The picnic guests began arriving shortly after Cat and her brothers returned from taking the cow back to the rest of her herd. Cat proudly showed Fury off to them and everyone, especially Joshua and Thaddeus were amazed at how much work she had done with him in less than two weeks. They were equally amazed when Cat picked her puppies up, put them on the colt's back and walked around the pasture with him walking right beside her. Charles Ingalls shook his head in amazement and said, "If that doesn't beat everything. I've raised many horses in my life but have never seen anything like that before."
"Neither have I Charles," replied Ben. "I didn't start raising horses until I began this ranch but I am totally amazed at the things that colt will do for that little girl. Do you know that she's planning on teaching him how to fly? Adam told her about Pegasus and she's determined to teach Fury how to fly. Nobody here has the heart to tell her that Pegasus was just a myth and Fury needs wings if he's going to fly. Alright Cat. You can stay here and play with your colt or we can go on our picnic. What is it going to be?"
"The picnic!" exclaimed Cat happily. She gave Fury a hug and kiss and climbed over the pasture gate and onto Ben's back.
"Girl, when are you going to put some weight on? Your brothers are right. We're going to have to fill your pockets and boots with rocks so a good strong wind doesn't carry you away. Charles, you have three daughters. Is it normal for a nine year old to weigh so little?"
Charles laughed. "Well, Half Pint doesn't weigh all that much. Has the doctor examined Cat?"
"Yes, and he says she's just fine."
"Well then, stop worrying. Cat is only nine and little girls don't weigh as much as little boys. Cat, climb over here onto my back and let me see just what your Pa is worried about."
Cat climbed from Ben's back to Charles' who proceeded to laugh at Ben. "Ben you are worrying about nothing. Cat weighs just about the same as Laura does. Both of them are healthy. If you want to worry about something, worry about when she gets old enough for courting. Now let's get this picnic going before you find something else to worry about that doesn't need to be worried about."
Ben laughed. "Alright Charles. I'll quit worrying about how much Cat weighs. Right now, I would prefer not to think about her becoming old enough to court."
They reached the barn and Adam, Hoss, and Joe began saddling horses for everyone. Mitch helped and hitched up the buggy for Caroline. "Charles, do you want to ride a horse or in the buggy with Caroline?" asked Adam.
"I'll ride in the buggy with Caroline. With three children, we don't get to spend much time alone together."
"I want to ride a horse," said Carrie.
"And so you will," replied Hoss. "You're going to ride up on a big horse with ol' Hoss here. We might even go for a short gallop."
Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Mitch started leading horses out of the barn. Ben looked at the horses and asked, "Who is Beauty for?"
"He's for Cat," replied Joe. With Laura riding Star and Mary riding Ginger, Cat needs a horse to ride. She's an excellent rider Pa. You know that. She has ridden both Sport and Cochise with no problems except needing a little help getting into the saddle."
Ben sighed. He wanted to say 'Let her ride the pony Dusty' but instead just said, "Ok".
Once all of the horses were out of the barn, Cat's brothers started carrying the fishing poles and worm cans out of the barn. "Please bring a fishing pole and worm can for me," said Caroline. "I plan to catch more fish than everyone else."
Mary and Laura were surprised at their mother's words. "You fish Ma?" asked Mary.
"Yes she does," replied Charles. "That's one of the things that attracted me to her. Not only can she fish, she can also bait her own hook, take the fish off, clean and cook it."
"My father taught me when I was a child," said Caroline. "He said that as long as I know how to fish and am near water, I will never go hungry. That's why I have encouraged you girls to learn how to fish. I know you don't like it Mary, but there may come a time when you need it to survive."
"Alright Ma," replied Mary. "I'll fish but I won't like it."
Charles and Caroline laughed. "You don't have to like it Sweetheart," said Charles. "We just want you to be able to take care of yourself if you ever have to. Now, which horse are you riding?" He helped her to mount Ginger, helped Laura to mount Star and adjusted the stirrups for both girls.
Joe had adjusted Beauty's stirrups too short so Cat was having a hard time mounting him. Since she wanted to prove to Ben that she wasn't a baby, she didn't ask for help. She led the horse over to the chopping block, stood on it and mounted the horse that way. Then she tried to adjust the stirrup length while she was in the saddle and almost fell out. "I would have helped you," said Ben, catching her.
"Only babies need help and I'm not a baby. I can do it myself."
