After reading with Cat, Joe came back downstairs laughing. "She said she wasn't tired but she barely stayed awake long enough to finish reading one chapter."

The days flew by. Although they didn't completely go away, Cat's nightmares became less severe and frequent. Cat spent time working the ranch with her father and brothers who started teaching how to find her way around. They rode out to Silver Hawk's village where she was adopted and given four new sets of buckskins and two new pair of moccasins. She spent several days fishing and swimming with Laura, Mike, and Jasper. The Millers came out to the Ponderosa and Cat met Sally and Richard. The three children became fast friends and Sally promised to introduce Cat to some of the girls at school. Mr. Miller gave her a package and when she opened it, she found two large leather pouches that looked like the two halves of a set of saddle bags. The tops of each pouch consisted of several layers that had been sewn together and had a hole large enough to fit over a saddle horn. Like her saddle bags, each pouch had the Ponderosa brand and her name burned into it. "Gee thank you Mr. Miller. These are great. Now Lassie and Silver Chief can keep coming with me when I'm riding. Too bad I can't take them to school with me."

"You're welcome Cat. They were Julia's idea and she insisted on having those flaps so if it starts to rain, your puppies can still stay dry. I know you would like to take your puppies to school with you. I'm quite certain that every child in the school would like it. However, you are in school to learn and won't get much done if your puppies are there."

"You sound like Pa."

Mr. Miller laughed. "That's because I am a father and all fathers think alike."

Cat sighed. Before she could say anything else, Ben said, "Before you say anything, even if you were in Dodge, Matt would not allow you to take your puppies to school either."

"The world has too many grownups in it," said Cat, causing all of the adults to laugh. Sally and Richard agreed with Cat.

Before long, the dreaded first day of school had arrived. Cat tried her hardest but just couldn't think of a way to get out of it so after breakfast, she picked up her dinner pail and saddle bags containing her marbles and school supplies, hugged Lassie, Silver Chief, and Fury and reluctantly rode toward town with her father.

Ben laughed as Cat kept turning around to look back toward the ranch. He had been through this twice before. Hoss and Joe hated school and Cat felt the same as his two younger sons did. "You won't have to leave as early tomorrow morning Kitten. Today I have to get you enrolled and I may have to buy new books for you."

"I wish Fury would come running up the road after me. Then I'd have to turn around and take him back home. By the time I did that, it would be too late to go to school."

"I hate to break the news to you Sweetheart, but even if Fury did follow us, you would still have to go to school. I would simply put a rope on him and take him back home after I got you enrolled in school. It won't be that bad. You already have some friends and you have met your teacher. You're a sweet girl and I'm sure you'll make even more friends."

They arrived at the school and Ben showed Cat where to put her horse while she was in school. "Unsaddle Beauty and put him in the corral with the other horses. After school, you can ask one of the boys or whoever picks you up to check your cinch. Now, bring your saddle bags and let's go talk to Miss Winter."

They walked into the school and Miss Winter greeted them. "Good morning Mr. Cartwright. Catherine, it is nice to see you again. Mr. Cartwright, I'm guessing you're here early to get Catherine enrolled."

"Good morning Miss Winter. Yes, I am here to get Catherine enrolled. Also, I need to know if I have to go and buy new books for her. Here are her grades from last term and a letter from her teacher in Dodge."

Susan looked at Cat's grades and read the letter from Miss Jackson. "These grades are very good Catherine and Miss Jackson speaks very highly of you and says she will miss you. I need to give you a short test so I know exactly what grade to place you in." She picked a book up off her desk, opened it and asked Cat to read the page she pointed to. Cat read it easily so Miss Winter selected a harder passage, which Cat also read easily. She continued having Cat read harder passages until she started to struggle. "That was excellent. You are reading between a sixth and seventh grade level. Now I would like to see your penmanship. Would you please copy the first three sentences of the passage you just read onto your slate?" Cat surprised both Ben and Miss Winter when she wrote with her left hand. "Oh, I see that you write with your left hand…"

"Is there a problem with that?" asked Ben, starting to get upset. Little Joe was also left handed and Ben had been forced to have many discussions with Abigail Jones about her attitude toward his youngest son being left handed.

