Chopping Wood

There was always a lot of work to be done at and up around the Ponderosa ranch. The owner of the ranch was Ben Cartwright. He had built up the ranch together with his 3 sons (Adam, Hoss and Little Joe) to one of the biggest ranches of Nevada. Because Adam had 14 years old twins (Mitch and Pam) from his 1^st marriage, the bunch was ready to be steamed to work on the Ponderosa as well. Of course, this was not without a blow or punch. The twins were sometimes somewhat too quirky and also had the famous Cartwright traits. Adam therefore had a lot to deal with his 2 oldest children. Though they meant it well.

On a morning Hoss took his nephew outside.

“Mitchy, today you are going to learn how to chop wood”, said Hoss.

“Is that difficult?”, asked Mitch.

“No, not at all, you only must have some strength”, was the answer of his uncle.

“I don’t have that. Nobody is as strong as you are”, said Mitch.

“You do have that”, said Hoss.

They walked to some big wood blocks. Hoss put a wood block on a bigger wood block.

“You grab an axe and hit the woodblock into smaller pieces. I will show it”, said Hoss.

He showed it where after Mitch had to try it. To be careful Hoss remained at safety distance. Though Mitch hit so hard with the axe that not only the upper wood block fell into pieces, but also the lowest wood block showed tears. Besides that the axe remained in it.

“Do I it so the right way, uncle Hoss?”, asked the young Cartwright.

Hoss answered, “You always must blow over, mustn’t you? This way of chopping wood is a bit too drastic. Go and get the others. Then they can see your piece of art for themselves.”

Mitch did that and he got a lot of admiring for his way of chopping wood.

Adam quickly made a conclusion because he said, “This is proof that chopping wood isn’t something for the twins. Pam would do the same thing.”

“Let them clean up the little pieces of wood. They probably can do that without any trouble”, said Ben.

But Joe said, “Pa, would you let them do that? Maybe they put the little pieces of wood just in front of the front door.”

“The twins know that the wood must be here”, said the rancher.

Adam fetched Pam and told what their chore was what chopping wood concerned.

“So we must clean up the mess of our daddy and uncles?”, Mitch asked skeptic.

“It comes to that”, said Ben.

“That is alright. You will be very satisfied about us”, said Pam.

“We are going away and come back tonight”, said the rancher.

The men went away so that the twins had to go to work. Mitch and Pam looked at each other. They were on the same wave length and often thought the same.

“Shall we put the little pieces of wood straight up upon the big wood blocks?”, Mitch asked with laughing eyes.

“We do that”, answered his sister.

The whole morning the 2 were busy but by lunch time each little wood stood straight up on the big wood blocks. The twins looked at it satisfied.

“That is now a professional job what we have done. Grandpa will be very satisfied about us”, said Mitch.

“Pity that everyone sees it tonight. Except mom and aunty Betsy then”, said Pam.

They went inside where Sally and Betsy Cartwright (respectively the wives of Adam and Hoss) had set the lunch table.

“Mom, aunty Betsy, we have worked very hard this morning after we have heard our task”, said Pam.

“Just let it see later on”, said Betsy.

She knew the twins very well and that also went for her sister-in-law.

“Maybe you can clean up the stock room this afternoon”, suggested Sally.

“We do that”, said Mitch.

“Not so neat that the gentlemen can’t find anything anymore. We know how you can be”, reacted Sally.

“We promise that”, Pam said on behalf of her brother.

Mitch nodded smiling. Now especially Sally didn’t trust it anymore. Sometimes her son had the same laughing eyes as her husband.

That’s why she said too, “Because you have worked so hard this morning you may do what you want this afternoon.”

“Thanks mom”, said Mitch.

When the men came home in the evening they saw right away how the twins had cleaned up the little pieces of wood. They dismounted off their horses and looked at the art work.

“Pa, I am afraid that the twins didn’t quite understood how it had to be cleaned up”, said Joe.

He was the youngest son of Ben.

“Joe, they have cleaned it up in their own way. You know how they are”, reacted Adam.

“I know that indeed”, sighed Joe.

Ben concluded, “Gentlemen, we must keep in account a lot with the twins. Because I think that they can work well here. With your permission of course, Adam.”

“I don’t mind and Sally doesn’t too either. But they also must have time for themselves during the day. Especially Mitch needs that”, answered the oldest Cartwright boy.

Ben agreed with that.

In het ranch house Ben and Adam took the twins aside.

“We are very glad with the original way of cleaning up like you do that. In consultation with your parents I have decided to engage you. So that means that you have to work here at the ranch. I pay you half of what the grownups get. But in contrast, you are free to do what you want in the afternoon”, said Ben.

“So working in the morning and in the midday hours school work and in my case training with baseball?”, Mitch asked for the security.

“That’s right. Any questions or remarks?”, the rancher asked carefully.

He knew his grandchildren through and through.

“We do it on 1 condition: that we don’t have to chop wood anymore”, said his granddaughter.

“We agree with that”, said Adam.

“We too”, the twins said at the same time.

Since that notable day the Cartwrights had 2 young hands at the ranch where they were and could be very satisfied over.