The girls were still talking when Ben went to check on them fifteen minutes after Joe went back downstairs and he was not happy. "Girls, I know you're excited to be spending more time together, however, you have school tomorrow and are supposed to be asleep. Stop talking and go to sleep or I will put the three of you in separate bedrooms. If I get a note from Miss Winter tomorrow, saying you couldn't concentrate, there will be serious consequences. Now go to sleep!"
When they left for school the next morning, the girls were surprised to see three horses saddled instead of just Beauty and Ginger. "Since Laura and Mary's stayin' here," said Hoss, "I figured there weren't no reason for them to ride double. We've got plenty of horses and Star here can always use some exercise." He picked each girl up, sat her in a saddle, and tickled her. "I declare, none of ya weighs more than a sack of feathers. I'm gonna tell Hop Sing ta make more food so's a good wind don't blow ya away. Y'all have a good day at school and I'll see ya when ya get home again."
The girls said goodbye to Hoss and rode out of the yard. Mike and Jasper joined them as they rode toward town. When the children reached the school, the boys took care of the horses while the girls went inside to warm up. Once all of the children were in their seats, Miss Winter welcomed them back and Reverend Long gave a blessing.
When Miss Winter told Cat and Laura they would be learning how to multiply and divide fractions, the two girls groaned audibly, causing the entire class to laugh. "It's not that bad girls," laughed the teacher. "Believe it or not, multiplying and dividing fractions is a lot easier than adding and subtracting them. To multiply fractions, all you have to do is multiply the numerators and then the denominators. Once you do that, reduce your answer to lowest terms. Let's start with an easy problem. One half times three fourths. Laura, how much is one times three?"
"Three."
"Yes. Cat, how much is two times four?"
"Eight."
"Correct. Now what is your answer?"
"Three eighths," answered the girls together."
"That is very good. I've written some problems on the board. Write them on your slates and I'll check your work after you have solved them."
During recess, the five friends talked about which book they wanted to read next. Laura, Mary, and Cat agreed on a book, but Jasper and Mike rejected their choice and said they'd look at the class library after school.
Adam had some business to take care of at the bank and decided to ride home with the girls. School had been dismissed for fifteen minutes when he finished his business and he was surprised when he didn't see the girls. He went over to the school, hoping the girls had not gotten into trouble. When he entered the building, he found Jasper and Mike staring at the school library and three frustrated girls sitting on desks. Miss Winter noticed him and walked over to where he was standing. "Is there a problem?" he asked quietly. "I hope the girls didn't get into trouble today."
"The only problem is that two boys have been keeping three girls waiting for them while they try to choose a book to read. The girls agreed on a book during recess, but the boys rejected their choice."
"I'm glad that the girls didn't get into trouble today. Did they have any problems concentrating? They stayed awake a long time after they went to bed."
"Adam, today was the first day back to school after a long holiday. Every student in the school, from the youngest to the oldest had trouble concentrating. They just needed some time to adjust to being in the classroom again. Tomorrow, everything will be back to normal."
While Adam and the teacher were talking, the girls grew even more frustrated. "Come on boys," complained Cat. "You've been staring at those books for more than fifteen minutes. It's a long ride back to the Ponderosa, Pa is going to think I got in trouble and will punish me even though I didn't do anything wrong. Joe said Pa never listened to him after Adam got home from college and you know that Adam doesn't listen. He proved that when Tommy and Billy forced me to look under the saloon door." The boys ignored Cat and continued looking at the books, trying to decide which one they wanted to read.
Mary decided to take matters into her own hands. "Miss Winter, the boys have been looking at the books for twenty minutes now and still haven't picked one. Cat's right. It's a long ride back to the Ponderosa and Mr. Cartwright is going to think we got in trouble today. Will you please pick a book for them?"
"I'll be more than happy to do that for you. Which book did the three of you agree on?"
"Little Women part one," replied Mary. "We'll read part two after we finish part one."
"Thank you Mary. Little Women part one it is. Boys, you have taken entirely too long to decide on a book to read. Therefore, you will be reading Little Women part one and when you finish that one, you will read part two. Just to ensure you actually do read it, I will be asking you questions about each chapter."
"But that's about girls," whined Mike. "We don't want to read about girls. The other boys will tease us until we get mad and fight them."
