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<\/p>\nSummary:\u00a0 It\u2019s a whale of a Christmas tale with grandchildren on the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n
Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0\u00a0 3,000 words<\/p>\n
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The inspiration for this story was provided by the quilt pattern “Jacob’s Ladder”<\/p>\n
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STORY TIME<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cGrandpa, are you awake?\u201d asked a voice in a loud whisper.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, you are. You\u2019re just tryin\u2019 to fool us. Open your eyes,\u201d the voice insisted.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, wake up and tell us a story,\u201d said another voice. \u201cWe want a story.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright sighed and opened his eyes, lifting a wiry eyebrow toward the youngsters clamoring next to him.<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t it about time for bed?\u201d<\/p>\n He hoped his voice would carry far enough for their mothers to hear. That was before he remembered their mothers were at the annual Bunco Christmas party over at the Widow Hawkins\u2019s place. And as luck would have it, their fathers were occupied elsewhere. (Not luck, honestly; it was forethought and cunning. Pa didn\u2019t raise three mutton heads.)<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not sleepy! We want a story!\u201d The sentiment reverberated through the crowd at a fever pitch.<\/p>\n Grandchildren. It\u2019s what you always wanted,<\/em> he reminded himself. There certainly were a lot of them, eleven by his latest count, with another on the way. Once his boys decided to get married, they took to it like jackrabbits. Hoss was smitten first; he and his wife Lulu, a plucky girl from Tennessee, held the majority with five sons. Jake was the oldest at nearly twelve; followed by Jeff, ten; Josh, nine; Judd, eight; and Jess, seven. They were all towheads, and sturdy like their parents; in fact, Josh was the spitting image of a young Hoss right down to the gap in his teeth. They were also the loudest of the bunch, and it appeared the noise level would be cranking up with the new addition due in a few months. (Hoss had seemed a little dumbfounded by the news, but Lulu took it in stride with a dimpled grin and the firm conviction that this one would be a girl.)<\/p>\n Adam had surprised them all by bringing home a bride from San Francisco not long after Hoss and Lulu tied the knot. Apparently Adam and Liv had known one another for quite some time before he decided to make an honest woman of her. Ben had learned not to ask too many questions of his eldest son over the years, and all he knew about Liv\u2019s past was that she had been a close friend of Lotta Crabtree and had formerly appeared on the stage. Their daughter Liza was born on the Ponderosa a few months after they arrived. She was almost eleven and a beauty like her mother, with black hair and eyes the color of blue lupines. Unfortunately, Liza was already well aware of her looks and used them to her advantage whenever possible. Adam would have to watch her closely. He and Liv also had two boys, nine year old John Ross, who had lately insisted on being called J.R., and six year old Robert, affectionately known as Bobby. Bobby was a sweet, adorable child, and thoroughly gullible when it came to his older brother. J.R. had a mercenary streak, and his mind was as sharp as a pick axe. He could also lie with a straight face better than anyone Ben ever knew. Yes, Adam was certainly going to have his hands full if not already.<\/p>\n Joe was the last one to marry. After several near misses, he shocked everyone when out of the blue he married Jane. She had long since shed her buckskins and become a real lady, and Joe was finally able to see in her what she\u2019d always seen in him. Though she was no longer calamitous, her brown eyes still possessed that mischievous twinkle, and her laugh could sometimes raise the roof. They were a match made in Ponderosa heaven and had produced the most angelic looking children Ben had ever seen, but he quickly learned not to be deceived by appearances. Alec and Max were seven year old identical twins, the spitting image of Joe Cartwright and more than double the trouble. They were full of grand ideas and prone to leading Hoss\u2019s two youngest boys into all sorts of misadventures, to the chagrin of their parents. Four-year-old Molly Frances was thus far the youngest of the next generation Cartwrights. She was a fastidious, dainty child who resembled Jane more than Joe, but lately Ben had glimpsed a bit of her grandmother Marie in her as well. And though he would never admit it publicly, Molly Frances was his favorite.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Grandpa, tell us a story,\u201d Favorite Grandchild had climbed into his lap, and her long-lashed brown eyes locked onto his.<\/p>\n He melted.