The girls played in Cat's room for about thirty minutes when Ben called them down for dinner. While they were eating, Cat told Ben that she had invited Mitch's brother to the picnic. "That's fine Sweetheart. Michael is a very nice boy and I think you will be good friends."

"I like Mike," said Laura. "He's fun to play with."

Ben laughed. "That's good to know. I'm sure you girls will have fun playing with him on Saturday. When Mr. Miller was here, he told me that Mrs. Hansen said your dresses were ready, so we'll all go to town tomorrow to get them."

"Cat is going to need more dresses," said Mary. "She said she'd start wearing dresses to church on Sundays."

Ben was so surprised at Mary's announcement that he dropped his fork. "Oh? And how did you convince her to do that?"

"Laura did. Ma asked her to think about it but Laura convinced her she needed to."

"Laura, I think I am going to adopt you. How did you convince Catherine to wear a dress to church?"

"I told her that she would be the only one not wearing good clothes, all of the other kids would laugh at her and she'd get in trouble for fighting."

"I'm only wearing a dress for church and dances and nothing else, not even school."

"That's fine. I'm very happy to hear you say that you are going to look like a little girl for church. I guess we're going to need to get you some more hair ribbons and sunbonnets also. I'll see if I can talk Mrs. Ingalls into letting her girls get a few more dresses, sunbonnets and hair ribbons."

"I'm still wearing my hat until we get to town."

Ben laughed. "That's fine Kitten. I think you looked cute with your hat over your sunbonnet. Don't worry. I'm not even thinking about asking you to wear dresses to school. I am just happy that you are going to wear dresses to church. Now you girls finish your dinner then I'll make sure your cinches are tight and you can go for your ride."

Before setting out on their ride, the girls helped Hop Sing clear the table and told Ben that they would help with supper even if it was just setting the table and helping to carry food to it. Then Cat got her swimming clothes from her bedroom and everyone went outside. "Little girls be careful at lake," said Hop Sing. "No swim unless Mister Ben, Adam, Hoss, or Little Joe there too."

"Don't worry Hop Sing," said Mary. "We won't. Mr. Cartwright, is it ok if we go in deep enough to get our ankles wet?"

"Yes it is. In fact, you can go in deep enough to get your legs wet half way up to your knees. If any of Catherine's brothers get there before I do and start scolding you, tell him that I said you could."

"Gee thanks Pa," said Cat and all three girls hugged him.

"You're welcome. Now, let me make sure your cinches are tight. I can't have any of my girls falling off because their cinch was loose." He helped all three girls onto their horses, tied Cat's swimming clothes behind the saddle and put her puppies in the saddle bags. "You girls have fun and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Ben started to walk back to the house when Cat called him. "Pa, I forgot to get a ball for us to play with at the lake. I put them in the crate with the toys. Would you please get one for me?"

Ben laughed. He was sure this wouldn't be the first time that or a similar request would be made. "Sure Sweetheart. I'll get a ball for you girls." He returned a few minutes later carrying one of Cat's balls. "Who gets to carry the ball, Lassie or Silver Chief?"

"I guess Chief can keep it with him."

Ben put the ball in the saddle bag with Silver Chief and said, "Ok girls. You've got your puppies and a ball. Have fun at the lake and I'll join you shortly." The girls rode off toward Lake Tahoe and Ben walked back into the house to work on the books. He looked at the books on his desk and thought, 'I should turn these over to Adam, but I need his help with so many other things around here. Sometimes I think I depend on him too much. Hoss was never very good with figures so that leaves Joseph. He's nineteen now and it's time he started helping more with the day to day running of the ranch. It will be interesting to see if having a younger sister depending on him will help settle him down.' He spent about twenty minutes working on the books, put them away and walked into the kitchen to talk with Hop Sing. "I'm going cross eyed working on the books, so I'm going to ride out and join the girls at the lake. Would you like to come along? I know the girls would be thrilled if you did. You spend too much time in this house and need to get out more. The girls offered to help with supper anyway they can, even if it's just setting the table and helping to carry food to the table. In fact, I'm not going to take no for an answer this time. I'll go saddle a horse while you get some clothes to swim in." Ben laughed as Hop Sing walked into his room, mumbling in Chinese the entire time. Less than ten minutes later, they were on their way to join the girls at Lake Tahoe. When they arrived, they found the girls in the water near the shore, playing with the ball Cat brought.

