Click title to read story.
Gallant Cowboy (The) – by Harper
Summary: The author of a dreadful dime novel visits Virginia City in pursuit of the book’s harshest critic–Adam Cartwright.
Rated K + 2,888 words
Galveston Love – by Prima Donna
Summary: Adam arrives in Galveston, Texas and falls in love with a young woman and helps her cope with the tragedy when the town gets hit by a hurricane.
Rating: Teen Words:
Summary: Most people thought Adam wasn’t a gambler. They thought wrong.
1,800 words, rated K+
Gambler and the Cowboy (The) – by Dodo
Summary: What if the Episode “The First Born” had never happened?
Rating: T 2,750 words
Summary: When Adam invited Joe to come to Europe for a holiday, he never imagined the consequences.
Rating: T Word Count: 9,898
Games – Book I – The Game – by freyakendra
Summary: An old college rival of Adam’s takes competition to an extreme, playing chess with Cartwright lives. SJS, SAS, JAM, ESA, ESH…let’s just say lots of hurt, comfort, angst and mystery. If you like this story, check out the sequel, “Endgame.”
Rated: T. WC 29,000
Games – Book II – Endgame – by freyakendra
Summary: Sequel to: The Game. A prison break sends Alfred Whitfield, a man on the edge of madness, and Peter Nobridge, an enigma whose alliances are yet to be proven, back to the Ponderosa one year after Adam’s old classmate played a deadly game with Cartwright lives. This time, when the siege begins there is more at stake than mere blood. This is a sequel to “The Game,” but should offer enough hints to stand alone. The SJS & SAS are, of course, integral to the plot, and there’s plenty of angst and ES? to go around….
Rated: T WC 48,300
Synopsis: Will man’s need for revenge break the heart of the remaining Cartwrights?
Rating: PG (9,300 words)
Garden’s Secret (The) – by bahj
Summary: Punishment turns into a summer of memories, all while tending the garden.
Rating: K 3,900 words
Summary: Ben is disturbed when Marie’s father arrives in Virginia City wanting to meet his grandson.
Rated: K 19,580 word
Genesis – The Ponderosa – by Krystyna
Summary: Ben and Adam receive an old trunk from Abel Stoddard which sets them off on a long journey to when the first Cartwright stepped foot on American soil in the 17th Century.
Rating K 42,870 words
Summary: A series of letters combined with a deadly illness set the Cartwrights against each other and the town when Roy takes one of their own into custody.
Rating: K+ 25,230 words
Germantown Lady – by Hart4Ben
Summary: While Ben and young Adam are making their way west, they make a brief stop in Germantown, Ohio. An unusual festival is in progress when they arrive. Set in approximately 1834 or 1835.
Rating: K WC: 1419
Ghost at Devil’s Gate – by BettyHT
Summary: Adam is recruited to do some dangerous work, but isn’t briefed fully on what the dangers are. Predictably, he gets in more trouble than he could have imagined, but the help he expected doesn’t come. The opposite is true. When he can, he sets out on a quest to find out why.
Rating: T Word count: 15,798
Summary: Legends, myths, and tall tales collide in the days leading up to Halloween, but is there more to it than meets the eyes?
Word Count: 6700 Rated: T
Summary: Do ghosts exist? Well, Little Joe is about to find out and Adam and Hoss are ready to teach him a lesson.
Rated: K+ 3,260 words
Ghost of Cartwrights Past – by Bonanzaluver
Summary: Ben Cartwright forgets the true meaning of Christmas to the dismay of his sons but gets it back with some unexpected help in this Bonanza twist of a classic tale. You may recognize what tale I’m talking about once you read it! ;- Enjoy and please leave comments! Merry Christmas!
