Click title to read story.
Summary: Perdus dans une tempête de sable, les Cartwrights font halte dans une mystérieuse caverne
Rated: MA WC 4500
La rencontre de l’aube – by rozenn
Summary: La rencontre de Ben et de Samantha, sa prochaine épouse.
Rated: MA 4,265 words
La vie fait-elle toujours “cadeau” d’une deuxième chance ? – by mumu74
Summary: Après avoir été sauvé, Ben aura-t-il droit à une deuxième chance ?
Rated: MA WC 65,000
Lady from Baltimore (The) – A Missing Scene – by JennyG
Summary: A missing scene for the episode.
Rating: K+ 900 words
Summary: Taking an alternate route home with a wagon full of grain places Joe’s life in danger. While waiting to be rescued he encounters a lovely lady.
Rating: T 5,100 words
Lady in the Shadows (The) – by DJK
Summary: Young Adam tells his new mother about the lady in the shadows.
Rated: K+ Word count: 1141
Summary: A young lady invites the Cartwrights to her birthday party and then waits for the right man to ask her to dance. But who is the right man?
Rating G (2,450words)
Lady Isabelle and the Black Knight -WendyB
Synopsis: Abigail Jones’ fantasies get out of hand (literally).
Rating: G Words: 4,065
SUMMARY: This is my Chaps and Spurs entry for April. The topic is temporary insanity which was introduced in that era and tried out as a defense at a fictional trial in Virginia City. The jury is going to have to deal with a complex issue so the call goes out for better educated citizens, and guess who gets tapped for jury duty?
Rating: PG Word count = 1678
Summary: The Cartwright brothers vie for the affections of a beautiful lawyer.
Rated: K+ 28,300
Lady Lawyer (The) #2 – Fugue – by pjb
Summary: Tensions mount when Joe is charged with murdering a drifter, but he has no recollection of the incident—and no explanation for why he came home covered in blood. This is a sequel to “The Lady Lawyer,” and it refers to characters and events in that story.
Rated: T 32,000
Lady Lawyer (The) #3 – To Know the Truth – by pjb
Summary: In the sequel to “The Lady Lawyer” and “Fugue,” beliefs unravel and the lines between guilt and innocence blur as one man’s efforts to protect his brother jeopardize the Cartwrights’ hope for healing and love–and survival.
Rated: T WC 77,200
Lady with Yellow Hair (The) – by McFair
Summary: Each year at Christmas a beautiful lady graces the Cartwright’s Ponderosa ranch house. From her post high atop their tree the little angel with cornflower yellow hair watches them. A smile lights her face for she knows that, without her, Ben Cartwright’s life would have been very different…
Word count: 7489 Rated: G
Summary: Joe is found in a ravine with mysterious injuries. He has a dark journey into his own memory to discover how he got there and why his brother is in danger.
Rated: T WC 7800
Lake Incident (The) – by BettyHT
Summary: Ben isn’t happy with how two sons decided to deal with a third who did something they didn’t like. He’s even more unhappy with the third though.
Rating: PG Word count: 1,259
Summary: What if things had gone differently the night Adam had wooed Abigail Jones? What impact can a lost horse shoe, a squirrel and a spider have on a blossoming romance? And had faust gone completely bonkers?
4,000 words, rated K
Land Dispute (The) – by Claire
Summary: A visit from old friends is disrupted by a boundary dispute which nearly leads to tragedy.
Rated: T 15,480 words
Summary: There are lots of things that could possibly go wrong in a nativity play, but the reverend certainly hadn’t expected that.
2,000 words, rated K
Summary: That baby brother of his, he could talk him into anythin’. They shoulda been home, but instead they ended up campin’ out near 13 year old Little Joe’s little gal’s house. All would have been well and good if’n only Joe’d have stayed put. But this was Joe and he didn’t. When he asked him how come, his baby brother said he didn’t know. Was it a nightmare, Hoss wondered, that called Little Joe out into the mist and got him nearly drowned? Or was it somethin’ else?
Rated PG 7, 666 words
Summary: It’s been two years since the events that almost saw two of the Cartwrights hung for a crime they didn’t commit.
Rating: T (6,550 words)
Summary: Alone and in trouble, can a memory help him?
Rating: PG (550 words)
Last Bullet (The) – by BnzaGal
Summary: FEB. 2013. Chaps&Spurs challenge.
Rated: K+ 670 words
Summary: Joe gambles with his life to give his Pa something precious.
WC 900 Rating K
Summary: WHN to Second Chance. Was it that simple to ride away from the stage station at the end of Second Chance? Read on to find out.
Rated: T 9,335 words
Last Christmas – by Inca / Tye
Summary: All these years he had been listening hard for the song of the stars only to be disappointed. But now… his soul was at peace as he accepted what would be….
Rating: K 760 words
Last Dance (The) – by SadieSpinner
Synopsis: Deals with a last request, the four Cartwrights, and to use the phrase out of context, “Going gently into the good night.”
Rating: G (1,525 words)
Summary: Joe has an emotional talk with Hoss and reviews his memories of the events that led to Adam’s departure from the Ponderosa. Written for the 2018 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rated: T 3,890 words
Last Gift of Christmas (The) – by JC
Summary: Ben gets some advice from an old friend, reminding him once more that not every gift is neatly wrapped and under the tree.
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rating: G Word Count: 2,325
Summary: Those who laugh last, laugh the hardest. Thus, Joe proves this statement to be true.
Rated: G 18,200 words
Laugh Last (The) – by Sierra Girl
Summary: The boys have a job to do in a mysterious old house. Only Hoss Is hearing things and Joe can’t help goading his jittery sibling. It’s up to Adam to keep his brothers in check, but even he is astonished by an unexpected discovery in the attic
Rating: K+ Words: 4014
Last Minute Miracle by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHIB (What Happened in Between) for the episode The Honor of Cochise. What was happening back at the camp while Ben was riding as fast as he could to Fort Barry? Read, and find out.
Rated: T (a strong T for racism, gore, and minor bad language)
Word Count: 1,313
Last Request – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: The two surviving Cartwrights reunite after many years apart. Decisions need to be made. This story was written by Tahoe Ladies Bailey and Irish.