All three girls squealed with delight when they saw Hop Sing. "Hop Sing, we're glad you're here. Come and play with us," they all called at once.

He got off his horse and said, "Hop Sing change clothes then play." He went behind some bushes, changed clothes and joined the girls in the water. Ben joined them a few minutes later. After playing with the ball for a while, Ben tossed it up on the shore near the pile of the girls' clothing and everyone went for a swim. The girls were careful not to swim out past the end of the tree and were rewarded about thirty minutes later when Adam, Hoss, and Joe joined them. Cat's brothers swam out past the tree and invited the girls to swim to them. Everyone played in the deeper water for about thirty minutes and then went back to shallower water. Then Adam, Hoss, and Joe each grabbed a girl and put her on his shoulder. With Cat's brothers hanging onto their legs the three girls laughed and giggled as they tried to push each other into the water. Mary was on Hoss' shoulders and won because he tripped his brothers, causing them to drop Laura and Cat. Ben and Hop Sing laughed loudly as Cat and Laura tried to push Hoss down into the water. Seeing their little sister and her best friend struggling to push Hoss down, Adam and Joe decided to help them. Mary joined in too and eventually, the five of them were able to push the big man down.

"Hey, I helped you win Mary. Why did you help them push me down?"

"Because you cheated. You're not supposed to cheat."

Hoss pretended to be angry and picked up his brothers and the girls and threw them into deeper water, being careful not to throw the girls too hard. Everybody played and swam for another hour when Ben said, "It's getting late. We need to get dried off and head for home so Hop Sing can make supper. I don't want to keep Mary and Laura out too much past their bedtime especially because tomorrow will be another long day as we have to go to town. Which one of you girls made that small fire near your clothes?" The girls really wanted to keep swimming, but they didn't argue.

"I did," said Cat. "The Apaches taught me how when I was five or six. They taught me how to make a lean-to this time but I'm not real good at it yet."

"That's something that takes time and practice to master. The more you try, the better you'll become at it. You did a good job with that fire. All we need to do is put more wood on it and we'll be dry in no time at all."

"Since I knew we were going to be swimming, I didn't want to put much wood on it. I was afraid it would get too big and I wouldn't be able to put it out."

"That's fine. You did the right thing. It's much easier to put a small fire out than it is a big one. I am very proud of you for thinking about being safe."

Once everyone was dry, they decided to ride back to the house in their swimming clothes and change there instead of behind the bushes. Everyone tied their clothes behind their saddles and put out the fire. Cat tried to get her puppies but they weren't ready to go home yet. They had been chasing small fish near the shore and wanted to continue. Silver Chief grabbed Cat's ball and ran off with it. Lassie followed him. "Chief, Lassie, come on," called Cat "It's time to go home now so we can eat supper." The two puppies refused to go to Cat so she and her friends started chasing them."

"Sometimes I'm not sure who is more trouble," remarked Adam, "Cat or her puppies. Since we're already at the lake, I don't see why we can't throw them back and catch them again when they're not so much trouble."

"You don't really mean that," laughed Ben.

"Of course I do. We should throw Little Joe back too while we're at it. He's still more trouble than he's worth."

"Ah but think how dull your life would be without your youngest brother and little sister."

"It would be wonderfully quiet for a change."

Ben laughed. "I would give you a week and then you would be complaining that things were too quiet. It looks like the girls need some help rounding up those puppies. We should help them so we can get back to the house."

With some help from Hoss and Joe, the puppies were eventually caught and handed to Cat who scolded them, unaware that Adam was listening. She hugged them and said, "Look you two, you have to be good. Adam doesn't really like us much and wants us to go away. I don't think he can make me go away but I might have to give you away and I don't want to do that. I never had a puppy before and I love you and want to keep you forever."

Adam walked up to Cat, sat down beside her, put an arm around her, hugged her, and took Lassie from her. "You couldn't be more wrong. Not only do I like you and these wild beasts, I love you very much."