Rated: K+ 3,570 words
Ghost of Christmas (The) – by Puchi Ann
Summary: Lost, both literally and in the wanderings of his fevered mind, Little Joe encounters a ghostly presence (or is it?) and fears he’s in for a visitation like that of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rating: G Word Count: 3,800
Ghost of Christmas Past (The) – by SusanG
Summary: An innocent conversation from five years before leads to devastating consequences in the present.
Word Count: 13,000 Rated: T
Summary: It’s Joe’s turn to make the trip to Hawthorne, as Ben continues to repay a twenty-year old debt. Unknowingly, Joe encounters more than he bargained.
Rating: T 26,240 words
Ghost Town – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: Eerie happenings in Virginia City.
Rated: K – Word count: 3158
Summary: Tall tales? Ghost Stories? Or did it really happen?
Rating: K+ 850 words
Summary: It started as an October pinecone, but I couldn’t stop. A little bit spooky but nothing to keep you up at night — probably.
Rating: PG Word count: 1430
Ghosts of Christmas Past – by Becky S
Summary: A Later-season story with Candy and Jamie memories … or are they?
Rating: G 3,700 words
Ghosts of Christmas Past – by HelenA
Summary: Joe is feeling lonely on Christmas eve. Between the end of Season 13 and the beginning of season 14.
Rating: G 1,450 words
Summary: A WHIB/WHN for the episode. The introduction of a mowing machine causes problems for the Cartwrights.
4,935 words Rated: T
Gideon’s Trumpet – by PuchiAnn
Summary: The Cartwrights are saddened to learn of the death of an elderly friend shortly before Christmas, but the bequest he has left one of them stirs warm memories, one very private and another soon to become very public.
Rating: G Words 5960
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent calendar
Summary: Joe gets a special birthday present.
Rating: G 553 words
Summary: Baby Joe has need of a crocheted blanket, at least that’s what Hoss concludes, and he has an exact idea who’s going to bring on one…enter Adam.
Written for Day 4 of the 2021 Advent Calendar
Rating: G 2,540 words
Gift of Love (The) – by VickiC.
Summary: Adam’s new love comes as a surprise to his family and hers. Can they win through against the odds?
Rating: PG (13,600 words)
Summary: Adam is given a gift. What will he do with it? Written for the 2018 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rated: K+ 5,740 words
Ginger Thief (The) – by Shakespeare Cowgirl
Summary: A gingerbread house + A thief = One very angry Little Joe!
Rated: K+ 4,615 words
Gingerbread Man (The) – by Sierra Girl
The Gingerbread Man was included in the 2016 Advent Calendar Collection. Click ‘Comments’ or “Leave a Comment” above to leave comments for the author. Or click Read More … below for a link to the story. Summary: As Christmas as the tree and ornaments, it’s not Christmas without the Gingerbread Man.
Girl Can’t Help It (The) – by AnnieKCowgirl
Summary: Three young women, three moments in time, one man. A look into the thoughts of Elizabeth, Inger, and Marie as they contemplate the man known as Benjamin Cartwright.
Rating: K Word Count: 1,033
Girl in the Blue Dress (The) – by debpet
Summary: Joe’s encounter with an attractive young lady takes a turn into the unexpected. Something for the Halloween season.
Rated: K+ WC 1100
Girl with Red Hair (The) – by Inca / Tye
Summary: Robbed and left for dead at the roadside, Adam and Joe are forced to take shelter from a storm in an abandoned house. Injured himself, Adam struggles to keep his brother alive. But the house has a past, and it returns to haunt them…
Rated: T WC 9500
Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (The) – by BettyHT
Summary: Little Joe has a feeling someone has been watching and following him. Then chilling words from Hop Sing give him some idea who it is but he has to wait to find out the reason why.
Rating: T Word count: 1,445
Given the Circumstances – by dbird
Summary: Trapped in a cabin with his family, Adam tells the story of a rockslide, an ambush, and the possibility that everything happens for a reason.
Rated: K+
Summary: Memories of Inger and Ash Hollow.