"Then you need to learn how to control your temper," scolded Adam, walking into the classroom. "The girls have read Robin Hood, King Arthur, and Ivanhoe since school started in September. Although there are some female characters in those books, they are primarily about men. I haven't heard Cat complain about reading those books, so it's about time you read a different kind of book. I read Cat's copies of Little Women parts one and two, and they're good books. Girls, don't worry about Pa thinking you misbehaved in school today. I'll explain about the boys and their problem choosing a book to read, so he won't be upset with you. Laura, Mary, do you want to share Cat's book or stop at your house and get your copy? Talk it over while I saddle your horses."
The boys reluctantly signed their books out and went to help Adam saddle the horses.
The girls talked and decided to stop and get Mary and Laura's copy of the book. When they told Adam, he replied, "That's fine. We're going to ride home with the boys first. I want their parents to know how long they made the three of you wait because they didn't want to read the book you chose." The boys, upset with Adam's decision, knew they were in for a scolding from both of their parents, especially their mothers because they didn't want to read about girls.
When they reached each boy's home, Adam told their mothers exactly why they were so late getting home. Each mother promised that she and her husband would ensure that their son would start being more considerate of others immediately. The boys apologized to the girls and were forgiven.
When they reached the Ponderosa, Joe took their horses and said, "Pa's furious that the girls are so late and just like when I was a boy, he's in no mood to listen to explanations. Grandfather is trying to calm him down. Adam, I hope you can help before the girls find it difficult to sit down for several days."
"Girls," said Adam. "Why don't you go and say hi to Fury? I'll let Lassie and Silver Chief out and calm Pa down. You haven't done anything wrong, so don't worry about anything except your homework. Someone will come and get you once Pa has calmed down."
Adam walked into the house and before he could say anything, Ben demanded to know where the girls were. "I told them there would be consequences if they got in trouble in school. They are two hours late returning home and are going to suffer those consequences!"
"Relax Pa. The girls are saying hi to Fury and probably getting puppy kisses. They didn't get into trouble in school. Miss Winter said all of the children had trouble concentrating today but everything should be back to normal tomorrow. While they were at recess, the girls decided on a book to read. However, Mike and Jasper rejected their choice. The boys spent more than twenty minutes trying to decide on a book after school, so the teacher made the decision for them. We rode home with the boys so I could talk to their mothers and tell them what their sons had been up to. We also had to stop at the Ingalls' so Mary and Laura could get their copy of the book."
Ben began to calm down. "What book did the girls choose and why did the boys reject it?"
"They chose volume one of Little Women. The boys rejected it because it was about girls and they didn't want the other boys teasing them. I had to remind them that the three books they have already read were primarily about men and Cat didn't complain about reading them."
"Benjamin, have you always assumed the worst about your children?" asked Abel.
"No Grandfather. Not all of his children, just the youngest," replied Joe, walking into the room. "According to Pa and Adam, Adam was perfect and Hoss rarely got into trouble. After he came home from college, Adam said my middle name should have been Trouble because he said I was always doing something wrong. I can't remember how many times I got punished because Pa or Adam thought I'd done something wrong. Hoss even tried defending me, but they ignored him. They never wanted to hear any explanations and were always sorry when they learned the truth.
I remember one day when I was twelve, Miss Jones asked if I would stay and cut some wood because the man who usually did it had broken a leg and was laid up. She sent a note home telling Pa what a big help I was and how much she appreciated me cutting wood for the school. Pa didn't even read the note. He just assumed I'd gotten in trouble and been kept after school and used his belt on my bare bottom. He signed the note, apologized that I had misbehaved, wrote that I had been severely punished and would not act up in school again. I gave the note to Miss Jones the next day and she confronted Pa with it at church on Sunday in front of Reverend Jonas. Of course Pa was embarrassed and apologized to me, but that didn't change the fact that I had been punished when all I had done was help someone else. Judging by today, it looks like Cat is going to be treated the same way I was. The only difference is, unlike me, if she runs away, she's got someplace to go and won't ever be brought back here."
