{"id":12931,"date":"2016-01-14T19:34:17","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T00:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12931"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:10:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:10:40","slug":"bed-time-1-bed-time-1848-by-robin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12931","title":{"rendered":"Bed Time #3 – Bed Time 1848 (by Robin)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 <\/strong>It’s bed time in 1848.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (4,420 words)<\/p>\n

Bed Time Series<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Before Bed Time<\/a>
\nBefore Bed Time Too<\/a>
\nBed Time 1848<\/a><\/p>\n

Bed Time \u00a01848<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was late spring and it was getting dark a bit later each evening. Little Joe had been sent to his bed when there was still a bit of daylight despite his pleading with his oldest brother, Adam. The small boy had hardly fallen asleep when the sounds of horses and loud voices awakened him. Little Joe Cartwright jumped out from under the barely rumpled covers and peered out of his bedroom window. In the shadowy yard below, he saw his older brothers greeting their father as he climbed wearily off his horse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to be home!\u201d Ben Cartwright announced. \u201cI\u2019m starving!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s good to have you home. I\u2019ll tend to your horse, Pa!\u201d twelve-year-old Hoss offered. He led his father\u2019s mount into the barn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCome inside Pa! There is still some stew on the stove and it will be piping hot by the time you wash up. Corn bread is still on the table. Did you have a good day? We got lots done around here.\u201d Adam said taking his father\u2019s gear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His father had finally arrived home after being gone all day. Joe hadn\u2018t seen him for a few days because he had been coming home after the boy was sent to bed and had ridden out to the range before dawn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome home, Pa!” Joe heard his brothers exclaim in the yard below him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa!” Joe lifted the window and screamed out. The small boy slammed down the sash, barely missing his fingers and dashed down the stairs as fast as his bare feet could carry him. The child ran out of the house, his night shirt billowing around his slender legs. Dashing out the front door and across the porch in one fell swoop, he leaped into his father\u2019s arms and hugged him tightly around his neck.\u00a0 Ben kissed him and carried the six-year-old back into the house. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s much too cold for you to be out here in your nightshirt, son. Go back upstairs to sleep; I\u2019ll see you in the morning. I will be working closer to the house for the next few days and will be here when you wake up.\u201d Ben suddenly noticed his youngest son had lost the soft rounded look of a sweet baby and was quickly growing into an impish school boy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo Pa!\u201d Joe clung to his father.\u00a0 \u201cPlease, Pa! Let me sit with you while you eat your dinner!\u201d
\nBen nodded. \u201cJust while I eat dinner. You go back to bed as soon as I finish, son. No dawdling and go right to your own bed, not mine or one of your brothers.\u201d Joe was amazed that Pa knew exactly what he was thinking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The boy stood balanced on a hard, cold wooden kitchen chair and watched his father as he washed up. \u201cYes, Pa. I\u2019ll go right up as soon as you finish your dinner.\u201d Little Joe hoped that his father didn\u2019t see he had his fingers crossed behind his back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201dWere you a good boy today, Little Joe?\u201d Ben rinsed the soap off his neck and face. He flicked some water at the boy who giggled.
\n\u201cYes sir. I helped Adam with the corral fence. I handed him the nails and held the boards while he hammered. Just like he told me, Pa.\u201d
\nBen nodded.\u201d And the fire wood?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Hoss did that. But he wouldn\u2019t let me use the axe, Pa. Tell him to let me use the axe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head. The boy was always struggling to keep up with his older and much larger brothers. \u201cSoon, Little Joe. You need to be a bit bigger. That axe is almost as big as you are.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not a sissy, Pa. I can do it.”