Rated K+ Word Count: 5800
Summary: A What Happened In-Between for ‘Tommy’.
Rating: K+ 3,640 words
Last Time I was Dying (The) – by dbird
Summary: The Cartwrights must turn to each other after being caught in a disastrous avalanche.
Rated: K+ 4,815 words
Summary: Adam has finally found what he has spent a lifetime searching the world for.
Rated G WC 3100
Last Trophy? (The) #1 – sklamb
Summary: A two-day what-happened-before, what-happened-in-between, and what-happened-later for the first season episode “The Last Trophy”.
Rating: G (1,135 words)
Last Trophy? (The) #2 – by sklamb
Summary: The second of a two-day what-happened-before, what-happened-in-between, and what-happened-later for the first season episode “The Last Trophy.”
Rating: G (2,010 words)
Summary: A WHIB what happened before the ending scene . How did the Cartwrights get Joe home after he had been shot? If you ever wondered, read on.
9,075 words Rated: T
Summary: The family had to rearrange the allocation of their work. Therefore, Joe had to ride out on his own. Did he manage his work?
Written for the 2019 Advent Calendar
Rating: G Word Count: 750
Summary: Driven by the need for revenge, Adam makes a choice that will affect his life forever.
Rated: K+
Laura’s Decision – by BluewindFarm
Summary: A Missing Scene reflecting on events from The Pressure Game and The Triangle.
Rating: T 685 words
Summary: How does a Cartwright react when The Soiled Dove Society goes on the hunt for a man of steel? Written for the 2017 Bonanza Brand’s 11th Anniversary R-Rated Story Challenge.
This story is sexually explicit, so if that offends a reader, please do not continue to the story.
Rated: MA 2,320 words
Summary: Strange things start to happen on the Ponderosa after the Cartwrights find a necklace belonging to Marie.
Rated: K+ 6230 words
Le Collier d’Or #2 – Eloise – by KateP
Summary: Joe and Adam thought they had seen the last of Eloise. Seems they were wrong. A Halloween story.
Rated: K+ 8,730 words
Le Lot de consolation – by indiana
Summary: Ben has to receive the 3 daughters of one of his friend at home for 2 weeks. Adam didn’t appreciate having to take care of the eldest daughter , because he has bad memory about her when he was 16 years old, so he has to find a solution to avoid this chore…..
Rating T WC 4500
Le Noël de Chanty – by ViveAdam
Summary: L’orpheline Chanty se fait exploiter par la famille Robinson mais un bel étranger arrive la veille de Noël et va changer sa vie.
Rated: K WC 4500
Summary: Written for the 2016 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar. Freshly home from college, Adam becomes concerned when it appears that the Christmas traditions of Little Joe’s mother have been abandoned during his absence
Rating: K 5,240 words
Summary: Ben découvre qu’Adam a creusé un souterrain sous la maison. Cette découverte va être mise à profit par presque toute la famille
Rated: K WC 8000
Leah Series #1 – One Step at a Time – by BettyHT
Summary: A simple accident and later a brawl in a saloon have devastating consequences. A new friend will make all the difference in the outcome.
Rating = T WC = 41875
Leah Series #2 – One Step Back – by BettyHT
Summary: Adam and Leah have to work out their differences, and there are those who want to make trouble for them as well as for the whole family. The trouble escalates with one problem after another.
Rating = T WC = 19,639
Leah Series #3 – One Plus One – by BettyHT
Summary: Ben wants to drive cattle to Salt Lake City, but Adam and Hoss object creating some tension in the family. Adam is working hard at building a house and trying to keep up with his ranch duties. Meanwhile Leah is facing some unpleasantness with women in town who are talking about her unfavorably.
Rating = T WC 29,984
Leah Series #4 – Guilt Trap – by BettyHT
Summary: Adam is hurt, Hoss is missing, and Ben faces fraud charges in court. The enemy is quickly identified, but the fight against them is the stuff of nightmares as so much that can go wrong, does go wrong.
Rating = T WC = 25309
Leaning on the Taffrail – by BettyHT
Summary: After some years of reflection, Captain Abel Stoddard decides to change his ways and make some amends. Two things that he knows he must do are to mend the relationship with his son-in-law, and he must create a communication link to his young grandchild. Two Christmas letters are how he begins the process.
Rating PG Word count 1497
Summary: Ben is determined to teach Joe a lesson when he gets into trouble in town, but will the youngest Cartwright survive his punishment?
Rated: K 14,690 words
Summary: A small band of Indians are raiding ranches and homesteads, but are surprisingly inept. Joe stumbles on their secret.
10,480 words Rated: T
Learning Curve (The) – by Dodo
Summary: Hoss is at his lowest ebb when he unexpectedly receives wise words of comfort.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 2160
Learning the Hard Way – by Terri
Summary: Adam has a pleasurable time with his favourite saloon girl, Hoss shows he’s not so shy with Bessie Sue and Ben proves there’s life in the old dog yet. This all takes place one Saturday afternoon. But what of Joe??
The youngest and most inexperienced of the Cartwright men experiences an induction into both love and pain he is not likely to forget.
Rated: MA WC 27,000
Warning: this story is sexually explicit. If you are easily offended please do not continue
Learning the Hard Way – by HarpistforHim
Summary: Joe has one drink too many at the Marquette’s one-year anniversary party, which wouldn’t have been such an issue with his father if he wasn’t only fourteen years old. The morning after, Adam learns a few things about his baby brother… and a few things about himself, too.
Rating: PG-13 Word Count: 4,730
Learning to Live with your Life – by Terri
Summary: When Joe complains about his size, his brother Hoss is the best one to understand how he feels.
Rated: K+ WC 1900
Least Dreaded (The) – by BeckyS
Summary: He used what he had at hand to save himself; now he pleaded, “Don’t let him kill me.”
Rating: T 1,460 words
Summary: Ben Cartwright has taught his sons many things but in Leaves, he is must follow his own lessons in order to survive.