"I guarantee you that as long as I am here, Catherine will not be treated the way you were Joe," said Abel. "I wish I had been here when you were a child because you would have been treated much differently. Benjamin, I can't believe you treated your youngest son like that and are about to do the same to your daughter. If you had treated the Wanderer's crew like that, you would not have remained my first mate. Adam, I am very disappointed at how you treated your youngest brother when you returned home from college. I still have the letters you wrote to me. Your problem was that Joe was six when you left for Boston and ten when you returned home, but you were expecting to find a six year old. He was doing things that ten year old boys do, but you thought he was running wild and needed to be reined in. So you turned ant hills into mountains and saw to it that Joe was punished as often as possible just because he was doing things that ten year old boys do."
Hop Sing heard the conversation in the great room and realized everyone had forgotten about the girls being in the barn. He went outside and told them to come into the kitchen where he gave them some hot cocoa and cookies. "Family talk in gleat loom and folget about little girls. Do homework on little table. Then it be done before suppel."
The girls thanked him finished their snack and started on their homework. The family was still talking in the great room when they finished their homework, so they asked Hop Sing if he needed help with supper. He said no but he was going to teach them how to cook steaks.
Hoss came home just before supper was ready and asked where the girls were. Everyone just looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally Joe said, "They were in the barn."
"Well, they ain't there now, so where are they?"
Before anyone could answer, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen. "Suppel almost leady. Set table. Family forget about little girls, but Hop Sing no forget. They in kitchen. Have snack, do homework, help Hop Sing with suppel. Family busy talking about past and how to fix. No can fix past. Only can fix future. Family except numbel two son set table, bling food to table, clear table, and wash dishes. Do same thing bleakfast, dinner, suppel all week. Maybe then no forget about little girls. Hoss no forget so he no have to help."
During supper, everyone who had forgotten about the girls being in the barn, apologized to them. Ben also apologized for assuming they had gotten into trouble in school without waiting for the facts. Laura and Mary forgave them. Cat was tired of being hurt by her family and didn't want to forgive them. However, since her friends were there, she did.
Abel could tell that Cat didn't want to forgive her family so while Laura and Mary were playing checkers after supper, he decided to talk with Cat. "I can tell that you didn't want to forgive Ben, Adam, and Joe. Why don't you and I go up to my room and talk about it while your friends are playing checkers?" They walked upstairs and sat on Abel's bed. "Now Granddaughter, please tell me why you don't want to forgive Benjamin, Adam, and Joe for forgetting about you and your friends, and why you don't want to forgive Benjamin for assuming you got into trouble in school."
"'Cause every time I forgive someone, they just hurt me again. I forgave Adam for going in my room and looking through all of my stuff. Then he ignored me when I told him Billy and Tommy said they were going to do something real bad if I didn't look under the saloon doors with them and whipped me real bad. I forgave him for that and then he tried to find out what I was doing after school at Mr. McLeod's shop when I was making the gloves for Christmas presents. Pa only listens when grownups tell him stuff. Joe said that Pa never listened to him after Adam came home from school. He said Adam was always blaming him for stuff he didn't do, but Pa believed Adam and punished Joe when he didn't do anything wrong. If Adam hadn't been with me, Laura, and Mary today, Pa would have whipped us for getting in trouble in school but we were late because Jas and Mike wouldn't pick out a book. If I don't forgive them, they won't ever hurt me again, so I ain't never gonna forgive them for anything when they're mean to me."
Abel hugged Cat and kissed her on top of her head. "That isn't the way forgiveness works Cat. When somebody asks you to forgive them, you are supposed to do it without worrying if they're going to hurt you again. Remember, Jesus forgave the men who crucified him. If He could forgive the people who killed him, I know you can forgive your family when they hurt you."
"But Jesus knew He wasn't going to stay dead. That's why He forgave the men who killed him. I know Pa and Adam are going to keep being mean to me so I don't have to forgive them."
Abel smiled at the nine year old's logic. "You are correct in saying that Jesus knew He would rise from the dead, but He forgave the men who crucified him because it was the right thing to do. Do you remember what He told Peter when Peter asked how many times he needed to forgive someone?"
"No."
"Jesus told Peter that the number of times he had to forgive someone who had wronged him was seventy times seven. Can you figure out how many times that is?"
"Not without a pencil and piece of paper."
"Sure you can. How much is seven times seven?"
"Forty nine."