"No, of course not. I'll just give her an outside seat so she can write without worrying about interfering with her seat mate. Catherine, your penmanship is good and will improve with time and practice. Now I need to test your arithmetic skills." She wrote several problems on Cat's slate and watched as Cat counted on her fingers to solve them. "Thank you. I see that we are going to have to work on your arithmetic. Now, may I please see the books you brought with you?" Cat took her books out of her saddle bags and handed them to Susan who looked at them and said, "These are the third grade books. Catherine will need the fourth grade books for everything except reading. I would like her to have the seventh grade reader. It will challenge her and keep her from becoming bored during reading class. I have looked at the class roster and there is only one other fourth grade student, so Catherine will be sitting with Laura Ingalls."

"That is excellent. Cat and Laura have been friends ever since Cat started spending school vacations here when she was five."

"Catherine, there is no need for you to remain inside the school until I ring the bell. You may go outside and play with the other children. Mr. Cartwright, what do you want to do with her old books?"

"I'll leave them here for children whose parents cannot afford them. Well, I had better go and buy new books for Cat. I can't have her starting the first day of school unprepared."

"Before you leave, there is one thing I wanted to discuss with you. I would like to start a lending library here in the school for the children. Not every child is as blessed as Catherine to have a family willing to buy them all of the books they can read. With the lending library, every child can take books home to read and return when they are finished."

"That is a wonderful idea Susan. The children are lucky to have such a caring teacher. I will bring it up at the next school board meeting and push for your idea to be approved."

Cat walked outside and met with her friends who began introducing her to some of the other children. Mary and Sally pointed out a tall girl with curly brown hair. "That's Annabel White," said Sally. "She'll probably want to be friends with you because you're Ben Cartwright's daughter. She only wants to be friends with kids who have rich parents."

"Be careful around her," added Mary. "She is very spoiled and if you have something she wants, she will steal it and her mother lets her. I don't know if her Pa knows or not. I'm sure that she'll want your saddle bags. She doesn't like animals but once she sees your puppies, she'll want them just because they're yours. She'll want your colt too."

Mike and Jasper pointed out two boys who were around fifteen. "That's Tommy Roberts and Billy Davis," said Jasper. "Stay away from them. They're nothing but trouble. They don't always come to school but when they do, they make trouble for everyone else."

"They do stuff in school and find a way to get someone else in trouble for what they do," added Mike. "They're real sneaky. Last year, Tommy pulled Jennifer's hair and crawled away, making it look like Mitch Harris had done it. Tommy and Billy laughed about it after school. If Jas and I hadn't heard them and told Mr. Harris about it, Mitch would have gotten a whipping with a razor strop."

"They make kids do stuff they don't want to by threatening to do something bad to them or their family," continued Jasper. "Last year little Jeff Michaels almost got killed because they threatened to rip up his school books if he didn't ride one of their horses. Jeff was only six and Billy put a burr under his horse's saddle before putting Jeff on it. Miss Smith thought it was funny. Miss Jones always used to send notes home with them but they'd bring the notes back, signed by their fathers and never got in any trouble for what they did."

