Cat called her puppies and put them in her saddle bags. Then she mounted Ginger and followed her brothers to the pasture where the herd was that needed to be moved. She was still thinking about what they had told her and was having a hard time believing what they said. Not only was Ben going to tell her what to do, her brothers were going to be allowed to boss her around and punish her if she didn't listen to them too. What was even worse, if one of her brothers punished her, her father would punish her too and whatever she got from him was going to be worse than she got from her brother, and it seemed that she was going to be punished just for making mistakes. Also, she was going to have a lot more rules to follow and the consequences for breaking them were going to be worse than what Uncle Matt had done to her. She planned on talking to her puppies when nobody was around to listen and tell them that they had to figure out how to get back to Dodge where she belonged. Fury still needed Lady, so she was going to have to ride Ginger and lead Lady and Fury. First she needed to look at maps so she could plan how to get to Dodge and she needed to tell Laura and Mary what she was going to do and why. Her thoughts were interrupted when Adam called her. "Cat, what is taking you so long? Hurry up. We need to get that herd moved before it gets too late."

Cat sighed, urged Ginger into a trot and caught up with her brothers. When they reached the herd, Hoss decided he wanted to see what Cat knew how to do, so he pointed to a group of six cows that were off by themselves. "Cat, I want you to go and make those cows join the rest of the herd."

"Sure Hoss," she said as she rode toward the small group. Once she was away from her brothers, Cat said, "Come on Ginger. I thought I was going to have fun today but I was wrong. We need to do this right. I don't want to get punished because I made a mistake. Cause if Adam, Hoss or Little Joe punish me, Uncle Ben will punish me more. I'm going to start packing as soon as we get back to the house. Then when everyone is asleep, I'll climb down the tree by my window and we'll go back to Dodge. I know that Uncle Matt won't treat me like that." It took a little bit of time but Cat got the six cows back with the rest of the herd.

Her brothers praised her but that didn't lift her spirits. "What's wrong Cat," asked Joe. "You did a great job getting those cows with the rest of the herd."

"Nothing," came the reply.

Joe rode over and joined his brothers. "What's wrong with Cat? She was in such a good mood this morning when we left the house but now she's all upset."

"I'll tell you what's wrong," said Adam. "The two of you and your big mouths is what's wrong. You weren't supposed to frighten her and make her think she's going to be harshly punished every time she does something wrong or makes a mistake. Joe, Pa gave you plenty of warnings before he punished you for disobeying. And you didn't always end up bottom side up or restricted for weeks or months at a time. Hoss, you weren't supposed to say anything to Cat about us being able to punish her when she disobeys us. Pa specifically said he would tell her when it was time for her to know. Now, I've got to straighten her out. I don't envy the pair of you when I tell Pa how you frightened Cat with your talk. It's barely been two months since her mother was killed, she's only been here for two days and I can tell that she's thinking about how to get back to Dodge. When are the two of you going to start thinking before you tell her things? What you did today is no different than when Joe yelled at her for leaving a lead rope hanging on the pasture fence the day after we buried her mother. If she runs off in the middle of the night, Pa is going to kill you. Now let's get this herd moved. I need to talk to Cat and calm her down and we need to get home. It's nearly dinner time and we didn't bring any food with us."

Adam rode over to Cat and said, "Don't worry about what those two said. They were mostly wrong. You and I will talk later. Right now, it's getting close to dinner time and we need to get this herd moved before they scatter and it takes the rest of the day to round them up again. Now, if you think you can remember how, why don't you go and open that gate? Tie it open then come back and join us. You're going to get these beefs moving. Don't worry, we'll be right here with you. We're not going to let you move five hundred head of cattle alone. At least not today. I haven't made up my mind yet, but we may make you do it tomorrow." He gave one of her pigtails a playful tug and Cat stuck her tongue out at him and rode toward the gate. Once the gate was tied open, she rode back to Adam. "Ok brat. Mark and Lucas showed you what to do, now show Hoss and Joe that you know what you're doing."

