While she was at the Tanner's, they started telling her what to expect when she started school in the fall. After hearing what the older Tanner children told her, Cat decided that she wasn't going to like school very much. She didn't want to have to be inside and sit still all day or be punished if she didn't. She decided right then and there that she was not going to go to school no matter what her uncle said.

The first day of school started with an argument between Matt and his niece. He had laid out a pretty dress for her to wear but she refused to wear it. "I won't wear that dress and you can't make me!" Cat said. "Dresses are for Easter and Christmas, not all the time. I'm going to wear my buckskins and you can't stop me!" Matt kept trying to get Cat to change her mind but the more he tried, the louder she yelled.

Kitty walked into Matt's office in the middle of the argument. She had come to help get Cat ready for her first day of school. She walked into the little room Matt and Cat shared and put her hand on his shoulder. "Pick your battles Matt," she said quietly. "You're going to have a hard enough time getting her to even go to school without arguing over what she's going to wear. Right now, you need to convince her that not only does she need to go to school; she has to stay in school and listen to the teacher. We both know that Cat doesn't like to sit still or stay inside any longer than absolutely necessary. You're going to have your hands full just getting her to cooperate with the teacher, so let her wear her buckskins. Go out in your office and let me help her get ready. I'll try and convince her that she's going to have to stay in school and listen to the teacher. I can't guarantee that she'll listen to anything I have to say about the subject, but I will try."

"Thanks Kitty. Maybe you'll have better luck than I've had so far."

After Matt left the room, Kitty sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to her, indicating she wanted Cat to sit down there. When Cat sat down, Kitty put her arms around the girl and hugged her close. "I'm going to help you get ready for school. Don't worry, I'm not going to make you wear a dress, but you are going to wear clean clothes. You've been wearing those clothes for several days now and need to put clean ones on."

Cat didn't argue with Kitty and took some clean clothes out of the drawer under her bed. Kitty helped her take the dirty clothes off and put the clean ones on. For once, Cat didn't protest that she was old enough to put her own clothes on. Once the girl was dressed, Kitty had her sit on the bed and put her arm around her. "We need to talk about what's going to happen today. What I'm going to say is important and I need you to listen to me. Today is going to be a big change for you. I know that you don't like to stay inside or sit still, but those are things you will have to do while you're in school. Also, I know that it makes you angry when someone says something you don't like and you want to hit the person who said it, but you cannot do that when you're in school. If you do, the teacher will punish you and so will Matt."

"You won't have to sit still all day. There will be times when all of the students are allowed to go outside and play and you will be eating dinner outside and will be allowed to play when you are finished eating. Remember, you already have friends in school. Most of the Tanner children have been going to school for years and Peter and Michael will be starting school with you. There will be a lot of other children and you will make some good friends. I want you to promise me that if somebody starts picking on you, that you will find one of the older Tanner children to take care of the problem for you instead of hitting the other person. I also want you to promise me that you will do your best to sit still and listen to the teacher. Also, the teacher will call you Catherine, not Cat. You musn't correct him and say that you want to be called Cat. If you do, he will think that you are talking back and punish you." Cat promised that she would do her best to do what Kitty said she must do. Kitty hugged her and said, "You are a good girl Cat. I know that you will do well in school; you just have to listen to the teacher. Now, let's show Matt that you're ready for school and get some breakfast. You can't learn on an empty stomach."

When they got over to the hotel restaurant, Doc, Quint, and Festus were waiting for them. They all wanted to wish Cat well on her first day of school and each of them had something to give her. Doc gave her two tablets of writing paper, Festus gave her some pencils and a strap to use for carrying her school books, and Doc gave her a slate, chalk and an eraser. Matt and Kitty gave her the school books she would need, some picture books, a shiny new dinner pail and tin cup, and some drawing paper. After breakfast, they all walked Cat to school. Doc, Quint and Festus all gave her a hug and Matt and Kitty took her inside. They expected to see Mr. Pope standing in front of the classroom but instead they saw a young woman who looked like she was about nineteen or twenty years old. She wrote down Cat's name, showed her where to sit and invited Matt and Kitty to join the other parents at the back of the classroom.

