{"id":6617,"date":"2012-08-04T15:40:33","date_gmt":"2012-08-04T19:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6617"},"modified":"2026-07-22T09:10:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T13:10:58","slug":"august-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6617","title":{"rendered":"August Moon (by Rider)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>Little Joe Cartwright celebrates his 21st birthday with his family on the Ponderosa Ranch.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K+ (830 words)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

August Moon<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was October 8, Little Joe Cartwright\u2019s 21st birthday!<\/strong> He woke up to the sound of Hoss singing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d next to his bed. He sat up, eyes half opened, and weakly smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Hoss! What are ya tryin\u2019 to do, wake the dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think I\u2019d get at least a \u2018thank you\u2019 for that sonnet. But forgive me if I am imposing on your sleeping time, Your Majesty! I\u2019ll go!\u201d Hoss said in a hurtful tone as he walked to the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Hoss, come back!! I apologize, I did like your song,\u201d Joe grinned, making Hoss feel better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, thank you, Little Brother. Now, get up, get up, you got a big day ahead!\u201d Hoss said as he pulled Joe out of bed leading him to the door. \u201cIt\u2019s not everyday a boy turns 21. You\u2019ve got to get dressed, and look all spic-and-span for you party with\u2014Oops!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cParty?\u201d Joe\u2019s eyes lit up. \u201cDid you say \u2018party\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

No, no, I didn\u2019t say party. I said\u2026.uh\u2026oh dadburnit, me and my big mouth!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did say party! When, where?\u201d Joe asked excitedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Joe, I wasn\u2019t supposed to say nothin\u2019. It was supposed to be a secret,\u201d Hoss complained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you\u00a0did\u00a0<\/em>say something and it\u2019s\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0a secret anymore, not spill it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss gulped. \u201cWell, alright, but you have to promise not to let on. Pa\u2019ll skin me \u2018live if he finds our I told you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, okay, I promise. Now come on!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh alright! Well, Pa and Adam have been planning this for about a month now, and it\u2019s gonna be great, Joe! There\u2019s gonna be balloons and cake and decorations and presents, and girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes brightened. \u201cWhat girls?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReal pretty girls,\u201d Hoss winked. \u201cBeautiful and dignified ladies!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, okay! That\u2019s enough for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss exhaled heavily. How in the world did Joe talk him into telling him all that?<\/p>\n

He\u2019s Joe, he can talk me into anything!<\/em><\/p>\n

XXXXX<\/p>\n

Well, that evening, Ben had sent Joe to town so they could get his party set up. After a few minutes, Adam noticed Hoss looking a little nervous.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss? Are you alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, son?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDadgummit, Pa, I slipped!! I told Joe all about the party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam rolled his eyes. \u201cWhy am I not surprised?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam!\u201d Ben snapped.<\/p>\n

Before the conversation could flow any farther, they heard someone riding up. Ben looked out the window and saw Joe.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay everyone! Joe\u2019s back! In your places!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben and his sons his along with their guests. Joe walked in and everyone tell \u2018surprise.\u2019 He faked his surprise-face wonderfully. Adam couldn\u2019t help but roll his eyes again, followed by being elbowed by Ben. After some dancing, and flirting, it was time for Joe to open his presents.<\/p>\n

First came a gift from Adam and Hoss. Joe opened it, to find a beautifully painted portrait of Lake Tahoe during the sunset. Majestic horses ran freely through the cliffs, being struck by the rays of light beaming from behind the clouds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had it painted especially for you, Joe. It\u2019s called \u201cAugust Moon,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow. It\u2019s beautiful, guys! Thank you!!\u201d<\/p>\n

The two smiled at their brother\u2019s delight.<\/p>\n

After Joe put down his picture, he opened his gift from Pa. At first, it looked like a watch, but then he was told to open it. Inside, was a picture of his mother, holding a baby. It was Joe. His mother was wearing a beautiful orange dress, accented with lace and silk. Little Joe sat smiling and laughing in her arms wearing a little sun-hat and overalls. As he stared at his mother\u2019s face, Joe couldn\u2019t help but cry a little. She stood like such a noble and proud woman with her son.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, I\u2026.. Pa\u2026.. I never even knew this picture existed. I couldn\u2019t have been more than a year old.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c10 months, Joseph. It was a miracle that we got you to look straight ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled. \u201cThank you, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben hugged his boy, happy that he had given him the picture.<\/p>\n

After a few more hours of dancing and celebrating, the guests went home and the Cartwrights went to bed. Just before Joe went into his room, Ben came out.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Joseph. I didn\u2019t get to tell you earlier, you staged your astonishment of the party wonderfully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cHoss told you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben laughed. \u201cGood night, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Joe was about to blow out the lamp, he couldn\u2019t help but pick up his mother\u2019s picture again. He put it underneath his pillow before going to sleep. As he lay in bed, he thought about his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, Mama!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

*THE END*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Disclaimer:\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/p>\n

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

Summary: \u00a0Little Joe Cartwright celebrates his 21st birthday with his family on the Ponderosa Ranch.<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0K+ (830 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":2202,"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":[23,1007,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-joe-cartwright","category-short-stories","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-8-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\/2014\/04\/B_TLCSJoe1-1-1.jpg?fit=395%2C300&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6617","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\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}