Cat rode up near the front of the herd and said, "Ok cow, you need to get moving now." When the cow didn't move, she started getting angry. "I told you to move cow, now move!" She leaned over sideways in her saddle and smacked the cow on its rump. The startled cow started walking toward the open gate.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe sat in their saddles and laughed at their sister. "Well," said Hoss. "That's one way to get them moving. If she's going to be helping us, we'd better get her a hat. Hitting a cow with a hat is a whole lot easier than hitting it with your hand." It took a while but they finally got the entire herd moved to a different pasture. Hoss was about to close the gate when he noticed a cow standing near a large bush. "I don't know how in tarnation we missed that one. Cat go and get that cow will ya?" Cat went to get the cow and returned a few minutes later without it. Hoss started getting upset. "Why didn't you get that critter?"

"Because she's got a hurt leg and it's hard for her to walk. I'm not as big as you and I can't carry a cow."

Adam and Joe laughed at Hoss. "Well big brother," teased Joe. "I guess she told you. Now, just how to you plan on moving a cow with a hurt leg? I want to see you pick it up and put it over your saddle."

"I'm not. I'm going to pick it up and put it over your saddle little brother. Alright little sister, let's go and look at this hurt cow. Even when you're all grown up, I don't want you to ever think about picking up a cow. That's Little Joe's job." Cat laughed at the thought of Joe trying to pick up a full grown cow. They rode over to the cow and dismounted. Hoss looked at her leg and said, "She's got a nasty cut but it's not too bad. Little Joe, ride back and bring me some medicine and bandages from the barn. I'll doctor her leg right now and we'll take her back home and put her in with the mares and foals until the leg heals."

"Why do I have to go and get the stuff?" asked Joe.

"Because I told you to little brother. Besides that, Cat don't know where the stuff is yet. Now git before I do pick this here cow up and put her in your lap. Oh, and bring a rag with you. I want to wash that cut out before I bandage it. I'll bet that little sister wouldn't complain if I asked her to go and get the stuff."

"Well," said Cat. "That all depends on if I was playing with a cute calf or not."

All three of her brothers laughed. "Cat, I've seen you in action," laughed Adam. "As far as you're concerned, every animal is cute, even if they're not. I wouldn't be surprised to see you bring home a baby skunk. Joe, please go and get the stuff Hoss asked you to while we've still got little sister corralled. If she starts to wander, who knows what kind of critter she'll bring home."

While Joe was gone, Adam and Hoss took the opportunity to talk to Cat about what Joe had told her. "Cat, don't you pay no nevermind to what Joe said," said Hoss.

"He exaggerated quite a bit in what he told you," added Adam. "Believe me, he got plenty of warnings before Pa punished him and even then, he didn't always end up bottom side up over Pa's knees or restricted to the ranch."

"Sometimes he just had to eat supper in his room or go to bed early," added Hoss.

"Think about it Cat. How many times have you been warned about running in the house since we got home?"

"I don't know. Four or five."

"Have you been punished yet?"

"No."

"Alright then," said Hoss. "So now you know that Joe was stretchin' the truth some. But if I were you, I'd quit running in the house before you do get in trouble. Pa ain't gonna put up with it much longer."

"Yeah, I know. I almost ran into him after I showed Lassie to Hop Sing and he got mad at me."

"You're lucky you didn't run into him," said Adam. "If you had, you would have been punished. So just stop running in the house."

"I can't help it. I'm always in a hurry."

Adam reached over, took Cat by the shoulders and shook her. "I don't care how much of a hurry you are in. Do not run in the house unless it is on fire and you need to get out in a hurry. It just isn't safe and none of us want to see you get hurt."

"Ok. I'll try."

"No!" exclaimed Hoss. "Don't try. Just stop before you get hurt or end up bottom side up over Pa's knees. Pa gets real upset when we do things to put us or someone else in danger. An accident is one thing but doing it on purpose is something else."

"In fact," added Adam. "Since I know you have been warned at least four times since we got home and I know that Matt has punished you for running indoors and on the boardwalk in Dodge, the next time Hoss or I catch you running in the house, you will get a very strong swat and have to stand in the corner. You can plan on Pa doing worse to you the next time he catches you, especially since you almost ran into him today and he knows that Matt has punished you for the same thing several times."