\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t a matter of courage, Joe. Just size. I want you to keep all your fingers and toes, son. You need to be about this much taller.” Ben raised his hand about six inches above the boys head. Joe wriggled a bit futilely trying to make his head touch his father\u2019s palm. He jumped off the chair with a thud.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I collected the eggs too,\u201d Joe reported passing his father the towel. \u201dI only broke one egg, Pa.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s better than last time. No juggling?\u201d
\n\u201cNo sir, no juggling,\u201d Joe slid his little hand into his father\u2019s large one and walked with him to the dining room table. \u201cYou must be hungry. I saved you some of the boiled carrots. I said \u2018Don\u2019t give me no carrots. Give all my carrots to my Pa\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cVery generous and noble of you, Little Joe. Did you save me your dessert too?\u201d Ben smiled.\u201d I am mighty hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEr\u2026no sir. Next time.\u201d Little Joe pulled his chair close to Pa\u2019s. He sat with his bare feet pressed against his father\u2019s knee. He was getting cold but would never say anything as someone would tell him to get back into his bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I would be back so late, boys, but there was a problem at the branding. We had some of the Circle D cattle mixed in with ours and Mr. Duprey made us count the beeves over four times.\u201d explained Ben Cartwright. \u201cThat man is despicable!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe nodded in agreement even though he had no idea what the word meant. If Pa said it, it must be so. Pa was the bravest and smartest man in the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDespicable Mr. Duprey gave you a bad time?\u201d Adam said as he slid a plate of steaming stew in front of his father and poured him some cider.
\nBen nodded. \u201cThe man had to count and recount and then count the cattle again. Duprey finally agreed to what I said in the first place. I\u2019m surprised you didn\u2018t hear him yelling all the way up here at the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDuprey has a real big, nasty mouth, Pa. He coulda stampeded the herd with his shouting,\u201d Adam remarked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe hates us Cartwrights no matter what,\u201d Little Joe added remembering how often Mr. Duprey argued with Pa or complained about the behavior of the boys every time he saw them. He especially yelled at Little Joe every time he wiggled or turned around in church.\u00a0 When Little Joe politely wanted to play with the pretty little Duprey girls after services, Mr. Duprey chased him away and called him bad, rude names. All Little Joe wanted to do was be friendly with the pretty blond Duprey sisters and ask if the new baby was a girl baby or a boy baby.
\n\u201cYou shoulda punched him in the nose, Pa.\u201d Hoss said as he came in the front door. \u201cPunch Mr. Duprey good.\u201d He swung his hand as if he was punching Mr. Duprey. He smacked his fist into the palm of his left hand with a smack.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe just hates anything and everything about us Cartwrights and the Ponderosa. Carl J. Duprey just has that idea firmly planted in his fool head and there is no changing him, boys,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe man is just prejudiced.\u201d Adam observed. He had read that word just last week in an editorial in the Enterprise about the mistreatment of the Paiutes and the Bannocks and had hoped to work it into a conversation.
\n\u201cPrejudiced? Mr. Duprey says he got his convictions.\u201d Hoss said. \u201cAin\u2019t that the same thing?\u201d
\n\u201cNo, its quite different. It\u2019s not at all the same thing is it Pa?\u201d Adam couldn\u2019t come up with the words to explain what he meant. \u201cHaving convictions is a good thing. Prejudice is bad, really bad and evil.\u201d Adam pulled his chair closer to Ben\u2019s and leaned on the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs that so, Pa?\u201d Little Joe asked trying to draw his father out. The more Pa kept eating and talking, the longer he got to stay at the table with him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought having convictions was good, Pa,\u201d Hoss scratched his head.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben said looking up from his plate. He wiped his chin with the red checkered napkin. \u201dDo you boys know the difference between a conviction and prejudice?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe shrugged. \u201dIs it like being a sissy?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can talk about your convictions with out getting mad and loosing your temper and yelling so loud that you almost stir up a cattle stampede and then find out that you can\u2019t count your own calves proper. And a prejudiced man don\u2018t even apologize for his own churn headed stupidity,\u201d Ben stated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam smiled at his father\u2019s biting comment. His father had a fine way with words. He would try to remember exactly how Pa had said that so he could write it down in his journal when he went up to his room later.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo Mr. Duprey is prejudiced against all of us Cartwrights?\u201d Hoss said. He glanced at the plate of corn bread and then back at his father. \u201cJust because we are Cartwrights?\u201d
