he could watch his brothers go into the barn. He saw them head in and was watching when they came out, leading Sport and Chub. They climbed up on their horses and rode away. Joe watched them as long as he could see them, then feeling very sorry for himself, he looked around his room looking for something to amuse himself. He went over and looked in the wooden carved toy chest that had Joseph Cartwright carved on the lid and pulled out a box of toy soldiers. He lined them up on opposite sides on the floor and tried to play a battle with them. But without Hoss or his Pa or Adam to move one army, it wasn't much fun and he soon lost interest in them. Looking in the box again, he pulled out a ball, which of course he couldn't play with by himself either, so he dropped that back in the box and looked again. He brought out a mechanical toy that Adam had brought him from a trip to San Francisco and played with it for a while. It was fascinating at first because he didn't know what made it go; however, once he figured that out, he lost interest in that as well. He looked in the toy box one more time and this time he didn't bother to pull anything out, he just stared blankly at the toys in the box, rejecting each one. Nothing in that toy box held any interest to him; he loved to play with his toys---but he seldom had to play alone--usually one of his brothers or his father would play with him.
He sat down beside the toy box and tried to think of a story his father had told him or one of the stories Hop Sing had told him about old China, but he just couldn't concentrate and he also couldn't keep still. He longed to run and play and laugh; he had so much energy after sleeping all morning and then eating so much lunch that he longed for an outlet for that energy. He found himself again thinking about what his friends would be doing in the Gypsy camp, and wondered if Joseph's father had made it home today as he had promised. Joe hoped he did for Joseph's sake, but he also knew that the Gypsies were just staying there until Joseph's father got back and then they would soon be on their way. Joe had asked them where they were going and Joseph had given him the oddest look and said "to where ever we are".
Joe had not at all understood what Joseph meant, he was used to people who were headed to a specific place---Virginia City, California, even Oregon, but not just traveling with no particular place to go. His grandmother had seen his puzzled look and motioned for him to sit by her and she had told stories of their travels and the many wonderful blessings they had found in each place they were. He had asked her, "What blessing did you find here, Mrs. Prasko?" and she had looked at him, and with a warm smile, reached over and hugged him and said, "We found you here, Little Joseph--what a blessing you are." He had loved that hug, it was so different from the hugs from his brothers and Papa. They hugged him often, but it was not like Mrs. Prasko's hugs. Her hugs were soft and strong at the same time, and they ended slowly rather than abruptly, and she smelled like some of the homemade cookies that Hop Sing made sometimes. And when she smiled her eyes were dancing and the corners of her mouth turned up and even her eyes smiled. Little Joe missed his mother since she died two years ago, but he had never known a grandmother, now he realized that he had missed another important part of some families. He wondered if the two Mrs. Prasko's were baking pastries or telling stories this afternoon. Then he remembered that Joseph had promised to ask his father to let them ride the horses when he returned to the camp.
He heard a wagon and ran to the window to see if someone was coming to the house. Instead he saw that Hop Sing was leaving in the wagon, this made him feel very alone. He knew that Jake, the man in charge of the stable and responsible for watching the barn animals would be around somewhere and that he wasn't really alone---but he felt very lonely and almost abandoned. He was definitely not used to being left to his own devices for long and just knowing that he had to be there all afternoon instead of out with his brothers or riding his horse---or playing with Joseph---made him feel very sad. He went back to the window sill, but this time instead of sitting on the window sill, he climbed carefully out his window and sat on the roof. He had done this several times at night after his father had tucked him into bed when he couldn't sleep. He enjoyed the quiet and peaceful feeling he got there at night, watching the stars and trying to decide which one was his mama. He knew she was the brightest one, so he located her star and then would talk to her in his head.