"Good. Now put a zero after that number and tell me how many times you are supposed to forgive someone."
"Four hundred ninety times."
"That's right. You can't just forgive someone once or twice. You have to do it every time they apologize for doing something to hurt you. And you can't worry about if they'll do it again or not. You just have to forgive them and hope they won't do it again."
"That's not fair."
"Maybe not, but it's the right thing to do and I know you want to do the right thing. Now why don't you get your guitar and have Adam give you another lesson while your friends are playing checkers? I'm sure he's going to want you to play those chords he taught you."
Cat got her guitar, carried it to Adam and said, "Adam, I don't remember where to put my fingers for those chords you showed me."
"Oh that's right. I'm sorry. With everything going on when we got home, I forgot to give you the diagrams I made for you. I'll go and get them now." When he returned, he was carrying three pieces of paper. "Before I give these to you, tell me the names of the strings."
"I remember them. Little E, B, G, D, A, and big E."
Adam chuckled at Cat calling the two E strings big E and little E. "Very good little sister. Here are the diagrams I made for you. As you can see, I wrote the names of each string under its line on the diagram. That way you know which way to look at it. Now, let's start with the G chord. Put the diagrams on the floor in front of you so you can put your fingers on the strings." He watched as Cat put her fingers on the guitar strings where the diagram showed to put them. "You're doing fine. Now push the strings all the way down and strum the chord twice. Good. Now let's do the same thing with the C chord. You're doing a good job. Now do the D chord." After Cat had played all three chords twice, Adam said, "You did a very good job. I know you want to learn more, and you will. Right now though, I want you to concentrate on learning those three chords. It only takes a few minutes to play each of them twice, so I want you to do that twice a day. If you do that, you will learn the chords and build up the calluses on your fingers so they don't hurt when you play. Once you learn the chords and it doesn't hurt your fingers to play them, I'll teach you how to play "Early One Morning". Now, it looks like Mary has almost won her checkers game against Laura so go and put your guitar away so you and Mary can finish your game before bed."
Mary won the checkers game and Ben told the girls to get ready for bed and that someone would be up to read with them in a few minutes. Once the girls were upstairs, Hoss asked, "What book are they reading this time?"
"It's a new one called Little Women," answered Adam. "Volume one came out the year before last and volume two was published last year. I've read Cat's copies and both books are very good."
"I think I'll read with them this time," said Hoss. "You, Pa, and Joe have all read with little sister since she moved in so I recon it's my turn." He gave the girls enough time to get ready for bed. Then he went upstairs, got a pillow from his bed and went into Cat's room. The girls tried to make enough room for him to sit on the bed with them. "Cat, how do you, Pa, Adam, and Joe do this?"
"Whoever reads with me reads one page. Then I read the next one. We usually read two chapters. Since Mary and Laura are here too, you'll read a page, then I'll read one. Laura will read one after me and then Mary. After she does, then you'll read another one. Since Laura and Mary brought their book, you and I can share mine and they can share theirs."
"That makes sense. Are ya girls comfortable? Do ya have enough room with me on the bed?" The girls assured him they were fine so he opened the book to the first page and began reading. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug." He continued reading until he reached the end of the first page and handed the book to Cat who read the next page. With the four of them reading, it didn't take long to read a pair of chapters.
"How awful to not have Christmas presents," said Laura. "But it was nice of the girls to spend their money on their Ma."
"I remember one year when we almost didn't have any presents," said Mary. "It was was the Christmas before Carrie was born. Pa didn't get as much money for his crops as he thought he would, so there wasn't much money for anything except food. Ma spent twenty five cents at the general store and bought enough yarn to make hats and mittens for us and mittens for Pa. She needed mittens too, but didn't have enough yarn left to make some for herself. So, the next day, Pa went to the store to buy more yarn for her. Mr. McLeod knew Pa didn't have much money, so he told Pa that he accidentally didn't give Ma enough yarn and just gave more yarn to Pa without charging him."
Cat hadn't realized how little money the Ingalls had until she listened to Mary. She wanted to help her friends but didn't know how because except for her Christmas money and the money she was saving to buy a birthday gift for Matt, all of her money was in the bank. She decided to talk to Ben after school the next day and see if he would let her take money out of the bank.
"Hoss?"