Rating: G (Words: 16,280)
Summary: What love is all about – inspired by Joe – my favorite Cartwright. My entry for The World Poetry Day 2018.
Rating: K Word count: 82
Glass Bird (The) – by McFair_58
Summary: Christmas brings an unexpected guest to the Ponderosa and forces Joe Cartwright to confront his past, present and future in the form of a tiny glass bird.
Rating G Words (4750)
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Summary: An alternate ending to “The Stillness Within”.
Rated: T 56,060 words
Summary: A WHN for “My Brother’s Keeper”. Sometimes the invisible wounds are the ones that take longest to heal…
Rated: T WC 10,400
Glory #2 – Howl of the Wolf – by southplains
Summary: This R-rated story is an expansion on a short scene described in my story ‘Glory,’ which is a WHN for ‘My Brother’s Keeper.’ It was written in response to the ‘Dirty Words’ Literary Challenge in the R-forum. Contains strong sexual content.
Rating: R 2,965 words
Summary: Written for the Bonanza Brand 2016 Advent Calendar
Rating: K 790 words
Go Tell it on the Mountain – by DebbieB & JennieA
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve and Little Joe tries to make a trade with the Virgin Mary.
Rated: G 6,050 words
Go Tell it on the Mountain – by JennieA & DebbieB
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve and Little Joe tries to make a trade with the Virgin Mary.
Rated: G 6,050 words
Goat Cheese on the Ponderosa – A REALLY Lost Episode – by Robin
Summary: A variation on A Stranger Passed this Way.
Rating: T 1,440
God Bless America – by DebbieB
Summary: Ben gives his young sons a history lesson on America’s birthday.
Rated: G 2,375 words
God So Loved the World – by Rona
Summary: The true meaning of Easter is shown to the Cartwrights after Joe and Adam go missing.
10,635 words Rated: T
Summary: It is 1847 and such a winter had never been seen! Snowstorms and squalls. Sleet and ice. Winds so ferocious they built drifts high as a man. Driven by a need to escape the memory of his late wife, Ben Cartwright ventures out into a frozen landscape and becomes lost. As he seeks a way to survive, he has no way of knowing that another member of the family has become lost as well. Will the killer snow claim two Cartwright lives?
Rated PG
Word count 20,990
Summary: Little Joe asks a simple question and gets a long and almost unbelievable story from Adam in response.
Rating: PG Word count: 1,113
Summary: Rumours of a new gold strike on the Ponderosa bring problems for the Cartwrights. But who started the rumours, and why? Can Ben find out before Joe pays with his life?
10,800 words Rated: T
Summary: A group of army deserters lay siege to the Ponderosa, waiting for the boys to return home with a very large payroll.
Word Count: 11,500 Rated: T
Golden Fleece (The) – by SusanG
Summary: Joe lies trapped while Ben sets out to organize a rescue party.
Word Count: 9100 Rated: T
Summary: To do the right thing, Joe must disobey his father.
Rated: PG
Word Count: 16,555
Summary: One stormy night near Lake Tahoe spells sorrow and disaster for the Cartwrights.
18,935 words Rating K+
Summary: When Ben leaves on a cattle drive with two of his sons, he has no idea that when he returns home, Joe will be gone. After searching for him, he has to face the very real possibility his son will never return.
Word Count: 13,562 Rating: T
Summary: It should have been a pleasant day fishing for the three brothers, but when Joe loses his pants, wears Hoss’ drawers and exposes himself unwittingly, they would have been better off staying home.
Rated: K+ WC 4300
Good Advice from a Shotgun Father – by dbird
Summary: Sometimes, the best advice comes from the business end of a gun.
Rated: K+ (4,000)
Summary: Joe runs into trouble in San Francisco
Rated: K+ 7,500 words
Summary: Adam intended to introduce his youngest brother to good literature, but you know Little Joe – instead of culture, he found trouble!