Rated: K Word Count: 2700
Summary: The wind of change is blowing across the Ponderosa. A story written for the October Chaps and Spurs Challenge using the words Indian, smoke, leaves, frost and summer.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 3585
Summary: Adam has decided to leave the ranch, a decision that has consequences for them all.
9,870 words Rated: T
Summary: cattle thieves, Little Joe is shot in the back and left to die. As he fights for his life, Little Joe also fights with the knowledge that his attackers have seemingly gotten away with their crimes
Rated: G 18,330 words
Left-Handed Holster (The) – by DJK
Summary: Little Joe has a plan, and all he needs is a left-handed holster.
Rated: K+ Word count: 6170
Legacy #1 – Loss and Legacy (by MeiraB)
Synopsis: An accounting of Hoss’s death
Rating: PG
Words: 7,000
Legacy #2 – Responsibilities (by MeiraB)
Synopsis: A brief epilogue to Loss and Legacy, which attempts to clarify Adam’s reasons for his life choices.
Rating: G
Words: 1400
Legacy #3 – The Legacy that Matters (by MeiraB)
Synopsis: Takes place many years after Loss and Legacy. It describes a possible future for the surviving members of the Cartwright family, as their legacy gets passed on to a new generation.
Rating: G
Words: 3,500
Legacy from New Orleans – by SusanG
Summary: There’s more than meets the eye when a man named Charles Dumont and his ward appear at the Ponderosa.
Rating: T 29,550 words
Summary: A frightened young woman’s lie has devastating consequences for Joe when her father refuses to believe his legacy of honor. Rated T WC 35,000
Legacy’s Promise – by southplains
Summary: A What-Happened-Instead for ‘The Legacy’.
Rated: T WC 7000
Legend of Tahoe Tessie (The) – by Jerri B
Summary: In the Scottish Highlands the Loch Ness has Nessie. In America, Lake Champlain has Champ and Lake Tahoe has…Tessie.
Rating: T 8,020 words
Legend of the Grizzly – by GinnyF
Summary: A giant grizzly bear terrorizes the countryside
Rated: MA 7,695 words
Legend of the White Grizzly Bear (The) – by mo1427
Summary: On a visit to Chief Winnemucca’s Paiute Camp, Adam hears a legend that he wonders later if it could be true.
Word Count = 1421 Rating = K
Lengths a Man can be Driven To (The) – by JennyG
Summary: A just for fun story that asks the question, ‘What does it take to drive Adam to desperate measures?’
Rating: K+ 2,680 words
Les Cartwright de Ponderosa avant 1860 – by ViveAdam
Summary: Short stories about the Cartwright family before the start of the series
Rated: K + WC 4900
Summary:
Rated: K WC 2165
Less Than Blood Brothers – by Alley May
Summary: The Cartwright’s take in one of Joe’s school friends.
Rated: K 15,530 words
Summary: When Ben and Adam find themselves at odds, it takes the help of some crawdads, mashed potatoes, and a dragon to bring them back together again.
Rated: Family Friendly / Word count: 5704
Lesson of Family – by Lizabeth
Summary: A lesson of family, learned earlier, comes full circle.
Rating: T for mention of off-screen violence word count= 2835
Summary: When Ben finds himself in a dire situation, he finds he has to draw upon unexpected resources. A Camp Pines 2014 collaboration by Belle and mumu74.
Rating: K+ 1,420 words
Lessons in Freedom – by Hart4Ben
Summary: Young Joe is drawn into a fight at school because of feelings for a girl. A prequel inspired by the song “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson.
Rating: K+ WC: 940
Summary: A post canon letter from Jamie on life, love, and gratitude. References season 14 episode First Love.
Rating = K WC = 1137
Lessons in the Art of Negotiations #1 – by EROS
Summary: It’s time for Adam to introduce Little Joe to the… um… fine art of negotiating. And at least for the night, what better way to forget that Pa is probably going to ‘kill him’ when he finds out the truth.
Rating: R 5,095 words
Lessons in the Art of Negotiations #2 – The Ophelia Theatre Presents… Private Dancer – by EROS
Summary: The Ophelia Theatre Presents the very first ‘Chippendale’ dancers, featuring Adam and Joe Cartwright; who star in their own private dances later that night.
Rating: MA 2,900 words
Summary: After a harmless prank goes awry, Little Joe learns a lesson about responsibility.
Rated: G 13,680 words
Lessons Learned – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: Ben resorts to evesdropping…
Rated: K Word Count: 2275
Let Me Tell You About Phaedra – by ACSPeej
Summary: It’s an adventure on a trip to Senora, Arizona for Ben and Joe.
Rating: T 53,420 words
Summary: A friend of Joe’s gets them both into trouble.
8,060 words Rated: T
Let’s Play Chess – by LillianMontane
Summary: Hoss teaches Joe how to play chess. Written for 3rd quarter chaps and spurs.
Rating: G Word count: 1280
Let’s Stay Together – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A thunderstorm brings two brothers together. Pre-series story.
Rating: K Word count: 897
Let’s Try That Again – by Puchi Ann
Summary: Have you ever had a day that started on the wrong side of deluge of water . . . and went downhill from there? Join Little Joe Cartwright as he struggles to reach the end of one particularly problematic Monday.
Rating: K+ (15,600)
Letter (The) – by Annie K. Cowgirl
Summary: News received will change the course of young Adam’s life forever.
Written for Day 3 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
Rating: G Word Count: 907
Summary: During the Christmas season, six-year-old Little Joe learns the importance of a letter and the impact it can have. He learns too about consequences, and learns both lessons well. Years later, the importance of a letter is still strong.
rating = K word count = 2593
Letter (The) – by BluewindFarm
Summary: Hoss has a very important message to impart. A missing scene from The Stillness Within.
Rating K 775 words
Letter of the Law (The) – by freyakendra
Summary: Joe makes an instinctive, impulsive decision to help a widow and her family, bringing his own family along for the bumpy ride.
Rated: T
Letter of the Law (The) – by SusanG
Summary: Ben and Joe aid an acquaintance in evaluating a mine whose owners care little for their impact on the land.