"Everyone needs help once in a while. You can't adjust the stirrups while you're in the saddle. Nobody can. Ask your brothers, Mitch, Thaddeus, Joshua, and Charles and see if I'm right. Now, sit up straight and hang your legs down so I can put the stirrups to the right length for you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome Kitten. I don't ever want you to be afraid to ask for help just because you think I'll think you're a baby. You are my daughter and it's my job to help you just like it's my job to help your brothers even though they are a lot older than you are. Now, where are your saddle bags?"
"I left them on the hitching rail. I'll get them. Oh, I forgot my ball again."
"I've got them for you," said Joe. He handed her the saddle bags and put a puppy in each side of the saddle bags. "Who gets to hold the ball today?"
"Lassie does. Silver Chief got to hold it last time."
"Alright. Here you go Lassie. You get to hold the ball this time. Don't lose it now. The girls and Mike are going to want to play with it at the lake."
Cat giggled at her brother's comments. "You're silly Joe. Lassie isn't going to take the ball out of my saddle bags and throw it on the ground."
"No, she probably won't do that, but she and Silver Chief might decide to play catch while you're riding."
"They don't have hands and can't throw the ball."
"Well, they're pretty smart puppies so they might figure out how to do it."
"Joe, Pa says that nobody can adjust their stirrups when they're in the saddle. Is that right or he just treating me like a baby again?"
"Yes, Pa is right. You have to adjust your stirrups before you get in the saddle or have someone do it for you."
"Oh. Well, how do you know how long to make them before you get in the saddle? Everybody always does it for me and I want to know how to do it myself."
"We'll talk about it later. Everybody's waiting to go to Lake Tahoe for the picnic." He walked of and mounted his horse. Hoss put Carrie in his saddle, swung up behind her and everyone rode off toward Lake Tahoe.
"Go fast Hoss," said Carrie.
Hoss laughed. "Alright little one. We'll run in just a few minutes. There's too many trees right here, so we need to wait until we get to a spot where there aren't any."
They came to a clearing and everybody laughed as Carrie said, "Go faster Hoss. I want to go really fast."
Hoss laughed and said, "Alright Carrie. Hold on tight ta the saddle horn and we'll go fast." Carrie held on to the saddle horn as tight as she could and Hoss urged Chub into a gallop.
They galloped for a while and when Hoss slowed Chub down to a walk, Carrie protested. "Don't stop Hoss. I want to go really fast. It's fun."
"We'll gallop again later. After all, we wouldn't want poor ol' Chubby here to get tired out, now would we?"
"No, I guess not. But I like to go really fast. Can we really do it again later?"
"Yes little one. We'll do it again later. Right now, we need to wait for everyone else ta catch up with us."
The party reached the lake and the girls started to go behind some bushes to change into their swimming clothes when Caroline called them. "Girls, come and help take everything out of the buggy. You can change clothes once it is empty. The lake will still be there. I promise, it won't go anywhere."
The girls giggled at the thought of Lake Tahoe walking off and helped to empty the buggy. While the girls were changing clothes, Ben took his guests to the lake to show them where the children were allowed to swim. "They are not allowed to swim out past the end of that tree unless there is an adult out with them and gives them permission. Catherine, Laura, and Mary know the rules. If one of them goes out past the tree without adult permission, they will have to sit under a tree for an hour. If it happens again, they will not be allowed to swim again today." No sooner had he finished speaking when the girls ran toward the lake only to be stopped by Ben. "Girls, what are the swimming rules?"
"Stay between the two trees and don't go out past the long one without an adult," the three older girls said together.
"Very good. I'm glad you remembered. Why don't you stay in the shallow water with Carrie for a few minutes until everyone else has changed? You're not strong enough to take her out deep and could get tired out easily."
Laura, Mary, and Cat looked at each other for a minute and then Mary said, "Ok, we'll stay with Carrie until Ma or Pa or someone can take her out deep."
"Yeah," said Laura. "It wouldn't be fair to leave her here alone while we swam out where she couldn't."
"We're good swimmers," said Cat. "But I don't think it would be easy for us to keep Carrie and us from going under the water."
"That's my girls," Ben said hugging them. "You are being very thoughtful and I am very proud of you."
Cat ran and got her ball and the four girls stayed in the very shallow water playing catch until everyone else had changed. Before long everyone had changed clothes and was in the lake. Hoss picked Carrie up, put her on his shoulders and said, "Come on little one. Let's show the big girls how far you can swim out. You just hang on tight to ol' Hoss and we're going to go out past where the big girls have to stop." Carrie giggled as Hoss tickled her feet while he started walking out into the lake.