"That's not fair. I can't help it if I'm in a hurry."

"It's not fair!? How is it fair to the rest of the family to worry about finding you laying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs because you were in a hurry? How is it fair to the rest of the family to worry if you're going to run into Hop Sing when he's got his hands full of hot food, and possibly get both of you hurt? You're only nine years old and don't need to be in a hurry. Don't run where you're not supposed to run. Then you won't get hurt or punished. I mean it Cat. You've had all the warnings you're going to get on this subject. If Hoss or I catch you running in the house you will get swatted and have to stand in the corner. And I fully intend to tell Pa what I told you just now. We love you and don't want to see you get hurt or worse, so slow down and stop running in the house."

Joe rode up a minute later. "What are the three of you talking about?"

"We've been fussing at little sister about runnin' in the house," answered Hoss. "It seems that she about run into Pa earlier when she was runnin' through the house. Needless to say, Pa weren't too thrilled with her."

Joe let out a whistle. "I'll bet he wasn't very happy with her. Cat, you have got to stop running in the house before you end up bottom side up over Pa's knees. You're lucky you didn't run into him or you would have. Now let's get that cow's leg taken care of. Hop Sing is making dinner and I'm hungry."

While his sons and daughter were moving a herd of cattle and taking care of an injured cow, Ben rode to town to talk with the teacher. He took Cat's books and walked into the schoolhouse where he found the teacher reading a dime novel. He introduced himself and said, "I adopted my niece and she's going to be starting school here in the fall. I brought the books she used at her other school and wanted to know if they're the same ones the children here use."

Miss Smith looked at the books and said, "They'll do. If your brat is like the rest of the brats in this school, she's probably too stupid to learn anything. There are only four or five students that are worth trying to teach anything to."

Ben fought hard to keep his temper and said, "That's all I needed to know. Thank you for your time," and walked out of the school. He walked over to the saddle shop to talk to Mr. Miller.

"Hello Ben. What can I do for you today?"

"Good morning Gerald. Are you still the school board chairman?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, my sister was killed last month and I adopted her daughter."

"Yes, I am aware of that. I'm sorry for your loss. It was very nice of you to adopt your niece."

"Thank you. I came to talk to you about the school teacher. I would like you to call a meeting of the school board for next week. That woman isn't fit to be a teacher in any school. If she isn't replaced before the school term begins, Caroline Ingalls will be teaching her daughters and mine at home. I will not send my daughter to any school where the teacher says all but four students are too stupid to learn anything!"

"But Ben, Miss Smith is Reverend Jonas' niece. We can't fire her."

"Gerald, you know as well as I do that Reverend Jonas left shortly after my sister's funeral. You do not need to allow his niece to continue teaching in the Virginia City school. After all of the complaints Charles Ingalls said were placed against her, allowing Miss Smith to continue teaching at the school as a favor to her uncle was just plain wrong and you know it. Maybe it's time we elect a new chairman for the school board too. Now, are you going to call a school board meeting or I do have to approach every member and request a meeting myself?"

"Alright Ben. I'll speak with the other school board members and let you know when the meeting is going to be."

"Thank you. I need to get back to the ranch. Catherine is out helping her brothers move a herd to a different pasture and knowing her, she's probably giving them a hard time. She likes to do things her own way and thinks she can't get hurt."

Mr. Miller laughed. "That sounds like a lot of young children Ben. In fact, I seem to remember another Cartwright child who felt the same way not too many years ago."

"Yes, that young man did have his growing pains. He has settled down now and is a big help on the ranch. Well, I'd better be going. I should stop and say hello to Roy before heading home or I'll never hear the end of it. He loves that child as though she was his."

Ben left the saddle shop and walked over to the jail where he found Roy reading the daily paper. "Well hello Ben. It's about time you showed up. Where is my favorite Cartwright and why isn't she here with you? What have you done with that precious child?"