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u201d They were all watching, expectant and hopeful; except for J.R. who just looked bored. Ben would have to come up with something more than little green men to keep that boy\u2019s attention. Besides, he had already told that story, and also the one about Old Sheba\u2026and the Gerby Royals\u2026and Cousin Muley\u2019s hound dogs\u2026and that hay burning race horse\u2026.<\/p>\n As Ben was wracking his brain for some new material to satisfy his increasingly restless audience, his gaze happened upon the book on the side table. He placed the newspaper he had been reading on top of it and cleared his throat. \u201cHave I ever told you about the time I went to sea on a whaling vessel?\u201d<\/p>\n A hush fell over the room. J.R. raised an eyebrow in mild interest, or was it skepticism? It was hard to tell sometimes.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t much older than Jake here when I signed on to the Peacock as a cabin boy. Back then, they called me by my middle name\u2014Ishmael; Ish for short. I could climb that Jacob\u2019s ladder faster than any man on the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid it have angels on it, like the one in the bible? Mama told us that story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Jess, it wasn\u2019t that Jacob\u2019s ladder,\u201d said Ben. \u201cThis one was a rope ladder that went all the way up to the crow\u2019s nest, at the top of the main mast. From up there I could see far out into the ocean for any signs of danger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you see any pirates?\u201d Alec wanted to know.<\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly, but the ship\u2019s captain was pretty close to one to my mind. He had a peg leg made out of a whale bone, because a great white whale bit off his real one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid the whale chew up the leg and swallow it, or did he spit it out like Jonah?\u201d asked Judd.<\/p>\n \u201cEwww.\u201d Liza wrinkled her nose in disgust and scooted away from J.R. as he pretended to vomit onto her lap.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I wasn\u2019t there to see it,\u201d Ben admitted, \u201cso I can\u2019t say for sure. But it made Captain Mayhab as mean and bitter a man as you\u2019d never want to meet, especially before he had his coffee. He spent the rest of his days plotting revenge against that monstrous creature. I sat watch many an hour up in the crow\u2019s nest keeping a weather eye out for Moby Nick, for that was his name.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you ever see him, Grandpa?\u201d asked Bobby.<\/p>\n Ben nodded. \u201cIt was on a cold and blustery Christmas morning. I had just started my watch, and I could hear the captain stumping around the deck, already in a foul mood, calling for the first mate. \u2018Starbux, you blaggard, where\u2019s my brew?\u2019 I was wishing I had a mug myself to help keep the chill away, for the wind was mighty raw at the top of the mast. But I quickly forgot about the cold when I spotted a great white hump like a snow hill on the horizon, huffing and puffing like a steam engine. It was Moby Nick, all right. I shouted down below, \u2018Thar she blows, cap\u2019n!\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cCaptain Mayhab ordered the harpooners to give chase after the beast. But Moby Nick would have none of it. He turned straight toward the ship, spouting and bellowing and crushing one of the whale boats with his great jagged teeth. He was 100 feet long if he was a foot!\u201d<\/p>\n Gasps and murmurs rippled through the audience. \u201cWhat happened next, Grandpa?\u201d asked Max.<\/p>\n A voice behind him echoed, \u201cYes, what happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben jerked his head around to find Adam and Joe standing there. \u201cI didn\u2019t know you\u2019d come in. How long have you two been here?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam grinned. \u201cLong enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d Ben tried to change the subject. \u201cWhere\u2019s Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s bringin\u2019 the ladies home,\u201d said Joe. \u201cBut you go ahead and finish the story, Ish. We\u2019ll fill him in when he gets back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure you will,\u201d Ben snorted. And I\u2019ll never hear the end of it.<\/em><\/p>\n The die having been cast, he continued. \u201cWell, I got out of that crow\u2019s nest and down that Jacob\u2019s ladder quicker than you could say \u2018Davy Jones\u2019s locker\u2019, and there was the captain on the bow, with his mortal enemy closing in. \u2018Come and get me, you abomination of Nature!\u2019 he hollered, just about the time Moby Nick crashed us broadside. Captain Mayhab launched his harpoon into the whale\u2019s flesh and hopped on his back like he was a wild bronc. \u2018The ship\u2019s yours, men, what\u2019s left of her!\u2019 he called to us. \u2018I\u2019ll be ridin\u2019 Moby Nick until we both meet the Devil himself!