"But you keep saying…"

"Yes, I keep saying that you're more trouble than you're worth and I want to throw you back and catch you when you're bigger. I've been saying those exact same things about Little Joe for nineteen years now and he's still around. You're both so small, I want to treat you like a fish that's too small to keep and throw you back in the water and hope to catch you again when you're big enough to keep. The same thing goes for those wild beasts that keep following you again. But that doesn't mean I want to get rid of you or them."

"But Little Joe is your brother. I'm not really your sister. I'm just your cousin."

"Wrong again. You are my sister. You were my cousin but now you're my sister. The next time I hear you say that you're not really my sister or part of this family, I will put you over my knees and warm your backside. I really do love you Cat, even if you are too small and more trouble than you're worth. If I didn't, you wouldn't have gotten that crate full of toys. And, in case you didn't notice, there were more books in that crate than you picked out. They didn't buy themselves. We're just going to have to make you eat a lot more so you won't be so small. Now, let's get back to everyone else before they think we got lost."

Ben was getting worried because Cat and Adam were taking so long after the puppies had been caught, so he sent Hoss to see what was keeping them. He listened to part of the conversation and then rejoined the others. "Adam is having a talk with little sister. She thinks that because he keeps saying she's more trouble than she's worth and too small to keep, he doesn't like her and wants to get rid of her and her puppies. So he's tryin' to straighten her thinking out."

"I was afraid something like that was going to happen. You boys have got to remember that Catherine isn't used to being teased the way you tease Little Joe. Go easy on the teasing for a little while until she's more used to the way we do things."

Cat and Adam walked up a few minutes later. He still had his arm around her and was still carrying Lassie. Hoss picked Cat up and put her in Cochise's saddle while Joe put Silver Chief in one side of her saddle bags. Instead of putting Lassie in the other side, Adam put her inside his shirt. "I've decided to steal this one," he teased.

Cat giggled. "Don't forget what happened when we were at Uncle Luke's and you tried to steal Silver Chief."

"What happened?" asked Mary.

"Adam put Chief inside his shirt like he just did with Lassie. Chief had to go to the bathroom and wet all over Adam."

Hoss and Joe thought that was the funniest thing they had heard in a while and started laughing loudly. So did Mary, Laura, and Hop Sing.

"Yes, but Lassie is a lady and she would never do something like that."

"I don't care if she rides with you but don't blame me if she wets on you."

"Ok. I won't. I'll blame Little Joe instead." All three girls laughed at Adam's statement.

"Alright everybody, we need to get home," said Ben. "Supper won't make itself and everybody still needs to change clothes."

When everyone reached the house, the girls went upstairs to Cat's room where they changed clothes. Then they went down to the kitchen and asked Hop Sing how they could help with supper. "Little girls pick vegetables. Pick corn, beans, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, and cucumber."

"I don't know how to do that," said Cat. "Nobody in Dodge grew their own vegetables."

"We'll show you," said Laura. "We pick vegetables for Ma all the time. How much corn do we need to pick?"

"Hoss get four, Mr. Cartwright, Adam, and Little Joe get two, and little girls get one. Pick three lettuce, six tomato, four cucumber, and four pepper and bowl of beans." Hop Sing handed each girl a large bowl and also gave Mary a bucket for the corn and a large pair of scissors for the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Laura and Mary showed Cat how to pick vegetables and before long, they had enough picked for supper. When they carried everything back into the kitchen, Hop Sing said, "Little girls shuck corn and snap beans." Laura stayed in the kitchen to snap the beans while Mary and Cat took the corn outside to shuck it. When the beans had been snapped and the corn shucked, Hop Sing looked at everything and said, "Very good. Little girls set table and then play until supper ready."

After the table had been set, the girls walked up to Adam and much to the amusement of his brothers asked, "Will you push us in the swing?"

He looked up from the book he was reading, glared at his brothers sighed and said, "I'm reading. Why don't you ask Hoss or Joe to push you?"

"Because we want you to," replied Cat. "You can read later after I go to bed."