Cat's friends continued telling her about the other children. They were still talking when Ben returned with Cat's new books. After putting them in her saddle bags, he hugged and kissed her, told her he loved her, and after stopping to see Roy and Paul, rode back to the ranch. Miss Winter rang the bell and the children entered the school. Reverend Long was there, introduced Susan to her students and began the new school term with a prayer and a blessing. Laura was thrilled to learn that she and Cat would be seat mates. Miss Winter introduced Cat and the youngest children who were just starting school to the rest of the students and then began each lesson by reviewing what the students should have already learned and then started teaching new material. At recess, some of the children started teasing Cat because she was wearing buckskins and not a dress but her friends stood by her and the teasing stopped. By the end of the day, Cat was certain she was going to hate arithmetic even worse than she already did. Having to learn all of the multiplication tables in third grade was bad enough but having to multiply two numbers by two numbers with that carrying business was just too much and why did the second row of numbers start under the second number and not the first. She didn't see any reason why she had to learn it. When school was dismissed for the day, Cat started putting her things into her saddle bags when Mitch Harris grabbed her slate, smashed it on the floor and stomped on it, breaking it and the pencil. Before Cat could do anything, Miss Winter grabbed the boy by his shirt collar, bent him over the stool and paddled him. When Cat's friends saw her broken slate, they asked what happened and she told them about Mitch Harris breaking it. Mike and Jasper became very angry at their friend and decided to take care of him as soon as possible.

When Mr. Harris arrived at the school to get his son, he became very angry when Miss Winter told him what Mitch had done to Cat's slate. He ordered his son outside where Mike and Jasper pounced on him and started hitting him. "Why in tarnation did you do that to Cat?" demanded Mike. "She never did anything to you."

"It's her fault I got in trouble with Sheriff Coffee and my Pa."

"You idiot. It's your own fault. I was in town that day. You caused a lot of trouble and Cat wouldn't have sat on you if you hadn't pushed her into the street. In fact, if she hadn't caught you, I would have. One of the ladies you pushed into the street was my mother and those windows you broke cost a lot of money. You're lucky Ma wasn't hurt. Don't you think that Sheriff Coffee would have ridden out to your ranch and told your Pa what you were doing? You were supposed to get off restriction in two weeks. Now you're going to get another whipping and probably be restricted for another month. You're twelve now and Cat's only nine. When are you going to grow up?"

"Cat's our friend," added Jasper. "We may be smaller and a year younger than you, but if you ever do anything to hurt her again, we're going to hurt you worse."

While Mike and Jasper were talking to Mitch Harris, Annabel was trying to make friends with Cat. "I'm Annabel White, do you want to come over to my house? It's really big and nice."

"I'm Cat Cartwright. I don't know. I have to ask my Pa. Can Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Sally come too? They're my friends."

Annabel wrinkled up her nose like she had smelled something bad and said, "I don't think my mother would like that. We don't associate with people like that."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Well you know, being a Cartwright and all."

"No, I don't know."

"They don't have any money. You know, they're poor and my mother won't let me associate with people like that."

"They're my friends. If you don't want to be around them then I don't want to be around you." Cat walked off, leaving Annabel standing with her mouth open. Nobody had ever talked to her like that before and she was going to get even one way or another. She saw Cat's saddle bags and decided that they were going to be hers.

Ben rode into the yard and was surprised to see Mitch Harris with a bloody nose with his friends and Cat standing nearby. Mr. Harris walked out of the school, greeted Ben and handed him some money. "Ben, I'm sorry, but my son decided it was your daughter's fault he got into trouble two weeks ago and broke her slate and pencil. This should take cover the cost of a new one and it seems like my son and I need to have another necessary discussion in the barn when we get home. Cat, I'm sorry that Mitchell broke your slate and pencil. I don't know what's gotten into him. He never used to be like that."

"It's your fault," said Mitch angrily. "Yours and Ma's. Ever since Teddy was born, all you ever thought and talked about was him. You gave him my bedroom and made me move into that little room at the back of the house where there was barely enough light to read by. It was like I didn't even exist unless you needed work done on the ranch or I did something wrong. You treated me like a hired hand instead of your son. You didn't even say anything when Miss Jones gave me an award for having the highest grades in my class. All you cared about was Teddy and you blamed me because he died. I wasn't allowed to hold him or go in his room, but you and Ma blamed me when he died. I wasn't even home the night he got sick but you blamed me because the bedroom window was open and his blankets weren't on him. He's been dead almost a year now and you still don't treat me like your son unless I do something wrong. You can whip me but I'm not staying on your ranch any more. I'm almost thirteen and that's old enough to get a job. I'm strong and I can get a job on any ranch or farm. Mr. Cartwright, will you give me a job on the Ponderosa? I'm strong and I'm a hard worker."