This time of course, he couldn't see her star because the sun was still very bright, but he liked the feeling of openness on the roof far better than being in his room alone. As he sat there, he started looking around to see how far he could see. He found that if he was careful he could easily walk around on the roof of the house and from the far side of the roof, if he stood on tiptoe and peaked around the corner a little, extending his head beyond the house, he could see the Gypsy camp. By stretching he could even see the people around the camp. He saw lots of children and he saw the adults and children playing some kind of game. How he wished he were there. A squirrel who hadn't noticed him sitting there came onto the roof and then when the squirrel saw Joseph, he scampered off. Joe almost as startled by the squirrel as the squirrel was startled by him, thought it would be fun to see where the squirrel went, so without thinking he stood up and chased after the squirrel across the top of the roof. The squirrel disappeared down the side of the house. That puzzled Joe, since there was no tree there, so he went to investigate further. He was able to get a quick glimpse of the squirrel scampering away after climbing down the column supporting the porch roof. Joe looked at the post and thought that looked so easy. He thought to himself that if the squirrel could do it, he could do it, and without thinking, Little Joe had climbed down the post and found himself on the ground by the back porch.
The significance of what he had done did not sink in until he had already done it. He had gotten out of his room without coming down either the front or back stairs. He could do that with no one even knowing he was leaving he realized. But then he realized that having a secret escape route wouldn't help him if he couldn't get back into his room in the same way and getting up might be harder than getting out. He looked around carefully and decided that the best way to reenter his room, would not be by going back up that post, since it might prove to be too hard to climb up. But by the end of the porch there was a ponderosa pine tree that was growing very close to the house, touching the roof and hugging the house. He had heard his father say that the men building the house almost cut the tree down and his mother had made them stop and spare the tree. He went over to the tree and investigated its suitability for climbing up. He got started climbing and with no trouble whatsoever, he found himself back on the roof. He again climbed down the post, since it was faster to climb down than the tree, and for good measure, he quickly climbed the tree again to check out his route. Then with no more thought on the matter, he climbed down the post, went and quickly saddled his pony and after looking to make sure no one was in the yard, he headed for the gypsy camp.
CHAPTER NINE
Hop Sing was trying to decide whether he wanted to bake sugar cookies or old-fashioned teacakes when he returned from his trip. He had gone over to take some supplies to the wife of one of the married ranch hands, after the birth of a new baby. The Ponderosa had several ranch hands or cattle wranglers who were married and had families and Mr. Cartwright was always very generous to them. Hop Sing always took them some prepared foods as well as supplies. This trip had gone quickly since it was one of the closer cabins. He knew that Little Joe would be feeling really lonely so he thought he would bake some cookies to cheer him up. Finally, he decided that he would bake tea cakes, but he would sprinkle some of them with sugar--that way he would be baking both of Joe's favorite cookies. When he got home, he gave the horses to Jake to unhitch and he went hurriedly into the house. Since Little Joe couldn't come out of his room, Hop Sing decided to quickly mix the cookies and get them baked, then take some hot from the oven to him. He happily busied himself mixing the flour, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla to make the cookie dough. He rolled them out quickly while the oven warmed up. He selected some of the cookie cutters that he had ordered from China. Some of them were stars, some were crescent moons, and some were tiny child-like figures.
Soon, the smell of freshly-baked cookies filled the whole Ponderosa ranch house and Hop Sing was taking the first batch from the large oven. He put 5 of the cookies on a plate and filled a glass with cold milk from the spring-house and went up the stairs to spend some time with Little Joe while he ate them. He knew that he couldn't let Little Joe out of his room, Mr. Cartwright would never allow that--but he couldn't very well tell Hop Sing not to go into Little Joe's room. Hop Sing smiled to himself, "What Mr. Cartlight not know, not hurt him" he thought to himself. He went to Joe's door and knocked and hearing no response, he listened and then knocked again. Still getting no response, he quietly opened the door, expecting to find Little Joe fast asleep. He was surprised to find the room empty. He walked over and closed the window and as he came back across the room, he knelt down and picked up the toy soldiers and mechanical toy and placed them in the toy chest. He smiled as he picked up the toy soldiers, it was the last gift that Mrs. Cartwright had given Little Joe before she died. When Little Joe became too old to play with the soldiers, Hop Sing was planning take them and save them for Little Joe's own chidden. Sighing, he took the cookies and returned down the stairs, slightly surprised that Mr. Cartwright had apparently changed his mind and taken Little Joe with him. "Is good" he thought to himself. "Little boy need to run and play, not be inside and quiet like grown man."
