On a beautiful day Ponderosa ranch owner Ben Cartwright said to his 6-year old grandson, “Mitch, we are going to camp for a few days. At the same time I let you see some of the ranch. I have to go to Virginia City anyway and take then some supplies along as well.”
The little boy asked excited, “Great. So daddy, uncle Hoss and uncle Joe stay nicely at home to work hard?”
“They stay at home indeed. Now I go to Virginia City and you are going to work on your father”, answered the rancher.
Mitch liked that idea of camping with his grandpa He was thrilled with his father Adam Cartwright but yet the boy got teased a lot by him and uncles Hoss and Little Joe. Ben stepped in but then a few days later the teasing began again.
“See you later”, Mitch said smiling.
Mitch went to look for his father and found him at the stables. The boy watched smiling but silent how Adam worked.
Adam felt that he had been watched and asked suspicious, “Mitch, what do you need from me?”
“Who says that I need something from you? I have here almost everything that I want except that I know where mama is”, was the answer of his son.
“Mitch, I really don’t know where your mother is. But what’s the real reason why you are looking at me that way?”, Adam wanted to know.
“Grandpa and I are going camping and you may nicely go cramping”, Mitch told light-hearted.
Adam sighed deep and answered, “Sometimes I want to go back to Boston with you so that grandpa can’t spoil you. And this is such a moment.”
“But we do go to Boston one time, don’t we?”, Mitch asked hopeful.
Adam pulled the boy near him and said, “Of course we do that. You go camp nicely with grandpa and we will look after Cody.”
“Fine daddy”, said the boy.
He kept silent for a second and said then, “I won’t keep you any longer from your work. I go play nicely with Cody.”
A moment later Adam could go back to work again.
Ben was in Virginia City, had given up the order at the trading post and sat now with sheriff Roy Coffee and deputy Clem Foster.
“Ben, do you happen to have too much free time that you can sit here so cozy?”, asked Roy.
“I have plenty of work to do but a man must relax every now and then like now. Besides I had to be in Virginia City anyway for extra supplies. Mitch and I are going to camp for a few days. He is now 6½ and it is about time that the boy gets to know the area of the ranch”, answered the rancher.
“And Mitch is going to work at the ranch later too just like your sons?”, asked Clem.
Ben sighed deep and said, “I am afraid that he is going to break with the family tradition by going to play baseball later. Now Mitch already can throw all apples from the high apple trees. And then all apples are undamaged. What that is concerned Adam has raised him wrong.”
“Can’t you convince your grandson to go work at the ranch anyway?”, asked Clem.
“I try that but the boy is a real Cartwright. He already knows now what he wants and let that clearly show too. But he also knows that the ranch will be his home forever”, answered Ben.
In the evening Ben said, “Adam, I hope that you can keep your brothers under control while Mitch and I are away.”
Hoss and Joe looked at each other amazed.
“Pa, where are you going to with that little thing?”, asked Hoss.
Then Mitch interfered.
“Uncle Joe is always being called Little Joe, isn’t he? So he is that little thing. Besides, grandpa only takes me along”, he remarked.
“I mean you”, Hoss said pointing with his fork at his nephew.
Hoss got at once a wipe out the pan from him because the boy said, “I am called Mitch and not that little thing. Besides, daddy says that pointing is impolite. And with your fork totally.”
Joe asked amazed, “Since when do you have such good table manners?”
“I always have had them. You never have noticed that”, answered Mitch.
Adam looked at his brothers smiling.
Ben remarked, “Joseph, you can take an example from your nephew what table manners is concerned. And that also goes for Hoss.”
Mitch hit back at once with the suggestion, “Grandpa, when we are away then daddy can teach his brothers table manners.”
Ben and Adam thought that a funny idea but the other 2 grownup Cartwrights didn’t.
“Adam, why did you actually taught your son to talk? It looks like he insults us all the time”, said Hoss.
“I don’t do that at all. I just praise you”, reacted his nephew.
But his uncles weren’t pleased with this reaction either.
Shortly after the announcement about the hike trip Ben and Mitch went away. Fortunately the weather worked well along and the gentlemen were in a good mood.
At a certain moment Kevin Cooper stood on their way. The Cartwrights stopped their horses and looked at Kevin.
“Are we going pass him or do the horses walk him over?”, asked Mitch.
Ben answered, “The horses can get injured. And the road can get damaged too. Seeing as this is our land I don’t want that either.”
