XMAS PARTY

At the Ponderosa ranch everything was prepared for the upcoming Xmas party. The tree was trimmed and the house too was decorated. Outside there laid snow everywhere so that the youngest Cartwright, three year old Mitch, played outside each day. His father, Adam Cartwright, and uncles Hoss and Joe didn’t dare to come outside often because they knew that they would be treated at quite a few snowballs.

One afternoon Mitch did the impossible. He was playing with the dog Cody when he threw a snowball in the direction of his beloved grandpa. Of course this was a hit and the rancher looked at his grandson.

“Sorry grandpa. I thought that you were uncle Hoss”, Mitch apologized at once.

“It is alright. But don’t do it ever again”, said Ben.

“I promise”, said the boy.

Then Ben got a good idea.

“Mitch, what would you think if we keep a snowball fight on the upcoming Xmas party?”, asked the rancher.

“Between the kids and the big people?”, asked Mitch.

Ben nodded. Now it was the turn of Mitch to nod.

“Then that is arranged”, said Ben.

He went inside where his sons were. They saw the snow on his coat and got a suspicion of what had happened.

“Pa, have you played with Mitchy in the snow?”, asked Hoss.

“No, your nephew hit me with a snowball. But he has given me an idea for the Xmas party. We hold a snowball fight between the children and the grownups”, Ben answered while he took off his coat.

The brothers first laughed but when their father looked angry at them they became serious again.

“Pa, that is a good idea”, said Adam.

“Adam had a good idea too but Little Joe and I don’t think so”, said Hoss.

Now Ben became very curious of course.

“Adam, what was your idea?”, he asked.

“Well, everyone who comes to the party must sing a carol. The one who sings the most beautiful wins a prize”, Adam explained.

“That is fun too to do”, Ben said smiling.

He walked to his office and sat down behind his desk. The boys followed him. Ben wrote down the 2 ideas.

“Of course there has to be plenty of food and drink”, said Hoss.

Everybody laughed.

“Hop Sing will take care of that for sure”, Ben reassured his second son.

“Don’t forget that Santa drops by”, answered Little Joe.

“I would like to do that. On condition that Adam doesn’t let his son near me”, said Hoss.

“Hoss, be reassured because your nephew knows already that you are Santa”, reacted Adam.

“And we let the children make something nice in the snow. The winner of the most beautiful or strangest art work gets a prize”, said Ben.

He wrote everything down so that those ideas too could be worked out as well.

All friends and acquaintances of the Cartwrights got an invitation with explanation and everyone promised to come. The Chinese cook Hop Sing worked himself to the bone to prepare all the food and drinks and the others kept themselves busy with the preparations of the party.

Finally it was the time. Everything was ready and the Cartwrights had put on their best clothes. Even Mitch looked nicely for his own thing. Not much later the first guests came. Joe had gotten the role of doorman and had to receive the invitations.

“Daddy, must I help uncle Joe?”, Mitch asked after a while.

They looked at the front door and Joe who was very busy.

“Mitch, you accept the invitations so that uncle Joe can get the coats”, said Adam.

The little boy got up and walked to his uncle.

“Daddy says that I must help you with the invites. You must get the coats”, said Mitch.

Joe looked for a second at his eldest brother and agreed then. Mitch went to sit in the chair near the front door and got from everyone the invitations.

Under the guests were the families Walker and Wilkins. But sheriff Roy Coffee and deputy Clem Foster had accepted the invitation and had come as well. Patricia Parker had come too with her followers (her 3 children: James, William and Polly). Out of precaution Adam decided to keep his son and dog with him because he knew exactly how Patricia was.

Ben took the word when everyone had coffee and cake, “All welcome at the Xmas Ponderosa. My sons, grandson and I have made a varied program and we hope that everyone enjoys it. The first part of the program is the Xmas carol song contest. Each guest must sing a carol. We judge the singing and the best performer wins something.”

“I go as first and my beautiful entry is Silent Night”, said Patricia.

“The performer must stand on the stairs so that it sounds better”, said Adam.

“For this time then”, she said with a lot of reluctance.

She walked to the stairs and went to stand on the steps and began to sing. Yet before Patricia had finished the first sentence Mitch had covered the ears of Cody to prevent that his friend became deaf. Hoss pushed Joe and pointed at their nephew and dog. They began to laugh which everyone heard. Patricia saw that and made then a real show of her performance. Ben stepped in and hinted that the next one could sing. That was Molly Wilkins.

“I will sing: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”, she said.

She began to sing and now Cody could hear it too because Molly sang the stars from Heaven. This to the annoying of Patricia.

“It is a pity that cousin Muley Jones isn’t here”, said Hoss.

“Who is cousin Muley Jones?”, Mitch asked amazed.

“That is a family member of ours and when he sings all glasses break. But even he sings better than Mrs Parker”, Adam explained.

But the other performers were quite good too. Still only 1 person could win.

“And the winner of the song contest is: Mrs Molly Wilkins. Come and collect your prize”, said Adam.