At nine o'clock, she walked out from behind her desk and introduced herself to the students and their parents. "I know that you were all expecting to see Mr. Pope today, however, his father died suddenly and his mother is not well, so he accepted a teaching job in Boston, near his mother's house so he can take care of her.

My name is Miss Jackson and I am delighted to meet all of you. I see that we have quite a few students who are starting school for the first time today and I am going to assign one of the older students to each of you for the first week or two, until you have learned the routine and become comfortable with it. When those students are not busy with their own schoolwork, they will be allowed to help you with yours. I want everyone to succeed and one of the best ways to do that will be to ensure that our youngest students have all of the help they need, especially in the first two weeks. I have found this a very effective technique to use for helping the youngest students at the beginning of the school year. I understand that our youngest students are not used to sitting still for long periods of time, but they will eventually get used to doing that.

I asked your parents to stay for a little while so I could explain the rules. This way there will be no misunderstandings about what I expect. School will begin promptly at nine o'clock every morning and I expect all of my students to be here on time. I will not tolerate tardiness without a good reason. I am aware that some of you live quite a distance from the school and getting her will be difficult once it has snowed. We will deal with that when the time comes. Right now, there is no excuse for being late. I also expect everyone to have their books, and other supplies with them every day. You can leave your slates, chalk and erasers on your desks. When I am teaching you something and you do not understand what I am teaching you or feel that you need extra help, raise your hand and tell me. I cannot help you if I don't know you need it. Anybody who laughs at someone who asks for help will be severely punished. I will not tolerate anyone making fun of one of their classmates who needs extra help.

I also will not tolerate anyone teasing or bullying another student for any reason. Fighting, except in self-defense also will not be tolerated. Anybody who starts or teases someone into starting a fight with them will be whipped, sent home, and receive failing grades on all of their assignments for the day. Every time you start a fight or tease someone into starting a fight with you, you will have to stay home an extra day and you will receive failing grades on your assignments for those days also. Anyone who is not allowed to attend school for ten or more days due to fighting will fail the term and have to repeat their current grade level.

Any assignment that is turned in late will not receive full credit. Instead, it will receive one grade lower than it would have received. I will make an exception for an emergency or illness. If you are absent, I will allow you an extra week to make up the work you miss. I realize that most of you live on farms and ranches and have chores to do in the morning and evening, so your homework will not be excessive. The purpose of homework is to reinforce what you have learned in school, so it is important that you complete it. If you do not understand the work and nobody at home can help you, come early the next morning and I will help you. I will be here at seven thirty every morning to help students who need extra help with their assignments.

Now, before I ask the parents to leave, I am going to tell the older students which of the youngest students they will be helping." Miss Jackson began reading off the names of the older students in alphabetical order and told them which of the youngest students they would be helping. When she got to T, she said, "Rebecca Tanner, you will be helping Catherine Cartwright." Both Cat and Rebecca were thrilled as were Matt, Kitty, John and Elizabeth. After she finished reading the names, Miss Jackson said, "Now, I am going to ask the parents to leave so that we can begin our first day."

All of the parents, as well as Matt and Kitty, left the school house. When they got outside, Matt looked at John and Elizabeth and said, "I'm glad that Rebecca is going to be helping Cat. I just hope she can convince her to pay attention and listen to Miss Jackson. I'd hate to have to punish her because she got in trouble in school."

"I'm sure that she'll be fine," said Elizabeth. "Rebecca will do the best she can to help Cat with her school work and behavior. She'll help her realize that she's getting to be a big girl and will have to start acting like one."

