{"id":4502,"date":"2010-12-23T18:05:53","date_gmt":"2010-12-23T23:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4502"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:23:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:23:37","slug":"a-christmas-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4502","title":{"rendered":"A Christmas Story (by Storm)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 <\/span>Here’s my answer to the December Chaps and Spurs challenge.<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC \u00a03100<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A Christmas Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

To Ben Cartwright winter was a time of renewal for man and nature. When spring came around again everyone and everything should have done enough resting to prepare them for the many tasks spring brought with it. For some reason this winter, so far at least, had been filled with only chaos. First there had been Joe slipping and spraining his ankle then Adam coming down with a case of influenza bordering on dangerous. And to top it all off Hoss suffering through a bad case of colic. Of all the people why did it have to be Hoss to catch something that prevented him from eating. It\u2019s not that Ben wished it to have been anyone else but no one else\u2019s complaints would have had Hop-Sing choosing to serve cold suppers so the aromas of food cooking wouldn\u2019t bring hours of lamenting from Hoss about how it wasn\u2019t fair and that he was so hungry to begin with and that smelling Hop-Sing\u2019s cooking was only making him hungrier.<\/p>\n

Now as Christmas approached Ben felt some calmness overcome him as it always did at this season of the year. It helped that all was settling back to normal for this time of year once again. His sons were all once again their healthy selves and going about their usual winter routines. Adam always used the cold months to catch up on his reading and correspondences with his friends back east. Joe and Hoss usually became restless and if weather permitted would take trips to town. Otherwise they spent the time playing checkers and making plans for the warm weather\u2019s return. When not together Joe would spend his time reading those penny dreadfuls or cheap detective novels that Adam made fun of. Hoss would spend his time checking on the animals around the house and even venture to winter pastures when he could. Ben\u2019s happy silence was all too soon broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe where have you and your brothers been?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were going into town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben could hear more noise coming from the porch then his sons had ever been capable of making. \u201cI know Joseph but that was before the snow\u2026Joe I know you\u2026Joseph what is going on out there?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing on pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes his youngest son\u2019s attempts at feigning innocence were more annoying then others. \u201cYes, going on. I can hear your brothers doing a lot of hushing out there. Just who is it they are hushing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell you see pa we was on our way to town. See we had plans to have some\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Tired of waiting, Adam pushed the door open. \u201cJoe by the time you tell pa we\u2019ll all be frozen or spring will have arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why don\u2019t you explain Adam.\u201d But an explanation became unnecessary as through the open door marched no less then six children and all it appeared were under the age of ten.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa this is Mr. and Mrs. Nichols. Their wagon became stuck in a drift and they were trying to walk into town. We invited them to stay with us. We thought if we can we\u2019ll dig their wagon out and bring it here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben knew his sons were not stupid. They were each well aware no wagon would make it anywhere until spring.<\/p>\n

Mr. Nichols could sense Ben\u2019s reserve. He himself liked the peace that came with winter days. He also knew that Christmas was, to some, a time for family to spend alone. \u201cMr. Cartwright your sons said you had a sled. Perhaps we could borrow it to go to town. I\u2019d return it you have my word on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Ben\u2019s heart wasn\u2019t completely in it he made the invitation sound heartfelt. \u201cMr. Nichols you and your family are more then welcome to stay as long as necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Nichols could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Only a few hours ago she was beginning to fear they would all freeze to death and now they were warm and being made welcome. \u201cThank you sir we never thought to find such generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Nichols why don\u2019t you let my sons show you to which rooms you can use. I\u2019m afraid the beds will need to be made up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust show me where the linens are and I will do it happily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe the three rooms at the end of the hall. You can put Mr. and Mrs. Nichols in one room the boys in one of the others and the girls in the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Mr. Cartwright one room will be sufficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNonsense Mr. Nichols. We have the room so why let it go to waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you! Come children thank Mr. Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben heard six small voices obey their mother and whisper their thank yous. He gave them all a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright we\u2019ll only be here a day or so. Just until we can get into town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Nichols again you are more then welcome to stay as long as necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour sons said you would say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes my boys know me very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCome on everyone follow me.\u201d Joe took the lead and everyone began to follow.<\/p>\n