Word Count: 17,300 Rated: T
Summary: Ever since Adam left the Ponderosa, he and Ben have corresponded. The last communication brought the eldest son home. Could his return truly be the end of an era?
Rating: K 6,060 words
Letters and Lessons – by BettyHT
Summary: In this prequel story, Little Joe is growing up, and one thing Ben strives to teach him is empathy and the importance of family.
Rating: PG Word count: 1.048
Summary: Selected letters from those written by Adam Stoddard Cartwright to Inger Borgstrom Cartwright, deceased
Rating: G 23,775 words
Summary: What Hoss had to say about Adam’s leaving.
Rated: K+ Word count: 1046
Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie – by Dodo
Summary: Home alone and Joe finds himself facing a heart-searching dilemma.
Rated: K Word Count: 7267
Summary: Joe lies on behalf of a friend.
Rated: K+ 6,400 words
Summary: WHN for The Truckee Strip and an extension of a Pinecone. It’s the anniversary of Amy’s death and Joe can’t live with the grief.
Rating K+ Word Count: 1,053
Summary: In Illinois, Ben has more trouble with McWhorter and loses someone dear to him because of it. Story follows a different path but eventually the whole family will be together on the Ponderosa. It may take some time for that to happen however. It’s based on a story idea suggested by a reader. Thank you, Sylvia, for the story idea that got me started.
Rating – PG13 WC = 36301
Life and Sunsets – by MonicaSJ
Summary: An old man gives Adam something more than advice.
Rating: K 1,410 words
Summary: It was just a simple trip… before it all started to go wrong. All Adam and Joe had to do was escort Abigail Jones home to Virginia City. And then disaster struck. Life is never simple, but it can be very sweet.
Rated: K+ 11,345 words
Life Isn’t Always Sunshine and Rainbows – by BluewindFarm
Summary: Whether being stubborn as a mule or butting heads like big horn sheep, they do care about each other; and he’d waited long enough
Rating: T (Words: 1,120)
Life’s Lessons – by BluewindFarm
Summary: A companion story for the episode, Second Sight.
Rating: K+ 9,680 words
Summary: Just how much trouble will they be in, when Pa learns what he did? Sometimes the end doesn’t justify the means.
Rating: K 11,080 words
Life’s Lessons – by Christy Gleason
Summary: Two outlaws invade the Ponderosa while Ben and twelve-year-old Adam are in the midst of a disagreement. Will Adam decide to leave the Ponderosa for a life on the road?
Rating: G
Words: 10,900
Life’s Lessons are not always Learn in School – by storm
Summary: This is my story for the April challenge.
Rated: K+ WC 1600
Life… It’s All About Love – by DebbieB
Summary: WHN story: The Stallion and a bit of Forever tossed in to wet the eyes
Rated: G 2,325 words
Light in the Forest (The) – by BettyHT
Summary: There’s a mysterious spooky light, a mesmerized older brother, a worried Hoss who has heard some stories from Hop Sing that give him reason to worry, and a bad situation that Ben has to handle.
rating: T word count: 2185
Light Inside (The) – by AC1830
Summary: On Christmas Eve Hoss guides a new friend from darkness into light.
Rating – K, Word Count – 1566
Light of His Life (The) – by Gillian
Summary: After ten years in Boston, Adam is forced to return home with his family. He finds giving up his dream very difficult, but something wonderful happens to give him the peace he has always desired. Has all the family in this one.
Rating: G 20,210 words
Light up the Winter Darkness – by GinnyF & Robin
Summary: This is a Bonanza Christmas/Chanukah story. One Christmas morning the Cartwrights go in rescue of a stranded family, who unbeknowst to the Cartwrights are being held hostage by bank robbers.
Rated: PG13 for some harsh language and a fight scene 10,975 words
Light up the Winter Darkness – by Robin & GinnyF
Summary: This is a Bonanza Christmas/Chanukah story. One Christmas morning the Cartwrights go in rescue of a stranded family, who unbeknowst to the Cartwrights are being held hostage by bank robbers.
Rated: PG13 for some harsh language and a fight scene 10,975 words
Summary: Written for the 2016 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar.
Rating: K 2,050 words
Like a Phoenix Rising #1 – by Krystyna
Summary: A young woman’s account of how she found hope and love when her life seemed to have crumbled into ashes …
Rated: K 23,435 words
Like a Phoenix Rising #2 – Abbie’s Story – by Krystyna
Summary: This is the second part of the story about Abbie who first appeared in the story Like a Phoenix Rising which ended with her married to one of the Cartwrights … this part reveals which Cartwright was her husband and what happened to them.
Rating: PG 20,000 words
Like Father Like Son – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Post show story. While on a trip to Abilene, Texas, Joe’s son goes missing.
Words: 693 Rating: K
Like Father Like Son – by the Tahoe Ladies
Summary: Some light-hearted chat between father and son.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 665
Like Father, Like Son – by DebbieB
Summary: A chain of circumstances brings Ben to the brink of realization that he and his youngest son are more alike than he had dared to admit.
Rated: PG contains some violence 12, 437 words
Summary: A look back and understanding how the past influenced the present.
Rating: T 7,266 words
Like Joseph #1 – by Cowgirl Jones
Summary: The Cartwrights band together to help each other through a dark time of twists and turns.
Rating: PG for adult issues and emotionally intense scenes / Words: 58,425
Like Joseph #2 – Whatever My Lot – by Cowgirl Jones
Summary: The Cartwrights learn to play whatever hand life deals them.
Rating: PG for some violence and death of character(s). / Words: 52,100
Summary: Ben’s plan to reconcile Adam and Hoss leads to disaster for the Cartwright family. A WHN for “She Walks in Beauty”.
Rated: K+ 20,795 words
Summary: Young Adam hated Lila Jane for over four years, two months, and seventeen days before an accident changes their relationship.
Rating: T Word count: 41,129 Warning: corporal punishment as part of family discipline
Lilies Series (The) #1 – The Lilies of the Field – by sandspur
Summary: With Ben away, the Cartwright boys face down poachers, a train robbery, a fire that nearly destroys the Ponderosa, a strange new school teacher and a lost dog. But when Ben returns, the biggest problem of all is gossip.
