Summary: Mysterious things are happening on the Ponderosa and Little Joe is on a mission to figure them out by any means possible. Written for the 2022 Camp In The Pines.<\/p>\n
Rating: K \/ Word Count: 4897<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A\/N: I\u2019ve marked this story as a cross-over, but it isn\u2019t exactly a true cross-over. It\u2019s more of a blending of both universes (western and wizarding world), if that makes sense. As such\u2026this is a very alternate universe story and no hard feelings if that\u2019s not something you want to read. I hope you\u2019ll give the story a try anyway. <\/em><\/p>\n Enigma on the Ponderosa<\/strong><\/p>\n Chapter 1- Laws of Nature<\/p>\n You would think living out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by these magnificent Ponderosa pines, that life would always be peaceful and uneventful. That couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. There always seemed to be some sort of dilemma or situation we were dealing with out here. Sure, my older brothers dubbed me \u2018Little Joe, a living tornado\u2019 as I constantly found myself in some predicament or another. But this time it wasn\u2019t about me, at least not entirely.<\/p>\n Being restricted to the ranch due to my last scrape gave me plenty of time to observe the comings and goings around the house. Odd things were happening around here. No, not the normal \u2018odd\u2019 things that seem to happen every other day. These were things I couldn\u2019t explain or wrap my head around. I wasn\u2019t the brightest in school, but I knew logically how things were supposed to happen and these things weren\u2019t logically correct. You would think I would have learned my lesson about butting my way into issues that weren\u2019t my concern a long time ago, but this is just the type of adventure I enjoyed most: a real mystery. And I was bound to solve it.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n One Friday, I was left at home while the rest of my family headed out to get the cattle ready to move to a different pasture. I was left with strict instructions that Hop Sing was in charge and I was to mind him. I gave Pa one of my sincerest replies, promising to obey.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had twelve years to develop the perfect expression to get my Pa to believe me. Despite this, he still felt it necessary to give me one last look that carried more meaning than words alone and then left to join my brothers. Hop Sing mumbled that he was going to be working in the kitchen most of the day and not to bother him. That left me to continue an essay that was a helpful contribution from Adam as part of my last escapade. I only had a couple of paragraphs done so far and I figured if I could get a good chunk of it done today, maybe, just maybe, I might be let off restriction early.<\/p>\n All was going smoothly and for once I was actually focused on writing this dumb essay. However, my concentration was interrupted by a panicked shout from the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe! Bring water!\u201d<\/p>\n Naturally, instead of just following the order, I had to first see what was going on that would cause Hop Sing to make this sort of request. As I rounded the wall that separated the dining room from the kitchen, I witnessed a small\u2026no scratch that\u2026a large fire inside the oven with flames shooting out in all directions.<\/p>\n Hop Sing was moving around the cramped kitchen desperately trying to put out the fire but to no avail. He\u2019s not normally one to catch our food on fire when cooking so I stood planted in place trying to figure out what had happened for what I thought was only a few seconds. In all reality, Hop Sing\u2019s anxious shout at me to get moving again indicated it was probably closer to a few minutes.<\/p>\n After one more glance at the raging fire, I hurriedly grabbed an empty bucket near the back door and then went to gather the needed water. Upon returning, I was nearly blindsided by Hop Sing as he carried a towel fully engulfed in flames causing me to almost drop the now full bucket of water on the floor.<\/p>\n It was then that I noticed that not only was the towel on fire, but also most of Hop Sing\u2019s right arm. Usually, it\u2019s Hop Sing taking care of us when we\u2019re hurt, not the other way around. Even so, I was fully ready to grab the salve and ride for the doctor as soon as he returned.<\/p>\n However, when he returned to the kitchen, there wasn\u2019t any evidence of a burn, not even a red spot. I might only be twelve years old, but I\u2019ve been in my fair share of encounters with campfires or even a tiny match. I positively knew if you touched that flame, it hurt. And if you touched it long enough, it made your skin look like a tomato with blisters. How then was Hop Sing able to escape this incident without being injured?