"One way to ensure that Cat goes to school is for you to walk her here every morning and then put her in Rebecca's care," said John. "I can't guarantee that she'll stay here, but if Rebecca knows that Cat is here, she can try to keep an eye on her. Robert can help keep an eye Peter and Michael which will enable Rebecca to try and keep an eye on Cat. I wouldn't be surprised if the three of them either didn't go to school or just up and walked out of it one day. Cat, Peter and Michael are a handful but with a lot of love and discipline, they'll turn out just fine. Right now, they're exploring and testing their boundaries to see what they can get away with. That is completely normal behavior for a five year old and it will continue as they grow older. I also recommend that you or one of your friends picks Cat up after school every day. That way you'll know if she stayed in school or not and also that she'll get back to your office safely. Now, we've got to get back to the farm. There's always a lot of work to be done and with Robert back in school, there's just John and I to do it. We'll be back at three o'clock this afternoon to pick the children up from school." The Tanners climbed back on their wagon and drove back to their farm while Matt walked Kitty back to the Long Branch before returning to his office.

A large part of Cat's first morning of school was spent learning her letters and numbers. She also started learning how to write the letters and numbers. At recess a boy who was several years older than Cat started teasing her about the way she was dressed. "She looks like a squaw," he said as loud as he could. "I shouldn't have to go to school with no dirty, stinkin' squaw," and pushed her.

Cat made a fist and was about to hit the boy when an eight year old girl walked up to her and said, "Don't hit him. He wants you to start a fight. He's always picking on someone younger than him. Mr. Pope was good friends with his Pa and didn't do anything about it. I really hope that Miss Jackson does. My name is Julie and I'm in the third grade."

Cat forgot about the boy and turned to the girl and said, "Hi, my name is Cat. It's really Catherine but everyone calls me Cat."

The two girls walked away from the boy as they talked.

"You're Marshal Dillon's niece, aren't you? I've seen you around town with him."

"Yes, he's my uncle. My father was his brother. He was killed in the war when I was only one."

"Where is your mother?"

"Uncle Matt said my grandfather made her marry a man who made her move to Australia and leave me here."

"I'm sorry that happened to you but I am very happy to meet you. I would like to be your friend."

"I would like that. The Tanners are my only friends except for my uncle's friends but they're all grown ups. Do you live in town?"

"Yes, my mother is the dressmaker. My father was also killed in the war. I'll ask my mother and your uncle if it's ok for you to come over to her shop so I can help you with your school work."

"That would be nice, thank you. The Tanners said they'd help me too but I'm not allowed to ride out to their farm alone and Uncle Matt doesn't always have time to take me."

While the girls were talking, the boy walked up to them and started teasing Cat again. This time Miss Jackson heard him.

"Mark Nelson that is a terrible way to start the first day of a new school year. Apparently you didn't hear me this morning when I told everyone that I would not tolerate teasing. Recess is over for you. Come here and sit on the steps. You are very lucky that Catherine did not hit you. If she had, you would be receiving a whipping and I would have sent you home. I will be talking with your parents after school to let them know about your behavior. They were here this morning when I explained the rules to everyone. I sincerely hope that they will do something about your behavior. Catherine, I am very proud of you for ignoring Mark and not reacting to his comments. I will be sure to tell your uncle what a good job you did today."

Cat was glad she had listened to Julie and thrilled that Miss Jackson had praised her. She liked being praised and decided that she was going to try and stay in school even though she had to sit still for a long time. She and Julie started talking again when Peter and Michael Tanner ran up to them. "Come and play Cat," said Peter.

"There are some open swings," said Michael. "We can get Rebecca and Robert to push us. Who is your friend? Bring her with us."

Cat introduced the boys to Julie and the four children ran off to play on the swings. Peter spotted his older siblings and ran up to them. "Come and push us, Cat and Julie on the swings," he said. "We've been watching some of the other children and it looks like fun, but we need you to push us."