WC 109,300 Rating: T mild language, mature themes, violence
Lilies Series (The) #2 – The Lilies of the Valley – by sandspur
Summary: Adam and Tilly go to Europe for the worst honeymoon ever, landing in the middle of a war to end up missing and presumed dead. Meanwhile, Ben, Adam and Hoss move on with their lives, finding new friends and uncovering strange secrets from the past.
Rating: T. Violence, character death, attempted rape, etc. 109,635 words
Lilies Series (The) #3 – One Scarlet Lily – by sandspur
Summary: Adam and Joe leave the Ponderosa, perhaps for good, in the wake of tragedy and misunderstanding. But the danger only Adam knew about is still with them. Note: the backstory is filled in gradually, through a series of nonsequential flashbacks.
Rating–T. Contains some violence, mild language, a grisly murder scene and a couple of animal death scenes. 105,500 words
Lilies Series (The) #4 – The Strawberry Roan – by sandspur
Summary: a cowboy who returns to the Ponderosa after a long absence discovers a new horse trainer…with an unwelcome training method.
Rating: T mild language . 4316 words.Note: This short story is set in the “Lilies” universe, but it can stand on its own.
Lilly the Kid – by Foreverfree
Summary: Seventeen old Joe Cartwright has planned to prove himself a man to the citizens of Virginia City by entering a fast draw competition on Founder’s day. But everything goes wrong and Joe is left publicly thrashed and disgraced, when he find an unexpected friend in eleven year old Lilly.
Rating: K+ 15,779 words
Lily of the West – by Starbuck
Synopsis: What happens when Adam Cartwright teams up with Scott and Johnny Lancer? A corrupt Sheriff, brothers out for revenge, and a beautiful woman are some of the things – to name a few.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 14,900
Line Shack Trip (The) – by Rona
Summary: Based on a drabble by Lillian, here is my idea of why they were at that line shack.
5960 words Rated: T
Summary: My response entry for the Chaps and Spurs Mega Challenge. The three Cartwright boys lose their horses and have to seek shelter in a shack.
Rated: K 6,265 words
Summary: Joe’s determination to ‘grow up and prove to the world he’s a man’ provides his brothers’ with a full time job on their hands trying to keep him out of trouble!
Rated: K 21,060 words
Little Bit Challenge – by Various members
The Little Bit Challenge encouraged members in the Brand Forums to write a ‘Little Bit’ for every Bonanza episode all 431, if possible . Members could submit as many Bits for as many episodes as they were inspired to write. Multiple members could submit Little Bits for the same episode. Did we mention the writers were limited to either 100 or 200 words, exactly?
Rating: K
Summary: There are definite advantages to being the youngest Cartwright. And who would know that better than Little Joe?
Rating: G Word Count: 657
Summary: Joe is missing when the family are in a San Francisco hotel.
Rated: K 7,465 words
Summary: Joe and Adam are held hostage on the ranch. But something doesn’t add up. Who is behind it, and can they escape before one or other of them is killed?
12,210 words Rated: T
Little Girl in Pink – by Sibylle
Summary: Adam meets a little girl on the road to Virginia city that he better never found.
Rated: T WC 600
Little Joe and the Punch Bowl – by BettyHT
Summary: Joe just doesn’t do well when he visits that punch bowl too often. The first chapter is a story told mostly in Joe’s dialogue and Joe’s thoughts. The second is narration from Joe’s POV.
rating = PG WC = 2394
Little Joe Cartwright, Indian Fighter – by Sierra Girl
Summary: When the Paiute are seen prowling around the Ponderosa ranch house, Little Joe Cartwright is desperate to help defend his home and family. Only, he’s under orders to stay inside and work on his spelling . . . Disobeying his father’s commands will take him to a place he never, in his wildest dreams, thought he would see.
Rating: K+ Word count: 3664
Little Joe Cartwright, So Far – by pjb
Summary: A vintage piece from the days when Joegals ran rampant around the Bonanza community. Definitely MA.
About 6,700 words, or maybe a little more.
Little Joe Cartwright, Thief – by pbeaking
Summary: Little Joe finds himself in trouble when he is caught stealing from the mercantile. There’s no denying that he did do it, but why? Now he must face his father and explain his actions. This was my first story ever. Warning: it does contain corporal punishment.
Rating: T WC 1900
Little Joe’s ‘Grand Swing’ – by Michele B
Summary: After watching The Grand Swing with Jamie, and seeing Hoss and Joe’s names on the tree, I started imagining what escapades would have led to them taking the “swing” with Ben. I’m not sure about Hoss yet, but I had no trouble conjuring up Little Joe’s mess!
Rating: G, Word Count: 23,137
Little Joe’s Island – by LindaBl
Synopsis: Little Joe has another crazy dream. All the Cartwrights and Hop Sing are aboard the Dixie I when it is shipwrecked. [It is a comedy parody which combines Bonanza and Gilligan’s Island]. There’s even a song you can sing along
Rating: G Words: 1730
Summary: When Little Joe finds himself trapped in the bottom of an old forgotten well, with nothing but time on his hands, he recalls a Bible story that his father recently read to him and associates it with his own predicament.
Rated: G 4,975 words
Little Man. Big Man – by DebbieB
Summary: Joe, so wrapped up in self-pity, and fed up with his family’s constant teasing, takes a long ride that ends up leading him straight into disaster and his first real taste of what it’s like to be the big man of the family.
Rated: G 10,325 words
Little Ray of Sunshine – by Stetson1859
Summary: Adam is trying to come to terms with Inger’s death, and finds comfort from an unexpected source.
WC 897 Rated: K+
Living in Darkness #1 – by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: Two years after being blinded in an accident, Little Joe returns home from the blind school. What next? Another note is included in the first chapter.
Rated T 9,800 words
This is not a WHN for The Stillness Within.
Living in Darkness #2 – Into the Light – by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: Sequel to ‘Living in Darkness’.