\n\u201cYeah, Pa. Carl J. Duprey won\u2019t stop until you whup him,\u201d Adam added as he sat opposite his father. He leaned forward and pushed the plate of corn bread closer to his father. He wanted Ben to finish it before Hoss gobbled up the remainder. His younger brother was as big as he was and still growing. \u201cYou should teach him a lesson. Punch him in the nose, Pa.\u201d
\nBen shook his head and chewed a piece of potato. \u201cNo son, beating someone won\u2019t solve any problem. Always take the high road. Be civilized and let the law handle it. Duprey knew he was wrong but he will never admit it. Never. But it takes two sides to make a feud. And it takes both sides to keep it going.\u201d
\n\u201cSort of like a tug of war? If one side lays down their end of the rope, the others can\u2019t keep on pulling,\u201d Hoss observed. \u201cThey\u2019ll fall on their durn fool prejudiced rear ends if they keep tugging.\u201d
\nLittle Joe giggled imagining his Pa dropping a rope and Mr. Duprey falling into a big pile of steaming manure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo sense starting a range war over a few head of stock. Always take the high road, boys, and you won\u2018t regret it.\u201d Ben urged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it go to Carson City?\u201d Little Joe asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDoes what go to Carson City?\u201d Hoss asked pulling his own chair close to their father. Ben looked up for an instant and noticed all three boys had inched closer and closer to him like chicks around the mother hen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe high road. Does the high road take you to Carson City? Or just the low road?\u201d Little Joe asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Everyone laughed and Adam tried to explain the difference of literal and figurative to his brothers. Neither boy listened to his long-winded explanation but that didn\u2018t stop Adam. Hoss was too worried about his school work. He could see his books still ominously waiting for him on the hall console.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe was just glad he was sitting next to his Pa and tried to memorize every movement his father made. The boy picked up a fork and imitated the way his father held it in his right hand. It just didn\u2019t feel right no matter how he gripped it. He tried again and it slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe! Don\u2019t throw the cutlery on the floor!\u201d his father corrected him. \u201cTime you should be back in bed anyway, son. Your own bed, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut Pa!\u201d Joe pleaded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph! It is well past your bed time.\u201d Ben pointed toward the stairs.
\nHoss leaned to his left and whispered to his older brother. \u201cNow Little Joe is gonna say \u2018How come Hoss and Adam are still up?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, he\u2019ll say \u2018but Pa I hardly got to see you.\u2019. Then he will say \u2018But how come Hoss and Adam are still up?\u2019.\u201d Adam whispered back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut Pa, I hardly got to see you for a real long time.\u201d Joe said walking slowly toward the stairs. If he moved his bare feet any slower, he would have been standing still. \u201cPa?\u201d
\n\u201cJoseph, you were already in bed when I came home. I let you sit with me while I had my dinner now you must go back to bed, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSee, I was right,\u201d Adam winked. Hoss chuckled and grabbed the last piece of corn bread from the platter. Adam loved to show he was always right. Hoss loved corn bread.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow come Hoss and Adam\u2026\u201d Joe started.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGet to stay up!\u201d his brothers finished for him in unison.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe grabbed the newel post with both hands. He lifted his feet off the floor and attempted to stretch himself. Maybe he could grow taller soon. Then he could stay up later like his big brothers and get to use the axe like Pa promised. He hung like a monkey in a tree.