Rebecca and Robert followed their brother over to the swings where Michael, Cat and Julie were waiting. There were only two open swings and since Cat had been talking with Julie and not watching the children on the swings, Rebecca told her to watch as she pushed Peter and Robert pushed Michael. After a few minutes of watching Peter and Michael on the swings and listening to them call, "higher", she decided it looked like fun and wanted to try.

Miss Jackson was about to tell the children that recess was over and it was time to go back into the school when she noticed Cat and Julie waiting for their turns on the swings. She knew that neither girl had been on the swings yet and decided to wait until they had taken their turn. Miss Jackson watched as Rebecca and Robert pushed Cat and Julie on the swings. When the two older children stopped the swings, she called the children and told them that recess was over.

Once all of the children had gotten drinks from the pump and were back in their seats, Miss Jackson called the class to order. "I am very proud of the way everybody played today. There was only one problem and hopefully, his parents will deal with him after school. I am also very proud of the way the older children helped the younger ones today. Our first day of school has gotten off to a very good start and I hope that the rest of the year is just as good. There will be a lot of work to do and some of it will be hard, but if everybody does the best they can, you will all succeed and get very good grades. The harder you work, the better your grades will be. I am also glad to see that our youngest children are making new friends. That is just as important as working hard on your lessons. Now, I would like everybody to continue working on the lessons we began before recess while I work with the older children on their Arithmetic."

Cat worked at writing the letters and numbers she had learned earlier, on her slate. When Miss Jackson finished working with the older children, she walked around looking at everyone else's work. Even if someone had made a mistake, they received praise for working hard. The youngest children received a lot of praise for their efforts at writing the numbers and letters they had learned. Miss Jackson did that for each group of students she worked with. Cat was getting tired of writing the same letters and numbers over and over again. She was getting ready to get up and walk out of the school when Miss Jackson announced that it was time for dinner.

All of the students took their dinner pails and walked out of the building. Cat and Julie ate with the Tanners. After he finished eating his dinner, Mark Nelson looked for Cat and started teasing her again about the way she was dressed. All of the younger Tanner children were about to jump on and start hitting him when Robert grabbed Mark by the back of his shirt and drug him over to where Miss Jackson was sitting. "He was teasing Cat about the way she was dressed," he said. "Even though Cat is the Marshal's niece, we consider her part of our family and will not tolerate anyone making fun of or teasing her. My younger brothers and sisters wanted to jump on Mark and hit him, so I brought him to you."

"Thank you Robert," said Miss Jackson. "This is not the first time today that Mark has teased Catherine and I will be speaking with his father after school. Mark, you will not be allowed to play any more today. It seems to me that all you want to do is cause trouble and I will not allow that to happen. You will sit here on the steps until dinner is over. You will also sit here during recess this afternoon. This is your last warning. I will be speaking with your father after school and if this behavior continues after today, you will receive a whipping and be sent home. I told everyone this morning that this type of behavior would not be tolerated and I meant it."

Robert walked back over to his family and told them, Cat and Julie what Miss Jackson had said. Cat said she was glad Miss Jackson was going to do something about Mark, but she was getting tired of school. All she had done was learn some letters and numbers and write them a whole bunch of times. If things weren't different this afternoon, she was not going to come to school tomorrow. After Uncle Matt dropped her off and left, she was going to leave also. She knew that there were Arapahos living near Dodge and they would teach her things she wanted to learn. Maybe they would even help her get to her Apache family in Arizona. She would put some clothes in a bag after school and hide them in Spot's stall at the Blacksmith's shop. Unless he had a horse that needed shoeing, he usually stayed at the hotel restaurant talking with Doc, Kitty and Uncle Matt in the mornings, so it would be easy to get Spot without being seen. There was an alley right by Quint's shop that led to another street which would enable Cat to get out of town without being seen by her uncle or any of his friends.

While Robert was talking to Miss Jackson, Peter asked Cat, "Do you like school?"