The other girls and Mike Devlin swam out to the end of the big tree and started splashing each other. Cat decided to see how far she could go without being punished so she put both feet out past the end of the tree. Joe saw what she was doing, quietly swam up behind her, put a hand on her head and dunked her under the water. Cat came up sputtering and fighting mad. "What in tarnation did you do that for? I wasn't doin' anythin' wrong. I'm still on this side of the tree."
"You were playing with fire little girl and I had to put the fire out before it spread to your bottom. I guarantee that if you go out past that tree without permission, your bottom will end up on fire. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yeah."
"That's good." Joe dunked Cat one more time and swam off. Cat got angry, swam after him and tried to dunk him but Joe was stronger and dunked her again.
Ben and Adam were standing in knee deep water and watched Cat stick her foot out past the end of the tree. "Aren't you going to stop her?" asked Adam.
"No, Joe is. Watch what he does." They stood and laughed as Joe dunked his sister and she tried to dunk him in return. "I don't need to step in every time. You and Hoss helped keep Joe out of trouble and there's no reason why the three of you can't work together to do the same for your sister."
Mike, Mary, and Laura saw Cat struggling to dunk Joe and decided to help their friend. He was no match for the four children and called Adam to help him. "What's wrong baby brother? Can't you handle four little kids? You're nineteen now and it's time you stopped needing help from your older brothers," teased Adam. He grabbed Mike by the waist and gently tossed him aside before doing the same thing with Cat. The two children decided to get even and tried to dunk Adam, who tossed them aside again. While Adam was fending off his sister and Mike, Joe was still dealing with Laura and Mary. Cat caught Laura's eye, brought one of her knees out of the water, pointed to it and then to her brothers. Laura smiled and nodded. Both girls dove under the water and Cat grabbed Adam around his knees while Laura did the same with Joe. It only took a minute for the brothers to lose their footing, end up under the water and come up sputtering. "Why you little monster," teased Adam as he chased Cat. "When I catch you, I'm going to use you for bait and then I'll catch the biggest fish in the lake."
"No Adam," called Joe. "I'm going to use my prize for bait and catch the biggest fish in the lake just as soon as I catch her."
Joe and Adam tried to catch Laura and Cat but their efforts were hampered by Mary and Mike who were holding onto their legs.
Carrie was still sitting on Hoss' shoulders and laughed at her sisters, Cat, and Mike trying to get the best of Adam and Joe. "Hoss, help the big girls and Mike."
He looked and laughed at his sister and her friends getting the best of his brothers. "No little one. I don' think the big girls an' Mike need our help. They're doin' jus' fine without us."
Everybody played and swam until Caroline called everyone to come and eat dinner. While they were eating, Ben took the opportunity to talk to Joshua and Thaddeus. They told him about their family and early life and that their father had a small farm in Wyoming which they sold when their mother died. "I'm convinced that if our father hadn't tried so hard to curb Bill's wildness, he wouldn't have turned outlaw," said Joshua. "The three of us were close until Bill started getting older and rebelling against everything our father tried to teach him. I'd give anything to get him to change his ways, but I'm afraid it's too late for that now."
"The only time it's too late is when someone is dead and buried. Until then, there is always room for hope. How old are the pair of you anyway? I didn't even think to ask when I hired you. It's not important but I am curious."
"I'm seventeen," replied Thaddeus. "I'll be eighteen on Thanksgiving Day."
"I turned twenty in May," said Joshua.
"You're younger than I thought you were but that doesn't matter. I've gotten very good reports on both of you from Pete and the other hands. You're both hard workers and that's what I expect. So, what do you think of the little girl you rescued now?"
"She's cute," answered Joshua.
"I agree," said Thaddeus. "She is cute. But, judging from what I saw earlier, you're going to have your hands full. Something tells me that she's not done testing her boundaries."
"I'm afraid you're right. She is very independent and doesn't think she'll ever be hurt by her actions. She still doesn't understand why her uncle Matt was angry with her and her friends for climbing the water tower in Dodge when they were six."
Joshua and Thaddeus laughed. "It sure is going to be fun watching her grow up," laughed Thaddeus. "I hope we won't need to pull her out of too many scrapes."
After dinner, Caroline called Cat over to her and had her sit down. Then she called Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Ben. "You have been doing a good job braiding Cat's hair except for one small detail. You're not getting the sides even and girls hate it when their hair isn't right." She showed them how one braid was farther forward than the other one and said all they had to do was gather the hair a little farther back.