Little Joe rode his pony as fast as he could go to the Gypsy camp, not wanting to miss another minute of fun. As soon as he rode into the sight of the camp, all the children ran to meet him, laughing and all talking at once. Joseph grabbed Joe's arm and said, "Come meet my Pa-Pa, Joe" dragging him along.
He took Joe to a group of men who were standing and talking and laughing, and said, "Pa Pa, may I please present to you, my friend, Joseph Cartwright of the Ponderosa? Joseph, this is my Pa -Pa, Reginaldo Joseph Prasko."
Joseph's father excused himself from the conversation with the other men and knelt down so that he was at eye level with Little Joe and solemnly proffered his hand. He said, "It is an honor to meet you, my young friend. My son and my dear wife and mother have told me of your visits. I understand that it is upon your land that we camp. We are indeed honored by your presence. Welcome to our humble camp." Joe was not used to grown-ups paying so much attention to him, or if they did, they usually treated him like he was a baby--messing with his hair or the worst---pinching his cheeks or asking how old he was. He shook hands with Mr. Prasko and told him he was happy to meet him too.
"Come tell me what you children have been doing while I have been gone." Joseph's father said. Joseph told him of the games they had played and the stories they had heard. He told them stories about his travels to sell the horses, telling them in detail about all the sights and scenery and the people he had met and the places he had camped. He told them where each of the horses had chosen to live.
Joe must have had a puzzled expression on his face over that because Mr. Prasko laughed and said, "What troubles you my new young friend?"
"What do you mean where they chose to live?" Joe asked. "Don't they have to live where you sell them?"
"Ah, but no, Joseph, that would never be the right thing to do to such fine animals as our horses. Each horse selects the owner he or she would like to be sold to. Then and only then do I negotiate a price and complete the deal. It would never do to sell a horse or any animal to someone without the animal's complete permission."
Joe was wondering if the horses his father sold were happy with the owners they were sold to, then he had another thought. "What about cattle, Mr. Prasko? Do they select their owners too?"
Mr. Prasko again laughed and reached over and tousled Little Joe's hair and then patted him enthusiastically on the back, "But of course, my young friend. Every animal must be content with their owner to be content with their station in life. It is the same with cattle." Joe was thinking that he had to talk with Pa and Adam and Hoss, because he wasn't sure they knew this. Time passed swiftly as the men and women of the camp had joined the group and after Mr. Prasko had finished talking about his trip, first one and then another would tell a story or sing a song.
After a while the children began to get fidgety, and Joseph's grandmother stood up and clapped her hands, "Enough of this, 'Naldo, can you not see that the children need to play in the sunshine? Save the rest of your stories for the night time after the dinner is eaten and we are all ready for listening to stories."
She was smiling as she said this, and no one was offended. Joseph's father said, "Yes, Ma-Ma, as always you are correct. I was letting my excitement get the better of me. But it is time for me to go see how our horses are doing and to tell them where their loved ones have chosen to live." As he said this, he looked at Little Joe and winked and then he stood up and said, "Who thinks they can be the first to get to the horses?" Many voices attested to their belief that they were the fastest. Mr. Prasko said, "Ah, then we must have a race to see who is the fastest. The first person to get to the horses can have a ride on any horse in the corral." He said, laughing. All the children were hardly able to stand still they were so excited. The children of the camp were used to horses and loved them as much as Little Joe did. Mr. Prasko said, "You must all form a line starting here", indicating a position by a rock. "George, will you go to the other end and help me make sure we have no one getting an early start?" One of the other men enthusiastically got up and strode quickly to the other end of the rapidly-forming line of children of all ages. Little Joe was hesitant at first, not knowing if he were included, but Mr. Prasko said, "Come Joseph. Can you run fast? Let us see if you can."
Little Joe excitedly joined the line getting in between a spot between Joseph and Marietta. Mr. Prasko said, "Okay when I give the word, you must all run as fast as you can to the horses. The first person there is the winner. But if you start before I give the word, you forfeit the race. Does everyone understand?"
