Summary:  It’s a whale of a Christmas tale with grandchildren on the Ponderosa.

Rating:  G   3,000 words

 

The inspiration for this story was provided by the quilt pattern “Jacob’s Ladder”

 

STORY TIME

“Grandpa, are you awake?” asked a voice in a loud whisper.

“No.”

“Yes, you are. You’re just tryin’ to fool us. Open your eyes,” the voice insisted.

“Yeah, wake up and tell us a story,” said another voice. “We want a story.”

Ben Cartwright sighed and opened his eyes, lifting a wiry eyebrow toward the youngsters clamoring next to him.

“Isn’t it about time for bed?”

He hoped his voice would carry far enough for their mothers to hear. That was before he remembered their mothers were at the annual Bunco Christmas party over at the Widow Hawkins’s place. And as luck would have it, their fathers were occupied elsewhere. (Not luck, honestly; it was forethought and cunning. Pa didn’t raise three mutton heads.)

“We’re not sleepy! We want a story!” The sentiment reverberated through the crowd at fever pitch.

Grandchildren. It’s what you always wanted, he reminded himself. There certainly were a lot of them, eleven by his latest count, with another on the way. Once his boys decided to get married, they took to it like jackrabbits. Hoss was smitten first; he and his wife Lulu, a plucky girl from Tennessee, held the majority with five sons. Jake was the oldest at nearly twelve; followed by Jeff, ten; Josh, nine; Judd, eight; and Jess, seven. They were all towheads, and sturdy like their parents; in fact, Josh was the spitting image of a young Hoss right down to the gap in his teeth. They were also the loudest of the bunch, and it appeared the noise level would be cranking up with the new addition due in a few months. (Hoss had seemed a little dumbfounded by the news, but Lulu took it in stride with a dimpled grin and the firm conviction that this one would be a girl.)

Adam had surprised them all by bringing home a bride from San Francisco not long after Hoss and Lulu tied the knot. Apparently Adam and Liv had known one another for quite some time before he decided to make an honest woman of her. Ben had learned not to ask too many questions of his eldest son over the years, and all he knew about Liv’s past was that she had been a close friend of Lotta Crabtree and had formerly appeared on the stage. Their daughter Liza was born on the Ponderosa a few months after they arrived. She was almost eleven and a beauty like her mother, with black hair and eyes the color of blue lupines. Unfortunately, Liza was already well aware of her looks and used them to her advantage whenever possible. Adam would have to watch her closely. He and Liv also had two boys, nine year old John Ross, who had lately insisted on being called J.R., and six year old Robert, affectionately known as Bobby. Bobby was a sweet, adorable child, and thoroughly gullible when it came to his older brother. J.R. had a mercenary streak, and his mind was as sharp as a pick axe. He could also lie with a straight face better than anyone Ben ever knew. Yes, Adam was certainly going to have his hands full if not already.

Joe was the last one to marry. After several near misses he shocked everyone when out of the blue he married Jane. She had long since shed her buckskins and become a real lady, and Joe was finally able to see in her what she’d always seen in him. Though she was no longer calamitous, her brown eyes still possessed that mischievous twinkle, and her laugh could sometimes raise the roof. They were a match made in Ponderosa heaven and had produced the most angelic looking children Ben had ever seen, but he quickly learned not to be deceived by appearances. Alec and Max were seven year old identical twins, the spitting image of Joe Cartwright and more than double the trouble. They were full of grand ideas and prone to leading Hoss’s two youngest boys into all sorts of misadventures, to the chagrin of their parents. Four-year-old Molly Frances was thus far the youngest of the next generation Cartwrights. She was a fastidious, dainty child who resembled Jane more than Joe, but lately Ben had glimpsed a bit of her grandmother Marie in her as well. And though he would never admit it publicly, Molly Frances was his favorite.

“Please, Grandpa, tell us a story,” Favorite Grandchild had climbed into his lap, and her long-lashed brown eyes locked onto his.

He melted.

“All right.” They were all watching, expectant and hopeful; except for J.R. who just looked bored. He would have to come up with something more than little green men to keep that boy’s attention. Besides, he had already told that story, and also the one about Old Sheba…and the Gerby Royals…and Cousin Muley’s hound dogs…and that hay burning race horse….

As Ben was wracking his brain for some new material to satisfy his increasingly restless audience, his gaze happened upon the book on the side table. He placed the newspaper he had been reading on top of it and cleared his throat. “Have I ever told you about the time I went to sea on a whaling vessel?”

A hush fell over the room. J.R. raised an eyebrow in mild interest, or was it skepticism? It was hard to tell sometimes.

“I wasn’t much older than Jake here when I signed on to the Peacock as a cabin boy. Back then, they called me by my middle name—Ishmael; Ish for short. I could climb that Jacob’s ladder faster than any man on the ship.”

“Did it have angels on it, like the one in the bible? Mama told us that story.”

“No, Jess, it wasn’t that Jacob’s ladder,” said Ben. “This one was a rope ladder that went all the way up to the crow’s nest, at the top of the main mast. From up there I could see far out into the ocean for any signs of danger.”