"She's out helping her brothers move a herd to a different pasture and I hope she's not giving them too hard a time. I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. She won't stop running in the house and nearly ran into me today. And this morning at breakfast, she started talking back and telling me that she wasn't going to go to school. While they're out moving the herd, the boys are supposed to talk to her about what happened to them when they talked back to me and skipped school. When she almost ran into me this morning, I told her that was her last warning and the next time she would be punished. I love that child and don't want to punish her, but I will if I have to."

"I understand Ben. I know you hate having to punish your children, but the alternative is for Cat to get hurt or worse running through the house. I love her too and don't even want to think about anyone finding her in a heap at the bottom of the stairs because she was running up or down them and slipped. I'll try talking to her about everything you just told me. I can't guarantee she'll change her ways, but I will try."

"Thanks Roy. I've still got to talk to her about jumping fences and other large objects on horseback. I'm not going to lose her the way I lost Marie. Her only warning is going to be when I talk to her about it. In fact, I'm giving serious thought to letting Joseph deal with her if he catches her. Right now, until she's used to having a parent to discipline her, I'm only letting the boys give her a swat, put her in a corner, make her stay in her room or give her extra chores. I'll deal with anything else that needs to be done."

"That's good Ben, but hold off on letting Little Joe deal with her for a while. She needs to get used to having a parent. I know that Matt did the best he could, but his job is even more demanding than mine and unfortunately, he wasn't able to be there for Cat all the time. I only have this town to worry about. Matt not only has to worry about Dodge, he has the entire territory. Considering the scope of his job, I'd say he did an excellent job raising her until now."

"Yes he did. I thought he just allowed her to run wild but I couldn't have been more wrong. Catherine had rules to follow and there were consequences for not following them. In fact, a few days before we left Dodge, he punished her for running on the boardwalk and knocking someone down. Adam and I were very surprised at how well behaved she is in public. We went into many shops in Sante Fe and Denver but the only time she asked for anything was when we were in a bookstore in Denver. Would you believe that she wanted to bring all of the books home with her? We settled on eighteen with the promise of more once she finishes them."

Roy laughed at the thought of Cat trying to carry all of the books from a bookstore with her. "That's great Ben. I'll pick a day early next week and ride out to the Ponderosa. Cat and I can spend some time fishing and I'll talk to her. Like I said, I don't guarantee that she'll listen to me any better than she's listened to you or Matt, but I will try and get through to her. The problem is, not unlike a certain other Cartwright, she isn't afraid of anything and thinks she will never get hurt."

"I am all too familiar with the stunts pulled by that certain other Cartwright. Why do you think I have so much gray hair?" Both men had a good laugh then Ben said, "Well, I'd better head for home and make sure the boys haven't killed their sister. I think I'll ask Hop Sing to pack a picnic dinner for after church on Sunday. Why don't you plan on joining us?"

"Now that's one invitation I'd be crazy to turn down. I'll see you on Sunday if not before."

Once Joe rejoined his siblings, they rode over to the injured cow. "Cat, come and help me with this," said Hoss. "You may as well learn how to do it now just in case you ever have to and nobody else is around." Cat watched and helped as Hoss cleaned the wound, put medicine on it and bandaged it. "Cat, go and grab that rope off my saddle."

"Why do you need the rope?"

"Because this leg is going to need some doctoring for several days, so we're gonna take her home with us. She can stay in the pasture with the mares and foals. Then when the leg is healed, we'll bring her back out here with her friends."

"Oh. Ok. Can I keep her?"

"Not this time Cat," said Hoss. "She needs to be out here with her friends. You've only been here two days. Give us some time and we'll find a nice calf for you to raise. It probably won't be until next spring because that's when the calves are born."

"Why are they born in the spring?"

"Because just like many other animals, they need time to grow up before winter when food is hard to find," said Joe.

"But we feed them, so they don't need to look for food."

"That's right. However, it's easier for an animal that's almost grown to survive the cold weather than it is for a baby animal."

"Oh. I see I guess. I don't know if I'm going to like living on a ranch or not. There's an awful lot to learn."