Adam wondered was he the only one to hear the hidden message in his father\u2019s words? \u201cHoss why don\u2019t you help Joe show everyone to their rooms. Mr. Nichols we\u2019ll try to get to your wagon tomorrow so you can get what ever things you\u2019ll need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam and Ben watched as the parade resumed its march upstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know pa. You like winter to be a time of peace and resting, but we couldn\u2019t just leave them stranded on the road to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Adam you couldn\u2019t have.\u201d But that\u2019s not your fault is it; it\u2019s not how I raised you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise pa, the first day I can I\u2019ll get them to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere in town?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know for certain. Mr. Nichols mentioned something about hearing that a farm was for sale around here. It could be the old Hopkins place he was talking about. That\u2019s been for sale for a while now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would someone come to settle a farm this time of year?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know pa but I guess they have their reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Ben looked up expecting to see one of his sons coming down, or more accurately Adam coming down, to reassure him that they would have the house to themselves as soon as possible. \u201cAre they all settled?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife is trying but they are all so excited to once again have a bed to sleep in. Mr. Cartwright I\u2019d like to tell you again that that was a wonderful supper. It\u2019s more then we\u2019ve had in a long time and I want to thank you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Nichols please call me Ben and would you like a glass of brandy? I was about to have one myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, thank you.\u201d He took the glass that Ben was offering.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Mr. Nichols\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbott please Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbott. Adam said that you were buying a farm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes we needed a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t mind my asking, why did you start out so late?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had no choice. You see we sold our old place before we knew we were expecting another child. The people who bought our house were kind enough to say we could stay until we made other arrangements, but once we lost the baby my wife said we should come and buy the farm like we had originally planned on doing. I tried to explain to her that it was too late to start out but I don\u2019t think she wished to stay there any longer. She said the Lord would watch over us. I guess she was right although I haven\u2019t felt the Lord was watching me for some time now. I suppose you think me a selfish man. Why should a man who has six healthy children mourn over one lost. You must think me quite greedy when there are men who don\u2019t have any of their babes survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Abbott I don\u2019t think you selfish or greedy. As a father I know it wouldn\u2019t matter how many children you have you would always mourn the one missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I suppose you would. You have three very fine sons Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes they are.\u201d It didn\u2019t matter how many times he heard it or how many different people said it Ben was always happy to have it reaffirmed that his sons were not only men a father could be proud of but that they were men other people realized were fine men.<\/p>\n

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

His sons in an attempt to somewhat placate their father had been doing their best to keep the children out of his way but his attempt to read was disrupted by the noise coming from outside. Ben decided to go and see if he could find out what was causing such a ruckus. He opened the door and the answer hit him squarely in the face.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry pa we were having a snowball fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben wiped the snow from his face. \u201cSo I notice Joseph.\u201d Ben bent down and made his own snowball and threw it at his youngest son.<\/p>\n

\u201cHEY. Pa Adam threw the one that hit you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh he did?\u201d So Ben promptly made another one and threw it at his eldest son.<\/p>\n

\u201cHEY!\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all it took to cause the war to start anew, this time with Ben joining the fight.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou all get undressed! You dripping snow all over Hop-Sings clean floor!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone RUN.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bad Mr. Cartlight, you bad as children!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop-Sing stormed back into the kitchen but Ben knew that if they all went and changed, and since the fact that they were all too cold and wet to have stayed outside a minute longer was the reason they had come in, they were assured that when they came back down they would find hot chocolate waiting for them. Perhaps even some cookies to go with their drink. As always Ben Cartwright was right.<\/p>\n