\n\u201cJoseph! Go to bed right now!\u201d Ben said firmly. Adam put another portion of stew on his father\u2019s plate and carried the empty bowl into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, Pa. Just a bit more. I am not at all tired now. Not one little bit at all at all,\u201d Joe pleaded. He sat down on the bottom step and gazed at his bare toes. If he didn\u2019t look up and watch his father, maybe his father wouldn\u2019t notice him sitting there. He wiggled the toes on his left foot and then the toes on his right foot. Then he did it again. Maybe he would be totally invisible if he didn\u2019t say anything. \u201cToe-tall- ly invisible.\u201d Joe whispered a secret magic wish. Tall and invisible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss went back to his dreaded homework. Adam scooped up his baby brother and slung him over his broad shoulder like a sack of feed. He carried the little boy back upstairs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201dBut Adam! I\u2019m not tired. Not one wee bit at all,\u201d Joe protested as he did every night. Little Joe was sure he was missing out on something important and wonderful downstairs every night when he was banished to his bed. He made his body limp and dangled his arms and legs. \u201cNot one bit!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa is tired. Go to bed.\u201d Adam resisted tickling the boy under his arms. It would only stir Little Joe up more and Adam would never get him settled for the night.
\n\u201cThat don\u2019t make any sense. No sense, Adam.\u201d Joe appealed to his brother\u2019s logical side. \u201cWhy should I go to bed if I\u2019m not tired? If Pa is tired, he should go to bed. I am not one bit tired. Not one bit Adam!\u201d
\nAdam tucked the boy in his bed and went back down stairs.
\nFive minutes\u00a0later, as Ben swallowed the last of his coffee, they all heard Joe\u2019s voice again. “Pa….”Little Joe called again from upstairs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“What?\u201d Ben called back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI’m thirsty. Can you bring a drink of water? Please, Papa, dear.\u201d
\n\u201cGood night Joseph.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2018m dying of thirst up here. All alone, lying here dying, dying, dying.”\u00a0They all heard a dramatic groan. \u201cDying. It ain\u2019t nice to let a sweet little boy die all alone up here. Dying from thirst. Reverend Felcher said so.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam rolled his eyes. \u201cNever heard that sermon. Guess I had must have dozed off that Sunday.\u201d
\nHoss laughed loudly and tossed an apple at his older brother. Adam casually caught it with one hand. He flipped it up in the air, caught it behind his back and tossed it back to the other hand. Then he took a loud bite out of it. \u201cYou got to be fast boy, smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, go see to him.\u201d Ben was too tired to move and he still had all the ledgers to deal with. He had to transfer all the tallies from the little note book he had in his shirt pocket.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut Pa, I got all this arithmetic and I can\u2019t make heads or tails from none of it.\u201d Hoss had a miserable, defeated look on his face. He had been struggling since dinner time over the same page of sums and was almost in tears. \u201cAdam, you do it for me and I\u2019ll hand it in.\u201d
\n\u201cCan\u2019t do that, Hoss. Didn\u2019t you hear what Pa said about Cartwrights always taking the high ground. That goes for school work too, brother,\u201d Adam walked over to Ben\u2019s desk and stood looking over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPaaaa!\u201d A plaintive little voice moaned from upstairs. \u201cI\u2019m dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go.\u201d Adam offered knowing his father was worn out.