"Yes there is," said Adam. "But you'll learn just like we did. It will take time but you will learn what you need to know. Now, we had better hurry and get this cow home. Hop Sing gets very upset when we're late for meals."

Ben was already home by the time they put the injured cow in with the mares and foals and walked into the house. Cat pretended to ignore him and ran to give Hop Sing a hug after he set the plates on the table. Hop Sing hugged her back and said, "Missy Cat wash up. Dinner almost ready."

"Ok Hop Sing. I'll wash up."

"What about me Cat?" asked Ben. "Doesn't your Pa get a hug too?"

Cat looked at him and said, "Nah. You don't make chocolate cake." She pretended to walk toward the kitchen to use the wash room outside the back door then turned around ran and hugged him.

Ben hugged his daughter, kissed the top of her head and teased, "I think I'm going to make a new rule right now. From now on, if I don't get a hug when you come in the house, you don't get any chocolate cake. What do you think Hop Sing? No hug, no chocolate cake."

"That very good rule Mr. Cartwright. Missy Cat hug father when come home or no get chocolate cake."

Everyone had a very hard time trying not to laugh at the expression on Cat's face. "What if I'm mad at you?"

"That doesn't matter. No hug, no chocolate cake." He gave her a playful swat and sent her off to wash up before dinner.

"Now Pa," said Adam. "That was a cruel trick to play on her. You know that child lives for chocolate cake. In fact, I was thinking you should bribe her with it to get her to go to school."

"Gee, why didn't you think of that when I was in school?" complained Joe. "I wouldn't have skipped school so much if I had known I'd get chocolate cake if I went. Then I wouldn't have ended up bottom side up over Pa's knees so much."

His father and brothers laughed. "Joe," said Hoss. "As much trouble you got into even when school was out, you still woulda ended up bottom side up a lot."

While they were eating dinner, Ben asked, "Cat, did you have fun today?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Did Hoss do anything that wasn't safe?"

"No, he didn't."

"Hoss, did your sister do anything that wasn't safe?"

"No Pa. She did a good job."

"Well boys, do you think we'll be able to make a ranch hand out of her?"

"I don't know Pa. She's awful scrawny," teased Joe.

"Joe's right Pa. She is awful puny. We found a cow with a hurt leg and she couldn't pick it up and put it over her saddle," said Hoss.

"She's so small, I think we should throw her back and catch her again when she's big enough to keep," added Adam.

Ben laughed at his sons' comments. "Well boys, I used to hear the same comments from you about Little Joe, so I think we'll keep her. If we throw her back and wait for her to get bigger, we might not be able to catch her again. You know what happens when you turn wild things loose. They're awfully hard to catch again. We'll just have to make sure she eats a lot of Hop Sing's cooking so she gets bigger and won't be so scrawny. Cat, after dinner, we're going to go out to the pasture and teach you how to teach Fury to let you clean his feet. We're not going to clean his feet yet, but we're going to teach you how to teach him to let you pick his feet up. That's the first step. Then you and I will go for a ride. It won't be a long ride since I'd like you to start putting the things in your trunk where they belong and we have company coming for supper. Don't forget to tell your puppies they have to eat in the kitchen tonight when our company is here."

"Ok. I'll tell them. I'm going to have to get a bowl for Lassie. We got Silver Chief's in Santa Fe, but I didn't know I was going to get another puppy then."

"That's ok. Since we're not on the train any more, Lassie can use Silver Chief's water bowl and we'll ask Hop Sing if he has a big bowl to use for their water."

"That's a great idea. Thanks lots."

"You're welcome Cat. Now, you need to eat. Hop Sing's feelings will be hurt if you don't eat and you do need to put on a little bit of weight before a good strong wind carries you away."

Cat giggled and finished her food. Then Joe put more food on her plate. "Don't do that Joe. I don't want to get as big as Hoss."

"Hop Sing is right Cat. You really do need to eat more. You're not living in town now and ranch work requires a lot of energy, so you need extra food."

