Category: Prequel
Any time before the episode, A Rose for Lotta
Hoss Cartwright’s Grand Swing (by Michele B)
Could Hoss’ behavior ever give cause for Ben to take him on the Grand Swing through the Ponderosa?
Rated: PG Word Count: 26,687
Vows and Loopholes (by DJK)
Summary: Adam is determined to know why Ben Cartwright always refused his sons’ requests for a family dog. This was written for the 2026 Lorne Green’s Birthday Challenge which required the author to write a Carwright story that included a dog in honor of Lorne’s love of dogs.
rating: teen word count : 2843
Bringing Harmony into the World (by DJK)
Summary: Alone at the ranch, Hop Sing and a young Little Joe assist a mare in delivering her foal. Written for the 2026 Hop Sing’s Chinese New Year Challenge. rating: teen word count: 2633
Tiānyì (by PatD in PA)
Summary: Written for “Hop Sing’s Chinese New Year Challenge 2026,” honoring the year of the Fire Horse.
Rating: G/K
Word Count: 1,350
A Stain (by Krystyna)
Summary: Sometimes something quite small can bring sorrow and joy at the same time.
Rating: G, Word Count: 650
She Was Hot (by BettyHT)
Summary: This is a sequel to “I Was Hot” and is Marie’s response to her toddler son’s interruption of what had been planned as her grand party. However, a suggestion that she take the story and own it becomes her plan and this is the story of her execution of that plan.
Rating: PG Word count: 1747
“I Was Hot” (by BettyHT)
Summary: This is a prequel in which Marie’s grand gala for the ladies of the area is interrupted by a son in a most shocking way as two other sons cavort elsewhere. The family has to pull together to fix this mess.
Rating: PG Word count: 1470
A Grave Tale (by Annie K Cowgirl)
Summary: A dare, a graveyard, and something evil lurking within, makes for a night that Little Joe Cartwright will never forget. A pre-series Halloween tale.
Rating: K+
Words: 1,368
You Can Bet on It (by PatD in PA)
SUMMARY: With Christmas just around the corner, Little Joe Cartwright learns exactly how far his Yankee Granite Head of a big brother will go, just how much he will do, in order to keep him safe.
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 10,301
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
A Prairie Christmas (by SJRCartwright)
Summary: A vignette of Christmas on the trail
Rating: G (985 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Mid-Winter [or Maude] (by ElayneA)
Summary: The wonders of a five-year-old Adam during the Mid-winter.
Rating: G (2,500 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Clara (by McFair_58)
Summary: A Christmas peak at Ben and Adam on the trail West.
Rating: G (4,040 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Muscle Tough (by McFair_58)
Summary: It’s not the merriest of Christmases for Little Joe and his family.
Rating: G (4,175 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
The Animals Talk at Midnight (by DJK)
Summary: Truth or myth, it would be wonderful if they did.
Rating: G (120 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
In Loving Memory (by DJK)
Summary: The longing of Christmas past memories.
Rating: G (100 words)
Written for the 2025 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