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

As the days passed into weeks Ben found himself more and more thankful for the unexpected guests. It seemed his sons were retiring earlier and earlier these days. Why there were some days Hoss and Joe went to bed right after supper.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen I\u2019m sorry. We\u2019ve been here much longer they we should have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbott how could you know it would snow like this, besides your children have kept those boys of mine so busy they haven\u2019t had time to complain that they\u2019re bored.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut still we must be an inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Alright I will admit that at first I was a little annoyed at having my routine disturbed but now I\u2019m glad for it. You don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s been since my sons have acted like such children. Since I\u2019ve acted like such a child. I can\u2019t remember the last time my sons and I had a snowball fight or read those books of fairy tales. Joe\u2019s mother, my third wife Marie, use to read a story from them every night and don\u2019t tell Adam I told you but even though he use to pretend he wasn\u2019t listening she knew he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy we helped bring back some nice memories but still if it should clear up enough tomorrow we\u2019ll try to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYOU CAN\u2019T. Those boys of mine have been digging thorough the boxes we have packed away in search of\u2026\u201d Ben realized he\u2019d almost spoiled the surprise. His son\u2019s had been going through trunks and boxes in search of any old toy they could find. Even Ben didn\u2019t know that upon not being able to find presents to suit them they had made a trip to town and bought some. \u201c\u2026please Abbot stay at least until after Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright Ben we\u2019ll stay until after Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

As they brought in the tree the children stood in silent awe, but the silence didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

Brock, the eldest boy in the Nichols\u2019 clan, was the one who spoke. \u201cMy ma says them trees is called evergreens \u2018cause they ain\u2019t never nothin\u2019 but green.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam held back the scream that threatened to escape. He didn\u2019t think any one could mangle the English language worse the Joe, but he\u2019d just been proven wrong. \u201cYou\u2019re right Brock these trees are called evergreens because unlike other trees their leaves do not change color and fall in autumn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abby, the eldest of the Nichols girls and also one half of the two sets of twins the Nichols had, asked what was to her a very pertinent question. \u201cDo you think Santa will know where we are Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Abby Santa knows everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again Ben was surprised at how Adam handled the children. He knew the sentence that Brock had said earlier must have had his eldest son screaming on the inside but he had managed to correct the boy without embarrassing him. It\u2019s not that Ben believed Adam wasn\u2019t good with children, he\u2019d seen him with more then enough to know that was untrue, but he had expected them to follow Hoss and Joe around more then Adam. Most of the time it would have been hard to follow any one of his sons more then the other because they were usually together during the day. At night though it seemed as if Hoss and Joe tired more quickly of the endless questions and constant requests but Adam seemed to possess the patience of a saint. Now if only, Ben thought, he could possess such patience with his youngest brother things might be more peaceful in the future.<\/p>\n

Ben watched as Abby again asked if Adam would read to her and tuck her and her little sister Fanny in. It appeared to Ben that that little girl was developing quite a crush on his son.<\/p>\n

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

It was Christmas Eve and Ben stood back to admire the tree that was finally decorated. He had forgotten how much extra time it took to decorate one tree when little hands helped. He had also forgotten how light the work seemed as well.<\/p>\n

Adam finished lighting the last of the many candles that adorned every branch.<\/p>\n

Susan Nichols felt a sense of wonder. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbott could hear his wife\u2019s tears. He knew she too was thinking of the one whose first Christmas this would have been. \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest tree I\u2019ve ever seen, right children?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock answered first. \u201cIt sure is pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abby usually tried to find ways to disagree with her brother but this time she couldn\u2019t. \u201cYeah it sure is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Cody that\u2019s an angel.\u201d Susan picked up her youngest child.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sure is pretty.\u201d Danny, who was Fanny\u2019s twin brother and along with her the second to youngest, had never seen an angel so pretty before.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Danny she is pretty.\u201d Abbott felt a small twinge of regret at knowing tomorrow would prove to be a great disappointment to his children. They may not have been able to give their children much on Christmas day but they at least had all gotten one present.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mean to break this party up but shouldn\u2019t we all get to bed so Santa can come?\u201d Ben smiled as he saw the looks on the children\u2019s faces as they all ran upstairs. He also couldn\u2019t help but notice the look that passed between their mother and father as they followed their children upstairs. Have faith Ben thought.<\/p>\n

