{"id":1588,"date":"2009-04-10T15:04:12","date_gmt":"2009-04-10T19:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1588"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:45:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:45:50","slug":"thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1588","title":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving (by the Giggly Sisters)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>The lack of a turkey puts the Cartwright’s Thanksgiving celebrations in jeopardy, but the Giggly Sisters help them to reflect on the true meaning of the day.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span> T \u00a0WC 1700<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Hop Sing!” Ben Cartwright bellowed melodiously and flinching only slightly as the glass case of the grandfather clock imploded into a thousand pieces. He tapped the banjo barometer meditatively, but as usual it registered “fair”. The weather on the Ponderosa was always pleasant, he thought, and flashed a grateful smile to the boys in Production. Save for the odd winter episode like The Last Hunt<\/em>, the sun always shone, it was usually warm enough for at least one member of the family to waltz around in shirt sleeves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hop Sing shuffled through. Yet again, Wardrobe had supplied him with slippers that were two sizes too big for him. He clutched a pile of cloths, which he was halfway through hemming neatly. In a busy and accident-prone household, there was always a great demand for Hop Sing’s handy cloths, which were utilized to staunch wounds, mop down feverish invalids or even act as a sling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“It’ll be Thanksgiving soon,” Ben announced. “Is the turkey fattening up nicely?”<\/p>\n