"No, it's boring," was the reply. "All we do is write letters and numbers. If that's all we do after dinner, I might not come tomorrow."

"Me neither," declared Michael. "You're right Cat, school is boring. I don't want to come here any more."

"What will we do and where will we go?" asked Peter. "We'll all be in big trouble if we get caught. Pa will spank us hard and Marshal Dillon will spank Cat hard and then we'll have to sit in chairs for a long time if they find out."

"I don't know," said Cat. "I can take Spot and go to the Arapahos. Maybe they can help me get to my Apache family. I don't know if Spot can carry the three of us, but we can try. Then you can come to the Arapahos with me."

Julie heard the three children talking and said, "Oh no. You musn't run away from school. Your parents and uncle will punish you and so will Miss Jackson. School is boring right now, but it will get better. You won't always just be writing letters and numbers. Soon, you'll be adding numbers together to make bigger groups and you'll be learning how to make words from the letters. Promise me that you'll keep coming to school until after you have learned all of the letters and how to make words with them. School will be much better once you learn how to read."

After dinner, Miss Jackson worked with the youngest students on their Arithmetic again. "This morning you learned some numbers, but not what those numbers stand for. Each number stands for a group of things. Those things can be anything, people, books, cattle, anything that can be counted. Now, I'm going to start showing you how to make the groups that the numbers stand for." She walked over to her desk, picked up a small bag and took a small stone out of it. She held up the stone and said, "This is one. It goes with the number one you learned this morning." Then she took another stone out of the bag and held it up with the first one. "This group is called two. I have two stones in my hand. Now, who can tell me what the next group is going to be?" All of the five year olds raised their hands. Miss Jackson looked at the group and realized that Cat was getting bored so she said, "Catherine?"

"Three," Cat responded.

"Yes, that's right" said Miss Jackson, and took another stone out of the bag. She showed the three stones to the students. "This is what a group of three looks like." Then she asked what the next group was going to be and asked Peter Tanner for the answer. After he answered, she took another stone out of the bag and showed the students a group of four. Before taking a fifth stone out of the bag, she asked Michael Tanner to help her and handed him the fifth stone. She handed the sixth stone to Michael also. She called Cat up and handed her the seventh and eighth stones and then handed the ninth stone to a third student. "Now, let's count how many stones we have altogether." She held up one stone and the class said, "One". After all nine stones had been counted, she said, "You have just learned how to count to nine. Now, while I listen to the second grade students read, I want you to write the numbers one through nine and draw a group of circles to show what each number stands for. I know that you're getting tired of writing the numbers, but writing them many times will help you to write them better and also help you to remember what they look like. I predict that by Wednesday, all six of you will be very good at writing the numbers and will be able to count from one to nine without any help at all. Once you can do that, we'll start learning the bigger numbers. It's the same thing with your letters. The more you write them, the better you will become at writing and before too long, you will know the entire alphabet. As soon as you know what all of the letters are, we will begin to learn the sounds they make and how to put them together to make words."

Miss Jackson left the five year olds to write their numbers and draw circles to represent them while she went to listen to the second grade class read. Cat still thought school was boring and was probably not going to attend the next day. Before long, Miss Jackson announced that it was time for afternoon recess. Mark Nelson became angry when she reminded him that he was not allowed to play. On his way from his seat to the door, he pushed the books off every desk he walked by. Miss Jackson watched him but didn't say anything. During recess, Cat and Julie played with the Tanners on the swings and the see saw. Some of the older boys were playing catch with a ball. Once, a boy didn't catch the ball and it landed at Cat's feet. She thought they had thrown it at her and was going to hit the boy who had thrown it. Robert saw what she was about to do and said, "No Cat. They didn't throw the ball at you. David just couldn't catch it. Why don't you pick the ball up and take it back over to them? They're my friends and once they get to know you, they'll protect you from bullies like Mark Nelson."