"Yes Cat?"
"Do all people from the east talk like those girls do? I never heard anyone call their Ma, Marmee before."
"I don't know Punkin, but I'll ask Grandfather when I go downstairs. Right now, it's time for the three of you to go to sleep. Don't stay awake talking like ya did last night 'cause you'll get in trouble." Hoss stood up, put the two books on the night table, gave each of Cat's puppies a pat, said goodnight and turned the lamp off.
When Ben checked on the girls before going to bed, he found Cat uncovered and half off the bed, with the blanket he bought her in Santa Fe laying on the floor. He shook his head and marveled at how alike his two youngest children were and, as he had done with Joe many times, put Cat back on the bed and covered her up. He kissed her on the forehead and whispered goodnight and that he loved her.
During breakfast, Abel addressed the girls. "Hoss asked me your question about what the girls in your book call their mother. I've never heard a mother called that before so it could be where the author's mother is from and how the author was raised. You might want to ask your teacher when you get to school. She may know more than I do."
"Thanks Grandpa," said Cat. "I wonder if Mike and Jas read the two chapters."
"I don't know," replied Mary. "I hope they did because if they didn't, Miss Winter is going to be angry at them and could make them stay after school to read the chapters."
On the way to school, the girls learned that the boys had read the chapters and decided that the book wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. "It sure was nice of those girls to spend their money on Christmas presents for their Ma," said Mike.
Jasper agreed and added, "I can't believe that they gave their Christmas breakfast to that other family. I don't know if I could have done that."
When the children reached the school and went inside, Miss Winter asked the boys questions about the first two chapters of Little Women. Being satisfied that they did read the chapters, she teased them. "See boys, you read two chapters of a book about girls and you're still alive. I told you it wouldn't kill you to read that book. Since both of you are still wearing your coats and gloves, would you please bring more wood inside? It's a very cold day and we're going to need a lot of wood to keep the school warm." The boys said they would bring more wood into the school for the stove.
When the boys returned to the classroom, Miss Winter told the students to take their seats so she could start the school day. Seth noticed Mike's copy of Little Women sitting on his desk and called, "Hey Jackson! Look what Mikey's reading. We can't let him read this stuff. It's bad for him." He picked the book up and tossed it to his brother. Susan told them to put the book back and sit down but they ignored her. Instead, each boy held onto part of the book and began pulling it apart. Once the book was torn apart, Seth and Jackson laughed and sat down in their seats.
Miss Winter, furious with her nephews, took the paddle down off the wall and called them up to her desk. When they ignored her, she walked over to Seth, grabbed him by an ear, walked him up to the desk, paddled him, and told him to stand in the corner. Then she did the same thing to Jackson. She sat down at her desk, told the rest of the students they could talk quietly, and wrote a note to her brother, telling him what his sons had done. She told him that the book would have to be replaced, and the boys were not allowed to return to school until the following Monday. She included their lessons for the week with an additional note that the assignments had to be completed but the boys would not receive credit for them. Susan looked out the window and saw Roy walking past the school. She went outside and asked him to come inside. Miss Winter told Roy what the boys had done, gave him the book and the note, and asked him to take the boys to their father.
Roy scolded the boys all the way to the feed store. "You can't take us to our Pa," said Seth. "You have to take us home to Ma."
"You are wrong," replied Roy. "I am taking you to your father and I am going to insist that he punish you properly. I am tired of the pair of you destroying things and not facing any consequences for your actions. If he won't do anything, I will take you to my office and punish you myself."
"Ma won't let Pa or you punish us," said Jackson. "We'll just tell her that we were playing around and the book accidentally came apart. She'll believe us, not Aunt Susan."
"When you are in school, you will refer to your aunt as Miss Winter. Not only am I tired of you two destroying things, I am also tired of you not respecting adults, especially your teacher and it's long past time for you to face consequences for your actions. I am the sheriff in this town and since you destroyed school property, if your father won't, I will be completely within my rights to punish you as I see fit."
Roy took the boys to their father who looked at them and asked, "What did the two of you do this time? This is only the second day of school after Christmas vacation and you have already been sent home." Roy handed him the note and destroyed book. Mr. Winter saw red and started yelling at the boys. He threatened to use his belt on them but, knowing their mother wouldn't allow their father to punish them, the boys just laughed.