He looked at his father for help and seeing the amusement in Ben's eyes, sighed and surrendered. "You are more trouble than you're worth. I wish Pa would let me throw you back until you're big enough to keep. Alright. I'll push you for a while. Whose turn is it to go first?"

"It's Cat's turn," replied Mary.

They went outside and Adam pushed each girl on the swing for a while. After Laura had taken her turn, he sat down on the swing and said, "I've pushed you girls twice today. I think you should push me for a while."

The girls giggled. "Ok," said Mary. "But you're going to have to help us get you started. You're a lot bigger than we are."

"Nope. You're going to have to do it all by yourselves. You didn't help me get you started so I shouldn't have to help you"

"But you weigh almost as much as Hoss does," protested Cat.

"Little sister, you are going in the water trough for that remark. I do not weigh anywhere near as much as Hoss does. Now, I have pushed the three of you on the swing twice today. So therefore, you need to push me for a while."

The three girls tried pushing Adam but he kept his feet on the ground so they couldn't. The girls whispered to each other for a minute and then walked around to the other side of the swing. Ben walked out of the house just in time to see the girls push Adam off the swing backwards. He laughed loudly at the sight of his eldest son being manhandled by his younger sister and her friends. Adam got up off the ground, brushed himself off, picked all three girls up, and started walking toward the trough.

"Adam, what are you planning on doing to your sister, Mary, and Laura?" asked Ben. "I certainly hope you aren't planning to throw them in the trough."

"That is precisely what I am going to do. This sister of mine had the nerve to tell me that I weigh almost as much as Hoss does. Then she and her friends dared to push me off the swing. Tomorrow I am going to take her out to the lake and throw her back. We can catch her again when she's big enough to keep. In fact, I think I'll do the same thing to Joe while I'm at it."

"You need to stop teasing your sister like that. She's going to start believing that we don't want her any more. Now, it's time for supper. Everyone needs to wash up. Either put the girls down on the ground or carry them into the house."

"It would be a lot more fun to throw them in the trough."

Ben laughed. "Yes, I can believe it would, but supper is ready and everyone needs to wash up. You can throw the girls in Lake Tahoe on Saturday when we're out there for the picnic. Right now, all four of you need to come in the house. I do not want Hop Sing upset because you are late for supper.

Adam reluctantly put the three girls down and walked into the house. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright," said Laura and Mary as all three girls hugged Ben.

"You're welcome," said Ben as he hugged the three girls. "Now go and get washed up for supper. Hop Sing gets very upset when anybody is late for supper."

Cat was getting tired of Adam saying she was too much trouble, too small, and needed to be thrown back until she was bigger, so she decided to start teaching him a lesson. His hat was on the armoire so when she walked into the house, she picked it up and put it on the seat of his chair at the table. Ben saw her, smiled to himself but didn't say anything. 'So now it starts,' he thought. 'I wondered how long she would take being teased by him before she started to get even. This should be interesting.'

Hop Sing called everyone to the table. Adam happened to glance at his chair before sitting down and saw his hat in it. "What is my hat doing in my chair? Which one of you put it there, baby brother or baby sister?"

"I am not a baby! I am almost ten years old and that is not a baby! It's not my or Joe's fault that you don't know where to put your dumb ol' hat."

"Your sister is right," teased Ben. "It is neither your sister's nor your youngest brother's fault that you did not put your hat where it belongs. I suggest you do so now and sit down so we can eat supper before this wonderful meal Hop Sing prepared gets cold." Adam sighed, took his hat and put it on the armoire. Since his back was turned, he didn't see Cat smile at their father or him give one of her braids a playful tug. Everyone else had a very difficult time to keep from laughing. "Hop Sing, this meal is delicious. If you cook like this everytime Mary and Laura are here, they're not going to want to go back home."

"That fine with Hop Sing. Little girls big help. They set table, pick vegetables, snap beans and shuck corn. Little girls stay here. They more help than sons. Hop Sing teach them how to cook good. Sons go to little girl's home and little girls stay here."

"Hey now Hop Sing, wait just a doggone minute," stammered Hoss. "You can't go trading me and Adam and Little Joe for two little girls. They ain't hardly big enough to do anything around here. Besides that, Mrs. Ingalls can't cook enough to keep me from being hungry."