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

The following morning, as had been the fashion for centuries before and would be for centuries to come, the children were the first ones up and anxiously awaited the adults awakening. Of course when it seemed to be taking longer then they could stand they helped it to happen.<\/p>\n

Ben was surprised himself by the number of gifts under the tree. He suspected that he hadn\u2019t been the last one to have snuck down last night to play Santa and drop some presents off.<\/p>\n

Susan watched her children run to the tree and start to pick up boxes that were lying there. She still didn\u2019t comprehend that most of those boxes were for her sons and daughters.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren! Let someone else hand out the gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Cody you don\u2019t know who the gifts are for, you can\u2019t read.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gifts were handed out and there were children playing everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa I thought you said that Santa might not come this year. That even though Adam said he would find us he still might get confused and go to our old house and we would have to wait for the people to send the gifts to our new house once we got one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true Abby but your father forgot one thing. He forgot that Santa is magic and can come in many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I guess I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben acknowledged the silent thank yous. \u201cWell it appears that there are still some gifts left under the tree. Joe would you like to hand those out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe handed out the ones that were for his father and bothers and set aside the ones for himself. He then picked up the boxes still remaining and handed them to the only other two people in the room without any gifts in front of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us?\u201d Surely, Susan thought, they must realize the happiness they\u2019ve given my children is enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it would seem Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbot I do believe those gifts are from Santa. You can\u2019t very well refuse a gift from Santa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa please don\u2019t. If you do he might get insulted and come and take back all the presents he brought.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very true Brock.\u201d Adam was glad to see the English lessons were having some affect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbott says that you\u2019ll be buying that farm because my sons and I would love to have you and your family as neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we say no? I know we couldn\u2019t find better neighbors any where else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Not only did they prove to be good neighbors but there came a time when Adam regretted the English lessons he was giving. It facilitated the situation that proved the Nichols were also very good in-laws. But that\u2019s a story for another time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

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

Summary:\u00a0 Here’s my answer to the December Chaps and Spurs challenge. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC \u00a03100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":3478,"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_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[39,23,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chaps-spurs","category-drama","category-challenges","wpcat-39-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-40-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":957,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4460,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4460","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":0},"title":"The Gift (by JoeC)","author":"JoeC","date":"April 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 Joe get's a special birthday present Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (553 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/joe-chaps-21.jpg?fit=314%2C547&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2929,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2929","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":1},"title":"No Coffee (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"April 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0The Cartwrights are out on the trail. Rated: K\u00a0 (700 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/cutthroat-junction.jpg?fit=301%2C303&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1585,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=1585","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":2},"title":"A Misconstrued Statement (by BluewindFarm)","author":"BluewindFarm","date":"January 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Hoss attempts an explanation to Ben of who is coming down the street, and why. Rating:\u00a0 K+ (900 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/TO-129.jpg?fit=750%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/TO-129.jpg?fit=750%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/TO-129.jpg?fit=750%2C578&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/TO-129.jpg?fit=750%2C578&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2981,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2981","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":3},"title":"Brothers and Mud (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"April 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0This is my entry for April's 2013 Chaps & Spurs\/Pinecone Trifecta.A WHIB for Springtime. Have you ever wondered what happened between the brothers making a \"Joe sandwich\" and the mud fight? Well, here's my answer to it. Word Count: 708\u00a0\u00a0Rated: K","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/springtime6.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/springtime6.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/springtime6.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/springtime6.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5278,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=5278","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":4},"title":"The Squirrel Incident (by Born in the USA)","author":"Born in The USA","date":"April 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0With Hoss and Joe away, Adam has to take care of his brother's chores. And gets a little 'surprise' along the way. Rated:\u00a0K+ (640 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2979,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2979","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":5},"title":"Captain Joe (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"November 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0This story is in response to November's Chaps and Spurs Challenge. 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