Summary: The Cartwright boys never miss an opportunity to compete, even when it comes to pox spots.<\/p>\n
Rating: G-ish, Word Count: 928<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pox Spots<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI got twenty two today Hoss, how many you got?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShoot, I was in the middle of countin’, now I gotta start countin’ all over again,\u201d said Hoss.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think I got more than you,\u201d said Joe, hoping.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c…..thirty, thirty one, yep, that\u2019s it, I got thirty one today, that\u2019s four more than yesterday,\u201d said Hoss proudly.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHooooooss, if I had seventeen yesterday, an\u2019 I got twenty two today…how many did I get extra?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFive, you should know that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYep, did, just checkin’.\u201dsaid Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGood morning my sons,\u201d said Ben, appearing unexpectedly in their room, \u201cAnd how are we this fine and beautiful morning?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI got 5 more spots today Pa, but I still ain\u2019t got as many as Hoss…he\u2019s got heaps. Show him Hoss, show him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be silly Joseph,\u201d said Ben, mildly irritated, \u201cI can see them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doin good Pa, be glad when we can come down though. Little Joe never shuts up, he\u2019s drivin me half crazy. Last night before he went to sleep he counted every single spot out loud,\u201d said Hoss, glaring across at his brother.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cImportant to keep up the daily count, isn\u2019t it son,\u201d said Ben, ever the alibi for his youngest son.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019d they come from Pa? I stared at ’em for ages, and nothin\u2019 happened, then two more kinda snuck up on me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ben laughed at the childlike naivety of his youngest son, he found it very endearing. Just for a second, he thought to himself how he wished his darling Marie were here, she\u2019d have scooped her \u201cbaby\u201d up in her arms and swung him round and round and round, then she\u2019d have kissed his head, before putting him down, like Mothers do. It was almost a year since she passed, yet it seemed only yesterday. It was moments like this that tugged at his heartstrings. Ben was brought back to reality with a start.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey itch like fleas on a dog’s butt,\u201d said Hoss with all the eloquence of a 12 yr old boy.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI try not to scratch \u2018em like you said Pa, but it ain\u2019t easy,\u201d said Joe, scratching furiously.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTry not to think about it,\u201d advised Hoss. \u201cThink about somethin\u2019 else. It\u2019ll take your mind off of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnything I can get you boys before I go into town?\u201d asked Ben.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cReckon we got all we need Pa, what time you comin back?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn time for supper, with any luck…Adam is downstairs if you need him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHoss, why don\u2019t Adam get \u2018em, y\u2019know chicken spots…?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGuess it\u2019s \u2018cause he\u2019s not allowed in here. Pa says he\u2019s gotta stay at the door, s\u2019pose that way he won\u2019t catch nothin,\u201d said Hoss.<\/span><\/p>\n There was quite a gap between the beds, which was just as well, with Little Joe scratching all the time, and Hoss always on the lookout for new spots to add to his ever growing collection.<\/span><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHoooss\u201d said Joe, hesitantly. \u201cYou got any spots on yer Willie?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d said Hoss.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou got any spots on yer Willie?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t rightly know, I ain\u2019t looked\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWell look then,\u201d pleaded Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n After much fumbling and tweaking under the covers, Hoss surfaced.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYeh, one or two..well, actually three. How many you got?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne,\u201d said Joe as he dived in again to make absolutely sure there weren\u2019t any he missed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAhhhha,\u201d yawned Joe, while sliding down under the covers, before drifting into some much needed sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n Hoss looked over at his brother, and thought how small he looked, all curled up in bed. He remembered how Little Joe\u2019s Mom used to kneel on the floor between them at bedtime, telling them stories about when she was a little girl, most of it going over Little Joe\u2019s head, and how he always fell asleep within the first five minutes of a story. He remembered what fun she was and could still remember her voice. He got down under the blanket, and pulled it up to his chest. He tried to imagine how his own Mother\u2019s voice might have sounded if she\u2019d been reading to them, and how she might have looked. He held on to those thoughts and subconsciously smiled. He closed his eyes, taking those images with him as he too slipped into a long and dreamy sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGOOD AFTERNOON,\u201d shouted Adam, for the second time in an attempt to wake his brothers. \u201cAnd how are my spotty siblings? It was so quiet up here, I thought you were dead, so I thought I\u2019d better come check and see!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Hoss yawned\u2026.loudly!<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou scared me Adam,\u201d squeaked Joe, not yet fully awake.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSorry Spotty. How are y’all doin?\u201d He said from the doorway.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHoss has got spots on his willie,\u201d said Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHas he really? That sure is information I could have done without. How many you got, Hoss?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThree, if ya must know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI only got one on mine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWell that figures!\u201d said Adam.<\/span><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n Before long Adam too was covered from head to toe with spots.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou look funny with spots, Adam,\u201d remarked Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll look funny in a minute squirt, you got nothin better to do than stare at me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Hoss appeared at that moment with an inquisitive look on his face.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know what you\u2019re thinkin Hoss, and yes I have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow many?\u201d inquired Hoss.<\/span><\/p>\n With a devilish smirk on his face and a huge amount of pride in his voice, he smiled and said, \u201cDozens, brother!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat figures\u2026.\u201d said Hoss.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Author’s note:\u00a0 Mo asked me to repost her favorite story of mine. This is for you, my friend<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Brandsters.\u00a0 The story was originally written and published on the Bonanza Trail Riders site.\u00a0 Brand is happy to offer this story a new home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: The Cartwright boys never miss an opportunity to compete, even when it comes to pox spots.
\nRating: G-ish (when you consider boys will be boys) Word Count: 928<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12475,"featured_media":62121,"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":[1009,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brothers","category-humor","wpcat-1009-id","wpcat-4-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BTR.png?fit=442%2C255&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48094","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\/12475"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}