Summary: \u00a0 \u00a0A Ponderosa fairy tale inspired by a drawing by bahj’s niece.<\/p>\n
Word count: \u00a0 1187 \u00a0\u00a0Rated K<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Disclaimer:<\/strong><\/span> All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.\u00a0 The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.\u00a0 No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0The Black Hat<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once upon a time . . .<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Ben Cartwright was in a dark mood.<\/p>\n What should have been a sweet reunion\u2014his oldest son returning to the bosom of his family having earned not one but two Ivy League degrees with honors\u2014had instead turned as sour as unripened grapefruit.\u00a0 \u00a0Ben anticipated a period of adjustment as his two other sons reconnected with their older brother; he even expected a modicum of blustering as Adam reasserted his authority in matters of ranch work. \u00a0\u00a0What he did not expect was the antagonism between Adam and Hoss that grew larger with each passing day. \u00a0The point had come where subtle discord bordered on the ultimate sin\u2014overt disrespect.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u201d he asked from the doorway of his youngest\u2019s bedroom.\u00a0 When there was no answer, he turned away but stopped short of closing the door after hearing a snuffle.\u00a0 Picking his way over scattered mounds of toys, books, and the assorted paraphernalia common to 10-year-old boys, Ben made his way to the center of the room and waited until he caught a slight movement between the bed and the wall in what he had thought was a pile of discarded clothing.<\/p>\n \u201cFront and center, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n Slowly, an arm emerged pushing away the layers of clothes around it revealing a curly mop of unruly hair, but little else.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n Reluctantly, Little Joe stood up and made his way to his father, head hung low.\u00a0\u00a0 With one finger, Ben raised his son\u2019s chin and observed the red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked face.\u00a0 Removing his handkerchief from this pocket, he wiped away the smudges and then held the linen over Joe\u2019s nose.<\/p>\n \u201cBlow,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0\u00a0 With one hand, he cleared a space to sit on the bed and patted the mattress beside him.\u00a0 \u201cAre you ready to tell me what this is all about?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shrugged his shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cSon, I\u2019ve had enough of the behavior in this household and it needs to stop now.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you agree?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe nodded his head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think we can do about it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI d-dunno, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHas Hoss spoken to you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI t-tried to get Hoss ta t-talk to me, but he w-won\u2019t. \u00a0He won\u2019t even l-look at me.\u00a0\u00a0 And it\u2019s like . . . like . . . .\u201d\u00a0 Just then, a loud hiccup escaped Joe\u2019s mouth and the tears started flowing again.\u00a0 \u201cL-like he don\u2019t wanna be my brother any m-more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Joe,\u201d Ben sighed, putting his arm around his son’s shoulders and drawing him close.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, he wants to be your brother.\u00a0 He is just feeling left out because you and Adam have been spending so much time together.\u00a0 He misses you, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 He misses all the things you used to do together like fishing and playing checkers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe won\u2019t do nothin\u2019 with me an\u2019 Adam.\u00a0 He won\u2019t even come to town with us to help me pick out a new hat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you tried asking him to do something\u2014just the two of you together?\u00a0 Like before?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cN-no.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCuz I wanna spend time with Adam.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t seen him in long time, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHaven\u2019t seen.\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, I know, Joe, but excluding Hoss from your activities makes him feel bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that why he\u2019s been so mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not intentionally being mean and neither is Adam, but they are being disrespectful to each other and you know how I feel about that, don\u2019t you.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe nodded vigorously.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t cotton to disrespect from any boy of yours,\u201d he quoted, lowering his voice and putting his hands on his hips.<\/p>\n Ben laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right, son.\u00a0 Now, what do you think we can do to help Hoss and Adam get over their surliness?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTheir what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, help them be more respectful to everyone around here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u00a0 Well . . . I suppose I could ask Hoss to play checkers tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a start.\u00a0\u00a0 And what else?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe and Adam could ask him to go fishin\u2019 with us?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam and I.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to go, too, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI think the three of you should do this together.\u00a0\u00a0 To, you know, get reacquainted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut we already know each other, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I mean, son, is that you three need to re-establish your relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour position hasn\u2019t changed, Joe.\u00a0 You\u2019re still the youngest.\u00a0 But while Adam was gone he was on his own, not having to be responsible for anyone but himself.\u00a0 And during that time, Hoss was the only \u2018big brother\u2019 around here.\u00a0 Now that Adam has returned, all that has changed; Adam is big brother once again and Hoss is middle brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I can do stuff now that I couldn\u2019t when Adam went away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u00a0 And so can Hoss and so can Adam.\u00a0 So you all need to get used to each other again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI get it, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s like when we put Cotton in the corral with Sophie and Butters and he was really ornery at first but now they get along just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, Joe.\u00a0 So, can you think of something else you can do to help Hoss and Adam get along \u2018just fine\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe knitted his brow together and grew very serious.\u00a0 Then he brightened and jumped off the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know just what to do, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s wonderful son.\u00a0 But I tell you what . . . the first<\/em> thing I want you to do is clean this room.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, Pa, nothing.\u00a0\u00a0 Get busy young man, then you can work on your plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Pa,\u201d Joe said, gathering up his laundry.\u00a0 \u201cDo we have any more of that paint we used on the buggy rims?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook in the store room on the lower shelf . . . after<\/em> you finish your room!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ~~~<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sunday morning when Hop Sing went to gather eggs for breakfast, he found black spots dotting the yard from the barn to the house and into the house . . . his house . . . on his clean floor . . .\u00a0 up his clean stairs to Little Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 A Chinese rant to end all rants filled the air.<\/p>\n Ben, Adam and Hoss came running out of their respective bedrooms and collided at the door to Joe\u2019s room.\u00a0 To their collective amazement, Little Joe was ready for church before<\/em> breakfast, but their astonishment evaporated when they saw the new hat on his head.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u00a0\u00a0 What have you done?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve ruined Hoss\u2019s hat!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s his old one.\u00a0 I found it in the attic and painted it black.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell . . . Adam wears a black hat and he\u2019s my oldest<\/em> older brother.\u00a0 He was gonna help me buy a new hat.\u00a0 And Hoss wears a white hat and he\u2019s my biggest<\/em> older brother.\u00a0 He was gonna help me buy a new hat, too.\u00a0\u00a0 And fightin\u2019 over who was gonna take me to town was makin\u2019 \u2018em both mean\u2014which Pa don\u2019t like\u2014so I thought if I had me a black sugarloaf hat it would show Adam and Hoss that I respected \u2018em both<\/em> as big brothers and I could keep my place as youngest and keep Pa from bein\u2019 surly.\u201d<\/p>\n And after church, they had their picture drawn to commemorate the day.<\/p>\n . . . \u00a0And they lived happily ever after.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n -The End-<\/p>\n September 2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: \u00a0 \u00a0A Ponderosa fairy tale inspired by a drawing by bahj’s niece.<\/p>\n Word count: \u00a0 1187 \u00a0\u00a0Rated K<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":375,"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-11506","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\/04\/coming-soon-5.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11506","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\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}