"I'm sorry Mitchell, but not right now. You and your parents have some things you need to work out."

Mr. Harris stood there in shock with his mouth open. He couldn't believe the words his son was saying. "Well Ted," said Ben. "It seems like you have some soul searching to do and you and Sally need to have a talk with your son that doesn't involve the palm of your hand, a belt or razor strop. I have three sons and never neglected the older ones when the younger ones were born. The only time I neglected my family, and I freely admit I was wrong, was after Marie died. Thank God Adam and Hop Sing were there to take care of Hoss and Joe because I was lost in my grief. Take your son home and talk with him. He has a lot of anger built up and the three of you need to work through it. Now, I need to go, buy my daughter a new slate and pencil and get her home. Come on Cat, let's get Beauty saddled and go over to the store."

They walked into the store and Mr. McLeod greeted them. Hello Ben, Cat. How was your first day of school?"

"It was awful! Pa wouldn't let me take my puppies, Miss Winter says my grammar needs improvin', I have to do these yucky arithmetic problems, Annabel White only wants to be my friend 'cause Pa is rich, and Mitch Harris broke my slate and pencil. The only good things were that Laura is my seat mate and I'm in the seventh grade reading class. I'm gonna have to find someplace to live where I don't have to go to school. School is dumb and boring. It's worse than when I was in third grade. I don't know what's wrong with my grammar. I talk like Hoss does and nobody fusses at him."

Both men laughed. "I understand how you feel," said Mr. McLeod. "I didn't like school either but if I hadn't gone to school, I wouldn't own this store now. Pick out a new slate and get two pencils for it. That way if one breaks or gets lost, you'll have another one. I'm glad you're here Ben. I got a new shipment of children's boots in today. Maybe Cat will find a pair she likes that fit her. I'll ask James to bring them in."

"Thank you Gerald. She's been wearing an old pair of Joe's and they're so big, she has to wear her moccasins inside them with newspaper in the toes. Oh, please add two licorice sticks and a penny bag of candy to my bill."

"The licorice and candy are on me. Poor child has had a hard day. I don't know how you could be so cruel as to make her leave her puppies at home. Everyone knows that children would much rather play with puppies than attend to their studies."

Both men laughed at Gerald's statement. "Cat, Mr. McLeod got a new shipment of children's boots in today. Maybe we'll find a pair you like that fit you. Get yourself another eraser for your slate, two tablets and some regular pencils too. That way we won't have to get any for a little while."

Cat brought her school supplies up to the counter and Mr. Miller said, "Why don't you go and get your arithmetic book and show me those problems you're having trouble with? Maybe I can explain them to you." Cat got her arithmetic book and opened it to the page she worked on in class. "Alright then. Copy this problem onto your slate and I'll help you with it. Seventy five times twenty five." Cat copied the problem and Mr. Miller asked, "Do you remember your place values?"

"Yes sir. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands…"

"Very good. Now to multiply two digits by two digits, start with the ones column. How much is five times five?"

"Twenty five."

"That's right. Do you remember what you're supposed to do next?"

"Write down the five under the two fives and write the two above the seven."

"Excellent. Go ahead and do that. Now what are you supposed to do?"

"Multiply five times seven, which is thirty five."

"You're doing fine. Now what are you supposed to do with that two you wrote above the seven?"

"I think I'm supposed to multiply thirty five by two."

"No, that's not quite right. You need to add the two to the thirty five. Write that answer next to the five in the ones column. What is the next step?"

"Multiply two times five and that's ten." Cat wrote the zero under the five in the first line of her answer.

"No Cat, because you are now multiplying by the number in the tens column, you need to put the zero under the seven in the first answer row. Something that helped me when I was your age was to write a zero or an x under the answer in the ones column so I would remember to start writing my answer in the tens column. Didn't Miss Winter explain this to you?"