<\/p>\n Oh, I know\u2026 maybe it was his clothing. It probably protected his harm from burning. No, that couldn\u2019t be it. If he was exposed to the fire as long as he was to go from the oven across the kitchen and out the back door, the fire would have burned through the cloth sleeve. Plus, now that I think about it, Hop Sing had his sleeves rolled up as if he was trying to keep them from catching on fire in the first place. Everything about this situation was strange and was calling for me to do my own experimenting.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n After supper that evening, we all were lounging in the Great Room. Pa was busy reading the latest edition of the Territorial Enterprise while Adam and Hoss set up the chessboard in preparation for an intense battle of the brains. That left me to get lost in my previous predicament.<\/p>\n Despite being early summer, we continued to light a small fire in the fireplace, especially at night when it could still get chilly. I stared over to the fireplace getting lost in the thoughts and questions that continued to swim around inside my head. How was Hop Sing not burned from touching the fire? Isn\u2019t all fire hot? Maybe, though, there might be some fire that you can touch, cooler fire perhaps. Is that even naturally possible? I figured there was only one way I was going to find out.<\/p>\n I glanced over to Pa and then over to my brothers. After I was confident they were all busy, I slid from my seat and casually made my way over to the hearth. Sitting down, I let out a relieved breath that I made it this far without anyone noticing.<\/p>\n I took one more quick glance at my family and then turned towards the fire gradually reaching my hand out.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u201d I nearly jumped a mile in the air. Pa should know better than to startle a person so close to the fire. \u201cYou know you\u2019re not supposed to touch the fire. What do you think you\u2019re doing, young man?\u201d<\/p>\n I quickly pulled my hand back and stumbled to think up an acceptable reply. I must have taken too long as Pa firmly ordered me up to my room to wait for him to have a necessary talk with me.<\/p>\n Fantastic. Just how I wanted to end my day.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Ten minutes later, I was sitting on my bed waiting for my impending doom when I heard a knock at my door. As it swung open, I expected to see my Pa, but instead, my brother Adam strode through the open doorway.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI noticed you haven\u2019t been acting yourself recently and told him I\u2019d try to figure out what\u2019s going on with you first.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh. Honestly, that\u2019s the only response I could come up with at the time. Sure, older brother means well, but he\u2019s liable to give me an earful then still send Pa up for another lecture and my well-deserved comeuppance that only he knows how to dish out.<\/p>\n \u201cCare to tell me what\u2019s going on? You have more common sense than to try to touch fire.\u201d<\/p>\n My brain did a mental tug-of-war on whether I should stick to the basic facts or tell him how strange things were happening and I was on a mission to figure them out. The safe option was the basic facts. I wouldn\u2019t be lying and yet I could continue my investigation without the meddling of my brother.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you know about the fire this afternoon in the kitchen?\u201d I waited for a nod from Adam before continuing. \u201cI was curious about how Hop Sing didn\u2019t get burned in the fire. I didn\u2019t know if some fire was safe to touch while others weren\u2019t. I mean, I remember you and Hoss and Pa all told me that fire is harmful, but I just had to find out for myself after what happened. Does that even make sense?\u201d<\/p>\n Silence reigned in the room for what seemed like an hour to me. Finally, Adam answered. \u201cI think it does. I know when I have a problem, I like to test out the hypothesis and see for myself if something is true or not. Just like me, you had a theory and wanted to see if it was true. So yes, I can comprehend and relate to what you were trying to do downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n I smile formed across my face, but one look at Adam showed that while he understood, he didn\u2019t actually approve of the way I went about my idea downstairs. I quickly wiped the smile off my face and became solemn to make sure he knew how sorry I was.<\/p>\n \u201cI really am sorry. I know I didn\u2019t go about it the right way, but I\u2019m glad you understand. So, is there?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam scrunched his eyebrows together, seemingly discombobulated by my rapid change in the conversation. \u201cIs there what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fire. Is there a fire that people can touch, like a cold type of fire?