A school day was over again. Because he had to collect something teacher Adam Cartwright was still in Virginia City. Suddenly he ran into his younger brother Hoss.
“Hello Adam. Who has learned more: you or the kids?”, Hoss asked teasing.
“Very funny”, his brother reacted.
He kept silent for a while and began to tell, “Well, today I have explained the children the difference between virtue and mischief. As example I took the behavior in class. But my son obviously didn’t agree with it, like usual. I let the kids make an essay about that they thought about these two things. Of course Mitch had something differently because he had written: I am never in mischief but my Uncles on the contrary very much. And sometimes they succeed to involve my father in it too. Then he is into mischief.”
Hoss began to laugh hard and got pain in his jaws. Adam noticed that Hoss didn’t believe him.
“Are you coming home or do you stay here?”, he asked.
Hoss went along laughing which wasn’t appreciated by his brother.
That evening during supper Ben Cartwright asked his grandson Mitch, “Have you learned anything today at school?”
“Daddy taught us today about virtue and mischief. We had to write an essay about those things then. I wrote mine about how my Uncles behave themselves often. It said that if they do something that is not allowed that they are in mischief ”, told Mitch.
Hoss and his younger brother Little Joe looked indignant at their nephew but knew that it was true though. Adam looked smiling at his brothers but said nothing.
Ben said, “I think that both Adam and Mitch have learned something today at school.”