Rating K+ 4,100 words
Summary: A ‘missing’ scene from ‘The Storm’. WARNING!! Please note this story has graphic sexual content.
Rated – R 7300 words
Summary: One of the Cartwrights is badly injured. He’s trying to get home. Someone comes to his rescue and helps him until his brother can find him. But who took care of him?
Rating = K 1633 words
Summary: Joe has plans to go to the Spring Dance instead of the cattle drive–until Adam goes to town for supplies.
Rated: T 2,635 words
Loft (The) #1 – by Pat D in PA Summary: In this first of three short stories, we are able to see the healing properties that can be present in a simple hayloft. In this first story, a deeply disappointed youngest Cartwright brother learns that even a bossy boots big brother can know just the right things to say… and not to say.
Rating: K/G (1,711 words)
Loft (The) #2 – by Pat D in PA
SUMMARY: In the second of three short stories, an angry father, an ornery, half-grown son, and a small(ish) sentinel guarding his elder brother’s privacy as he licks his wounds all need the Cartwright barn’s hayloft to work its magic.
RATING: T – for mature language (5,771 words)
Loft (The) #3 – by Pat D in PA
Summary: In the final entry of three short stories, can the Cartwright hayloft provide poor Hoss with the comfort and understanding he needs to deal with the humiliation and shame he feels after being teased by unkind classmates?
Rating: K/G (3,401 words)
Lonely Hearts Passing in the Night – by DebbieB
Summary: A love story about a gentle giant.
Rated: G 5, 400 words
Long Ago and Far Away – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben’s memories of the past and dreams of the future all revolve around a simple pearl ring.
Rated: K 679 words
Long and Dusty Road – by BettyHT
Summary: Adam works with Roy against a notorious outlaw gang, but the whole family gets involved in the drama. Water, the lack of it, and a water trough are all part of the story.
Rating: T Word count: 5,994
Long and Winding Road (The) – by chellek
Summary: The boys get kicked of the stage and must find a way to get back home.
Rated: K+ 17,730 words
Long Days of Spring (The)– by AdamJoeLuver
Summary: Adam is left to contend with a youth who is trying to find his way to adulthood…
Rating: PG Words: 5060
Long Johns, Nightwear, and Pantyhose on the Ponderosa — a REALLY Lost Episode – by Robin
Summary: Wondering if lumps of coal are in store this Christmas.
Rating: T 1,915 words
Summary: This is a missing scene for My Brother’s Keeper. What happened from the time Ben arrived home with eyes blazing and gun drawn, to the next morning when he and Adam appear quite calm, despite Adam’s horrific, days-long ordeal of caring for his brother?
Rating: K WC = 1498
Long Picnic (The) – by HazelMom
Summary: They blamed everyone but themselves, and dragged the Cartwrights into their revenge.
Rating: T 22,340
Long Ride to Home (The) – by SusanG
Summary: A simple hunting excursion turns deadly.
Word Count: 10,000 Rated: T
Long Road Back #1 – by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: A what if I got from “The Crucibles”…mostly, what if Ben, Hoss and Little Joe hadn’t found Adam. What if someone else did? And What if Adam didn’t just ‘bounce back’?
Rating K+ 14,570 words
Long Road Back #2 – Acceptance – by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: Sequel to “Long Road Back”.
Rating: K+ 12, 190 words
Long Road Back #3 – Far Side of Jordan – by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: After years of marriage, Tara stands next to Adam’s grave thinking.
Rating: K 750 words
Long Road Home (The) – by CareBear
Summary: Ben sets out on a mission of mercy in the days before Christmas that turns into a fight for his life when he tries to return home
RATING: G WORD COUNT: 8156
Long Road Home (The) #1 – Missing – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben receives a telegram about his eldest son that brings despair to the whole Cartwright family. Written for November’s C & S Challenge.
Rated: K+ 1,600 words
Long Road Home (The) #2 – Father’s Gift – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben’s thoughts as one of his sons lies in an Army hospital.
For June Chaps and Spurs. An SAS Suffering Adam Syndrome Posse story.
Rated: K+ 1,515 words
Long Road Home (The) #3 – A Well Deserved Comeuppance – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: The Jessup Gang get a little more than they bargained for when they pick a fight with a certain stranger. A slight AU story that could tie in with “Missing” and “A Father’s Gift”, but you don’t have to read them first to understand what’s going on. A Chaps and Spurs tale.
1,890 words Rating: K+ for a bit of violence.
Long Road Home (The) #4 – Someday Never Comes – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A few months after the Union defeat at Fredericksburg, a disillusioned Captain Adam Cartwright writes a letter to his family. A prequel to my other Adam in the Civil War stories.
Rated: T for the horrors of war Word count: 1,830
Long Way Home (The) – by Questfan
Summary: My entry for the 2018 Camp in the Pines. At fifteen, Joe thinks he knows what it is to be a man. Unexpected events tip his ideas upside down and he finds the road home is a lot longer than he thought.
Rating: T Word Count: 10856
Summary: Rose McNair gives Dan De Quille an interview after Virginia City’s great fire. A “What Happened Elsewhere” for The Night Virginia City Died,
Rating: K WC 2500
Longest Trip Ever (The) – by Candyfan
Story Summary: A Candy, Joe and Hoss comedy.
Rating G
Words: 5,300
Longest Walk (The) – by pkmoonshine
Summary: Adam faces what may be the most terrifying moment in his life.
Rating K+ WC 800
Summary: Written in Response to the May 2023 – Double Drabble Prompts: “Will he kiss me?” and “Metamorphosis!”
Rating: Teen (Words: 605)
Summary: A Cartwright lesson in responsibility and in being the boss.
Rating: K 1,185
Looking Back Over the Years, He was Always There – by mumu74
Summary: There comes a time when a man looks into the mirror of his own life. What does he find? Memories of hard times, memories of his childhood, little moments full of fun and mischievous. And as a man there are challenges which had to be faced with courage.
Warning: character death
Rating: T+ Word count: 5633
Looking Death in the Face – by Terri
Summary: The thoughts in your head when you are about to die. Little Joe knows his time is up but the suffering starts long before the bullet is fired.