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. Not really. Fire can be cooler or hotter depending on how much fuel you provide it, but there isn\u2019t fire that\u2019s cool enough to touch. All fire is unpredictable and dangerous, as I\u2019m sure you already understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. So how come Hop Sing didn\u2019t get burned?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam scratched his head. \u201cI\u2019m not quite sure. The laws of nature say he should have. Maybe he wet his arms before he grabbed the burning towel.\u201d<\/p>\n Darn. I thought I would make my investigation easier by Adam just telling me what happened, but my logical older brother doesn\u2019t even think it\u2019s possible, making the entire event even odder. Right away I knew his suggestion wasn\u2019t true as Hop Sing was calling for water. If he had enough water to wet his arms, he should have been able to put out the fire. I guess I\u2019m going to have to increase my detective skills.<\/p>\n Adam stood and began to leave, but a dreaded thought returned to my mind when I remembered why I was in my room in the first place.<\/p>\n \u201cWait.\u201d Adam paused as he reached my bedroom door, turning around to face me. \u201cAre you sending Pa up for my necessary talk now?\u201d<\/p>\n A smirk grew across Adam\u2019s face. \u201cI\u2019ll let you off easy this time only because I can relate to what you were trying to do. I\u2019ll smooth things over with him and tell him I took care of it this time.\u201d His smirk morphed into a generous smile.<\/p>\n Well, geez. Sometimes Adam was a pure pain in my side, but at other times, like right now, I sure was glad to have him as my brother.<\/p>\n I returned his smile with one of my own as he turned to leave me to my thoughts about my mission and detective work once again. Time to implement stage two.<\/p>\n Chapter 2- More Questions Than Answers<\/p>\n Over the next few weeks, I took a more careful, retrospective approach to my detective work. I know what you\u2019re thinking; this isn\u2019t normally how I operate such plans. But considering phase one didn\u2019t go how I wanted it to, I figured I should shake things up a bit. Plus, I\u2019ve seen Adam often approach his problems this way. By sitting, thinking, and observing, he always seemed to get his issues solved. What works for him, should work for me as well.<\/p>\n The only problem I had now was that all those really odd things seemed to come to an abrupt halt. I was getting frustrated and was just about to give up when I got my next lead.<\/p>\n Once again the rest of my family was away from the house leaving me alone with Hop Sing. Funny, or should I say lucky, how my brothers and Pa always seem to disappear at times like this, yet they\u2019re the first to scold me when I get buried up to my head in some scheme. Maybe if they\u2019d stick around the ranch a bit more, I wouldn\u2019t get myself into so much trouble. That\u2019s my thinking anyway\u2026and the reason why I don\u2019t blame myself one bit for all the trouble I find myself in.<\/p>\n Anyways, I was sitting on the settee braiding a new lead rope for Cochise when I heard Hop Sing mumbling in the kitchen. No, this wasn\u2019t the shouting like before with the fire, it was basically incomprehensible words. Normally this wouldn\u2019t be such an odd occurrence. Hop Sing is Chinese and while he knows enough English to get his point across, he sometimes reverts back to his native tongue. To be honest, I don\u2019t even know if he knows he does it as it often happens when he\u2019s upset or stressed. Over the years, though, I\u2019ve picked up a few Cantonese phrases and words.<\/p>\n However this time, I couldn\u2019t recognize any of the words coming from the kitchen. They didn\u2019t sound like Chinese at all. I also knew a little French from when my Mama was still alive. Still, these didn\u2019t sound like that language either.<\/p>\n I put my half-finished project to the side and walked into the dining room so I could listen easier. A few more unintelligible words came out of Hop Sing\u2019s mouth before I heard the side door rattle open and then close with a soft click. I peered around the corner to the kitchen and out the small window. Hop Sing had made his way to the garden and was preparing to do some weeding and more than likely pick some vegetables for our dinner.<\/p>\n I tiptoed into the tiny kitchen to snoop around for any evidence of what had happened only moments before. I probably didn\u2019t have to be so stealthy; no one was around to catch me. It just seemed like the proper action for a detective in training.<\/p>\n I made it over to where Hop Sing had left a mixing bowl on the counter with several jars pulled out. Most of them appeared to be normal. You know sage, pepper, salt, cinnamon. The normal spices and herbs. But something caught my eye.