{"id":12377,"date":"2015-12-23T03:46:15","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T08:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12377"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:10:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:10:42","slug":"the-christmas-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12377","title":{"rendered":"The Christmas Gift (by Puchi Ann)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: \u00a0Little Joe’s recent misbehavior has him singing the “I’m Gettin’ Nothing for Christmas” blues.<\/p>\n

Rating: K (1155 words)<\/p>\n

The Christmas Gift<\/strong><\/p>\n

A relentless hand kept shaking his shoulder, while a persistent voice nagged some nonsense about getting up.\u00a0 \u201cGo \u2018way,\u201d Little Joe Cartwright mumbled as he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.<\/p>\n

Unyielding fingers gripped his shoulder all the more tightly and pulled him back over.\u00a0 \u201cTime to get up, little brother,\u201d Hoss insisted.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t tell me you plumb forgot what day it is!\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe cracked a reluctant eyelid at his brother.\u00a0 Of course, he hadn\u2019t forgotten what day it was!\u00a0 Christmas morning, but what did that have to do with him?\u00a0 Christmas was for good little boys, or so he\u2019d always heard, and he\u2019d been anything but good here of late.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t make me throw water at you for your first Santy gift, Shortshanks,\u201d Hoss warned.<\/p>\n

The eyelid lifted enough to fix a glare on the older boy.\u00a0 \u201cAnything but that,\u201d Little Joe grumbled as he threw back the covers.<\/p>\n

Hoss rumpled his brother\u2019s sleep-tousled curls.\u00a0 \u201cSee you downstairs.\u201d\u00a0 He turned as he reached the doorway.\u00a0 \u201cAnd get a wiggle on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet a wiggle on,\u201d Little Joe mimicked sourly as he slowly put his legs over the side of the bed.\u00a0 Far as he was concerned, they could wait all day to open their presents.\u00a0 After all, he\u2019d be lucky if he had anything but a load of coal piled under the tree.\u00a0 Oh, he was old enough to know there wasn\u2019t really a Santa Claus, keeping a list of the naughty and nice, but he was also wise enough to know that Ben Cartwright really did keep such a list in his head and could read him chapter and verse on every misdeed that had surely put him somewhere near its rock bottom.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d tried; he really had, especially the further along December had galloped, but the mischief inside him had galloped faster and caught up with him time and time again.\u00a0 All his chickens had come home to roost the day before, and he had to figure that being sent to bed without supper on Christmas Eve did not bode well for waking up to a merry Christmas morning.<\/p>\n

He dragged down the stairs to find that his older brothers had already divided the gifts into two good-sized piles.\u00a0 Two, not three.\u00a0 Bad as he\u2019d been, he hadn\u2019t really believed that Pa would be mean-spirited enough to put nothing for him beneath the tree.\u00a0 If nothing else, a new set of drawers.\u00a0 He really needed new drawers, Pa having pretty much worn out his others with a few necessary little talks . . . or it might have been those wild slides down the banister, he admitted, trying to keep his new resolution on honesty.\u00a0 Either way, you\u2019d think Pa would, at least, have given him something boringly useful like that.\u00a0 After all, gifts tended to be purchased early, for fear that winter snows would prevent last-minute shopping, so they had to be hidden around the house someplace.\u00a0 \u00a0Maybe even the drawers had been put away for some miraculous day when he might work his way back into Pa\u2019s good graces.\u00a0 Maybe, if he tried really hard, he could manage that by next December.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Joseph,\u201d Ben said, pleasantly enough.\u00a0 He paused a moment and then added, \u201cSince you don\u2019t have much to occupy yourself here, I wonder if you would bring in some firewood.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was worded like a request, but Little Joe knew an order when he heard one.\u00a0 So that was his Christmas gift, huh?\u00a0 Chores.\u00a0 It figured.\u00a0 Well, at least, it wasn\u2019t a load of coal, but come to think of it, it probably meant the same thing.\u00a0 Coal for bad kids back East, but loads of firewood to be brought in out here, since that\u2019s what they used for heat.\u00a0 \u201cSure, Pa,\u201d he said with a resigned sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe managed a flicker of a smile as he pulled on his warm jacket.\u00a0 Extra chores were no more than he deserved, and maybe if he took it with the right attitude, Pa\u2019d at least consider giving him those new drawers.\u00a0 In a way Pa was doing him a favor, he decided as he trudged through the crusty snow to the woodpile, sparing him the sight and sound of his brothers, happily unwrapping package after package of their father\u2019s love and respect.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t earned either one, but at least Pa cared enough to spare him that misery.<\/p>\n

As he picked up the first log of firewood, he heard a whinny off to his left.\u00a0 A horse was out!\u00a0 Someone must have left the barn door open.\u00a0 Little Joe groaned as he lifted a silent prayer to heaven:\u00a0 Oh, God, please don\u2019t let it be me.\u00a0 I got troubles enough already.<\/em>\u00a0 Dropping the wood, he turned and his frosty breath caught in his throat.\u00a0 There, tied to the lowest limb of a towering evergreen, stood the most beautiful horse he\u2019d ever seen.\u00a0 A sleek black-and-white paint, like he\u2019d seen in the Paiute camp on a trip with Pa, but this was no Indian pony.\u00a0 A big, cherry-red bow was tied to its tail, and smaller bright bows dotted the silky mane.\u00a0 It was exactly what he\u2019d wanted most, but that wasn\u2019t possible, was it?\u00a0 Not after all he\u2019d . . .<\/p>\n

\u201cMerry Christmas, Little Joe,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

Little Joe spun around to see his father and both older brothers smiling at him.\u00a0 He\u2019d been so transfixed by the horse that he hadn\u2019t heard any of them come up behind him.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I . . .\u201d he babbled.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s . . . it\u2019s not . . . for me . . . is it?\u201d\u00a0 Hope quavered in his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it is,\u201d Ben said warmly.\u00a0 \u201cDid you really think I\u2019d give you nothing for Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI . . . I was hopin\u2019 for . . . drawers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam burst out in loud guffaws, but Ben just pulled his son gently into his arms.\u00a0 \u201cI think you might find a set or two of those inside, son, if that\u2019s what you really want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe blinked, but a single tear still managed to trickle down his cheek.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t deserve even that,\u201d he said, \u201cmuch less what I wanted most.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, son; I know.\u201d\u00a0 He took the earnest young face in his hands and smiled tenderly.\u00a0 \u201cI think you\u2019ve forgotten the reason we celebrate this day, my boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBaby Jesus,\u201d Little Joe whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d his father said, \u201ca gift for us all . . . but, especially, the undeserving.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to earn love, son; it\u2019s a gift freely given.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled his son back into his loving embrace, and almost immediately two more sets of arms encircled them both, while in the background, the striking pinto bobbed its ribbon-bedecked head in heartfelt approval.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

\u00a9 December, 2015<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0 This story was inspired by the picture on a Christmas card from my dear friend, Peggy Janitz.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Family,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0Little Joe’s recent misbehavior has him singing the “I’m Gettin’ Nothing for Christmas” blues.<\/p>\n

Rating: K (1155 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":12378,"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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-prequels","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-30-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1603,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Cochise-.jpg?fit=2965%2C2345&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35324,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=35324","url_meta":{"origin":12377,"position":0},"title":"Orange You Glad It’s Christmas (by Puchi Ann)","author":"Puchi Ann","date":"December 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 It was a simple request and one that could not be granted due to circumstance beyond their control.\u00a0 Or could it? 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