At the yard of the Ponderosa ranch of the Cartwright family stood a big apple tree who was in full blossom. Of course the best eater of the family, Hoss, had discovered this. But he wasn't the only one. The others too saw this. To prevent that Hoss would eat all apples alone the loyal Chinese cook Hop Sing stepped in.
At a beautiful morning the cook was alone at home with the Cartwright twins. Also famous and infamous as Mitch and Pam Cartwright. Just like their father Adam they were very sly and sneaky in their behavior.
“Twins, you get apples from tree. Put them in basket and bring basket to Hop Sing. Hop Sing makes apple-sauce of apples for supper”, the cook said to his little helpers.
Pam and Mitch looked at each other and nodded.
“How must we get them out?”, asked Mitch.
“May at every way. As long as Mr. Hoss does not eat them”, said the cook.
“Come sis, we are going to play baseball”, said Mitch.
They left the kitchen.
“You go and get the basket, then I come right away with a few hard balls and my bat and our gloves ”, said Mitch.
So said, so done.
A moment later the twins was near the apple tree. Their dog Cody was there too.
“Pam, you pitch the ball to me and I hit him to an apple. When the apple falls we put him into the basket. When I have hit three apples out of the tree you may hit and I pitch. Cody, you bring the ball back time and time again”, said Mitch.
He threw the glove of his sister to her and rolled the balls to her.
The idea of Mitch had effect because by noon all apples were hit out of the tree. They collected all apples and carried together the basket to the kitchen.
“Hop Sing, here are the apples. May we help?”, Pam asked by entrance.
“twins have done enough. You must get father and Uncles after lunch”, said Hop Sing.
Mitch asked smiling, “They must peel the apples, mustn't they ?”
Hop Sing answered laughing, “Indeed. and twins supervise at them.”
“That will be a laugh”, Pam said laughing.
“For us yes but not for them”, her brother reacted.
After lunch Pam and Mitch went to the herd where their grandpa, father and Uncles were.
“Boys, we get company”, Ben said, the owner of the ranch and father of Adam, Hoss and Little Joe.
He stopped his grandchildren and suspected something about the reason of their arrival. Mitch explained it all and Ben played the game along.
“Boys, you must go home at once. Hop Sing needs you”, said the rancher. The brothers looked amazed at each other.
“Or there will be no supper for you. Hop Sing said that”, said Pam.
Hoss had gone away as first. Followed by his younger brother. The eldest Cartwright boy Adam looked at his offspring and didn't trust it. Though he didn't say anything and he went after his brothers.
“Grandpa, we see you at home”, Mitch said and he went with his sister home too.
Arrived at home the brothers got a nasty surprise. On the porch Hop Sing was already waiting with the basket apples, peeling knives and a pan for the peeled apples.
“Cartwright brothers exactly in time for peeling chore”, said the cook.
The brothers dismounted and walked to the porch.
“Apples peel neat and thin and remove cores. Then apples put in pan”, they got to hear.
With reluctance and grumbling the brothers went to work.
Mitch and Pam came home and saw their father and brothers at work. The twins dismounted and walked to them.
Hoss looked at them and said warning, “We will get you somehow!”
“Thanks to us we have something delicious to eat tonight”, reacted Pam.
“May I ask how you got those apples out? You haven't climbed in like I have forbidden it, have you ?”, Adam asked worried.
“No, we haven't climbed in. We are not like that. We have spoken to the apples and asked them polite if they wanted to come down. So they did ”, answered Mitch.
He winked at Pam and she at him.
“Tell that to the horse marines”, said Little Joe.
“We can't do that because we don't have horse marines. That's why we tell you”, his nephew answered.
He and Pam went to sit with them and watched laughing.
When all apples were peeled and worked Hoss carried the pan to the kitchen.
“Mr. Hoss out of kitchen”, Hop Sing said directly.
He went straight away.
Outside at the yard Mitch asked, “Shall we play baseball before we eat?”
“That is good. Go and get your gear”, said Adam.
The twins ran inside to get their gear.
“Make sure that they get very tired so that they go to bed early this evening. They are far too annoying to me”, Adam said to his brothers.
Hoss and Little Joe promised that.
A moment later the yard of the Ponderosa had changed into a baseball field. Hoss was the catcher, Little Joe the outfielder and Adam played for pitcher. On turns Mitch and Pam were at bat. To the annoying of Hoss the children hit every ball away before he could catch it.
“Dadburnit, Those two have been practicing in hitting and pitching this morning”, he said indignant.
“Nonsense. They just have a lot of baseball talent”, answered Adam.
His brothers couldn't deny that.
During supper the Cartwrights looked amazed at the new dish that Hop Sing had put on the table. Ben checked the contents of the bowl and called his cook with him.
“Hop Sing, what is this?”, he asked.
“Hop Sing made apple-sauce from apples picked by twins”, answered the cook.
“Kids, out with it: how have you picked those apples?”, asked Adam.
“On turns we pitched a ball to each other and the one with the bat hit the ball against an apple so that it fell”, answered Pam.
“Pam, was this your idea?”, asked Hoss.
“No, Mitch came with it”, she answered.
“We should have known. After all they are the children of our big brother. That's why they were in such a good shape this afternoon”, sighted Little Joe.
The apple-sauce was tasted very well and that's why nobody was angry at the new baseball method of the Cartwright twins.