"Hop Sing no care. Little girls mole help than sons and no complain when told to pick vegetables, snap beans, shuck corn and set table. Sons complain everytime Hop Sing tell them do something to help with meal."

The girls traded amused looks and giggled while Hop Sing and Hoss argued. "Catherine, who is going to take Mary and Laura home tonight?" asked Ben. "As much as I know you'd love to have them spend the night, they need to go home. Their parents will miss them and it wouldn't be fair to expect Mrs. Ingalls to cook for your brothers, especially Hoss with no warning."

"I am. I got them, so I'm going to take them home again."

"I'm sorry Sweetheart, but it's already dark outside and you're not allowed out of the yard by yourself after dark."

"Hoss can come with me."

"Not tonight Cat. You've had a full day and tomorrow is going to be busy also. You will need to get ready for bed shortly after supper."

Cat started to pout. Before she could say anything and get in trouble in front of her friends, Hoss said, "Let her come with me Pa. We ain't gonna be gone that long."

"Yeah Pa," added Joe. "I was out after dark with Hoss plenty of times while Adam was away at school. It's not that late and like Hoss said, they're not going to be gone very long."

"I realize that son, but you were not a nine year old girl. There is a big difference between a nine year old boy and a nine year old girl."

"If that is your only reason for not letting Cat go along with Hoss to take her friends back home, then you're just being overprotective again," countered Adam. "Cat will be just as safe with Hoss as Joe was when he was nine. In fact, she'll probably be safer because Hoss was only fifteen when Joe was nine and he's an adult now."

"Alright. Catherine can go with Hoss to take Mary and Laura home but nowhere else. Straight there and straight back again."

"Mister Cartwright spend too much time in sun today." Said Hop Sing. "He not think right. It late and dark outside. Number two son no going to take Missy Cat anywhere except to take friends home. He man not little boy now. He love Missy Cat and no let anything happen to her. Missy Cat safer with Hoss than with father and other brothers. Hoss sometimes have more sense than number one and number three sons together."

Adam and Joe scowled and Ben burst out laughing at Hop Sing's comments. "Alright, alright You win. I'm just being overprotective again. Cat can go with Hoss to take the girls home."

"Thanks Pa," said Cat, smiling at her friends. Laura and Mary communicated silently across the table and decided to tell their parents about how overprotective Ben was being of Cat. They didn't think it was right he was trying to keep her from doing anything just because she is a girl and not a boy.

After supper, the girls helped Hop Sing clear the table and went upstairs to Cat's room so Laura and Mary could get their swimming clothes out of her room. "What book are you going to take?" asked Cat.

Her friends looked at the books again and then Mary said, "We'd like to borrow Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

"Ok. I just finished it and it's a good book. Maybe you can read it to Carrie too. I think she'll like it. Go ahead and take the book from the bookcase. Since Lassie and Silver Chief will be in my saddle bags, maybe Hoss will carry it inside his vest for us."

The girls walked downstairs just as Ben walked to the staircase to call them. Laura and Mary hugged him and thanked him for letting them spend the day on the Ponderosa. When they went outside, Cat handed the book to Hoss and asked. "Laura and Mary are borrowing my book. Will you please carry it for us? I'm afraid it will get dirty if I put it in my saddle bags with my puppies."

Hoss took the book, put it inside his vest and said, "Sure Punkin'. I'll be more than happy to carry your book for your friends. Now let's take them home before their parents start to worry that Pa decided to keep them too." All three girls giggled. Hoss picked each one up and put her on her horse. Then he put Cat's puppies in her saddle bags, mounted Chub and rode out of the yard with the girls.

They entered the Ingalls' yard fifteen minutes later. Hoss dismounted and helped each girl get off of her horse and handed Mary and Laura their swimming clothes and the book. The girls entered the house with the puppies and Hoss right behind them. "I found something I think belongs to you," said Hoss as he entered the house.

Charles and Caroline hugged all three girls. "Oh good. You brought this one back too," said Caroline as she hugged Cat. "I was afraid you would leave her at the Ponderosa."