Rating: G Words: 4,500
Written for the Bonanza Brand 2023 Advent Calendar
Summary: A prequel story with LJ at thirteen, Hoss at nineteen, and Adam at twenty-five. In the first part, Little Joe decides to be good for three weeks as a gift to his father which sets off a chain of events while Adam decides to ride a couple of difficult horses that sets off a different chain of events. Everything comes together as does the family in time for a Christmas celebration. The second part of the story is a WHB for The Quality of Mercy and features Seth in a prominent role.
rating = T 26,563
Good Intentions and Unplanned Consequences – by Cheaux
Summary: As with all intentions — some good, some not so good — there are always consequences.
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rating: G Word Count: 2,225
Summary: Joe’s Friend is Murdered
Rated: K+ 11,335 words
Summary: Finding someone camping on the Ponderosa leads to a traumatic ordeal for Joe and Adam.
10,025 words Rated: T
Good Samaritan (The) – by VickiC.
Summary: Ben tries to teach a young Hoss the parable of ‘The Good Samaritan’, but Hoss turns the tables on him, and Ben learns the real meaning of the story.
Rating: G (12,000 words)
Good Samaritan (The) – by SusanG
Summary: Helping and not expecting anything in return. It’s a matter of paying it forward.
Word Count: 20,000 Rated: T
Good Will Toward Men – by Patina
Summary: Tis the season for generosity.
Rating: G Words 1,000
Written for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar
Synopsis: Ben learns to let go.
Rating: G (1,730 words)
Summary: Joe teaches Adam to look at things in a different way.
Rated: K+ 1,605 words
Gossamer Dreams #1 – by DebbieB
Summary: ‘And love is sheer magic for it’s woven of Gossamer dreams, enchantingly real, that people in love are privileged to feel.’ Found unconscious and near death, a young destitute woman and her two children take Joe Cartwright home with them in hopes of saving his life. Love blossoms, but Joe knows something about the woman’s husband…and his conscience forces him to share it with her.
Rated: PG 19,150 words
Gossamer Dreams #2 – From Dreams to Reality – by DebbieB
Summary: Eight years after falling in love with a woman whose husband he killed, Joe comes face to face with a young man who once promised to revenge his father.
Rated: PG 14, 125 words
Grandest Aqueduct (The) – by pbeaking
Summary: Adam brings a well known engineer from California to help Virginia City with their water problems. Alexis von Schmidt proves to be a brilliant man with brilliant ideas, but is he the best answer for Virginia City and its residents?
Rating: K+ 9,500 words
Grandest of Homecomings (The) – by Camera Chic
Summary: A prequel. Little Joe has been excitedly awaiting the arrival home of Adam from college, but he hasn’t considered how different things will be now.
Rated: K+ 5,690 words
Grandfather and Grandson – by Sibylle
Summary: Adam and his small grandson make some discoveries about what really matters in life.
1,600 words Rating: K
Summary: Ben reflects on the wonder of being a father and a grandfather. A Father’s Day tribute.
Rating: K, Word count: 518
Grandmother Cartwright and the Vampire Curse – by BettyHT
Summary: Some haunting family history comes back to create problems for the Cartwrights until the true nature of the evil can be dug up. The theme fits the Halloween season, but this is not a spooky story.
Rating: T Word Count: 5,217
Summary: A posthumous gift from his grandfather brings back memories and an important realisation to Adam.
Rating: G 2,110 words
Note: This story was written for the Bonanza Brand 2020 Advent Calendar, posted in the Forums.
Summary: Suffering from an embarrassing wound, Joe needs his father’s help to put matters into perspective. This is a set of missing scenes/WHN for “A Nice, Friendly Little Town.”
At the beginning of the episode, Joe has been shot “in the middle of the Ponderosa,” and he returns to the house to find the sheriff, Ben and Hoss there. At the end of the opening scene, Joe turns to go into the house, and Hoss sets out to find the shooter. The episode focuses on Hoss’ efforts to bring in the shooter. These scenes follow Joe for the next few days, while Hoss is away, with one post-episode scene.
