It was very quiet at the Ponderosa, the spread of the Cartwright family. Christmas was approaching and the Cartwrights prepared themselves for that. Ranch owner Ben Cartwright had made up a plan to spend the Christmas days in a different kind of way.
One morning he called his three sons Adam, Hoss and Little Joe to him in the living room.
“Boys, this year we do something different with Christmas”, said Ben.
“We decorate the Christmas tree with Easter stuff?”, asked Joe, the youngest of the brothers.
“No, it is the first birthday of your nephew and I want that it will become something special”, his father replied.
“That’s fine by me pa, but Mitch is still very little”, reacted Adam.
He was the father of Mitch and had what that concerned the last say about the youngest Cartwright.
“He is rather quick-witted for his age though”, reacted Hoss.
“He has that from me again”, Adam remarked.
“We just keep it simple and let Mitch be the centre of the party”, said Ben.
Adam agreed with that.
One afternoon the brothers came home with an enormous Christmas tree. Ben was reading his grandson when suddenly the door went open and a Christmas tree came in. Mitch raised up and looked delighted at the tree.
“Mitch, shall we look if your father and uncles are there too or just that tree?”, asked Ben.
Mitch nodded. The rancher got up and carried his grandson to the tree. Somewhere between the branches hid the brothers.
“Boys, you know what the next thing is. Setting the tree and trimming it”, said Ben.
This too went with the necessary scolding and trouble which Ben and Mitch liked very much but the brothers didn’t. But after a few failed attempts the tree stood there finally.
“Mitch, do you want to help trimming the tree?”, asked Adam.
The boy nodded. Hoss and Joe went to get the boxes from the attic.
“Daddy help with tree?”, asked Mitch.
“We help you with the tree”, replied Adam.
When Hoss and Joe had come downstairs with the boxes Mitch found especially the swings very interesting. It didn’t take long before he was playing with it.
“Adam, now we know for sure that Mitchy is a Christmas child”, Hoss said suddenly.
They looked at Mitch who was totally wrapped up in the Christmas swings. Adam sighed deep and went to deliver his apple of his eye out of the swings.
While Adam took Mitch out of the swings he said, “I am afraid that we will have to deal a lot with you the next few years.”
He picked up his son and put his apart.
“You get the decorations and give them to us. We hang them in the tree”, said Adam.
Mitch nodded.
When the tree was finally trimmed one thing was missing.
“Who puts the Christmas angel on top of the tree?”, asked Hoss.
“Our own little Christmas angel”, replied Ben.
“What an honor for me to do that”, said Joe.
“If we must have you we call Christmas pickle”, reacted Adam.
Ben got the Christmas angel and walked to his grandson.
“Mitch, you may put it on top of the tree”, said Ben.
Mitch got the Christmas angel and got then lifted up by his father to put the angel on the de tree. The young Cartwright did that neatly.
The Christmas tree had a big power of attraction at Mitch. He especially liked the balls in the de tree. For the security Adam remained by it because he had the suspicion that if he didn’t stay around one or more balls wouldn’t make it to the next year. The same went for the swings.
On the day before Christmas there hung a delicious smell through the whole house. Of course especially Hoss tried to play the part of guinea-pig but Hop Sing, the loyal cook of the Cartwrights, kept him skilled out of the kitchen.
On Christmas morning like usual everyone was awake early. It was a special day for every Cartwright but for Mitch at all. It was his birthday and he would know that too. Even though Mitch didn’t realize it really he noticed that it was all about him. Especially when Hop Sing came in with a big cake.
Halfway the party Hoss disappeared temporary to appear as Santa. Adam had the strange feeling that his son would do something he would find years later still laughable. The little boy sat by his father when Santa came in.
“Ho-ho-ho”, Santa called jolly.
The interest of Mitch was directly aware and he walked straight to Santa. Ben, Adam and Little Joe watched amused. Santa went to sit on the settee and took the little Cartwright on his lap.
“Santa has heard that today is your birthday. That’s why I have taken along an extra present for you”, Hoss said alias Santa.
“Mitch birthday today”, the little Cartwright said.
His brown eyes began to glister and he began to play with the beard of Santa. Hoss began to feel uncomfortable and decided to go over to giving the presents. But in an unseen moment Mitch pulled off the beard of Santa. Ben, Adam and Joe couldn’t stop laughing. But Hoss didn’t find it funny. Quickly he got the presents and gave them to his nephew. Mitch got up and walked with the presents to his father. Hereby Hoss could get away unnoticed.
A moment later he came back again into the living room.
“Hoss, you have missed Santa”, said Ben.
“He has forgotten to take his beard with him. Mitch took it off”, reacted Adam.
Hoss looked a bit indignant at his nephew who was more playing with the wrapping paper than with his new received train.
“That little thing will get us into a lot of trouble if we don’t watch out”, he said.
“You don’t need Mitch for that but Joe”, Adam remarked.
Of course his brothers didn’t find that a nice remark. But Ben did.
The supper was also something different. Not as usual there was chicken or roasted pig on the menu but pancakes. Mitch had asked that Hop Sing who couldn’t refuse the boy anything.
By evening time it began to snow again. All Cartwrights went outside to watch the falling snow. Mitch sat by his father and caught some snow that way. Hoss and Joe forgot that they were all along grownups (were they that then?) and went to throw snowballs at each other.
“Pa, is it thé special Christmas that you had wished for?”, Adam asked while he and Ben looked at his younger brothers.
“Yes sure son. And I think that Mitch has entertained himself too today”, replied the rancher.
They both looked at the youngest offspring of the Cartwright family. The little boy slept to his father.
Indeed it had become a Christmas which the Cartwrights would never ever forget.