\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe ship was split nearly in two, sinking like a boulder, so I had no choice but to jump. I figured I\u2019d seen my last Christmas and was feeling mighty sorry for myself when I heard a voice calling my name. \u2018Hold on, Ish! We\u2019re comin\u2019 around!\u2019 Someone tossed me a line and I grabbed it. Two pairs of strong hands pulled me out of the water and into the last whale boat. It was Queeg and Teeg, our best harpooners. Starbux was with them, and the four of us were all that was left of the crew. But we weren\u2019t out of the woods yet. We had to get away from the ship or be pulled into the vortex and go down with it. Starbux yelled, \u2018All hands, paddle! Full speed ahead!\u2019 But there were no more oars. I looked around for a plank in the water, or anything else I could use. I grabbed the nearest thing, and what do you think it was?\u201d<\/p>\n He was met with wide-eyed silence from his rapt listeners. He turned to Molly Frances, perched on his knee. \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA kitty cat?\u201d she said in a timid voice.<\/p>\n There were snickers among the crowd. Ben patted her on the back and fixed the rest with a stern eye. \u201cIt was Captain Mayhab\u2019s leg bone. The whale must\u2019ve spouted it out of his blowhole during the attack.\u201d The snickers were replaced with a rumble of enthusiastic approval from the boys. Liza made a face, and Molly Frances pouted a little. \u201cSo I paddled with that leg bone as hard as I could, along with my mates, away from the wreckage. We paddled all day and into the night before we struck a sandbar near a small island, where we lived off berries, roots, and bugs until we were picked up a week later by a ship bound for New England.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we got back to civilization, Queeg and Teeg said they\u2019d had enough of the sea; in fact they wanted to get as far away from it as possible, so they joined an expedition headed west to Colorado. Starbux married his hometown sweetheart, and together they opened a restaurant that served the best clam chowder and coffee in all of Nantucket.\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to Captain Mayhab and Moby Nick?\u201d asked Josh.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one knows for sure, because they were never seen again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you ever go sailing again?\u201d asked Liza.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a matter of fact, I did. A few years later I became first mate to Captain Abel Stoddard out of Boston, and that\u2019s how I met your grandmother.\u201d Ben smiled at Elizabeth\u2019s namesake, and she smiled back.<\/p>\n Hop Sing, with his usual impeccable timing, entered with a tray of cookies, and the group quickly dispersed in favor of refreshments.<\/p>\n Ben stood up and stretched. He could hear Joe tittering behind him before he turned around. \u201cI\u2019ve gotta hand it to you Pa. That was a whale of a tale.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, and I\u2019m sure Mr. Melville won\u2019t mind,\u201d said Adam, picking up the book, \u201cconsidering how few people have actually read it. I think it\u2019s out of print now. Maybe you should hang on to it, though I doubt it\u2019ll ever be worth anything.\u201d He handed it back to Ben and followed Joe to the dining room.<\/p>\n While he was placing the book back on the shelf, he felt Max tugging on his trousers. \u201cGrandpa, J.R. said that wasn\u2019t a true story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, he did, did he?\u201d Ben frowned at J.R., who was standing off to one side looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.<\/p>\n Alec spoke up in a hopeful tone. \u201cBut it is true, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben looked at the three boys, not sure what to say. It was one thing to embellish a tale for entertainment, but he couldn\u2019t lie in answer to a direct question. He pulled on his ear, mulling his answer. \u201cWell\u2026not all of it, I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n J.R. smirked at his younger cousins. \u201cSee, I told you. His middle name\u2019s not Ishmael. It\u2019s Franklin, same as Bobby\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n There was commotion at the door as Hoss and the ladies arrived from town, and everyone\u2019s attention was diverted once more. J.R. lingered for an instant, directing a wry grin at his grandpa. Ben acknowledged him with a chuckle and a shake of his head. I\u2019m on to you, too, young man. You\u2019ll keep me on my toes, won\u2019t you?<\/em><\/p>\n The women were flushed with excitement and chattering away, including Ben\u2019s wife Sarah. When they married five years ago she had embraced his energetic brood as if they were her own. At forty, she wasn\u2019t much older than his daughters-in-law. Seeing them together made him feel a little old.<\/p>\n She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a merry smile. \u201cAnd how was your evening, Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot bad, as it turned out. It looks like you ladies had a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, we did,\u201d Jane assured him. \u201cThe white elephant swap was just too funny.