On the last school day there a special Christmas play was performed. The teacher was Adam Cartwright and one of his pupils was his six year old son Mitch.
One afternoon Adam said, “Boys and girls, from today on we are going to rehearse for the Christmas play. But it won’t be a normal Christmas play. You will sing the songs.”
He looked around the class.
Mitch reacted dry with, “You always must sing songs?”
Everybody laughed and Adam said, “Mitch, you may sing solo.”
“Which carol then? Surely about a rabbit being held as a pet that appears as a meal on the table?”, asked the boy.
“Maybe that is fun too but I actually mean the traditional songs. We make a list of Christmas carols and then we see who sings which one”, answered Adam.
Together they made a list of Christmas carols. Unnoticed Adam looked around the class and saw suddenly that his son was busy with something totally different. He got up and walked to him.
“Are you busy with something else?”, asked Adam.
“Eh yeah”, Mitch said a bit shy.
He showed his drawing. Mitch was drawing a combination of carols.
“We use this as scenery for the Christmas play”, said Adam.
“On condition that I don’t have to sing solo”, Mitch said cunning.
Adam sighed and agreed.
When the list was ready it turned out that nobody knew the lyric of Shepherd In The Christmas Night. Not even Adam.
Matthew Walker remarked, “Well Mitch, now it turns out that even your father doesn’t know everything.”
“But he knows us”, reacted Mitch.
They laughed but one semi strict look from Adam and the boys were silent again.
“Papa, would grandpa have the lyric not in his library at home?”, Mitch asked suddenly.
“We will ask it. Just go home now”, said Adam.
The class was empty at once except for Adam and Mitch.
“Kid, do you really not dare to sing in public? You are not so shy anyway”, Adam said with a smile around his mouth.
“I just can’t sing. Not like you can do that”, the boy confessed.
“You keep busy with the scenery, then the other children may sing. Are you coming home?”, asked Adam.
This wasn’t needed to be said twice.
That evening during supper Mitch asked, “Grandpa, daddy is going to perform with our class a singing Christmas play. But now we don’t know the lyric of a song. Do you have the lyric of it?”
Ponderosa owner Ben Cartwright looked up from this question.
“How is that carol called?”, he asked.
Mitch looked at Adam for support.
“He means shepherd In The Christmas Night. I don’t know the lyric either. But I dare to bet that Hoss and Joe doesn’t know it either”, answered Adam.
“I will later on look with you in the library. But you may rehearse here at the ranch”, said Ben.
The brothers looked at each other terrified.
“Pa, do you know that for certain?”, Joe asked worried.
“All those rascals who going to sing here”, suggested Hoss.
“When Adam and I are present the children will behave themselves”, answered Ben.
Mitch said, “I may work at the scenery.”
“Then we help you with the scenery”, Hoss said on behalf of Joe.
After supper Ben and Mitch went to look for the lyric which they found quickly.
“Kid, it is bed time for you because tomorrow the rehearsal starts for the Christmas play”, Adam said when he got the lyric and music.
“Sleep well”, Mitch said and he got to hear it from the others too.
The following days the choir was well present at the ranch and there was hard work at the scenery.
When it was the evening of the performance whole Virginia City came to watch. It was being held at the Piper Opera House. To big relief of the Cartwrights the singing play was a big success and that was also because of the home made scenery.