Rated: T. WC 5500
Summary: After the events in the episode The Dark Gate, Adam reflects. An expanded response to the Pinecone Challenge #20, in which the first line was given.
Rated: K+ 1,265 words
Summary: When Adam finds a slightly injured Joe, they share a strangely special moment. A Young Cartwright short story.
Rated: K+ WC 767
Summary: Ben’s aunts visit the Ponderosa
Rated: K+ 7,525 words
Great Baby Switch (The) – by PuchiAnn
Summary: Bored boys, left to their own devices, can come up with wild ways of passing the time, and when the bored boys are Little Joe Cartwright and his friends, Virginia City is in for quite a fright. Written for the Michael Landon Birthday Challenge.
Rating: K Words: 5,068
Synopsis:Ben has begun to worry about Adam’s sudden irresponsible behavior and the poor example he is setting for his younger brothers.
Rating: G (12,285 words)
Great Egg Race (The) – by KateP
Summary: A Little Bonanza story for Easter
Rated: K+ 2,200 words
Great Hijacking (The) – by BnzaGal & slaine89
Summary: What happens when a fanfiction author leaves a story hanging? Three fans decide to take matters into their own hands and rescue aka kidnap the main character, unmindful of the insanity that will ensue.
Rated: K+ 6,560 words
Great Hijacking (The) – by slaine89 & BnzaGal
Summary: What happens when a fanfiction author leaves a story hanging? Three fans decide to take matters into their own hands and rescue aka kidnap the main character, unmindful of the insanity that will ensue.
Rated: K+ 6,560 words
Summary: It’s Christmas time on the Ponderosa and the family is ready to exchange gifts.
Rated: K+ 2,440 words
Summary: When five friends head out on a hunting trip they have no idea of the horror that waits for them and will demand from them the ultimate sacrifice.
Rated: K+ 12, 615 words
Greater Love – by BonanzaPR6
Summary: A young girl visits the Ponderosa and has a profound effect on one of the brothers.
Rated: T 5,950 words
Greater Love Hath No Man – by DebbieB
Summary: When Hoss hires a monster of a man, a derelict, to work for them, he has no idea the danger he has put his family into, until it’s too late.
Rated: PG..Contains violent scenes 11,745 words
Greater Lover – Promises Kept – by pony
Summary: Hoss and Adam each make a promise on the night their brother Joe is born. But nobody can imagine how those promises will one day be kept …
Rated: K 7,265 words
Greatest Gift (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A Christmas surprise turns out to be most welcomed.
Rating: G 1020 Words
Note: This story was written for the Bonanza Brand 2020 Advent Calendar, posted in the Forums.
Greatest Gift (The) – by Cheaux
Summary: Joe overhears what he knows to be a lie, but cannot convince anyone else to believe him.
WC 7800 Rated: T
Greatest Love of All (The) – by Terri
Summary: How will Ben react to the new love in Marie’s life?
Rated: K+ WC 1100
Greatest of These (The) – by Hart4Ben
Summary: April Christopher has contracted rabies from a bite from a rabid wolf. Now more than just a dear friend, Ben is committed to being by her side for her horrific final days. A WHI for the season 12 episode “A Time to Die”.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 5,055
Green Eyed Monster (The) – by DebbieB
Summary: Little Joe’s been bitten by something his Pa calls the green-eyed monster. He isn’t quite sure what it is, but he knows he’s not feeling to well because of it.
Rated: G 10,800 words
Green Jell-O Mold (The) – A REALLY Lost Episode – by Robin
Summary: The Worst Fan Fic Ever Written….so far… and it includes recipes too!
Rating: T 12,140 words
Summary: Adam finds himself making a difficult decision.