Joseph was amazed that everyone in the camp was standing watching the race, not just the children were interested, the men and women of the camp were all there, and seemed just as excited as the children. "On your mark, get set, RUN" Mr. Prasko said and the line of children began running. The younger children and some of the older ones were soon left behind. At the halfway mark, there were 4 children still in contention, and of these 4, two were neck and neck. One of these was an older gypsy boy, named Marc and the other was Little Joe Cartwright. The children could hear the adults cheering them on and running behind them so they could watch the race. Most of the children and adults of the camp had no favorite---they were cheering for all the children. At the last few feet of the race, Little Joe increased his effort and took the lead, beating Marc by at least 6 or 7 yards in the end. When he reached the corral and turned around, he could see the gypsies cheering and slapping each other and hugging the other children, as if this had been a real race at the Founder's Day picnic. He wondered how Marc would react, but he shouldn't have worried, Marc came and grabbed him and gave him a pat on the back and then Mr. Prasko swung Little Joe up and deposited him on his shoulders. He then hollered, "I declare Joseph Cartwright to be the winner of the race." With that everyone cheered and Joe looked around and beamed at them all.
After the excitement had died down and the adults had headed back to the cool glade where the vardos were stationed, Mr. Prasko turned to Little Joe and said, "Well it is time for your reward. Which horse would you like to ride?"
Without hesitation, Little Joe answered, "I want to ride King Frederick Romonov Prasko, pointing to the stallion."
Mr. Prasko's eyes followed Joe's outstretched arm, hoping that he was hearing him wrong, but he saw that Joe was in fact, pointing to Freddy. "Well, Joseph Cartwright, I can see that you are a good judge of horses; Freddy is our best horse. But he is a very big horse for such a one as you. Are you sure you would not like to ride Katherine or Antigone?" he asked hoping to change Joe's mind.
"No, sir. I want to ride Freddy." Little Joe looked at him with his eyes wide open and innocent, but reminded him, "You said the winner could choose which horse to ride."
Mr. Prasko laughed and said, "Ah, Joseph Cartwright, I would not like to have to trade with you in a few years. I would come away with no silver in my pockets and you would have all my horses, eh?"
Joseph spoke up, "Pa Pa, you did say the winner could choose." Hoping to help his friend out. "Besides, Pa Pa, his family also raises and sells horses and he rides his horse alone. See he came over here alone today on his pony."
Mr. Prasko listened to Joseph, and looked back at Little Joe and said, "Is this true Joseph, did you ride your pony over all by yourself today?"
Truthfully, Little Joe answered, "Yes, sir."
Thinking that meant that he had ridden over on his own horse by himself, Mr. Prasko was reassured. Surely no one would let such a small child ride alone unless he was an exceptional rider. Still he was concerned about the safety of the child on Freddy without knowing what his skills were.
"I tell you what I am going to do, Joseph. You ride first on Antigone and if you can handle him well enough, then you can ride Freddy. Is that a satisfactory compromise, my fast and clever young friend?"
"Yes, sir" Joe answered, happy to know that he was going to get to ride not one, but two of those magnificent animals. While they had been talking, the other Gypsy men had saddled several of the horses, getting them ready to be ridden. Mr. Prasko whistled and signaled one of the men to bring Antigone over. He helped Joe into the stirrups and adjusted them to fit him, and then gave him several minutes of instructions on the best way to handle these horses. Then he led Little Joe around the exercise pen, with the horse walking slowly behind him to see what kind of a rider Little Joe was. Satisfied that he was a safe rider, he let him ride Antigone several times around the corral.
Soon, however, Joe rode over to him and stopped the horse. He looked at Mr. Prasko, expecting some resistance, and said firmly but politely, "I am ready to ride Freddy now."
Mr. Prasko laughed and said, "And so you shall, my young friend. And so you shall." Then he signaled one of the men to bring over Freddy. While Little Joe had been riding Antigone, he had asked one of the other men to ride Freddy to make sure he was not too excited and to mellow him down some just to be on the safe side.
As the man came over, he raised his eyebrows at him, and the man smiled and said, "Freddy is as gentle as a lamb today."