Ben chuckled and Joe asked, "What's so funny Pa?"
"I was remembering your mothers. They used to fuss about their hair a lot. Even on the journey westward, Inger made sure to fix her hair every morning and whenever we stopped to eat. I guess little girls aren't any different from grown women when it comes to their hair."
Once the leftover food had been put away, everyone played and swam for a while and then decided to do some fishing. Carrie took turns sitting in everyone's lap, helping them fish while Lassie and Silver Chief chased small fish near the shore. When everyone was done fishing, the four older children whispered to each other and Mike got an empty stringer. Each of them put two fish on the stringer for Carrie. The others saw what the children were doing and added two fish each to Carrie's stringer. Then they counted all of the fish and Caroline had done what she said she would and caught the most fish. All of the children were very impressed. "Wow Ma," said Laura. "You really are good at fishing. I didn't think you'd really catch more than everyone else."
Everyone dumped their worm cans back into the holes they had dug them out of and covered them up again. Then they put their fishing poles in the back seat of the buggy and got their stringers of fish. Charles called Carrie over to him and handed her stringer of fish to her. "These are the fish you caught, so you have to carry them just like everyone else is doing."
Carrie took her stringer of fish and proudly showed them to everyone who admired her catch. "You really done a good job catchin' fish little one," said Hoss. "You can come fishin' with ol' Hoss anytime. When ya get a little bit bigger, I'll teach ya how to bait your own hook. Now, let's tie them on Chub's saddle horn and get you mounted up so's we can head back to the house. We got a lot of fish to clean before Hop Sing can cook them and we gotta get goin'."
When the party reached the house, Hoss helped Carrie down from his saddle, handed her the stringer of fish and told her to go and show Hop Sing. Carrie walked into the kitchen carrying her stringer of fish and said, "Look Hop Sing. I caught all of these fish."
Hop Sing hugged her and said, "Little girl do leally good job and catch lots of fish. Make Hop Sing vely happy. Now take fish outside to clean." Hop Sing picked up several large bowls and a bucket and carried them outside. "Little girls and little boy pick vegetables and set table. Evelybody else clean fish."
"I'll help the children pick vegetables," said Caroline. "We'll need a lot of vegetables since there are so many people to feed."
"Thank you Mrs. Caroline. You light. Need many vegetables for many people." Caroline, the girls, and Mike picked the vegetables. Caroline and Mike shucked the corn, Carrie and Cat cut out the biscuits while Mary cut up tomatoes and Laura snapped the beans. Once they were done helping Hop Sing, they set the table.
After all of the fish had been cleaned and given to Hop Sing, all of the men walked into the great room and sat down. Since there was still about an hour until supper would be ready, the children decided they wanted to play on Cat's swing. "Who's going to push us?" asked Cat.
Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Mike whispered together for a minute then Mary said, "Little Joe and Thaddeus."
Adam laughed. "I'm glad you girls decided to pick on somebody besides me for a change. Thaddeus, have fun on little girl duty and be glad they decided to have Joe help you. The last time I pushed them, my shoulder muscles were sore for more than a day. I'd better warn you about those girls. I don't know about Mike, but the girls expect to be pushed high enough to touch the top of the tree. They don't believe me when I tell them it's not possible."
Joe and Thaddeus laughed. "Come on kids," said Thaddeus. "I can't guarantee that I can push you as high as the tree tops, but I'll do the best I can." They all walked outside, followed by Mitch who couldn't wait to watch his best friend push four little girls on a swing.
"Ok," said Joe. "Whose turn is it to go first?"
"Mike's," answered Cat. "Because he's never been here before."
"Who do you want to push you Mike? Me or Thaddeus?"
Mike was about to say he didn't need anyone to push him but decided to pick on his brother's friend instead. "You Joe." Mitch leaned back against a tree and laughed while his best friend pushed his little brother in the swing.
Joe looked at Mitch, scowled and said, "One thing you're going to learn is that for the most part, what little sister wants, little sister gets. The last time Mary and Laura were here, Adam had little girl duty. Tonight it's my and Thaddeus' turn. Next time it might be Hoss, Pa, or you." Then he said, "Ok girl, what order are you going in today and who is pushing you?"
Mary answered, "Carrie is next because this is her first time on the swing. Then it's Cat's turn because it was her turn to go first. Then it's my turn and after me comes Laura because she went first last time."