Rated: K+ WC 2800
Looking for Little Joe – by DJK
Summary: Two short stories that begin with Adam and Hoss looking for their missing brother.
Rated: K+ Word count: 2916
Lords a Leaping – by A_Starry_Night
This story was written for the 2017 Advent Calendar – Day 12
Summary: Worry over missing sons takes precedence over traditions.
Rating: G (1,600 words)
Loser Take All – by freyakendra
Summary: Joe’s biggest ever poker win results in Adam and Hoss playing for higher stakes than any of them could ever have imagined. Rated:
T WC 12,600
Summary: Locked away and unable to escape, all Joe can do is wait for his jailer’s return.
Rated: K+ WC 1700
Loss – by Belle
Summary: When everything you care about is taken from you, you have nothing left to lose.
Rating: M (violence) Word count: 3305
Summary: Joe is badly injured and could have a serious disability.
Rated: K 19,950 words
Loss of a Child (The) – by Terri
Summary: Ben is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of his child.
Rating: PG 16,615 words
Summary: After an accident, Joe loses his memory. While the family frantically hunts for him, Joe thinks he has found his home, but all is not as it seems.
9,265 words Rated: MA
Summary: Awakening to find himself badly injured, Joe learns his father is dead.
6,970 words Rated: T
Summary: A story in five voices when the unthinkable happened.
Rated: T Word Count: 33000
Summary: While in San Francisco with his father, ten year old Adam gets lost and is cared for by a special person. Several years later, Adam has the chance to return the favor when he unknowingly saves the man’s life.
Rated K+ WC 1675
Summary: Adam turns irrational after suffering a vicious attack while marking trees for a contract.
Rating K+ 8500 words
Lost and Found #1 – by MonicaSJ
Summary: Adam finds a woman to love who has no reason to leave him. When she’s taken away, he’s left wondering if he’ll ever get her back…and if she’ll want to come back.
Rating: T WC 30,000
Lost and Found #2 – The Long Journey Home: Adam and Beca – by MonicaSJ
Summary: This is a sequel to Lost and Found. Adam looked long and hard to find his wife and bring her home. Now he must fight even harder to save her and his infant son from a fate worse than death.
Rating: T WC 28,000
Lost and Found – by Questfan
Summary: An incident with his granddaughter brings up childhood memories for Joe.
Rating: T Word count: 4228
Summary: The chance of a life-time to visit the city where his mother grew up leads to an experience neither man could imagine. Will the actions of an injured Ben fracture the loving bond between him and his youngest?
33,835 Rating K+
Summary: An accident leaves Joe unable to remember one man.
Rated: K Word Count: 18210
Lost in a Storm Grizzly Tale – by BettyHT
Summary: Returning home from a camping/hunting trip in this prequel, the brothers bond by teaching Little Joe how to manage the truth without making false statements to their father.
Rating: T Word count: 1,339
Summary: Adam has a once in a life time experience of meeting someone who reminds him of his youngest brother, Little Joe, but is that person from his world or another?
Rated: G 9,000 words
Lost Loves – Gone But Not Forgotten – by Terri
Summary: After the death of Alice, Joe reflects on the people he has lost in his life. He needs his big brother’s support, but Adam has not been heard of for three years.
Rated: K+ WC 4400
Summary: It’s never easy being the youngest of the family.
Rating: T 30,750 words
Lost Son #2 – The Guardian – by SusanG
Summary: There’s someone keeping an eye on Joe.
Rating: T 41,740 words
Summary: Joseph Cartwright is a haunted man. He can’t forget the woman he met in Martinville. Little does he know, she remembers him as well and has made a pact with the Devil to make certain he will be hers for eternity. A WHN for the Bonanza episode Twilight Town. The characters of Nicholas, Janette, and Lucien LaCroix were originally created by Barney Cohan and James D. Parrott for the TV series Forever Knight.
Word count: 38,844 Rated: PG-13
Summary: It was the summer Joe turned ten, Adam fell in love, and the Cartwright family’s world wouldn’t be the same again.
Rated: K+ 7,065 words
Synopsis: Hop Sing tells the boys a story after Marie’s death.
Rating: G Words: 3,100
Love at First Sight in Virginia City – by ViveAdam
Summary: Joe falls in love with Christine, a horsewoman in a gipsy company.
Rated: K+ WC 15,000
Love at Last – by PJ
Story Summary: Adam falls in love with a lady who has a special “gift” and also has a penchant for practical jokes.
Rating and Reader Alerts: PG
Words: 20,058
Summary: A young Adam has to come to terms with a second step-mother.
Rating: T+ Warning: contains corporal punishment as part of family discipline. Word count: 45,173
Love Cuts Both Ways – by karilyn
Summary: This is a What Happened Instead for Candy and Lisa Campbell from “The Stalker.”
Rated K 8,890 words
Summary: Love comes unexpectedly to Hoss Cartwright, leaving a bittersweet memory. A poem inspired by “The Newcomers” Season One written by Thomas Thompson.
Rating: G 168 words
Summary: Adam didn’t lie to his father, but Marie wasn’t so sure that her stepson wouldn’t lie to her.
word count: 1407
rating PG for references to mature subjects and corporal punishment
Love Has Many Faces #1 – by Kimberley
Summary: Hoss struggles to do the right thing by his childhood friend
Rating: Teen
Words: 8,300
Love Has Many Faces #2 – The Loyalty of Brothers – by Kimberley
Summary: A case of misplaced loyalty threatens the Cartwrights.
Rating: Teen
Words: 4,865
Summary: Elizabeth Stoddard’s favorite pasttime was hooking rugs and blankets. But when Ben Cartwright proposed she found all her rugs had a love theme.
Rated: K+ 1,485 words
Summary: Hoss rides up to Ima Hogg’s goat farm to deliver a message and barely escapes an unwanted marriage.
Rating: K+/G Word Count: 2,148
Love is Like a Violin – by DebbieB
Summary: Ben sends Adam and Joe off together in hopes that the brothers can mend some fences…but not the wooden kind.
