Adam and Hoss Cartwright sat outside on the porch. They had taken both a day off and were now discussing the day in detail with each other. The reason for the day off was to spend some more time with the son of Adam, four year old Mitch. Their father Ben Cartwright and younger brother Little Joe were at a sale of a herd and so absence at the Ponderosa.
That morning at the ranch:
“Shall pa not find out that we have taken a day off?”, Hoss asked suddenly.
“Maybe yes, maybe not. We just tell that Mitch wasn’t alright”, answered his brother.
They looked at the yard where the youngest shoot of the Cartwright family played.
“Shall we go swimming with Mitchy?”, asked Hoss.
“Gees, I shall have to go to the newspaper then first”, said Adam.
“Why now?”, was the amazing question of his younger.
“To announce that you happen to have a good idea”, Adam answered dry.
Mitch heard that there was talking about him and walked to the porch.
“Are you talking about me?”, the boy asked.
“Yes. Do you feel like going swimming with us?”, asked Adam.
“Of course. May Cody come along too?”, Mitch asked.
Cody heard his name and came to the Cartwrights.
“Of course he may come along”, said Hoss.
“Cody, we are going to play fine with water and make our uncle wet”, Mitch said to the dog.
“Woof”, Cody barked.
Hoss got up and walked to the kitchen to arrange the picnic basket with the cook Hop Sing. Adam went with Mitch to get the rest of the things.
Not much later The Cartwrights were at their private swimming pool. Adam helped his son with getting undressed and like an arrow the youngest Cartwright went into the water. Adam and Hoss followed not much later. Cody too went into the water.
After an hour the brothers went out of the water but Mitch and Cody stayed in it.
“That swimming always makes me very hungry”, said Hoss.
“Everything makes you hungry”, reacted Adam.
He walked to the water and called, “Mitch, Cody, come here. We are going to eat.”
Mitch came out of it right away but Cody didn’t. Adam dried his boy and together they walked to Hoss.
“Uncle Hoss, Cody wants that you get him”, said Mitch.
Hoss got up and walked to the water where the shepherd stood near the water. A second later he shook out his pelt so that Hoss became wet again. He turned around and saw a loud laughing Adam and Mitch looking at him. Hoss groaned something inaudible but the smell of fresh sandwiched fillings and spreads made his angry mood disappear again.
After the meal Mitch and Cody played near the water under supervision of Adam and Hoss. Suddenly Mitch came to them with a very urgent question.
“Daddy, would Hop Sing like to bake pancakes for tonight?”, asked the youngest Cartwright.
“If you ask it he surely will do it”, Adam replied.
Hoss already got the water into his mouth with the thought that they ate pancakes.
Around an hour or four the Cartwrights went home again. Already at the yard Adam put Mitch on the ground where after the boy ran straight to the kitchen.
“Hop Sing, would you like to bake pancakes for us? For supper?”, the boy asked.
“Of course Hop Sing shall do that. But little Mitch help with baking”, the Chinese cook said.
“Alright”, said Mitch.
Soon the smell of delicious pancakes was hanging through their house and at the yard. Here by especially Hoss got more appetite but the appetite of Adam had woken up too.
During supper the big pile of pancakes was disappeared in a little time.
After supper and when Mitch was already sleeping the brothers sat on the porch discussing their day and they came to one and the same conclusion.
“Adam, as soon as pa and Little Joe are away again and it is a nice weather like today we take another day off. It felt good to me”, said Hoss.
“I couldn’t say it any better”, assented to Adam.
They decided not to share this day with their father and youngest brother but just to keep it for themselves.