Molly came with joy and got a medal around her neck.

“The second part is for the children among us. Outside on the yard there is enough snow. The one who makes the most beautiful or strangest art work wins something too”, said Ben.

“So uncle Hoss and uncle Joe may join in too?”, Mitch asked sneaky.

Everyone except Hoss and Joe and the Parker family laughed.

“They would wish. But only the real children may enter”, answered Ben.

Quickly the children put on their coats and they went to play in the snow. Cody went outside too and stayed by Mitch and his friend Matthew Walker.

“What shall we make?”, asked Matthew.

Mitch looked at Cody and answered then, “Cody, sit and pose. We make a Cody in snow.”

The dog did that and remained sitting till he was copied.

was.

James said, “We make an ordinary snowman and we win then.”

He got support from his brother and sister.

“Sean, we make a lying snowman”, Jenny Wilkins said to her brother.

So said, so done.

After a while 2 beautiful art works of snow were showing at the yard. But there was 1 snow project which had failed completely. And that was the one of the Parker kids.

“Where are my angles of children?”, Patricia asked on the porch.

All grownups looked around and discovered then a big heap of snow which moved by itself. Patricia went to it and grubbed so in the snow pile that she fell into it herself. Everyone began to laugh out loud so that the humiliation became bigger. Patricia fished her offspring out of it and looked at them stern.

“Children, we have made the big mistake to accept an invitation of the Cartwrights. So we will never do this again. Not even when there is a stately wedding to celebrate here. Even though that will never happen! We go home now”, she preached to her children.

They had disappeared at once. Not that the others minded because now it became more cozier.

“Well, I must say that both art works of snow are apart. So what do we do now?”, asked Ben.

“Just give the prize to Jenny and Sean because Cody and I already have the honor to live here”, said Mitch.

“And Matthew then?”, asked Hoss.

“They all have won”, answered his father.

Also for this part the winners got a medal.

“The next part is even for the grownups very funny. That happens to be a snowball fight between the children and the grownups”, said Ben.

“Molly, shall we help Hop Sing with getting the food and drinks ready?”, asked Laura Walker, the mother of Matthew.

“That’s alright. Then the men can play nicely in the snow”, said Molly.

They did that.

Soon the snowballs flew over and again across the yard. Because the children were still little the men hardly could hit them. But the men were a nice target for them. Each time when a man was hit 3 snowballs flew in the direction of the little ones. Ben, Roy and Clem watched enjoying from the porch.

“Ben, has one of your sons given you this idea?”, Roy asked after a while.

“No, that is the fault of that sweet grandson of mine. He threw a snowball to me and so we have decided to do this part as well”, said the rancher.

“And that snowball of Mitch was of course quite a hit?”, Clem asked careful.

“Indeed. So that will promise a lot for the future. Seeing as Mitch becomes 4 tomorrow I am afraid that he will use us as target with snowballs”, answered Ben.

When everyone saw red of the winter chill and effort the whole company went inside again where a new attack began. But now at the food and drinks. By the support of the ladies Hop Sing had it gotten a bit less busy and so he could relax for a bit. In a short time all the food and drinks had disappeared.

At a certain moment Hoss disappeared to his bedroom. Quickly he changed and he went downstairs as Santa.

“There is Santa!”, said Jenny.

All children ran to the stairs so that Hoss couldn’t see the lowest step anymore.

“Ho ho, ho”, Hoss said laughing jolly.

He sat down and the children did that too. Cody joined them.

“Have you been all good his year?”, he asked.

“We always are good”, Jenny said on behalf of the others.

“Adam, are these our children who say that?”, asked Larry Thompson.

The father of Matthew, Dan, looked at him too.

“I don’t think so”, Adam answered on a whispering tone.

“Well, Because you all have been so good Santa has brought a little present for all of you”, said Hoss.

He looked into his bag and got out of it for each child a small box which included 2 tangerines.

“Thank you Santa”, the children all said together.

Meanwhile the women did the dishes with the support of Hop Sing who appreciated that very much.

Outside it was getting quite dark already.

“Dear present. Outside it is getting quite dusky and we all want that you arrive home safely. So hereby the Xmas party at the Ponderosa has ended. Thanks for your presence and cooperation and we hope that you have found it very cozy and liked it”, said Ben.

The guests said goodbye and went to their own homes and the Cartwrights stayed behind alone. They watched them go and enjoyed yet of the falling snow.

“Pa, what was that a great party”, said Hoss.

“Indeed boys. Fortunately everything went well”, answered Ben.

“Especially after Mrs Parker with her children had left”, said Joe.

Mitch rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and saw the snow falling down.

“Papa, may I play in the snow?”, asked the boy.

“Tomorrow when it is light again and after breakfast”, answered Adam.

He decided to bring the boy to bed and hoped that he would sleep through. But yet before Mitch was in bed he already had left for Dreamland. He went to bed himself not much later because he knew that son would be standing at his bed early the next morning.

But Ben, Hoss and Joe also didn’t stay up for very long. And that same went for Hop Sing too.