\n\u201cNo, Adam, you go help Hoss. Joe doesn\u2019t need any water. And next thing he will need the outhouse,\u201d
\n\u201cOr worse,\u201d Hoss muttered knowing that when Joe wet his bed he would wind up crawling in with Hoss for the rest of the night. \u201cHe\u2019s gonna piss his bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right, Pa. He\u2019s afraid to go out side in the dark on his own and won\u2019t use the chamber pot if he figures you will take a walk with him out to the privy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPaaa!\u201d Joe bleated like a maverick calf. \u201cPaaaaaaaaa!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No. You had your chance..” Ben said firmly as he tried to enter the count from the round up in his ledger. His weary eyes had trouble seeing the narrow lined pages in the dim flickering lamp light. It looked like they had done very well this time, but he was not sure he was seeing the rows of numbers correctly. He double checked the figures and added them for a second time. The total seemed too good to be true.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Five minutes later, as Hoss finally finished the homework with Adam\u2019s help, they heard another plaintive call. “Paaa….”\u00a0Joe called again. Hoss stacked up his book and paper and put them on the console near the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“What?” Ben tried to add the next column of expenses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’m still thirsty. Can\u2019t I have a drink of water?” They could see Little Joe lying on his belly, peeping down from the top of the stairs. Then the boy coughed a dry, forced choke. It sounded like the dramatic death rattle of a consumption victim.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I told you \u2018NO!\u2019 Joseph, if\u00a0you\u00a0ask again, I’ll have to tan your hide!!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They heard little feet running down the hall and a door slam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Five minutes\u00a0later, Ben sat back in his desk chair. \u201cAdam, do me a favor — check my addition here, on this page and the next. I don\u2018t want to count our chickens before they hatch but it looks like we did very well on the cattle. Very well.\u201d
\nAdam smiled widely. If that was true, that might mean Pa had enough reserve to let him go east to college at the end of the summer. He rushed over to his father\u2019s desk and leaned over his father\u2019s shoulder. He held his breath as he added the long columns.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Paaaaa-aaaa…..”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“WHAT! I told you if you call me again I will spank you, Little Joe.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“When you come up to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?”\u00a0Joe pleaded from the top of the stairs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa, he really wants you,\u201d Hoss said looking up from carving some more little horses for his brother. He chewed on his lip. He hated to think Joe was distressed. \u201cHe don\u2019t usually carry on so for so long.\u201d
\n\u201cYeah Pa, Joe isn\u2019t interested in either of us. He missed you while you were gone. He\u2019s going to keep this up all night.\u201d Adam couldn\u2019t stand it any more. Joe\u2019s whining was like a finger nail on the school room slate. He desperately needed to add those columns and verify Pa\u2019s numbers. Then he could write a letter to his grandfather with the good news before he went to sleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben sighed and stood up from his desk. He went into the kitchen and filled a tin cup with water and brought it upstairs to his baby son\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As he walked down the hall, Ben saw a flash of white nightshirt as the boy galloped down the hall into his room, leaped into his bed with a crash and awkwardly tried to pull the quilt up to his chin. Ben handed him the water and stood watching him drain it. \u201cAnd don\u2019t forget to use the chamber pot if you need. Use it even if you don\u2018t need.\u201d
\nJoe nodded. \u201cYes sir. I know. I ain\u2019t a baby, Pa.\u201d
\n\u201cYes Joseph. You aren\u2018t a baby any more.\u201d Ben corrected his grammar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I just said. I ain\u2019t a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben sighed and shook his head. He didn\u2019t remember either of his other boys being so talkative so late at night.
\n\u201cI ain\u2019t a sissy neither, Pa.\u201d Joe bragged trying to make his brave father proud.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben sighed wearily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSit down a few minutes. I need to talk to you a bit,\u201d Little Joe urged. He patted the side of his bed.