<\/p>\n There was one cupboard that Hop Sing normally kept locked and we were told never to open that particular cupboard, but today it was open. I always assumed it was some dangerous spice that he had to make sure none of us overly wild boys would stumble upon. But spices are supposed to go in food, right? If it was dangerous, we probably wouldn\u2019t be able to eat it. Thinking back to my original thoughts about what lay behind that cupboard door now seemed implausible. Hey! Look at me acing this investigation!<\/p>\n As with all good detectives, curiosity got the better of me and I peeked inside the open door. Technically, I wasn\u2019t breaking any rules. The cupboard was already open. What I found was not what I expected at all. The first jar I saw was frog legs. It was unusual but I\u2019ve read about rich people eating such a delicacy before, so it didn\u2019t set off any alarm bells inside my head.<\/p>\n As I scanned to the right, there were jars of bat spleens, crushed bugs, eel and pufferfish eyes, and vials of various feathers from birds I\u2019ve never heard of before. As I began to examine the second row of mysterious ingredients I nearly knocked over a bottle of ground unicorn horn. I was one hundred percent positive unicorns weren\u2019t real so those alarm bells were definitely going off now. Why in the world would Hop Sing have ingredients such as these? Surely, he wouldn\u2019t put crushed beetles in our food and I\u2019d never heard of anyone, even those fancy Europeans, eating eel.<\/p>\n Bingo! There on the counter was one of Hop Sing\u2019s cookbooks. I pulled it closer, hoping it would answer all my questions. I was just about to flip through the pages when I heard some shuffling of gravel outside. I glanced behind me out the window again to only realize Hop Sing wasn\u2019t in the garden anymore. I closed the book quickly, shoving it under my shirt, and started to make my escape out of the small room.<\/p>\n It\u2019s amazing how small a place can be, yet it seems to take forever to get out of the room. Sure enough, that was exactly how it felt to me as I didn\u2019t get out of the room in time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat little boy doing in kitchen?\u201d<\/p>\n I stopped short at Hop Sing\u2019s question and slowly turned around, praying he wouldn\u2019t notice the cookbook under my shirt.<\/p>\n Adam had once told me he could tell when I\u2019m lying because I wouldn\u2019t make eye contact with him, so I made a deliberate point to look the little Chinese man in the eyes before responding.<\/p>\n \u201cJust checking to see what\u2019s for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n I saw him eye the open cupboard and I held my breath. He must not have seen anything out of place or noticed the missing cookbook as he only nodded before closing the short distance between the two of us.<\/p>\n \u201cYou best stay out of Hop Sing\u2019s kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n I quickly nodded my head and turned to leave, relieved he didn\u2019t notice the missing book. One swat from Hop Sing\u2019s wooden spoon propelled me out of the room as I eagerly headed for the stairs and the safety of my room to get a better look at that cookbook. As of right now, I had more questions than answers and hopefully that book contained the key to my investigation.<\/p>\n Chapter 3- Completing The Puzzle<\/p>\n I closed my bedroom door gently behind me eager to start looking through the cookbook I now threw down on my bed. It was times like this that I wished my door had a lock on it, but Pa had vehemently vetoed that idea last year when I asked him. Instead, I moved my desk chair in front of my door as I\u2019ve done every time in the past when I wanted a bit of privacy. It might not keep someone out, but it would give me a five to ten second heads up to banish any evidence I might have lying around.<\/p>\n Satisfied with the chair placement, I returned to my bed to start digging through the old book. It clearly had lots of use over the years as the binding was fraying and the pages were worn and tattered around the edges. One corner even looked like it had caught on fire at one point as there was a giant burn mark. Luckily, it wasn\u2019t in the middle of the page where it might have ruined some of the writing inside.<\/p>\n The title on the blue cover was badly faded and I couldn\u2019t even read the title. However, the fancy geometrical pattern lining the borders of the cover was just barely visible. As I cracked open the old book and flipped to the title page, I read the title: Magical Drafts and Potions. I didn\u2019t linger on the cover page long, wanting to get to the meat and bones of what was contained inside the book.