“Did you see any pirates?” Alec wanted to know.

“Not exactly, but the ship’s captain was pretty close to one to my mind. He had a peg leg made out of a whale bone, because a great white whale bit off his real one.”

“Did the whale chew up the leg and swallow it, or did he spit it out like Jonah?” asked Judd.

“Ewww.” Liza wrinkled her nose in disgust and scooted away from J.R. as he pretended to vomit onto her lap.

“Well, I wasn’t there to see it,” Ben admitted, “so I can’t say for sure. But it made Captain Mayhab as mean and bitter a man as you’d never want to meet, especially before he had his coffee. He spent the rest of his days plotting revenge against that monstrous creature. I sat watch many an hour up in the crow’s nest keeping a weather eye out for Moby Nick, for that was his name.”

“Did you ever see him, Grandpa?” asked Bobby.

Ben nodded. “It was on a cold and blustery Christmas morning. I had just started my watch, and I could hear the captain stumping around the deck, already in a foul mood, calling for the first mate. ‘Starbux, you blaggard, where’s my brew?’ I was wishing I had a mug myself to help keep the chill away, for the wind was mighty raw at the top of the mast. But I quickly forgot about the cold when I spotted a great white hump like a snow hill on the horizon, huffing and puffing like a steam engine. It was Moby Nick, all right. I shouted down below, ‘Thar she blows, cap’n!’

“Captain Mayhab ordered the harpooners to give chase after the beast. But Moby Nick would have none of it. He turned straight toward the ship, spouting and bellowing and crushing one of the whale boats with his great jagged teeth. He was 100 feet long if he was a foot!”

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the audience. “What happened next, Grandpa?” asked Max.

A voice behind him echoed, “Yes, what happened next?”

Ben jerked his head around to find Adam and Joe standing there. “I didn’t know you’d come in. How long have you two been here?”

Adam grinned. “Long enough.”

“Oh.” Ben tried to change the subject. “Where’s Hoss?”

“He’s bringin’ the ladies home,” said Joe. “But you go ahead and finish the story, Ish. We’ll fill him in when he gets back.”

“I’m sure you will,” Ben snorted. And I’ll never hear the end of it.

The die having been cast, he continued. “Well, I got out of that crow’s nest and down that Jacob’s ladder quicker than you could say ‘Davy Jones’s locker’, and there was the captain on the bow, with his mortal enemy closing in. ‘Come and get me, you abomination of Nature!’ he hollered, just about the time Moby Nick crashed us broadside. Captain Mayhab launched his harpoon into the whale’s flesh and hopped on his back like he was a wild bronc. ‘The ship’s yours, men, what’s left of her!’ he called to us. ‘I’ll be ridin’ Moby Nick until we both meet the Devil himself!’

“The ship was split nearly in two, sinking like a boulder, so I had no choice but to jump. I figured I’d seen my last Christmas and was feeling mighty sorry for myself when I heard a voice calling my name. ‘Hold on, Ish! We’re comin’ around!’ Someone tossed me a line and I grabbed it. Two pairs of strong hands pulled me out of the water and into the last whale boat. It was Queeg and Teeg, our best harpooners. Starbux was with them, and the four of us were all that was left of the crew. But we weren’t out of the woods yet. We had to get away from the ship or be pulled into the vortex and go down with it. ‘All hands, paddle! Full speed ahead!’ yelled Starbux. But there were no more oars. I looked around for a plank in the water, or anything else I could use. I grabbed the nearest thing, and what do you think it was?”

He was met with wide-eyed silence from his rapt listeners. He turned to Molly Frances, perched on his knee. “What do you think?”

“A kitty cat?” she said in a timid voice.

There were snickers among the crowd. Ben patted her on the back and fixed the rest with a stern eye. “It was Captain Mayhab’s leg bone. The whale must’ve spouted it out of his blowhole during the attack.” The snickers were replaced with a rumble of enthusiastic approval from the boys. Liza made a face, and Molly Frances pouted a little. “So I paddled with that leg bone as hard as I could, along with my mates, away from the wreckage. We paddled all day and into the night before we struck a sandbar near a small island, where we lived off berries, roots, and bugs until we were picked up a week later by a ship bound for New England.

“When we got back to civilization, Queeg and Teeg said they’d had enough of the sea; in fact they wanted to get as far away from it as possible, so they joined an expedition headed west to Colorado. Starbux married his hometown sweetheart, and together they opened a restaurant that served the best clam chowder and coffee in all of Nantucket.“

“What happened to Captain Mayhab and Moby Nick?” asked Josh.

“No one knows for sure, because they were never seen again.”

“Did you ever go sailing again?” asked Liza.

“As a matter of fact, I did. A few years later I became first mate to Captain Abel Stoddard out of Boston, and that’s how I met your grandmother.” Ben smiled at Elizabeth’s namesake, and she smiled back.

Hop Sing, with his usual impeccable timing, entered with a tray of cookies, and the group quickly dispersed in favor of refreshments.

Ben stood up and stretched. He could hear Joe tittering behind him before he turned around. “I’ve gotta hand it to you Pa. That was a whale of a tale.”