After they finished eating, everyone walked out to the pasture. As they passed the barn, Ben told Cat, "You need to get a halter and lead rope for your colt so you can catch him."

"I don't need to catch him. He catches me. He follows me everywhere when I'm out there with him."

Ben was skeptical but didn't say anything. "You need to see it Pa," said Joe. "That colt follows her around like those puppies do."

They walked out to the pasture and Cat climbed the gate. "Cat, you could open the gate and walk through instead of climbing it," said Ben.

"I know, but this is more fun." Ben just sighed and wondered how many more gray hairs his girl was going to give him. She was definitely just as wild, if not wilder than Joe had been. As soon as he saw Cat, Fury ran over to her and butted her with his head.

"Don't let him do that," called Ben. "It may be cute now, but he could hurt you when he's grown. Walk him around. I want to see how he goes."

Cat started walking around the pasture with Fury and her puppies right behind her. The colt started pushing her, so she turned around, pushed him and said, "Stop that right now. If you keep doing that, I'm not going to bring you any carrots and I'm going to tell your mamma what you're up to. Now behave yourself." She turned around and started walking back to her family. Fury followed but didn't push her again.'

When she got back to Ben, he praised her for the way she handled Fury pushing her. "That was very good Cat. If he pushes you again, do the exact same thing you just did. If he butts you with his head again, give him a light smack and push him away. It doesn't have to be a hard smack; just enough to let him know you're upset with him. Now, all you're going to do with Fury right now is get him used to having his feet handled. You're going to start at the top of one of his legs and rub your hands all the way down to his foot. Watch what Joe does with Lady and then do the same thing with Fury." Cat tried her best to copy what Joe did, but Fury was skittish about having his legs and feet touched. Ben praised her again and said, "Do that with him every day for a week. Use a different leg every day and before long, he won't mind you touching his legs and feet. Once he lets you touch his legs and feet with no problems, we'll teach you how to teach him to let you pick his feet up. Now, before we go, please see if you can get him to run around the pasture. I want to see him canter and gallop."

"Come on Fury," Cat said as she took off running. The colt followed her at a canter, passed her and broke into a gallop.

Ben turned to Adam and asked, "Well son, what do you think?"

"We won't know how smooth his gait is until he's old enough to ride, but he is fast and loves to run. He's faster than the other foals. He also loves Cat very much. I've never seen a colt that young leave its mother and follow a human before."

"Neither have I son. But there's always a first time for everything."

"Maybe it's because he knows she saved his life," said Joe.

"Part of the reason could be when she slept with him that first night," added Hoss.

"You may both be right," said Ben. "It doesn't really matter why. Adam is correct though. It is very obvious that Fury loves Cat and she loves him. That is going to make it a lot easier to train him." They all had a good laugh when Fury passed Cat a second time when she was about half way around the pasture.

By the time Cat reached her family, Fury was in the middle of his third time running around the pasture. He walked up behind her and rested his head on her shoulder. She petted him for a minute, then turned around and hugged and kissed him. "No, I am not going to run around the pasture with you again," she told her colt. "You're too fast for me. I have to leave now. Go on back to your mamma and be good."

Adam opened the gate and Cat walked out. She received praise and hugs from her father and brothers for how well she was doing with her colt. "You are doing a great job with Fury Cat," said Ben. "Let's go for our ride now. We need to be back here in about two hours because I would like you to start putting your things that are in the trunk where they belong. There's no need to live out of a trunk when you have a wardrobe and chest of drawers in your room. This is your home now and I don't anticipate having to pack all of your belongings into a trunk again until you get married and move in with your husband. Fortunately for me, that won't be for many years yet. That means I get to keep you for a long time."

They mounted walked over to their horses and Cat said, "Adam, I'm stealing Sport."

"Oh and what horse am I supposed to ride?"

"You can ride Cochise."

"What horse is Little Joe supposed to ride?"

"He can ride Chub."

"Then what horse is Hoss going to ride?"

"He can ride Buck."

"If Hoss rides Buck, which horse is Pa going to ride?

"He can ride Ginger."

"You are a little scamp. You can ride Sport but no jumping anything higher than your knees."