Rated: K+ Word count: 732
Summary: A girl comes between Joe and Hoss which has far-reaching implications.
Rated: T 32,220 words
Summary: A short piece reflecting on life after Hoss died.
950 words Rated: T
Grief is Hard Work – by mumu74
Summary: Contributed for the Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament 2015
Word Count: 5691 Rated: K+
Grief Written Across a Celadon Sky – by Kenda
Summary: A missing scene from the aired episode “The Stillness Within” that includes Ben, Hoss and Joe, with the characters mentioning Adam.
Rated: K+ 4,090 words
Griff and the Irish Dancer – by RandyS
Summary: A little look at Griff King many years away from prison.
Rating: T 4,990 words
Grizzly and God’s Hand (The) – by freyakendra
Summary: A day at the lake with his brothers is shattered by gunfire, leaving Joe in God’s hands. Follow Joe’s muddled thoughts through his family’s struggle to keep him alive, and his own struggle to focus on where he belongs.
Rated: K+ 6,505 words WC 6500
Summary: Growing up isn’t easy, physically or emotionally, as Joe Cartwright discovers.
Rated: T 29,565 words
Growing Pains – by Judy & Jerry
Summary: It’s tough being the youngest Cartwright, but what he lacks in stature he more than makes up for it by living up to the name.
Rated: PG
Word Count: 48,918
Summary: Joe has grown away from a group of friends, who resent this, and set out to make his life a misery. But when Ben gets injured, can Joe save him?
10,400 words Rated: T
Growing Up Different – by HarpistforHim
Summary: When Joe goes through old memories, it dawns upon him that he hadn’t really considered the how different his oldest brother’s childhood was from his own. With the help of a few old trunks of treasures, Joe learns more about Adam’s past and how, despite their distinct upbringings, they both share a history that will forever be intertwined.
Word Count: 2,820 Rating: G
Guardian (The) — What the Heart Knows – by JC
Synopsis: A fateful encounter at the river leads to a revelation for Adam Cartwright.
Rating: T 3,475 words
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – by Barbara
Summary: Breaking into one’s own home is sometimes inevitable, but the consequences are more than Adam bargained for.
Rating: K 2,370 words
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? – by freyakendra
Summary: Each of Ben’s sons rides off in the wake of tragedy, leaving a stranger home alone—at least until suppertime.
Rated: K+ WC 5300
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Joe is such a good shot? Maybe that’s how it happened.
Rating: PG Word Count: 15000
Summary: Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Joe finds himself facing the ultimate punishment while his brothers race against time to bring the witness who can clear Joe’s name.
9,620 words Rated: T
Guilty #2 – The Sound of Silence – by Rona
Summary: How did Joe actually cope without a voice? This is set during my story ‘Guilty’. It would be advisable to read it first.
Rating: T 6,215 words
Summary: With a storm approaching, Little Joe heads out to find the prize foal his father is so fond of and is caught in a flash flood. While his brothers deal with their own fears, Ben Cartwright fights a battle to overcome despair and grief and face the very real fear that Joe may never be found.
Rated: PG-13 Word count: 38,190
Gun (The) – by VRON
Summary: More musings from Ben.
Rating: G Words: 1,215
Summary: Caught in a web of deception, Joe faces more than murder charges, how about a guilty conscience?
Rated: PG 14, 750 words
Summary: What starts out as a happy birthday turns traumatic for Joe.
Rated: K+ WC 2200
Summary: Joe is ambushed by a group of rogue Indians and saved by a vagrant named Drifter. Befriending the stranger, Joe quickly learns that his young friend is running from something dark in his past. Can Joe figure it out before it catches up to them both?
Rated: T 19,335 words
Summary: A little vignette following at some point later the events of ‘A Dime’s Worth of Glory’..
Rating: G Word Count: 628
Summary: When Ben tries to teach Joe a lesson, it is he that learns a greater one.
Rated: PG
Word Count: 64,940