{"id":10359,"date":"2012-09-15T17:23:34","date_gmt":"2012-09-15T21:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10359"},"modified":"2026-07-30T14:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:19:51","slug":"hoss-defined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10359","title":{"rendered":"Hoss Defined (by bahj)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: You’ll find it under “H” in the dictionary :0)<\/p>\n

Rated<\/strong>: Family Friendly \/ Word count<\/strong>: 1140<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss Defined<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right after breakfast . . .<\/p>\n

Ben continued his relentless pacing back and forth near the fireplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh boy, am I in a real pickle,\u201d he thought.<\/p>\n

He continued to mutter angrily under his breath. It was Doc Martin\u2019s birthday and he had been invited months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could I have forgotten to get him a gift?\u201d Ben yelled out loud, slapping his leg in frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s gift, Pa?\u201d twelve-year-old Hoss Cartwright asked, coming down the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Hoss,\u201d Ben said sighing. \u201cI\u2019m sorry for yelling, I didn\u2019t realize you were there. Doc Martin\u2019s birthday party is tonight and what with everything going on around here, I clean forgot to get him a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked thoughtful for a moment and then turned and ran up the stairs.<\/p>\n

Ben looked after him in bewilderment. A few moments later Hoss came barreling down the stairs; a well-worn package in his hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, Pa,\u201d he said breathlessly. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you give him this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben opened the package slowly, knowing full well what was inside. He carefully lifted the beautiful silk handkerchief, and smiled softly at his son\u2019s generous offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, I can\u2019t take this,\u201d Ben said gently, handing the gift back to his son. \u201cYou worked so hard to earn this, you should keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben thought back several months ago to when Hoss had worked and struggled for weeks, to learn enough Bible verses to win the prize. The day of the Sunday school contest had finally come, and Hoss had stood tall and bashful while his competitors fell away one by one. After an hour and a half of nerve wracking competition, Hoss had finally won, and no one was prouder of him than his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d Hoss interrupted his musings. \u201cI\u2019m never gonna use somethin\u2019 so fancy. It\u2019s just been sittin\u2019 up in my drawer. I figure the doctor would like to have it. Please take it, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled as he looked into his middle son\u2019s pleading eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, son,\u201d he answered. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to put your name on the card.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, why don\u2019t you just write \u2018from the Cartwrights\u2019 on it?\u201d Hoss suggested happily.<\/p>\n

Ben laughed and ruffled his son\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat am I gonna do with, you?\u201d he said pulling the overgrown boy into a hug.<\/p>\n

Just before lunch . . .<\/p>\n

Adam stormed into the house and threw his hat roughly onto the credenza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d asked Hoss, approaching his older brother cautiously.<\/p>\n

Adam took a moment to calm himself before responding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter is, I\u2019ve got to move a dozen wild horse into the new corral, repair the fence in the south pasture, check on the men over at the logging camp, and go over the books, so the men can all be paid tomorrow. I\u2019ve got a terrible headache and all I want to do is go to bed!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked sympathetically at his brother for a moment and then suddenly brightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I can help you bring them horses in,\u201d Hoss said excitedly. \u201c Then I\u2019ll go fix the fence while you check the logging crew. I can\u2019t help you any with the book work, but I\u2019ll ask Hop Sing to make you some of his special tea for your headache. Then I\u2019ll do your yard chores for you, so you can lay down a spell before supper. Does that sound all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stared wide-eyed at his \u201cbig\u201d little brother for a moment and then allowed himself a small smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss I think that sounds just great, and I\u2019ll make it up to you, I promise.\u201d Adam replied, clapping Hoss on the back.<\/p>\n

Hoss grinned and headed out the door while Adam stood back for a moment watching him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, you sure are something,\u201d he thought.<\/p>\n

A couple of hours before supper . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss,\u201d Little Joe\u2019s tearful voice reached the tender hearted boy\u2019s ears.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, little brother?\u201d he asked with concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost my new ball,\u201d Joe answered with a sob. \u201cI accidently threw it way up in a tree and Pa\u2019s gonna be real mad at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Joe,\u201d Hoss soothed. \u201cPa\u2019s not gonna be mad at you if it was an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, huh,\u201d Little Joe insisted with a sniff.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow why would Pa be mad?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Cause the tree it got stuck in is over by the new logging camp. I wanted to watch the trees getting chopped down, so I snuck over there. I brought my ball and now it\u2019s stuck. It\u2019s so high up, I\u2019m afraid to go get it, and when Pa finds out I\u2019m gonna be in trouble . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

With that Little Joe stuffed his tiny fists into his eyes and cried pitifully.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, don\u2019t you cry,\u201d Hoss said, patting his shoulder gently. He knew it was getting close to supper time, but that didn’t matter. \u201cYou come with me and show me where it\u2019s at and I\u2019ll get it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2026you\u2026will?\u201d Little Joe hiccupped.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, that\u2019s what brothers are for,\u201d answered Hoss.<\/p>\n

When the two arrived at the scene, Little Joe stood on the ground and watched in amazement as his older brother climbed high into the tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow!\u201d he thought to himself.<\/p>\n

The next evening . . .<\/p>\n

The next evening Hoss sat alone at the dining room table, a blank piece of paper before him. He let out a heavy sigh, which gained him the attention of his father and two brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething wrong, Hoss?\u201d Ben questioned.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Pa,\u201d Hoss said in frustration. \u201cIt\u2019s this assignment for school. We\u2019re supposed to write our name and then a definition next to it describin\u2019 ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s the problem?\u201d asked Adam, approaching the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 special about me, Adam,\u201d Hoss answered, tossing his pencil in frustration.<\/p>\n

Ben and Adam exchanged a quiet look and then smiled tenderly at the distraught boy.<\/p>\n

Hoss was surprised when Adam reached out and took the piece of paper. He, Ben, and Little Joe all formed a small huddle, whispering quietly to each other, and Hoss watched curiously as Adam wrote something down. Little Joe, with a triumphant smile, then presented the paper back to him. Hoss took the paper and, after reading it, rewarded his family with a beaming smile.<\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright \u2013 Generous, Kind, Brave\u2026HUMBLE!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: You’ll find it under “H” in the dictionary :0)<\/p>\n

Rated: Family Friendly \/ Word count: 1140<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":5941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1008,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-prequels","wpcat-1008-id","wpcat-30-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Hoss.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}