It had been quiet for a while at the Ponderosa. One morning four year old Mitch Cartwright saw as first there little rabbits had been born. Like each morning the boy came into the barn to give the animals their food when he saw that were little white balls lying near the two big rabbits. First the boy stood stupefied watching at it but then he ran into the ranch house.
“Mitch, what is the matter?”, ranch owner Ben asked worried.
“We have for Sunday a bigger part of meat. It lies in the barn”, Mitch told excited.
His family members and foreman Candy Canaday looked at him questionable.
Mitch made clear, “On Sunday we do eat rabbit every now and then? Go and look in the barn then.”
They did that. Arrived in the barn they saw the little
rabbits. Ben, Adam and Candy were rolling on the floor laughing about the menu-idea of Mitch. But Hoss and Little Joe didn’t join in.
Adam said to his son after he had finished laughing, “Mitch, you may take care of a little rabbit. After breakfast we going to build a cage for it together.”
The youngest inhabitant of the Ponderosa thought that an excellent idea.
So said, so done.
Adam was with his son busy building a rabbit cage when Candy came to them.
“Adam, I am afraid that your brothers have a plan once again with those rabbits”, the foreman said.
“Don’t worry about that because it will go wrong anyway”, reacted Adam.
“I am not worried about that. But about the fact that they want to involve your son by their newest enterprise”, replied Candy.
“Now you have made sure that I must get worried. Don’t let show anything about that you have told me this”, said Adam.
“I think that Mitch will make sure that the plan fails”, replied Candy.
“Well, if Joe h has made it up it surely will fail”, reacted Adam.
Candy couldn’t disagree with that.
In the meantime Hoss and Joe kept themselves busy with their newest asset.
“Hoss, we shall show our nephew how good we are with business. You go and get him, then I prepare the business”, said Little Joe.
Hoss left the ranch house and went to look for his nephew. He looked for the boy everywhere and finally found him near the barn.
“Adam, dear brother of mine, could I borrow your son for a second?”, Hoss asked being his very friendliest.
Adam sighted deep and looked at his brother with distrust.
“Why do you want to borrow my son for a second? To impress a lady by the usage of the charms of Mitch?”, asked Adam.
“Of course not, if that was the case I will ask advice from Little Joe. No, I want to introduce Mitchy with the business life”, replied Hoss.
“Take him along and watch him carefully”, said Adam.
Hoss grabbed the hand of his nephew and took him to another part of the ranch.
“Are you going to do business with those rabbits?”, asked Mitch.
“Yes, why?”, his uncle asked amazed.
“Then I hope that those rabbits get something good out of it”, replied Mitch.
“What are we very funny again”, Hoss said bit insulted.
They walked into the ranch house where Little Joe was busy with writing.
“Mitchy, you must be careful though because the little rabbits can bite”, Hoss said warning.
His nephew nodded.
“Mitch, sit down and watch how we do business”, said Little Joe.
Mitch went to sit and looked at his uncles with full expectation.
“Hoss, we are going to do it better than the previous time. This time we will get richer than pa”, said Little Joe.
“Can then be yet?”, Hoss asked amazed.
“Of course that can. Let me explain the plan first”, his brother reacted.
“Do that then”, said Hoss.
“We are going to sell the rabbits by auction. The one who wants to pay the most for the animals gets them”, said Little Joe.
“First the people must pay for it and then they get them. Can’t you better not give them right away?”, asked Mitch.
Hoss and Little Joe looked at each other with a look of:“Has our nephew become now crazy at all?”
“Joe, our nephew has but little respect for our plans”, said Hoss.
“Better said: no respect at all. Let him go away before our plan fails”, groaned Little Joe.
Mitch went away smiling. On the way to his father the young Cartwright ran into Candy.
“Why are you so smiling now? Have you driven your uncles to despair again?”, asked the foreman.
“Yes. Uncle Joe wants to sell the little rabbits to the highest bidder. First the people must pay for them and then they get the little rabbits. I said that he better could give them right away”, said Mitch.
Candy couldn’t stop laughing anymore and together they walked to Adam who had the rabbits cage ready.
“Mitch, get your little rabbit and put him in it”, said Adam.
Carefully Mitch got a little rabbit and put the animal into the cage. In brief Candy told about the plan of Hoss and Little Joe. Adam was rolling on the floor laughing.
“Uncle Joe said that he would become even richer than grandpa”, said Mitch.
Now Adam and Candy couldn’t stop laughing anymore.
In the ranch house Hoss and Little Joe got into a row again about how the profits had to be divided.
“I get 65 % because it is my idea”, said Little Joe.
“We would do it fifty fifty so I get the half of the profit”, reacted Hoss.
“I came with the idea so the biggest part is for me”, said Little Joe.
“You forget that someone must carry those cages. You are too weak for that. I can lift them easily so for me the cost for carrying are there for me too”, Hoss explained.
They were quarreling so much that they didn’t even had noticed that the Chinese cook Hop Sing had come inside.
“Mr Hoss and Little Joe no more rowing because Hop Sing fries rabbits for supper”, said the cook.
Now Hop Sing had done it and quickly he fled to the kitchen where he was safe. Hoss and Little Joe were moody and decided to forget their new enterprise.
“Mitchy was right that the little rabbits had the best deal”, Hoss said on the porch.
“That child will never help us to get rich but would love to help us to make us as poor as a church mouse”, Little Joe sighted.
Adam, Mitch and Candy came to them and saw how humiliated the brothers were.
“Adam, I think that their rabbit auction has succeeded completely”, Candy said cheerful.
“I rather fear that they never want to hear the word rabbit again”, Adam remarked.
“The little rabbits didn’t want to do business with them”, said Mitch said light-hearted.
Adam and Candy couldn’t stop laughing anymore and Hoss and Little Joe were even more insulted.
Hoss and Little Joe resolved themselves never to involve their nephew again with their business.