Cat picked the ball up and walked over to the boys and handed it to David. "Thank you," he said as Cat handed him the ball. "You're Marshal Dillon's niece, aren't you?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Well, don't worry about Mark Nelson or anyone else picking on you. We're Robert Tanner's friends and we'll take care of you just like he did at dinner. We'll take care of Robert's little brothers and your friend Julie, too. I could see that you were getting bored writing your letters and numbers today. Don't worry, every day isn't going to be like that. Everybody starts out that way the first few days of school. Before long, you'll be writing words and adding numbers together. You just have to be patient and get through the first several days until you learn the numbers and letters."

Cat thanked David for saying he and his friends would take care of her and Julie. Then she walked back over to where the Tanners and Julie were waiting for her. They played on the swings until Miss Jackson told everybody that recess was over. When all of the students had gotten drinks and were waiting at the stairs, she told them, "When you go inside, some of you are going to see that your books are on the floor instead of on your desk. Do not pick them up. The person who put them there is going to pick them up and then he is going to be punished for what he did."

The students walked back into the schoolhouse and sat down. Once everyone was in their seats, Miss Jackson told Mark to pick up all the books he had pushed onto the floor. He refused to do it so she told him to come up to the front of the school. Once again, he refused to do as he was told. She picked up a long rod from where it was leaning against the wall behind her desk, walked over to Mark, grabbed the back of his shirt and made him walk up to the front of the school. "This is my fifth year of teaching and it is the first time that I have had to whip a student on the first day of school. Mark has been teasing some of the younger students and pushed your books onto the floor because he was angry that I told him he would not be allowed to play at recess this afternoon. He refused to pick up the things he pushed onto the floor so I have no choice but to punish him. I am going to give him one more chance to do the right thing before I am forced to punish him." She looked at Mark and said, "You have a choice. You can pick up the things you pushed onto the floor or I can give you a whipping. Which is it going to be?"

"I'm not going to pick that stuff up and you are not going to whip me. Mr. Pope was good friends with my Pa and he let me do whatever I wanted to."

"I am not Mr. Pope and I am not going to let you do whatever you want to. Now either pick up the things you pushed onto the floor or suffer the consequences." When he refused again, she told him to bend over the stool she had placed in front of her desk. When he refused to do that, she asked two of the oldest boys to make him bend over the stool. The five year olds looked on, wide eyed, as the boys made Mark bend over the stool and Miss Jackson hit him on his bottom with the rod several times. They had never seen anybody treated like that before, but they knew Mark was wrong in not doing as he was told. When Miss Jackson finished using the rod on Mark, she told him to go and stand in the corner."

"My Pa's not going to like it that you whipped me," he said. "He's going to whip you when he comes to pick me up. You just wait and see."

"Mark, you have a choice. You can either go, stand in the corner or you can receive another whipping. Which will it be?" Mark decided that he didn't want another whipping and walked toward the corner. "Children, please do not pick your things up off the floor just yet. William, will you please go and see if Mr. Nelson is in town? If he is, please ask him to come here."

William left the school and returned a few minutes later with Mr. Nelson. "Mr. Nelson, thank you for coming over. I appreciate it," said Miss Jackson. "I wanted you to see the mess your son made before it was cleaned up."

"Why is my boy being made to stand in the corner," asked Mr. Nelson. "He's a very good boy and Mr. Pope never punished him. Now I want to know why you are being so mean to my boy!"

"Mark was teasing the youngest students at morning recess and dinner. When I told him he wasn't going to be allowed to play at afternoon recess, he pushed all of those books and things onto the floor. I gave him two chances to do the right thing and pick them up. When he refused, I had no choice but to give him a whipping. This is my fifth year of teaching and it is the first time I've had to punish a child on the first day of school."

"I don't care if he did do those things; you had no call to punish my boy. If you were a man, I'd whip you. I'm calling a meeting of the school board for tonight and I'm going to have you fired." With that, Mr. Nelson took Mark and left the school.