Hop Sing looked blank. Once again he had mysteriously disappeared for several episodes and he was still wondering how the Cartwrights had managed to fend for themselves in his absence. Not only did they have an enormous cattle ranch to tend, there was the small matter of their horse breaking operations, mining interests, and timber felling and preparation. Yet somehow, miraculously, the Cartwrights managed to find the time to keep the house clean and tidy and produce nutritious meals at the same time. Not to mention forming posses, acting as deputy sheriffs and generally being the mainstays of law and order.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“What turkey?” Hop Sing asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The turkey we are going to have for Thanksgiving!” Ben explained patiently. And to think they wondered why he had grey hair! An awful thought struck him. “We do have a turkey, don’t we?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No.” Short, succinct and to the point. Hop Sing knew he was never going to rise to the heady ranks of star or even guest star, so he had dispensed with any unnecessary frills or furbelows.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now that Ben thought about it, delicious haunches of meat just appeared on the dinner table as if by magic. While he had seen the occasional chicken around the place, there was no sign of the magical pigs that obligingly supplied the household with a never-ending series of pork chops. And neither Hoss nor Joe had been especially keen on eating the rabbits reared in Ponderosa Explosion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No turkey?” Ben’s voice dropped to a mere whisper, thus alerting viewers to the fact that this was indeed a calamity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss had overheard the conversation and barreled forward “But we have to have turkey! It’s in the Constitution, isn’t it: the right to bear arms and eat vast amounts of turkey and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and\u2026”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about your constitution here,\u201d Adam told him. \u201cAnd anyway, its tradition that insists we ought to have turkey on Thanksgiving.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you know the reason why, don\u2019t you?\u201d Joe asked, in a long-suffering tone. The Giggly Sisters waited with baited breath to see if Adam really did know why they ate turkey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course,\u201d Adam snorted. He buried his head back in his book.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care why we eats turkey,\u201d Hoss cried, thus saving Adam from a grilling by the sisters, who knew everything. \u201cI jist want to know why we ain\u2019t got a turkey this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNobody told me we were doing a Thanksgiving episode this year,\u201d Hop Sing defended himself. \u201cHow was I supposed to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBy looking at the calendar?\u201d suggested the blonde. Her calendar had Thanksgiving marked on it, even though it was a UK one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are we going to do?\u201d Hoss lamented. \u201cIt ain\u2019t Thanksgiving without a turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This was indeed a calamity. Hop Sing gave them all a dark look and retreated back into the safety of the kitchen. Although seen quite clearly in exterior shots, for some reason the viewers were only allowed a rare glimpse into this room. Signor Biancci had done an admirable job of whipping up delicacies during Little Man Ten Feet Tall<\/em>, Hoss had filched some doughnuts during Feet of Clay<\/em> and of course, Joe had suffered quite wonderfully during A Matter of Circumstance<\/em>, but these were clearly standout episodes. Normally, the interior of the kitchen existed in a parallel universe, accompanied by the bunkhouse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Muttering to himself, Hop Sing stirred the ever-present pot of broth that bubbled away on the stove. That was one of the unshakeable rules of the Ponderosa: there must always be broth on the boil, just in case of an unfortunate accident befalling one of the Cartwrights. As they regularly did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do they think all the meat comes from?\u201d Hop Sing pondered. The vision of life on a busy ranch that Mr. Dortort (or The Creator, as the sisters referred to him, in reverential terms and a slight but unmistakable genuflection) presented to viewers did tend to skimp rather on the unpleasant practicalities of bringing wholesome and hearty meals to the table. Neutering horses, slaughtering cows, making sausages from scratch \u2013 none of these traditional, but slightly messy activities ever seemed to make it onto the screen, strangely enough. Hop Sing was sure the viewers would have been fascinated, but Mr. Dortort explained that he had to consider those of a nervous disposition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hop Sing sighed loudly and swung his cleaver high into the air, preparatory to dissecting an entire pig. For all that the Ponderosa tended to specialize in cows, roast beef and steak pie never seemed to feature very heavily on the menu. Unlike pig in all its many forms: bacon, ham, sausages, pork chops\u2026 the list was endless. \u201cAnd exactly where does this pig live?\u201d he snorted. \u201cBehind the bunkhouse?\u201d He seemed to remember there being a few pigs in Dark Star<\/em>, but nobody referred to that episode very often, preferring to think of it as just a bad dream.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo what are we going to do about a turkey for Thanksgiving?\u201d Joe asked, looking at Ben.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Ben admitted, wishing that someone else could think up ideas. He looked at Adam. \u201cYou\u2019re the one with a college education. What should we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow am I supposed to know?\u201d Adam demanded. \u201cI didn\u2019t study turkey raising at college!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you study at college?\u201d asked the redhead, innocently. \u201cArchitecture and engineering? Very useful on a ranch, I must admit.\u201d Adam sent her a ferocious look, which she blithely ignored. After 10 months, she was quite used to his enmity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou could try and catch one,\u201d suggested the blonde, although she wasn\u2019t completely sure that wild turkeys roamed the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOr you could buy one,\u201d the redhead mentioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom where?\u201d asked Adam sarcastically.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of those neighbors who pops up on a regular basis,\u201d she countered, coolly. \u201cSurely one of them might have a turkey for sale?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we could try, I suppose,\u201d Ben agreed slowly. \u201cOr perhaps one of Hop Sing\u2019s cousins would know where we could get one from. They seem to have all sorts of useful contacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOr perhaps you could just have a nice joint?\u201d suggested the blonde.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd where are we going to get that from?\u201d Adam demanded, totally ignoring the fact that several hundred tons of prime beef wandered around Ponderosa every day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat bear looks like it\u2019d be right tasty!\u201d Hoss said cheerfully. \u201cMoist and succulent, I bet!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe gathered poor, petrified Paw into his arms. \u201cThis bear is like a son to me!\u201d he declared. Ben sighed deeply: he\u2019d always had a secret hankering for a grandchild but could not quite reconcile one that was covered in fur and had a short stumpy tail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hastily changing the subject, the blonde inadvertently stirred up a new hornet\u2019s nest. \u201cWhat exactly are you thankful for?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe grinned broadly. \u201cI\u2019m thankful that there aren\u2019t too many wolves around, so I don\u2019t have to duck every time old Adam picks up a rifle.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt-was-an-accident!\u201d Adam protested. \u201cWill I never hear the end of it?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe shook his head. \u201cNope!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s somewhat of a running joke or even a leit-motif to the Giggly Sisters\u2019 stories,\u201d the blonde explained sunnily.\u00a0 The look Adam gave her was anything but sunny!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thankful for the first settlers surviving the winters here,\u201d Ben told the sisters, understating it somewhat. \u201cWe give thanks that we have enough food gathered to see us through the coming winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hop Sing shuffled back out of the kitchen. He was thankful that he had learned long ago what was needed to survive on the Ponderosa. \u201cProblem solved,\u201d he announced and turned to go back to the kitchen. After all, those cloths weren\u2019t quite finished, and who knew when they would next be needed?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute!\u201d Ben protested. \u201cYou can\u2019t just say that and leave! Tell us how you solved the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Flashing a toothy grin, Hop Sing said, \u201cNumber Four cousin came to visit when number three cousin came for laundry.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d prompted Hoss.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shrugging modestly, Hop Sing replied, \u201cI always get my turkey from him for Thanksgiving.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leaving the family sitting there open-mouthed, he went back to the kitchen. Honestly! Did the Cartwrights think he left everything up to chance? They might keep Virginia City and its environs running, but who did they think kept the Ponderosa in order?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Back in the living room, each person pondered the things that made them thankful: Paw was grateful to escape from the fate of being pot-roasted; Hoss was appreciative that wardrobe had given him dispensation from tucking his trousers into his boots; Adam gave thanks for his musical abilities and the girls were truly delighted with Joe. And Ben?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben sat back and regarded his family with pride. He had a lot to be thankful for. His life would be truly perfect if only these girls would finally go!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe gave the sisters a sun-lit smile. \u201cThank you!\u201d he said, with a roguish twinkle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

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

Summary: \u00a0The lack of a turkey puts the Cartwright’s Thanksgiving celebrations in jeopardy, but the Giggly Sisters help them to reflect on the true meaning of the day.<\/p>\n

Rated: T \u00a0WC 1700<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1242,"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":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humor","wpcat-4-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\/bonanza31.jpg?fit=573%2C389&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}