{"id":25336,"date":"2019-12-05T12:05:12","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T17:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=25336"},"modified":"2026-07-29T12:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:29:30","slug":"the-christmas-poem-by-psw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=25336","title":{"rendered":"The Christmas Poem (by PSW)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bonanza<\/span><\/strong>
\n~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~<\/span><\/strong>
\n* Day 5 *<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Summary:\u00a0 Ben, Adam, and Hoss find out there’s a lot more behind getting just the right Christmas present for Pa.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 G
\nWord Count:\u00a0 810<\/p>\n

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

Ben finished throwing down hay for the line of horses and moved to the back of the loft to settle the pitchfork into a far corner where it wouldn\u2019t get stepped on or kicked over the edge or \u2026 He shook his head, chuckling softly. Well, he would never have known half the things that could go wrong with a pitchfork if Joe had never come along. He turned toward the ladder, but before he could move forward the door below him banged open, and Hoss\u2019s excited voice drifted up.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 learned all about \u2018em in school. Miz Jones was awful excited about \u2018em, and I thought mebbe I\u2019d do one fer Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben felt only minor trepidation at this announcement. If Abigail Jones approved, surely whatever Hoss had planned couldn\u2019t be that bad …<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re writing Pa a poem for Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam managed to hide his surprise (and doubt) well, but Ben knew his eldest. In fact, he shared the sentiment. Hoss was not known for his enthusiasm toward anything literary, and he wondered what had brought this on. Might be a lack of funding was curtailing other avenues, but his middle boy had never been shy about presenting a carving or some prize from nature. Then again, maybe he was selling the boy short. Maybe Hoss actually had found a new interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cDone wrote it already! Mostly, anyway. I wondered iffen I could read it and you\u2019d tell me what ya think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben chewed anxiously on his lip. If Hoss intended this poem for Christmas he really shouldn\u2019t be hearing it now. He was about to rustle his feet\u2014warn the boys he was up above\u2014when Hoss launched in without even waiting for Adam\u2019s agreement.<\/p>\n

Ta Pa, on accounta Christmas:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Christmas on the Ponderosa
\nThe tree is perty, \u2018cause we chose a
\nGood one, and Adam knows a
\nLotta songs we\u2019re singin\u2019 on the sofa.<\/p>\n

Oh. Ohhhhh \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWhaddya think so far, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt \u2026 rhymes.\u201d His eldest son\u2019s voice was tight. Ben wondered if mirth or sheer dumbfoundedness would show on Adam\u2019s face, could he see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and that ain\u2019t easy! Specially with somethin\u2019 like Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know, all poems don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s presents and there\u2019s cookies,
\nSo good that I\u2019d play hooky
\nEvery day. And Little Joe\u2019s all sticky,
\nAnd we sure are lucky
\nCause Hop Sing made candy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, all poems don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben could have told Adam that he was wasting his time. Hoss was in fine form and not planning to stop for a literary lesson, no matter how badly his brother wanted to give it. In any case, it was his middle boy\u2019s gift, and his middle boy should do the writing of it.<\/p>\n

Even if it did involve \u2026 a lot of rhyming. Sort of.<\/p>\n

And Pa\u2019s here too, o\u2019 course he is,
\nCause Ponderosa\u2019s really his.
\nAnd around here he\u2019s the boss,
\nAin\u2019t no one who\u2019ll double cross him.<\/p>\n

Well that was \u2026 not quite true. Not if Adam\u2019s placement of the cattle in the upper field last week was any indication, anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe made me put that last bit in. I tried ta tell him the rhymin\u2019 don\u2019t work like that, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

It was all the encouragement Adam needed. \u201cHoss, I\u2019ve been trying to tell you. Poems don\u2019t necessarily have to rhyme. There\u2019re a lot of poems that don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss shuffled, and Ben pictured his middle boy scratching his head. He hoped this wasn\u2019t going to take too much longer, because his right leg was starting to cramp.<\/p>\n

\u201cYa sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. Here let me show you.\u201d Adam thought for a moment, and then,<\/p>\n

He has the power to render us happy or unhappy;
\nTo make our service light or burdensome;
\na pleasure or a toil.<\/p>\n

Hmm. Ben scowled. Adam was apparently still upset about that whole fence thing from yesterday. He\u2019d told the boy they\u2019d talk about it again in the spring, but once Adam got his mind set on something he could be quite the bulldog. In any case, the words seemed a little too pointed to be accidental\u2014Ben wondered how his son had realized he was listening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s \u2026 toil?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind. How much more have you got?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paper shuffled. \u201cBout \u2026 three more pages. I been workin\u2019 on this since last Tuesday!\u201d<\/p>\n

Three pages! His need for the outhouse was starting to outstrip the pain in his leg, which had mostly by this point gone numb.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast Tuesday, hmm?\u201d Ben could almost hear the wheels turning, and something like horror began to grow. Adam\u2019s voice was suddenly silky. \u201cYou know what, Hoss? Why don\u2019t you sit down here and start over? Let me hear the whole thing, top to bottom, and then we can go over whatever lines you want together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally Adam? Gosh, thanks!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben growled beneath his breath, and braced his hands on his knees for support, and plotted revenge.<\/p>\n

A toil, indeed. He would show that boy some toil \u2026<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas<\/span>! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Link to 2019 Advent Calendar – December 6:<\/p>\n

The Christmas Hostage by Belle<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Ben, Adam, and Hoss find out there’s a lot more behind getting just the right Christmas present for Pa.<\/p>\n

Rating: G
\nWord Count: 810<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10468,"featured_media":25241,"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":[23,1008,8,40],"tags":[1062],"class_list":["post-25336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-family","category-short-stories","category-challenges","tag-advent-calendar","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1008-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-40-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\/2019\/12\/advent.jpg?fit=480%2C413&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25336","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\/10468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}