At a Saturday afternoon Hoss Cartwright said to his eight year old nephew Mitch, “Mitchy, come here to your beloved uncle Hoss.”
The boy came and looked at him questionable.
“Shall we play a joke on your father and grandpa?”, asked Hoss.
“What are you up to?”, asked Mitch.
“On an internetsite you can order a baseball which you can stick on a window or door. Then it is just like you have hit it through it. If we order a few and stick the everywhere and et’s see how they react”, said Hoss.
“May I have one for my room door?”, asked his nephew.
“Of course”, was the answer.
They got up and walked to the central computer which stood in the office. Hoss sat down and Mitch came to stand next to him. Hoss started up the pc and soon they had the site they needed.
“I want one of the Braves”, said the youngest Cartwright.
“If that one is there. Otherwise you want to have ……..?”, his uncle asked.
“One of the Yankees”, replied Mitch.
They looked but found only of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
“We order 3 of Boston and 3 of the Yankees. I pay with my credit-card and let the package deliver here”, said Hoss.
He filled in the order form and the order was placed.
“So. Now we all have to do is wait till the package arrives and then we can stick”, Hoss said when he had printed out all information.
Three days later a package on the name of Hoss Cartwrightgot delivered. Fortuantely for him ánd Mitch the ‘victims Ben and Adam Cartwright’ were still absent due to business.
“Mitchy, come here because you must say where they must hang”, he said to his nephew.
Mitch unpacked the package and put one of the Yankees aside.
“One comes above the desk of grandpa. One of Boston on the bed room door of daddy. Then we stick one on the bath room door. And on your door and that of uncle Joe”, said Mitch.
“Plus that one on your door. Shall we decorate the house now?”, Hoss asked jolly.
Mitch nodded.
So said, so done.
A few hours later Ben, Adam and Joe Cartwright came home. By way of precaution Hoss and Mitch had hid alle the packing material.
“Hello pa, Adam, Joe. Welcome home”, Hoss said notable polite.
“Hello Hoss, Mitch. Has something happened here yet?”, asked the owner of the Ponderosa.
“No, why? Does ever happens something here?”, Hoss asked on his turn.
Ben looked around and saw then the ball on the window bove his office. He directly looked at his grandson.
“Mitchell, did you hit that ball through the window?”, he asked strict.
Mitch kept silent. Adam and Joe looked at the ball and had trouble keeping their laugh.
“Mitch, grandpa asked you something”, said Adam.
“No, because then the window would be totally broken”, replied the boy.
“Hoss?”, Ben asked then.
“No, the smurfs have done it”, he replied.
“Hm, I shall believe that then”, said Ben.
He grabbed his luggage and walked with his eldest and yougest son upstairs to unpack. On the doors they saw balls hanging.
When Adam saw the ball hanging on his door he said, “This is the very last time that I leave Mitch with Hoss!”
“Adam, your brother means well”, said Joe.
Adam groaned something untelligible and Joe walked laughing to his room.
“That dirty little brat!!!!!!!!”, riep Joe called out when he dscovered the ball on his door.
Ben and Adam came running and saw the ball hanging too.
“We must queston those two later on firmly”, said Ben.
The brothers though so too.
Back in the living room again the questioning began.
“Mitch, was it your idea to hang those balls on the doors?”, asked Ben.
“Yes, but the real idea came from uncle Hoss. He had seen them on a site and ordered them”, said Mitch.
He got the wrapping and showed it to the others. Now Ben, Adam and Joe could laugh about it as well.
“Well, just leave them”, Ben said finally.
“Alright grandpa”, said his grandson.
“On 1 condition: that you never hit them through my windows”, the rancher continued.
Mitch solemnly promised that.