It was the turn of Hoss Cartwright to get the weekly groceries. The loyal cook Hop Sing had given him a long list along.
Before Hoss left his 4 year old nephew Mitch van 4 came to him with the question, “Uncle Hoss, may I come along with you?”
“You may from me but will your father let you go?”, asked Hoss.
“He even wants me to come along”, answered the boy.
Hoss sighed deep an looked at him.
“I don’t even want to know the reason because that will be nice. Are you coming?”, he asked.
Mitch nodded. They got in and drive to the big supermarket.
“Mitchy, do you what’s so nice about the supermarket where we are going to?”, asked Hoss.
“The groceries are free?”, Mitch asked innocent.
“No, not that but you can taste there lots of things”, answered his uncle.
“That’s why you are going to it of course”, Mitch remarked.
“I already regret now that I have taken you along”, sighed Hoss.
“Uncle Hoss, I will be very sweet”, Mitch said with his very sweetest voice.
Of course hereby Hoss had to forgive his nephew again.
Soon Hoss drove upon the parking lot of the supermarket. He stopped and looked at his nephew seriously.
“Mitchy, now you must stay by me because I don’t and may lose you. Plus that this is a big store”, said Hoss.
“I promise that”, said Mitch.
“To be sure that I don’t lose you I will put you in the shopping cart”, said Hoss.
He got out and grabbed the boy out of the child restraint. Then the car got locked and they walked to the shopping carts. Hoss put a coin in it and put then his nephew in the seat in front of the cart.
“I always may walk alone of daddy”, the little lad protested.
“That can be but you are still very little and if I come home without you I get punishment from your father an grandpa”, answered Hoss.
Mitch sighed deep and reacted with, “If you come home without the groceries there is punishment for you from Hop Sing.”
Hoss didn’t reacted and pushed the shopping cart to the store.
Already by the entrance stood a dish with cut peaches. Hoss took one and gave one to his nephew.
“Delicious. It is a pity that Candy isn’t here because he likes them too”, said Mitch.
“Luckily for us he is at home”, said Hoss.
“Uncle Hoss, you know what? You leave me here at the peaches and then you going to get all the groceries. After that you come here to pick me up again”, the youngest Cartwright suggested.
“In your dreams!”, said his uncle.
They walked on and meanwhile the cat got filled with groceries.
At the diary products a woman was recommending milk.
“Your son would like to taste strawberry milk”, she said.
“I do but perhaps uncle Hoss not”, said Mitch.
The woman poured in 2 cups laughing. It tasted the Cartwrights well.
“Delicious. Uncle Hoss, can this be added yet?”, Mitch asked with begging eyes.
Of course Hoss couldn’t refuse this and a packet of strawberry milk went into the cart.
Then they came to the meat where a big roasting tin with fresh baked minced meat.
“Uncle Hoss, attack”, said the youngest Cartwright.
Hoss did that but of course he didn’t forget his nephew. At the cheese Hoss didn’t want anything but that gave him comments of Mitch.
“If you don’t want it I will take yours”, said the little lad.
Hoss gave his block of cheese to the boy who ate it right away. But that was the only thing which Mitch got to eat twice.
By every department stood one or more things to taste and of course the Cartwrights took advantage of that. But at the cash desk there was nothing more to taste to big disappointment of mainly Hoss. Though it had been a nice outing for both and Hoss was satisfied about how his nephew had behaved himself. Hoss paid and took the shopping cart with the groceries and Mitch in it to his car. The groceries got put into the trunk and Hoss brought nicely the shopping cart back. But he did get his nephew out of it though.
On the way home Mitch asked, “Uncle Hoss, shall we go to that store next week again?”
“I am afraid not lad. Because then it’s your uncle Joe on the turn and we may not come too anyway”, answered Hoss.
“Pity”, said Mitch.
His uncle fully agreed with it but they had made a pact though that nobody could come along with them to that certain supermarket.