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhite elephant swap?\u201d Ben had no idea what that was.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Clementine calls it,\u201d said Liv. \u201cEveryone brings a small gift in an unmarked package and we put them all under the tree. The first person opens a gift, and the next person can either choose another gift or steal the one already unwrapped, if it\u2019s something they like. And it goes on until all the gifts are opened. A gift can only be stolen twice, and the third person keeps it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds rather complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really not, and it\u2019s actually a lot of fun,\u201d said Lulu. \u201cYou never know what you\u2019ll wind up with. I got a jar of pickled peaches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got an apron, and Liv stole a lace handkerchief from Sarah so she had to take the last gift,\u201d said Jane, grinning.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was it?\u201d asked Ben.<\/p>\n \u201cA pair of baby booties,\u201d laughed Jane.<\/p>\n \u201cBaby booties?\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah sighed. \u201cYes, and we all agreed it was very funny because obviously they were intended for Lulu. Of course I gave them to her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, she did, but she wouldn\u2019t take the peaches, and I feel so bad about that,\u201d said Lulu.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you; that\u2019s my gift to Hoss, because I know he loves them. Besides, the best gift was the evening itself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmen to that,\u201d said Liv.<\/p>\n Lulu yawned and rubbed her back. \u201cHoss, honey, we need to get these boys home so I can get in my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure you don\u2019t want to stay the night?\u201d asked Sarah.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, we\u2019ll all sleep better at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss let out a shrill whistle. \u201cRound up time! Let\u2019s go, boys.\u201d<\/p>\n The five towheads presented themselves without murmur or hesitation, a sight that never ceased to amaze Ben. He wished his own sons had been that compliant when they were young. After a round of hugs and goodbyes, the families trickled out the door one by one, with plans to return on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n Ben sat down in his chair by the fire with his pipe, savoring the peace and quiet at the end of the evening, the night before Christmas Eve. Sarah came from the kitchen with tea and a small plate of cookies that Hop Sing had saved for them. \u201cYou look tired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy ears are tired,\u201d he confessed. \u201cThey are a houseful.\u201d<\/p>\n She set the tray on the side table and smiled down at him. \u201cYes, they are, but could you imagine life without them?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head. \u201cNo, no more than I could imagine life without you.\u201d He pulled her onto his lap and gazed into her impossibly blue eyes, remembering the day she said yes, and feeling suddenly younger. \u201cI love you, Mrs. Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n She put her arms around his neck and nuzzled his ear. \u201cAnd I love you too\u2026Ish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, for heaven\u2019s sake\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n His wife\u2019s laughter broke the mood as well the peaceful quiet. And it erupted spontaneously throughout the night at the most inopportune times, but it was such a warm and welcome sound that Ben never dared to complain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Epilogue<\/strong><\/p>\n Hoss, Lulu and their five boys welcomed Joanna Inger to the family in the early spring. She was a healthy, fair-haired bundle of joy, nicknamed Anna.<\/p>\n Folks figured there must have been something in the water that night over at the Bunco party, because exactly nine months later Lucy Virginia was born to Adam and Liv, just two days before Joe and Jane\u2019s daughter Dulcie Marie. But the talk of the town from the end of September well on to December was the birth of another son for Ben Cartwright by his fourth wife Sarah\u2014James Ishmael Cartwright. Most everyone just called him Jamie. Most of the time, anyway. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> My apologies to Herman Melville and the real Moby Nick, aka Moby Dick. And if\u00a0 you’re wondering how Ben and Sarah got together in the first place, read<\/em>\u00a0The Last Gift of Christmas (by JC)<\/a><\/p>\n Also in this series:\u00a0Double Trouble (by JC)<\/a><\/p>\n For a complete, up to date list of my stories, check out<\/strong>\u00a0JC’s Author Page<\/a><\/p>\n
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