"I like the way you girls are taking turns going first," said Thaddeus. "Carrie, who is going to push you?"
"Little Joe," replied Carrie.
"Who's going to push you Mary?" asked Joe.
"You are."
"Laura, Cat, who is going to push the two of you?" asked Thaddeus.
"You are," replied both girls together. "And we want to go high enough to touch the tops of the trees."
"I don't think I can push you that high. I don't even think that Hoss can push you that high, but I'll do my best."
Joe and Thaddeus pushed Mike and the girls on the swing until Ben opened the front door and called, "Joe, Thaddeus, Mitch, Mike, girls, supper is almost ready it's time to come in and wash up. Half of you use the bath house and the rest of you use the wash room upstairs."
Mitch, Mike, Mary and Carrie went into the bath house while everyone else went upstairs. Cat was the last one to wash up. After she finished, she started to run for the stairs when she heard a soft voice behind her. "That's not a very good idea little sister," said Joe. "Do you want to stand in the corner when we have company? You know that's what will happen."
"Yuck no," replied Cat. "Thanks big brother. I didn't even think about that."
"No problem Cat. That's part of my job as your brother. Now let's go downstairs and get some supper. I'm hungry and if we don't hurry, Hop Sing will be angry with us and Hoss may eat our share of the food."
They walked downstairs and Ben asked, "What took you two so long to wash up?"
"Little sister missed a few spots when she washed up. I had to make her stand closer to the soap and water."
Adam and Hoss laughed. "That shore does sound a lot like you when you were Cat's age," teased Hoss. "I lost count of how many times Pa made you wash up again because you didn't stand close enough to the soap and water."
"Alright, that's enough," said Ben. "All three of you were the same way when you were boys. Now, sit down so we can eat supper. Cat, go and help Hop Sing bring the food to the table."
Cat sighed but didn't say anything. She didn't think it was right that she had to help bring the food to the table while her brothers just sat there. There were fourteen people at the table, so it would take time to bring all of the food out. She started walking toward the kitchen when Laura and Mary got up and said, "We'll help too. That way we can eat sooner. We're hungry."
"That's an excellent idea," said Caroline. There are fourteen of us, so there is a lot of food to be brought out of the kitchen. I'll help the girls and Hop Sing."
"So will I," said Mike to the amazement of his brother.
With five extra pairs of hands to help, it took no time at all for all of the food to be brought to the table. Before he walked back into the kitchen, Hop Sing whispered something to Cat, causing her to smile.
When supper was over, Ben was about to tell Cat to help Hop Sing clear the table when he said, "Big boys help clear table. Little girls, little boy and Mrs. Caroline pick vegetables, shuck corn, snap beans, cut out biscuits, set table and cally food to table. Big boys only clean fish."
"Well, I guess that means you and Mitch, Little Joe," said Adam. "Hoss and I haven't been boys in years."
"Number one and Number two sons help clear table or Hop Sing use spoon. Filst night Missy Cat home, Mr. Cartlight say when company have suppel, whole family help clear table, not just Missy Cat."
"You're absolutely right Hop Sing," said Ben. "I did say that. Adam, Hoss, help your brother and Mitch clear the table and, since the girls, Caroline, and Mike did so much to help get ready for supper, the four of you can clear the table after dessert also."
"Mr. Cartlight head of family. He help too. Chop Chop or Hop Sing use spoon."
"Alright Hop Sing. You don't need your spoon. I'll help too." Ben turned to his guests and said, "As you can see, although I own the Ponderosa, Hop Sing runs the house and even I have to listen to him. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to help clear the table so we can have dessert."
With Hop Sing supervising, the four Cartwright men and Mitch had the table cleared in no time at all and Hop Sing brought a large chocolate cake to the table and gave everyone a piece. Once dessert had been eaten and the table cleared, everyone took their coffee and milk into the great room. No sooner had Adam sat down in his chair when Cat said, "Adam…?"
"Yes Cat, go and get it," laughed Adam. She walked upstairs and returned with his guitar. He played while everyone sang and the children danced.
After more than an hour of singing and dancing, Charles said, "One more song girls then we have to go. We still have to take our Saturday night baths and get ready for church in the morning."
"But Pa," said Laura. "We don't need to take baths tonight. We've been swimming in Lake Tahoe all day so we're already clean."
"Laura's right," the rest of the children chimed in. "We're already clean so we don't have to take baths tonight."
The adults laughed. "Nice try," said Charles, "However, you still need to take baths and wash your hair. You children need to pick one more song for Adam to play before we leave."