<\/p>\n As I turned through the first few pages, I discovered it wasn\u2019t a cookbook at all, at least not a normal cookbook. It still contained recipes, but these recipes weren\u2019t for familiar foods like stew, fried chicken, or apple pie. I stopped on one page with the words \u2018Wideye Potion\u2019 scrolled in fancy handwriting at the top. Underneath it read \u201ca potion used to prevent the drinker from falling asleep or to awaken someone from concussion\u201d.<\/p>\n My eyes scanned further down the page to find the recipe used to make this concoction. Add six snake fangs and then 4 measures of standard ingredient. Then add six billywig stings to a cauldron.<\/p>\n I shook my head as if this was some sort of dream and I could wake myself up. I turned a few more pages and landed on a swelling solution used to make things grow in size. Pufferfish eyes, dried nettles, and bat spleens were all used in this recipe.<\/p>\n I closed the book rather forcefully. I had seen enough and I needed answers. I might be putting my backside at risk for more swats from Hop Sing, but clearly I needed to confront him, considering it\u2019s his book after all. The time for explanations had come.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n I made my way down the staircase, the book firmly clenched in my left hand. I always thought of myself as brave. You need a whole lot of it to get into some of the trouble I find myself in. But as I reached the landing and descended the last few steps to the great room, all the bravery I had, flew out the window.<\/p>\n Quietly, I made my way through the dining room and into the entryway to the kitchen. Hop Sing was busy preparing what smelled like roast beef and vegetables for dinner and didn\u2019t notice my presence until he turned around.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat little boy want?\u201d<\/p>\n Now, normally I\u2019m not as bold as to just give myself up to a misdeed. I knew, though, that if I had any chance to solve this mystery, I had to fess up.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, ahh, earlier I took this from your kitchen, but it doesn\u2019t make any sense. The ingredients here aren\u2019t things we should be eating. What exactly is this all about?\u201d I held up the book so he could see what I was referencing.<\/p>\n His eyes met mine and his expression turned firm. He took a few steps toward me, tugging the book out of my hand. Then he reached out and grabbed my arm. I braced myself for a few swats for stealing his book, but to my surprise, he led me to the little table in his kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing did likewise and placed the book in the center of the table.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Hop Sing is going to tell you, you must keep secret. If anyone finds out, I could be sent back to China, jailed, or even killed.\u201d<\/p>\n His gaze met mine, and I could tell he was serious. I didn\u2019t have the best track record for keeping secrets, but I couldn\u2019t imagine life without him. I knew from experience that he was taking a big risk in telling me his secrets. After all, letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in and I vowed to keep this one secret even if it\u2019s the last thing I do.<\/p>\n I nodded my head, but Hop Sing just sat there. I thought he maybe didn\u2019t see my head nod when he suddenly spoke up.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing is a wizard.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t know what answer I was expecting, but this was definitely not it. I had heard of witches and wizards in those old-time fairy tales Adam used to read to me, but I thought they were just made-up characters.<\/p>\n I just stared blankly back at Hop Sing unsure of what to say. Thankfully, he noticed my confusion and continued to explain.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing can make things happen and do things others can\u2019t. This book is book of potions that I can make. They help with doing things and cure ailments, much like medicine. I have to mix odd ingredients together and brew them in a big pot called a cauldron. Then I can bottle them to use later.\u201d<\/p>\n So far this all seemed to make sense. Unknown to him, I had seen the inside of that book and everything he just told me was in there.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you ever give us these medi-, I mean potions?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes. Mostly when very sick. I have several bottles of healing potion in cupboard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, so do you only make potions?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. I can also make things happen or get tasks done. It\u2019s called magic. When I say special words and something happens, it\u2019s called a spell. Depending on outcome they can either be just ordinary spell to make things happen, a charm, jinx which is just annoying charm, hex, or curse.\u00a0 Curses are most dangerous types of magic and we try to never do them.