After Mr. Nelson and Mark left, Eric stood up and said, "Don't worry Miss Jackson, the school board isn't going to fire you. My father is the chairman and when I tell him what happened, he won't let them fire you."

"Thank you Eric. I am certain that the school board will agree with my actions when I tell them about Mark's behavior today. Now, school will be over shortly so let me give you your homework assignments. Everybody except the five year olds will do the next page in their Arithmetic books and spend thirty minutes reading. I want my five year olds to write their numbers once and draw circles to show how many are in each group, just like we did after dinner. I also want you to write the capital and small letters you learned today, and I want your families to show you pictures or things that start with those letters. Draw pictures of what you learn and ask a family member to write the word under the picture." Then she walked over to her desk, picked up a book and opened it to the first page. "Before school ends every day, I will read one chapter from this book to you. Listen closely and pay attention because I may ask different students to tell me what has happened in the chapters we already read." With that, she began reading the first chapter of Robin Hood to the class.

Cat liked being read to and enjoyed the story, so she sat very still and listened to Miss Jackson read. After finishing the chapter, Miss Jackson closed the book and said, "It is almost three o'clock. You may gather your belongings and leave. I would like my five year olds to remain in the school until your family comes for you so I can explain your homework to them."

When all of the children except the five year olds were outside, Eric called everyone over to him. "All of us need to attend the school board meeting tonight so we can tell them what really happened today. Otherwise, Mark and his father will say that Miss Jackson punished him for no reason and she will be fired. She's a much better teacher than Mr. Pope was and I want her to stay." Most of the children told Eric that they would attend the meeting.

The families of the five year olds came to pick them up from school and Miss Jackson told them what the homework assignment was. She also told them that the children had worked hard and done their best to sit still. She told Matt about Mark teasing Cat and how she did not hit him. Matt and the Tanners hugged Cat and told her how proud they were of her. Matt said, "I think that this calls for some ice cream. Let's go over to the hotel restaurant and have some."

When they went outside, Cat introduced Julie to the Tanners and her uncle. Matt told her that they were going to get some ice cream and invited her to join them. "We'll stop by your mother's shop on the way to the hotel and ask her permission, I'm sure she'll let you since you helped Cat." They stopped by the dressmaker's shop and Julie's mother gladly gave permission for Julie to join the others for ice cream. She also gave permission for Cat to come by the shop so Julie could help with her school work. On their way to the hotel, the group passed the Long Branch, so Matt went inside, told Kitty about Cat's behavior in school and invited her to join them for ice cream. Kitty thought that was a great idea and when she walked out of the Long Branch, she hugged Cat and told her how proud she was of her. She also hugged Peter and Michael and told them she was glad they had a good first day of school.

The group walked into the Dodge House restaurant where the owner and his wife greeted them. "Hello Matt," said Mr. Davis. "Looking at your group, I'd say that this gathering is to celebrate a good first day of school."

"Hello Peter," said Matt. "Yes, you're right. We're here to celebrate that Cat, Peter and Michael all had a good first day of school."

"Well, that calls for pie and ice cream for everybody. Mary, would you please find out what kind of pie and ice cream everybody likes?" he asked his wife, who got a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote down what kind of pie and ice cream everyone wanted. Cat, Peter, Michael and Julie all had cherry pie with chocolate ice cream. When the plates were brought to the table, three of them had extra ice cream and whipped cream on the pie for the three five year olds. When everybody had finished their pie and ice cream, Matt asked Mr. Davis how much he owed. "Don't worry about it Matt. Your celebration is on me. You don't get to celebrate a good first day of school all the time and I'm glad to help with the celebration. Everyone thanked Mr. Davis and left the hotel. The Tanners got in their wagon and started for their farm, Julie walked back to her mother's shop while Matt and Kitty took Cat back to Matt's office to help her with her homework.