"John, when are you going to stand up to your wife and start disciplining your sons?" When Mr. Winter started to tell Roy about his wife's threat to leave him and take the boys, Roy replied, "Everybody in town knows about your wife's threat, but it's long past time for you to act like a proper husband and remind her that you are in charge and she must listen to you. Your wife can leave you if she wants to, but she cannot take the boys with her unless you give her permission. If you don't start disciplining these boys, they are going to end up in prison or dead. Take them in the back and deal with them. I'm going to see if James McLeod can watch your store and supervise the boys for a little while. If he can, you, Margaret, and I are going to take a trip over to my jail so you can see my current guests. It's time she learned what can happen to your sons if they don't face consequences for their actions."
Mr. Winter knew that Roy was right so he took the boys in the back and used his belt on their bare bottoms. "You can't do this to us," cried Seth.
"We're telling Ma," added Jackson.
"I am your father and it is my job to teach you right from wrong. I don't like doing this, but everything else I've done has failed. Don't worry about telling your mother. I will be telling her myself. Besides doing your school work, the pair of you will be working off the cost of the book you destroyed. It cost two dollars, so at ten cents a day, it's going to take each of you ten days to work it off. You are also restricted to the house and here for the next month. One of you will be at the house doing chores and the other will be working here, but you will only earn money toward the book on the days you are working here. I am sick and tired of you disrupting the school and being sent home, so every time your teacher sends you home, you will receive the same punishment you just received and your restriction will be lengthened by one week. So, if you are sent home four times, you will be restricted for two months."
The boys couldn't believe what their father had just said. "Ma won't let you," said Jackson.
"She doesn't have a choice," answered his father. "This discussion is over. I want each of you at separate tables back here with your school books. You are to work on your school assignments without talking to each other. If I hear you talking to each other, I will punish you again."
Roy returned a few minutes later with James McLeod. John thanked him for watching the shop, told him what the boys were supposed to be doing, and left with Roy. They went over to the Winter house where Mr. Winter gave his wife the destroyed book and note from his sister. He also told her how he had punished the boys. Margaret became very upset with her husband, said she was taking the boys and going to stay with her parents. Before John could say anything, Roy spoke up.
"You and John are coming with me. I want you to see my current guests so you will know what will happen to your sons if you don't start disciplining them. You are allowing them to run wild and one of these days, they're going to get into trouble with the law." When they reached the jail, Roy opened the door to the cells and told the Winters to look inside.
After looking at the four boys, Margaret asked, "Why are they here instead of in school?"
"They are here because they tried to kill Catherine Cartwright just before Christmas. The judge could have sent them to prison for fifteen years, but since it was Christmas, he went easy on them. They will be spending their weekdays here until March first. They spend the weekends at home, restricted to their ranches because the judge doesn't want them exposed to drunken cowboys. William will be going to military school right after Easter and the other boys are not allowed back in school until the new term begins in September. Take a good look at them and decide if that's what you want for your sons."
"Why did they try to kill the Cartwright girl?" asked Margaret.
"They are jealous that she's a Cartwright and lives on the Ponderosa. Little Joe let her ride his horse to school the Monday before Christmas and they decided she shouldn't be allowed to do that. They're also blaming her because Thomas Roberts and William Davis are being sent to military school. Instead of taking responsibility for their own actions, they are blaming a nine year old girl because they are suffering consequences for those actions. Like I said, the judge was easy on them and he told them so. If they were sixteen instead of fifteen, they would have had a trial and probably been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison. If you want your sons to end up like those boys, keep letting them get away with causing trouble. At the rate they're going, I guarantee they'll be in one of those cells before they're thirteen. You two go on home, talk it over and decide what you're going to do about your sons. James McLeod said he'll stay at the feed store as long as necessary."
The Winters talked as they walked back to their home. Margaret still was not happy with the way her husband punished the boys, but realized that they had destroyed school property and deserved to be punished. When they reached their home, they sat down and made out a list of chores the boys would have to complete every day of their restriction. John told her that one boy would be at the feed store with him while the other was at home doing chores. He also told her that she was to make the boys do the assigned chores and not do them herself. Margaret reluctantly agreed to do as her husband said.