\u201d<\/p>\n I just sat there trying to absorb all the information he was telling me. One question nagging at the back of my brain was how he knew this stuff. I know doctors and such have to go to college to learn how to make medicines and cure people so it would only make sense that Hop Sing would have to have some training in how to make potions and do spells correctly.<\/p>\n \u201cUmm\u2026 so how did you know you are a wizard and where did you learn how to do all this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Hop Sing was a little lad, he was recruited to attend a special school in Japan called Mahoutokoro. I was only about seven years old then and had to fly there each day on petrel which is type of seabird. When I got older, I boarded at school, much like older brother did when attending college. It was beautiful school, made of white jade and located on top of the volcanic island Minami Iwo Jima.<\/p>\n \u201cHere we were isolated from the rest of world and were able to learn how to use and control magic safely. Besides the core subjects like potions and charms, we also had special subjects. Some of those included care of magical creatures where we learned about animals such as unicorns and arithmancy which is much like your arithmetic. After seven years, I was trained enough to use my magic in world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou went to school in Japan? Wasn\u2019t there a school in China?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere was one called Fenghuang, located at top of mountain near Beijing. However, it was more recent school and not as well known. Across world, there are nearly dozen wizarding schools to teach and train young witches and wizards, including at least one in America.\u201d<\/p>\n Who would have thought there were that many wizards that they need over ten schools across the world to train all of them. For all I know, I could be friends with one or two without even knowing it!<\/p>\n There was still one more thing that Hop Sing needed to explain to me though. One thing that would absolutely solve this case of mysterious things on the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n \u201cWait, if you know how to do all these spells and stuff, shouldn\u2019t you have been able to put out that fire the other day by yourself, with magic?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery clever little boy. You are correct in your thinking. Most wizards and witches can easily do wandless spells, but when I was training, I was never able to really accomplish the skill. I can do them sometimes, but I\u2019m completely useless in high tense or stressful situations. For these, I must use wand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWand?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s special object used to help witches and wizards do spells, much like rifle helps you, or pistol helps your Pa when you\u2019re working around the ranch. Similar to gun, it is extremely dangerous if it falls into wrong hands or given to someone who knows not how to use it. Therefore, I keep it locked up most of time away from growing and curious boys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh\u2026 so because your wand was locked up and the fire was a stressful event, you were unable to put it out, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Does little boy have any other questions?\u201d<\/p>\n I thought long and hard. He gave me a plethora of facts and information in just under a half-hour and I was trying to digest it all. All this explained how Hop Sing always seems to have the right medicine to make us better and how he never seems to get tired. Most importantly, it definitely explained the odd things happening over the past few months.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRemember this is our little secret, so come to me if you have more questions. You cannot tell anyone, not even your family.\u201d<\/p>\n I nodded my head in agreement. It was exciting to know something the rest of my family didn\u2019t know, especially my bossy older brother Adam. I knew I couldn\u2019t tell him, but I would have loved to just rub it in his face that I knew something he didn\u2019t for once.<\/p>\n Over the next several days and months, everything became hunky-dory on the Ponderosa once again. As time went on, I had many more questions about the whole wizarding world and Hop Sing was gracious and patient enough to answer each and every one. He might have even let me help with brewing a potion once or twice. That\u2019s a story for another day, though.<\/p>\n Most importantly, I never broke my promise to Hop Sing, not even long after he passed away. This will be one secret I will carry with me to my grave.<\/p>\n The End.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n A\/N: Fishing words used: hunky-dory and discombobulated<\/p>\n Cowboy Wisdom phrases used: Lettin\u2019 the cat outa the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin\u2019 it back in.<\/p>\n