Rated: PG mild violence 12, 730 words
Summary: Every parent–and kid–has that kind of day. Patience is tested, and tears are shed…but at the end of the day, a father’s love endures.
Word Count: 1875 Rated: G
Love Me Not, An Interlude – by HarpistforHim
Summary: Joe’s antics and quick temper get the better of him in this fun little story based on an exchange in “Love Me Not.” Featuring a mischievous Joe, a tired Hoss, and a crafty Adam. A WHIB for Love Me Not.
Rating: G Word Count: 979
Love Me Not, An Interlude – by HarpistforHim
Summary: Joe’s antics and quick temper get the better of him in this fun little story based on an exchange in “Love Me Not.” Featuring a mischievous Joe, a tired Hoss, and a crafty Adam. A WHIB for Love Me Not.
Rating: G Word Count: 979
Summary: When loving seems to hurt too much…is it easier to just Love No More?
Rating: PG Words: 18,900
Love of His Life (The) – by Krystyna
Summary: Memories and the hurt over losing Rebecca Kaufman cause someone else to recount their own loss, in hopes it will help Adam to understand — he is not alone.
Rating: K+ 4,360 words
Love Paddle Boat (The) – A REALLY Lost Episode – by Robin
Summary: Love, exciting and new. Come aboard, we’re expecting you…..
Rating: T 3,785 words
Summary: Identical twin girls arrive in Virginia City. Joe falls in love with one of them, but her past is fast catching up.
9,755 words Rated: T
Love Will Tear Us Apart – by Claire
Summary: After an accident, Adam and Joe have some important lessons to learn.
Rated: K+ 11,370 words
Love Wins Out – by BluewindFarm
Summary: Missing scenes for The Truckee Strip
Rating: K 1,345 words
Love v Indifference Lesson (The) – by BettyHT
Summary: In this prequel, Little Joe is upset and has a lesson to learn that the opposite of love is not hate and that caring can mean criticism and advice as well as help. But don’t expect a magical transformation. He’s still Little Joe.
Rating: PG Word count: 1566
Love, Honour and Obey – by ansinico
Summary: A conflict over a woman, an impending marriage, and a murder threaten to tear the heart out of the family, but whose heart and which Cartwright SJS, JAM, PJM,
The hangman’s noose beckons, Adam treads the road to hell as he tries to piece together the fragments of chaos and salvage what, if anything is left of his family.
Rated: MA
Love, Oh Love, Oh Careless Love – by DebbieB
Summary: It’s just as the song implies, “Gonna cry tonight, and cry no more”.
Rated: G 5,250 words
Summary: It’s spring, and we all know what a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of. But we also know that the path of true love never doth run smooth, so one way or another, all the Cartwright brothers find themselves with “wimmin trouble”.
Rating: K+ 81,935 words
Love’s Last Whisper #1 – by Wrangler
Summary: Twelve years after the loss of Marie Cartwright a man with a grudge against Ben commits the unthinkable; the desecration of Marie’s grave and the theft of her casket. Now as a combined, yet grieving, force Ben and his boys begin their search for what was stolen.
Rated: K+ WC 103,000
Love’s Last Whisper #2 – Checkmate: The Return of Bristol Ford – by Wrangler
Summary: Three years after he had put the Cartwrights through the trauma of stealling Marie Cartwright’s casket, Bristol Ford returns with a more sinister plot than before. What he accomplishes changes the relationship between Ben and Joe.
Rating: T 66,200 words
Love… Always Love – by DebbieB
Summary: Love knows no barriers, that’s what my grandmother once told me. I must have been feeling her presence on the day I wrote this short, short story.
Rated: G Tissue alert 1,450 words
Summary: An romance ends badly.
Rating: T 1,030 words
Lovelee Sisters (The) – by MissJudy
Summary: How can two lovely women showing up in Virginia City, a meeting to award a lucrative timber contract for the Transcontinental Railroad and the Cartwrights fit together? Find out in this mystery.
Rating: K Word Count: 50488
Summary: A devastating tragedy sends Joe on a quest for answers.
Rated: T WC 53,000
Summary: It’s a bad day to run a bank errand for Pa.
Rating: T 12,650 words
Summary: The consequences are far reaching when Joe accidentally shoots a young child.
Rated: T 33,190 words
Luck of the Draw (The) – by Rona
Summary: A careless remark leave Joe’s life hanging on the turn of a card.
Rating: PG 8,305 words
Summary: The mysteries of Marie’s background are deeply threaded through the lives of not only Joe but all the Cartwright men; her past is twined among their destinies. Exploring Marie’s part in Cartwright family history.
Rated: T WC 7000
Summary: The one who steals the heart of Adam Cartwright is a lucky girl indeed. You do not need to have read “The Luckiest”, this story stands by itself.
Rated: K+ WC 1600
Lucky #2 – The Luckiest – by alyssajoy64
Summary: A grieving Adam finds comfort from an unexpected source. A companion to Lucky.
Rated: K+ 2500
Summary: Little Joe puts his lucky number to use, but will it be able to save him from trouble with his pa? warning: references to corporeal punishment.
Rated: T 5,595
Summary: Adam and Joe are caught in a cave in. Adam is not amused.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 3,937
Lumberjack Contest (The) – by Sibylle
Summary: A young Ben takes part in a lumberjack contest, but the consequences aren’t what he expected. Winner of the 2023 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 2893
Lydia Series #1 – How Do I Tell Him – by BettyHT
Summary: Adam suffers the consequences of a man trying to get revenge on Joe, but it’s the secrets that are revealed in the aftermath of that which cause Adam to temporarily leave the Ponderosa to heal emotionally as well as physically. His sojourn leads him to discoveries and opportunities as well as danger that helps him understand what happened.
Rating = T WC = 29,938
Lydia Series #2 – Cliffhanger – by BettyHT
Summary: Follows the How Do I Tell Him story in which Adam married Lydia and brought her back to the Ponderosa. Now there are several things happening that the couple must face, and the question is whether that will make their love stronger or create problems in their relationship. For the family, there is a jealous young man who creates more trouble.
rating = T word count = 18,888