“Dismount and come along”, Kevin said who had become a bit nervous by the conversation of the Cartwrights.
“Must we dismount and the horses must come too or do we leave them here?”, asked Mitch.
“That is a very interesting question”, answered Ben.
“Come along and those jades too!”, snapped Kevin.
Ben and Mitch dismounted and walked with Kevin. He had got ridden of his angry mood because he had captured 2 Cartwrights. He even began to whistle.
In their cabin his brother Al stood waiting. When Kevin came inside with his hostages Al got the scare of his life.
“Kevin, who have you taken along this time for hostages? They don’t give us money but us the criminal life!”, said Al.
“It are just an old guy and a crippled lad. We can take them on easily”, Kevin said mocking.
Al looked at well again at their hostages and answered then angry, “Idiot that you are!”
“I am an idiot? Why? That kid can’t even shoot and that old man is too old to fight”, said Kevin.
Ben and Mitch listened amused and they even smiled.
“That old guy is Ben Cartwright and that kid is his grandson. If we do something to them we get those die Cartwright brothers + al l their hands after us. And I don’t feel like that”, Al explained.
Kevin said laughing, “So you are afraid for them? I’m not because I blow them down 1 by 1. To start with that little one.”
He grabbed his rifle and pointed it at Mitch who didn’t move a muscle. The trigger got pulled and at the moment that Kevin wanted to shoot Mitch pushed the rifle to the foot of Kevin. The rifle went off and Kevin shot himself into the foot. He fell on the ground where by Ben could overpower him. Mitch threw a stone to the head of Al who fell backwards and broke his neck. Kevin too moved to the Eternal Hunting Fields after he tried to shoot at Ben. But Ben was a fraction faster.
“Mitch, it’s over. They are both dead. We take the bodies to Virginia City and report this to the sheriff”, said Ben.
“But we don’t tell this at home?”, Mitch asked carefully.
“No, they don’t have to know this. Besides, then I may never take you along of your father”, Ben answered laughing.
“I just go along with you”, his grandson reacted.
They wrapped up the bodies and rode to Virginia City. Underway they ran into deputy Clem Foster. They stopped.
“Clem, we were just on our way to you”, said Ben.
The rancher told what had happened.
“But uncle Hoss, uncle Joe and especially daddy may not hear about it”, said Mitch.
“And why is that?”, asked the deputy.
The answer of the boy was, “Otherwise grandpa may never take me along of daddy anymore.”
“And you always listen to your father, do you?”, Clem asked amused.
“Sometimes I have trouble with that”, confessed Mitch.
Ben reacted, “But that also goes for his father and uncles. Especially his youngest uncle.”
“Ben, I know exactly what you mean. I will take the bodies along and kept silent about this to your sons, Bye gentlemen”, said the deputy.
They went each their own way. Clem rode back to Virginia City and the Cartwrights continued their hike trip.
By evening they made camp.
Ben saw that Mitch was tired and asked teasing, “Shall we ride on a bit or spend the night here?”
Mitch, who saw through his grandpa, answered, “I’m still very young but old people like you need a lot of rest. So we sleep here.”
Of course the rancher knew nothing to say back so he prepared the sleeping places ready for use.
“Good night Mitch”, Ben said when the boy laid.
“You too good night grandpa”, said the boy.
Ben tucked him in where after Mitch fell asleep at once. Not much later the rancher went to sleep as well.
The Cartwrights woke up by the whistling of the birds. First Mitch didn’t know where he was but when he saw the blue clear sky above him it got through into his brains why the young Cartwright was outside and not in his room.
Ben took care of the breakfast while Mitch washed himself in a little stream.
“Morning grandpa. Has Hop Sing brought the breakfast?”, Mitch asked cheerful.
Hop Sing was their loyal Chinese cook.
“Morning Mitch. Hop Sing has stayed at home to look after your father and uncles. I have prepared breakfast”, answered the rancher.
Mitch came to sit by him and got a plate with food. A moment later Ben was eating too.
“Well grandpa, it is also delicious. I had never expected that”, Mitch said when his plate was empty.
“Thanks son. We wash this, pack up everything and travel on”, answered Ben.
Mitch thought it was alright.
Not much later the Cartwrights went ahead. Often they were alone in the landscapes. But that afternoon the couple came by a cabin where the elderly couple Jack and Bella Simpson lived.