\nBen knew he was caught. \u201cWhat about, son?\u201d The tall man perched on the edge of his small son\u2019s bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe hadn\u2018t really planned this far. The boy hadn\u2019t expected Pa really to sit down with him.\u00a0 He quickly fished up something that had happened recently. \u201cPa, I\u00a0found a rabbit the other day. Hoss and me was riding from school and I saw it on the ground. It was kind of chewed on and real still. You can sit back here if you want.\u201d Joe patted the mattress next to him and fluffed up the pillow. Ben slid over, leaned against the headboard, his boots hanging off the side of the bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben asked him\u00a0if the rabbit was dead or alive. Before the child answered, Little Joe threw the covers back and rushed over to his father\u2019s side of the bed. He tugged off his father\u2019s boots. \u201cIf you take off your boots, you can put your feet up her and get much more comfortable, Pa.\u201d
\nBen nodded and swung his long legs up on the bed. His tiny son pulled the quilt over him. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of cold. You will be much warmer under the blankets, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d Little Joe was right. It was more comfortable under the covers. \u201cWas that rabbit you saw still alive, son?\u201d Ben rested his head on the pillow as Little Joe scrambled over him and got back in bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Dead. The rabbit was dead,” Ben was informed. \u201cVery, extremely dead, Pa. Want to know how I knew?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think I really want to know, son?\u201c Ben asked rolling to his side to face Joe. The boy snuggled next to his father. He rested his curly head on Ben\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa. You really want to know. It was real dead, Pa. Real dead.\u201d Little Joe played with the button on his father\u2019s cuff. \u201cYou know how I knowed that rabbit was dead, Pa?\u201d
\nBen yawned. His eyes were very heavy. He would rest a few minutes with Little Joe and when the boy fell asleep he would go back down stairs and finish his up work. \u201cHow did you know, son?\u201d He yawned again and wrapped his arms around the boy. Joe snuggled into him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Because I pissed in its ear and the rabbit didn’t move,” answered\u00a0the\u00a0child innocently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You did what?” Ben exclaimed in surprise. He cringed at the thought of his son behaving in such a disgusting fashion. He would have to talk to Hoss about how he was supervising the child. His beloved Marie would have been scandalized at her son growing up as an ill mannered ruffian. It was bad enough that the older boys taught him to sing rowdy songs and he would sneak into the bunk house and try to learn how to play poker and chew tobacco. The last time Ben asked Little Joe to count, the boy said \u2018Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king, ace.\u2019 Then he spit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do to that rabbit, Joseph?\u201d Ben cringed to think of the answer. \u201cTell me again, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe rolled over so he was facing his father. \u00a0“You\u00a0know,” explained the boy climbing up his father\u2018s chest until his face was level with the man\u2018s cheek, “I pissed. I leaned over and went ‘Pssst!’ and it didn’t\u00a0move. That chewed rabbit just lay there in the dust. Din\u2018t hop off or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGuess you were right son. It was dead.\u201d Ben tried not to laugh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa, Hoss said a cougar or a wolf must have caught it and been chewing on it for dinner and runned off when we rode through. Maybe a fox.\u201d
\n\u201cUh huh,\u201d Ben agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe kissed his father\u2019s whiskery cheeks. \u201cCan I watch you shave tomorrow?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not shaving tomorrow; on Saturday, you can watch.\u201c He stroked Little Joe\u2019s curly hair. \u201cYou need a hair cut, son, I\u2019ll trim it on Saturday night when you boys get baths.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI missed you an awful lot, Pa,\u201d Little Joe said sincerely. He would figure out how to avoid that hair cut by Saturday. Pa always said he wiggled so much he would get his ears snipped off. Joe wanted both of his ears. He didn\u2019t mind taking a bath but he sure could do without a haircut. Besides, Little Joe liked when all the ladies in town kissed him and patted his head told him how pretty his curls were whenever he was in Virginia City.
\n\u201cI missed you too, Little Joe,\u201d Ben said yawning again. He pulled his son closer.\u00a0 In an instant, Ben fell sound asleep holding his son cozily in his arms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An hour later when Adam and Hoss headed up to bed, they found Little Joe in bed next to Pa who was snoring loudly. Joe was happily playing with his little carved horses. Pa made a good mountain under the covers and he had all the horses lined up balanced up on his father\u2019s stomach. Each time Ben inhaled and his chest expanded, a horse slid down his shirt into the valley created by the bumps in the coverlet. Joe pretended the horse was galloping and made soft whinnying sounds.\u00a0 Pa was sound asleep and totally oblivious to his belly forming the slope of a horse race.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cShhh, Pa is real tired and I made him go to sleep.\u201d Little Joe grinned. \u201dWanna play with my horses? Or maybe cards? I know how to play cards real good.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*****End*****<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright<\/p>\n

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

Summary:\u00a0 It’s bed time in 1848.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (4,420 words)<\/p>\n

Bed Time Series, links to stories within the series are included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":14634,"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":[23,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-prequels","wpcat-23-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\/2016\/01\/Bed1.jpeg?fit=290%2C174&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12931","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\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}