Relieved, Mr. Prasko helped Joe into the saddle and adjusted the stirrups and again began to give him further instructions about handling this particular horse. He found himself impressed with Joe's knowledge and skill with the horse. He started out walking around the corral, watching how Little Joe moved with the horse and making sure that he could handle the big horse safely enough for a short ride. He would make sure that it was a short ride, because if startled or if pushed, Freddy could be hard for a grown man to handle. He found himself relaxing though as he noticed that the little boy seemed to be very comfortable and to be a natural horseman, with good instincts.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ben Cartwright was stabling his horse when he noticed that Little Joe's pony was not in his stall. He figured Hoss had turned him out into the corral for some exercise, since Little Joe wouldn't be riding him today. Hoss was so attuned to the needs of the animals on that ranch, he thought. I don't know what we would do without him to remind us to see to their needs. Smiling he headed into the house to go see if his young son had learned his lesson. When he got to the door and went inside, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted from the kitchen. He smiled again at this. "It never fails" he thought. "every time I punish Little Joe and make him stay in his room, Hop Sing bakes cookies. Does he think I haven't figured out what he is doing?" But he knew he wouldn't say anything to Hop Sing about it. He would have to put up with his dirty looks and muttered Chinese tirades if he did. "No, just better to plead ignorance sometimes" he thought to himself.
Just as he went around toward the kitchen, planning to snatch a few of those cookies for himself before Joe and Hoss had finished 'em all off, Hop Sing came around the corner, carrying a plate with cookies on it. Ben reached out to take the plate, thinking Hop Sing was bringing him cookies. But Hop Sing snatched the plate away and said, "Cookies for Little Joe." Then looking around behind Ben, he asked, "Where Little Joe?"
"What do you mean, where is Little Joe? Isn't he in his room?" Ben asked loudly, walking rapidly across the room even as he asked the question. Both he and Hop Sing made it to the upstairs and saw the empty room when Ben opened the door wide. Nothing in the room was out of place, not even a wrinkle on the bed to show that Little Joe had even been in the room recently.
"I told Adam and Hoss not to take him with them." Ben said, loudly, clearly perturbed at his son's absence.
"He not leave with brothers. Mr. Adam and Mr. Hoss ride out after lunch together. Little Joe go back upstairs. Hop Sing go take supplies to Missy Watson. When Hop Sing return, bake cookies, take to Little Joe. Little Joe not there. Hop Sing think you come back, get him."
Remembering that Joe's pony was not in the barn, Ben said "I have an idea where he is" and walked outside towards the corral. He expected to see his son at the corral with his horse, but Jake was the only person there and Little Joe's horse was not in sight either. "Jake, have you seen Little Joe?"
"Yes, sir, he rode out of here 'bout three hours ago."
"Rode out with whom?" Ben asked.
"He weren't with nobody, Mr. Cartwright." "He rode off on his pony BY HIMSELF?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes, sir. I am sorry, Mr. Cartwright. Was I supposed to stop him?" Jake asked, worried that he was in trouble with the boss for letting Little Joe go off. He had thought it odd that he did, but hadn't thought to interfere.
Ben took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "No, Jake. Watching Joe is my responsibility, not yours. It is all right. Which way did he go?" Jake pointed to the east and suddenly Ben realized exactly where his youngest son had gone. Grimly, he said, "Thanks, Jake. I know where he is. You have been a big help." He walked quickly towards the barn to get Buck. His mind was filled with two thoughts. First and foremost to find his youngest son and make sure he was safe and bring him home. Second, what type of punishment was it going to take to get through to that child. He was determined to teach Little Joe a lesson about obedience that he would not soon forget.
CHAPTER TEN
Little Joe was having the time of his life. This was the biggest horse he had ever been on. He had to hold his legs tight to stay in the saddle since Freddy was so big, but he was exhilarated by the feeling of the powerful horse beneath him. He was sure he could ride the horse and would love to see how fast he could go. Mr. Prasko called to him, "Haven't you ridden enough, Joseph?"
"Let me go just one more time around the corral---all by myself. Okay?"