“If that isn’t Ben Cartwright! Ole boy, what are you doing here?”, Jack asked surprised.
Ben dismounted and shook Jack laughing the hand.
“I’m making a hike trip with my grandson. Mitch, come here for a second. I want to introduce you to 2 old friends of mine”, answered Ben.
Mitch dismounted and got introduced to Jack and Bella.
“Of whom is he a child?”, asked Jack.
“Adam. And that is very much to notice too. But I’m crazy about him”, answered Ben.
“He looks like a lot like his father”, said Bella.
They went inside where the coffee was made.
“How long do you know each other?”, Mitch suddenly asked.
“All since your father was a bit older than you are now”, answered Jack.
Ben answered, “Adam was 9 when you came to live here.”
“Daddy was then 9? I can’t imagine that”, reacted Mitch.
The grownups laughed.
“Now I understand why you said that Mitch looks like his father very much”, said Jack.
The Cartwrights drank another cup of coffee where after they went ahead again.
Mitch wondered how many people his grandpa all knew so he asked the question, “Grandpa, how many people do you actually know?”
“Well son, that are a whole lot. As you know I have travelled a lot before the Ponderosa got built. By that I got to know a lot of people and that often became friends too”, answered Ben.
The boy nodded. At home Mitch eagerly listened to stories of earlier days.
The Cartwrights stopped at a small river.
“Grandpa, are we going to fish here?”, asked Mitch.
“I had planned that indeed”, answered the rancher.
Not much later grandpa and grandson were fishing. Ben had chosen this fishing spot on purpose in the hope that he would catch more fish than Mitch. Most of the time when Ben went fishing with his grandson the boy caught the most fish. Now the rancher hoped that luck was on his side. But he didn’t have much faith in it. The most important thing was that Ben spent time with his grandson while that was still possible for both. “Much luck grandpa”, the youngest Cartwright said when the rods were being thrown out for the 1st time.
“You too son”, answered the rancher.
A few hours later.
Around Ben there were no fish but his grandson on the other hand was surrounded by much fish.
To avoid the sarcastic remarks of his grandson said the rancher, “Mitch, you know that the rule is that who catches the most fish must do the dishes.”
Mitch hit back with the question, “That does go for the one who catches nothing, does it?”
Of course Ben had nothing to say in return.
Then Mitch said, “I do want to help frying the fish.”
“We do that together and the dishes too”, said Ben.
Mitch was for that.
Not long after supper and the dishes the Cartwrights went to sleep.
The next morning during breakfast Ben said, “Mitch, today I will teach you how you throw with a lasso.”
His grandson looked at him and asked on his turn, “Is that necessary to become a cowboy?”
“Yes sure. You can throw very well with a ball so I think that you can also throw with a lasso”, answered the rancher.
Mitch nodded.
After breakfast the Cartwrights went to an open field. Ben grabbed the lasso off his horse and explained patiently how the lasso was made up ad showed how you had to throw it. Mitch watched and knew that he could do it too.
“Grandpa, may I try it?”, the boy asked a moment later.
The rancher gave the lasso to Mitch and let him try it. Mitch grabbed the rope and threw it neatly around a low tree.
“That is good, son. But you also must be able when you ride your horse”, said Ben.
“I can do that too. With baseball you must run and keep an eye on the ball. So riding horse and throwing your lasso is actually the same thing”, Mitch said resolute.
He grabbed the lasso and mounted on his horse Caramel. They began to ride where after the youngest Cartwright caught the horse of Ben. The rancher was very impressed.
“Mitch, I’m a afraid that you will become a better cowboy that your father and uncles”, Ben said when Mitch had dismounted.
“I won’t become that. I already am that”, the boy corrected his grandpa.
Ben sighed deep and knew that it was time to go home again.
“Mitch, we go home again because otherwise your father and uncles are going to miss us”, he said.
Mitch didn’t mind.
When they were almost home they came pass a tree where Hoss and Joe once had notched their names into it. The Cartwrights stopped and dismounted.
“Mitch, here you have my pocket knife. I want that you notch your name too into this tree”, said Ben.
“Why?”, the boy asked amazed.
“So that everyone can see that you have been here too. You can show this later to your children”, the rancher explained.
Mitch understood it het and notched his name into the tree.
Not much later grandpa and grandson arrived again at their known ranch house where they got received with open arms by Adam, Hoss, Joe and their dog Cody.