"I promise I won't jump anything higher than the house."

Adam sighed, gave Cat a light swat and helped her mount Sport. He handed her saddle bags to her and put a puppy in each side. Then he adjusted the stirrups and reminded her that she was not to jump anything higher than her knees. She rode next to her father, unsure of where they were going. When they had ridden for about forty five minutes, Ben stopped, dismounted and told Cat to dismount also. She took her puppies out of her saddle bags and looked around. On one side of the trail was a tree filled valley with a tall mountain in the distance. The other side of the trail was a spectacular view of Lake Tahoe. Ben sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree overlooking the lake and motioned for Cat to sit beside him. He hugged her and said, "I want you to know how much I love you and how glad I am that you're my daughter now. I always wanted a little girl along with my three boys and now I have one."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Catherine you can always ask me anything. What's on your mind?" Cat told him what Hoss and Joe had told her. Ben became angry at what his two younger sons had told their sister. Joe had received plenty of warnings before he was punished for doing something wrong and none of them were supposed to say anything to Cat about them being able to punish her. "Did you ask Adam about what Joe said?"

"Yes."

"Ok. And what did Adam say?"

"He said that Joe was eggs-agerating."

"The word is exaggerating and yes, Joe was exaggerating. It means to stretch the truth. He received plenty of warnings about his misbehavior before he was punished and so will you. After all, you've been warned about running in the house at least five times and I haven't punished you yet. However, as I told you this morning, that was your last warning. The next time I catch you running in the house, I will punish you. I don't want to, so I hope you stop running in the house. Eventually, your brothers will be allowed to spank you but not for a while. Right now, they are allowed to give you a couple of swats, put you in a corner, send you to your room or give you extra chores to do. I will deal with anything else that needs to be done.

That brings me to the reason I wanted to come out here and talk to you today. This is the one and only warning I am going to give you on this subject, so listen carefully. It concerns your jumping gates and other tall objects on horseback. I know that you think it's fun, but it isn't safe. I lost Little Joe's mother in a riding accident. She was an excellent horsewoman but she got careless, her horse threw her and she died from her injuries. It happened in the yard right in front of the door. Your brothers saw the accident. I will not have that happen to you and neither will your brothers. If I catch you jumping your horse over anything higher than your knees, I will give you a very hard spanking. If I have to, I will use my belt on your bare bottom. That is something I never want to have to do, so please stay safe and do not jump any fences, gates or other high objects on horseback. Your brothers and I love you and we want you to be with us for many, many more years. We do not want to find you laying in a heap, seriously injured or worse at the bottom of a fence gate or other high object because you jumped it, something happened and you fell from your horse. I know that you think you will not get hurt, but I am not willing to take the chance. Also, horses have been killed from jumping fences and other high objects. Would you want Fury to break a leg because he landed wrong after jumping a gate?"

"No."

"Well then, please think about what I said and do not jump fences, gates or other high objects." Ben hugged her close and said, "I mean it Catherine. This is your only warning. We love you dearly and do not want to lose you due to a riding accident the way we lost Little Joe's mother. Now, call your puppies and let's go home. We have company coming for supper and I want you to start putting your things away." He helped her mount Sport and then put a puppy in each side of her saddle bags.

Once Ben was on his horse, Cat looked at him and said, "When we get home, I'm going to tell Adam that I jumped Sport over that mountain."

"You do that and you can tell him I said you could. Won't that make him angry?"

Cat giggled. "Yes it will make him mad. It's funny when he scrunches up his mouth and nose."

Ben laughed. "Yes it is. Oh and Cat?"

"Yes?"

"I meant what I said earlier. You can ask me anything at any time except when I'm sleeping. I promise you that I will be very grumpy if you wake me up to ask me something silly."

"Ok. I'll wake you up tonight just to ask you something silly."

Ben reached over and gave one of Cat's pigtails a playful tug. "You are a little scamp and if you wake me up in the middle of the night to ask me something silly, I will tickle you until you have an accident in your pants. Now, let's get home. I have work to do and so do you."