"All right Joseph, one more time and then you must let Freddy rest. He is not young as you are, remember." Little Joe decided that if this was his last time to ride the horse, he had to make the most of it. He spurred the horse faster by digging his knees into the horse's sides. The horse increased his speed and for a few wonderful seconds Joseph felt the most excitement he had ever experienced in his entire life. Then just as he heard Mr. Prasko tell him to stop the horse, and he started to slow down, Joe looked toward Mr. Prasko, and his heart almost stopped. Riding toward them at full speed was Buck, and even from the distance, Joe could see that his father was furious.
Joe reined Freddy in and Mr. Prasko reached up to take hold of the horse's bridle, just as Buck stopped and Ben Cartwright jumped off. Little Joe didn't think he had ever seen his father look like that. He tried to speak but his father's expression stopped him cold. Without saying a word, Ben jumped over the corral and reached up and took Little Joe out of the saddle and held him by his arms and shoulders so that Little Joe was at his eye level. Little Joe had been punished by his father often--but in reality he had never before been afraid of his father--but this time he was afraid. "Papa" he choked out in a quavering voice. "Not one word, Joseph. You go over and wait for me next to Buck." His father directed.
"But Pa.."
"NOW, JOSEPH" Ben yelled, red-faced and tight-lipped.
Mr. Prasko and the other gypsy men had watched the whole exchange in a state of confusion at first. When Mr. Prasko had heard the word "Papa", and the look on the man's face, he knew. It wasn't the first time that this or a similar incident had happened. He had thought it was different this time, since Joseph and his wife and mother had told him that the little boy had come everyday to play with the children and that not once had anyone told them to leave. The little boy had seemed so friendly and confident; somehow he had forgotten to be cautious, and as usual, it would be so hard to explain to the children. He quickly turned to Joseph and said something in a language that Joe didn't understand. Joseph and Marietta quickly gathered all the other children and herded them back towards the vardos. Joseph and Marietta gave Joe a sympathetic look as they hurried by, their eyes wide with fear.
Mr. Prasko approached the man, with his hand held out to shake the stranger's hands, but the man didn't not hold his hand out.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ben bellowed.
"You must be Mr. Cart......"Mr. Prasko started.
"Yes, I am Ben Cartwright---that little boy over there is mine. He could have been killed on that stallion! HOW DARE YOU ENDANGER HIS LIFE LIKE THAT?"
"Mr. Cartwright, if you......"
"No, you listen to me." Ben tried to get his voice under control. "I know my son came here on his own, though without my permission, so I am not going to have you arrested. That is if you and your whole band is gone by morning. But I warn you if you or any of you come anywhere near my son again, I will have you arrested. Now you get started and get packed and get out of here. RIGHT NOW." Ben was having a hard time controlling his emotions, his anger and disappointment in his son, combined with the panic he felt when he saw him on the huge horse, overwhelmed his usual logic.
"Mr. Cartwright," the gypsy leader tried again. Ben stopped, his back by now turned toward the interloper. "We welcome you as we did your son...with an open heart and open arms. I can assure you, your son was in no danger from the horse he was on. And, I can also assure you, none of us had any idea your son was not allowed in our camp. Had we known, we would have sent him straight home." The gypsy stopped, to draw a breath, watching the other man's motions carefully, trying to see if he were making any impression on Ben Cartwright's erroneous assumptions. Ben stood, tensed, his anger obvious. In a lower voice, Prasko finished, "That you refuse our hospitality and our honest explanations is your problem, Mr. Cartwright. Both are offered in sincerity and without rancor." As Ben strode toward Buck, the gypsy patriarch turned back toward his family, sadness in his heart for his family, their lot in life, and especially for his son's young friend.
Joe had collected Star and stood beside Buck with the pony's reins in his hand. "You'll ride with me on Buck," Ben said curtly.
"Pa," Little Joe began to protest, but the look from his father quelled any further pleadings.
"If you persist in acting like a little boy, you will be treated as one. You will not ride your pony alone, Joseph, for quite some time." Ben efficiently set Joe up on Buck. Joe moved to slide back behind the saddle when Ben stopped him. "You'll ride in the front, Joseph."
Joe looked at his father, not believing his father would make him ride up front like a child who couldn't even hold on. Ben's look was unrelenting and the boy moved forward, allowing room for his fa