"I'd leave her if I could. I know she'd love to stay, but Pa would kill me ifn I didn't bring her home with me. We had a hard enough time convincing him to let her come along."

"Oh?" asked Charles. "Why, is she in trouble or something?"

"No, Pa's just being real overprotective and don't like it when she's out of his sight. In fact, he'd be real happy if he could just keep her in the house all the time and not let her do anything."

Before he could say more, Caroline said, "Girls, go and put your swimming things in with the dirty clothes so I can wash them tomorrow and then get ready for bed. You can tell us all about your day once you've changed clothes. Now Hoss, please tell us what your father is trying to do to Cat."

"He's being real overprotective of her. She wants more room to roam and he's trying to keep her as close as possible. When Cat came here this morning, he checked her cinch three times even though Joe saddled Cochise and checked the cinch himself. Pa didn't want her to come with tonight because it's after dark and he doesn't want her out after dark unless he's with her. When Joe pointed out that he was out after dark with me many times when he was nine, Pa said that there's a big difference between a nine year old boy and a nine year old girl. It took Adam and Hop Sing to convince him to let her come along. Adam, Joe and I had a long talk while we were out working today and we're going to start showing Cat how to get places on the ranch and back home again safely by herself. Ifn we wait for Pa to show her, she'll never be allowed to go anywhere on her own and then she'll try to get to one of her uncles on her own. Adam is goin' to town tomorrow to inspect the school house to make sure it's safe for the kids. I think I'll talk to him about sending telegrams to Matt and Rip to let them know that Pa's bein' real overprotective of Cat. Oh yeah, that reminds me. Pa said that the dresses for the girls are ready and he's gonna pick you and the girls up around ten tomorrow morning. He said that you'll eat dinner in town since you'll already be there. Well, I'd better be getting little sister home before Pa thinks we went to town."

"Hoss," said Charles. "When you have Adam send those telegrams, tell him to let Cat's uncles know that they don't need to do anything right now. Caroline can talk to your father tomorrow and I'll talk to him at the picnic on Saturday. Cat's only been here a week, so let's give things time to improve before they take any action. I do agree that you and your brothers need to start showing her how to get places on the ranch and back home again safely. She especially needs to be taught how to go to her parents' graves. That should be a place she should be allowed to visit anytime she wants to without anyone with her."

"Those are some good ideas. I'll let Adam and Joe know too."

Charles walked over to the ladder that led to the loft and said loudly, "Girls, you need to come down here. It's getting late. Cat needs to go home and your mother and I want to hear all about your day before you go to bed."

"Alright Pa," said Mary. "We'll be right down." Mary came down the ladder with Carrie close by so if she slipped, Mary could catch her. Then Cat and Laura came down. Mary had Cat's book in her hand and walked over to her mother and handed her the book. "Cat got a whole bunch of books and let us borrow this one. She already read it and said it was very good. We thought we'd read it down here so Carrie can hear it too."

"Pa and I read together every night before I go to bed. Except Little Joe's reading with me right now because I'm reading King Arthur and that's his favorite book. He reads one page and I read the next one and we read one chapter a night. When they finish this book, they can borrow another one. Pa and Adam got me a lot and said they'll get me more when I read all of them."

"That sounds like a fine idea," said Charles. "We'll start reading the book before bed tonight and Caroline, Mary, Laura, and I can all take turns reading a page until we have finished one chapter. Thank you for letting the girls borrow your book. That was very nice of you."

"You're welcome. They can borrow my books anytime they want to."

"You had better start for home now with Hoss before your Pa starts to worry about you. If he wonders why you were gone so long, tell him it's because Mrs. Ingalls and I tried to keep you and it took Hoss a while to convince us to let you go home with him." Charles and Caroline hugged Cat and Charles walked out with Hoss and Cat to where the horses were tied. After Hoss put her on Cochise, he and Charles each put one of her puppies in each side of her saddle bags. Then Hoss attached a lead rope to Ginger's bridle and tied it to Cat's saddle horn. Then he attached a lead rope to Star's bridle, mounted Chub, tied the lead rope to his own saddle horn, and started out of the yard with Cat riding next to him.