“Yes, and I’m sure Mr. Melville won’t mind,” said Adam, picking up the book, “considering how few people have actually read it. I think it’s out of print now. Maybe you should hang on to it, though I doubt it’ll ever be worth anything.” He handed it back to Ben and followed Joe to the dining room.

While he was placing the book back on the shelf, he felt Max tugging on his trousers. “Grandpa, J.R. said that wasn’t a true story.”

“Oh, he did, did he?” Ben frowned at J.R., who was standing off to one side looking like the cat that ate the canary.

Alec spoke up in a hopeful tone. “But it is true, isn’t it?”

Ben looked at the three boys, not sure what to say. It was one thing to embellish a tale for entertainment, but he couldn’t lie in answer to a direct question. He pulled on his ear, mulling his answer. “Well…not all of it, I’m afraid.”

J.R. smirked at his younger cousins. “See, I told you. His middle name’s not Ishmael. It’s Franklin, same as Bobby’s.”

There was commotion at the door as Hoss and the ladies arrived from town, and everyone’s attention was diverted once more. J.R. lingered for an instant, directing a wry grin at his grandpa. Ben acknowledged him with a chuckle and a shake of his head. I’m on to you, too, young man. You’ll keep me on my toes, won’t you?

The women were flushed with excitement and chattering away, including Ben’s wife Sarah. When they married five years ago she had embraced his energetic brood as if they were her own. At forty, she wasn’t much older than his daughters-in-law. Seeing them together made him feel a little old.

She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a merry smile. “And how was your evening, Grandpa?”

“Not bad, as it turned out. It looks like you ladies had a good time.”

“Oh, we did,” Jane assured him. “The white elephant swap was just too funny.”

“White elephant swap?” Ben had no idea what that was.

“That’s what Clementine calls it,” said Liv. “Everyone brings a small gift in an unmarked package and we put them all under the tree. The first person opens a gift, and the next person can either choose another gift or steal the one already unwrapped, if it’s something they like. And it goes on until all the gifts are opened. A gift can only be stolen twice, and the third person keeps it.”

“It sounds rather complicated.”

“It’s really not, and it’s actually a lot of fun,” said Lulu. “You never know what you’ll wind up with. I got a jar of pickled peaches.”

“I got an apron, and Liv stole a lace handkerchief from Sarah so she had to take the last gift,” said Jane, grinning.

“What was it?” asked Ben.

“A pair of baby booties,” laughed Jane.

“Baby booties?”

Sarah sighed. “Yes, and we all agreed it was very funny because obviously they were intended for Lulu. Of course I gave them to her.”

“Yes, she did, but she wouldn’t take the peaches, and I feel so bad about that,” said Lulu.

“I told you; that’s my gift to Hoss, because I know he loves them. Besides, the best gift was the evening itself.”

“Amen to that,” said Liv.

Lulu yawned and rubbed her back. “Hoss, honey, we need to get these boys home so I can get in my bed.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night?” asked Sarah.

“No, we’ll all sleep better at home.”

Hoss let out a shrill whistle. “Round up time! Let’s go, boys.”

The five towheads presented themselves without murmur or hesitation, a sight that never ceased to amaze Ben. He wished his own sons had been that compliant when they were young. After a round of hugs and goodbyes, the families trickled out the door one by one, with plans to return on Christmas Day.

Ben sat down in his chair by the fire with his pipe, savoring the peace and quiet at the end of the evening, the night before Christmas Eve. Sarah came from the kitchen with tea and a small plate of cookies that Hop Sing had saved for them. “You look tired.”

“My ears are tired,” he confessed. “They are a houseful.”

She set the tray on the side table and smiled down at him. “Yes, they are, but could you imagine life without them?”

He shook his head. “No, no more than I could imagine life without you.” He pulled her onto his lap and gazed into her impossibly blue eyes, remembering the day she said yes, and feeling suddenly younger. “I love you, Mrs. Cartwright.”

She put her arms around his neck and nuzzled his ear. “And I love you too…Ish.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”

His wife’s laughter broke the mood as well the peaceful quiet. And it erupted spontaneously throughout the night at the most inopportune times, but it was such a warm and welcome sound that Ben never dared to complain.

Epilogue

Hoss, Lulu and their five boys welcomed Joanna Inger to the family in the early spring. She was a healthy, fair-haired bundle of joy, nicknamed Anna.

Folks figured there must have been something in the water that night over at the Bunco party, because exactly nine months later Lucy Virginia was born to Adam and Liv, just two days before Joe and Jane’s daughter Dulcie Marie. But the talk of the town from the end of September well on to December was the birth of another son for Ben Cartwright by his fourth wife Sarah—James Ishmael Cartwright. Most everyone just called him Jamie. Most of the time, anyway. 😉

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Note: My apologies to Herman Melville and the real Moby Nick, aka Moby Dick. And if  you’re wondering how Ben and Sarah got together in the first place, read The Last Gift of Christmas (by JC)

 

Click here for the 2018 Advent Calendar – Day 13 – Attic Window aka Lucia by Foreverfree