The girls and Mike whispered together and decided to let Carrie pick the last song. "Alright Carrie, what song do you want me to play?" asked Adam.
"'Buffalo Gals'."
After the song ended, Charles told the girls it was time to leave. They said goodbye to the Cartwrights and started to leave. Mitch said it was time for him and Mike to leave also, while Joshua and Thaddeus said they had to get back to the bunkhouse. Joe walked outside to say goodnight to Mitch who asked, "I'm curious Joe. Why did your father invite those two hands to join us today? I've never known him to include hands in family events before."
"You can probably expect to see them joining the family for more events in the future. I'll tell you more about it after church, but if it wasn't for Joshua and Thaddeus, Cat wouldn't be here now. The whole family owes them a large debt of gratitude."
Once all of the guests left, Ben said, "Go and get your night clothes Cat. It's time for your bath."
"Laura's right. We were swimming all day and shouldn't need a bath. I'm already clean. Lake Tahoe doesn't have dirty water in it."
"Sorry Kitten," replied Ben. "You still have to take a bath and wash your hair tonight. Hop Sing has your bath water ready. Now, go unbraid your hair, get your night clothes and take your bath. The rest of us still need to bathe tonight also." Cat did as she was told, grumbling the whole time about grownups not making any sense and maybe the world would be better off if it was run by kids. Her father and brothers just laughed at her.
When Cat had finished her bath, Hop Sing told her that he had put a snack on the table for her. She walked into the dining room and found a piece of chocolate cake and glass of milk waiting for her. Ben said, "Don't take too long eating your snack Cat. I want you to get a good night's sleep so you're not tired in church tomorrow."
"I'm not going to church."
"You're not?"
"No, I'm not. I'm going to stay here and eat chocolate cake all morning. There's a lot left and I don't want it to spoil, so I have to stay here and eat it."
The rest of the family laughed. Ben walked over to her and kissed her on top of her head. "Now you're sounding like Hoss. That's something he would say when he was a boy."
"That does sound like a real good idea," said Hoss. "How 'bout it little sister, can I share that cake with ya?"
"Sure Hoss. You just can't eat it all."
"Wait a minute," complained Joe. "Adam and I like Hop Sing's chocolate cake too."
"Yeah, but not as much as me and Hoss do."
"That's Hoss and I," said Ben. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but nobody is staying home from church tomorrow just to eat chocolate cake. Now finish your snack so you have time to read with Joe before bed."
Cat finished her snack, took her plate and glass into the kitchen, and started to go to the outhouse when she remembered that her moccasins were in her bedroom. She walked back into the great room and started to go upstairs when Adam made a low bow and said, "I have anticipated thy need my lady and have fetched thy glass slippers for thee. Please allow thy humble servant to assist thee in putting them on thy feet. When we have finished with that, if thou wouldst climb upon my back, it would be my pleasure to act as thy gallant steed for the night."
Cat giggled and sat down in Adam's chair. He got down on the floor and put her moccasins on her, picked her up and stood her in his chair so she could climb up on his back. When they got out in the yard, Adam started to run and Cat said, "Faster, faster. I want to go really fast."
"Thy wish is my command my lady." Adam ran around the yard as fast as he could two times and stopped in front of the outhouse. "We have reached thy destination my lady. Please allow me to assist thee to dismount."
When Cat had finished in the outhouse, Adam helped her to climb up on his back again. "I wish to see mine colt before going back into the castle."
"I must apologize my lady; however, thy colt has retired for the evening. Perhaps thou canst see him on the morrow. Now, I must needs return thee to yon castle as the hour grows late and thou must needs arise early in the morning." Cat giggled as Adam ran around the yard twice and then walked into the house. "My lady must needs say goodnight to thy chef, father and middle brother so I may escort thee to thy chambers. Then thy youngest brother wilt come and read with thee." Cat said goodnight to Hop Sing, Hoss, and Ben and Adam carried her upstairs on his back. Adam set her down on her bed, pulled the covers back and said, "If my lady wilt allow me, her humble servant wilt assist her in removing her glass slippers." He took her moccasins off, helped her into bed, pulled the covers up, and hugged and kissed her goodnight.
"You're being silly Adam."
"Yes, but it's fun to be silly once in a while."
He went back downstairs and Joe went upstairs to read with Cat. After they read a chapter, he hugged and kissed her goodnight, pulled the covers up to her chin, blew out the lamp and walked back downstairs.