"She did but before she could have us practice, four of the little boys got into a fight. When she finally got them sorted out, she forgot that she didn't practice with us. Laura figured it out right away because she used to watch Mary do her work. I don't know how I'm going to do this. I had all kinds of help in Dodge but there's nobody here to help me."

"That's nonsense Cat. Your Pa and brothers can help you. Adam went to college and is very good at arithmetic."

"Nobody will have time because they'll always be busy with the ranch."

Ben was going to say something but stopped when Gerald shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that you're mistaken because I remember Little Joe complaining about not liking it that Adam had to help him with his schoolwork, especially when there was too much snow for him to get to school. However, if there does come a time when nobody can help you, come to town early the next day and either James or I will help you. Now, let's finish this problem so you can try on boots." Cat finished the problem and was praised by Ben and Mr. Miller.

"What was the fight all about?" asked Ben.

"Two sets of brothers that just started school today were mad 'cause Miss Winter wouldn't let them sit with their brothers. One boy said his seat mate kicked him and his brother got up and hit the other boy. Then the other boy's brother got up and hit the boy who hit his brother."

"What did Miss Winter do to the boys?"

"She hit them hard twice with the paddle, made them stand in the corner and wrote notes to their fathers. Their fathers were really mad when they picked them up and swatted each boy hard twice."

"I'm glad she took care of the problem," said Mr. Miller. "However, I am sorry she forgot that she didn't have you and Laura practice what you learned in arithmetic class. Now, here is James with the crate of boots. Why don't you go with him and see if there are any you like that fit you?" After Cat walked off with James, Gerald looked at Ben and said, "The reason I didn't want you saying anything to Cat when she said that there wouldn't be anybody on the ranch to help her with her schoolwork is because sometimes it's better if they hear that they may be mistaken from somebody else. You notice that she didn't argue when I told her about Joe complaining about Adam having to help him. She doesn't know yet that you and the boys would drop everything you're doing to help her. She may not believe you if you tell her, but she will believe it if you show her."

Just then James walked up and said, "Mr. Cartwright, Cat isn't wearing any socks. She needs to wear socks so she knows how the boots will fit."

"Thank you James. Cat, why aren't you wearing any socks?"

"I never wear socks. I am an Apache warrior and Apaches never wear socks."

"Well little girl, from now on, I want you to wear socks even when you're wearing your moccasins. They'll help protect your feet and keep them warm when it gets cold outside. Get two pair of socks and put one on before you try on boots." He turned back to Gerald and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. She refuses to wear a dress anywhere except church and dances, she only wears shoes to church and changes back into her moccasins as soon as we're back in the buggy, and now I find out that she doesn't wear socks."

"You're forgetting that she was raised differently than we raised our sons. I'm sure that nobody thought much about children running around Dodge with no socks on. It probably never crossed her uncle's mind. Considering the circumstances she was raised in, her uncle did a very good job. She's well behaved, well mannered, and helpful. The last time the two of you were here, you left her here while you went to talk to Roy and Paul. She looked at the toys and a lot of other things, but the only things she touched were the books. Julia Miller came in and bought so many things she dropped several of her packages. Cat picked them up and carried them to the Miller house for Julia. Julia said she tried to pay Cat but the only thing she would accept was one cookie and half a glass of milk. Most other children would have taken the money. She's also got Adam's book smarts. I know she's struggling with arithmetic, we all did at one point or another but she's in the fourth grade and using the seventh grade reader. Now that's something to brag about."

"You're right of course. I don't even think Adam's reading level was that advanced. Of course, he didn't start attending school regularly until long after we settled here. I taught him as best as I could while we were traveling west. Inger taught him a lot and he got his love of learning from her."

"It seems to me that Cat is a combination of all three of your sons. She loves to read like Adam, she loves animals just as much as Hoss, and like Joe, she hates to be cooped up and made to sit still."

Before Ben could answer, Cat walked up to him, carrying a pair of boots. "Can I get these Pa? I really like them. They look like the ones Joe is letting me wear but they're a little different."

"Do they fit you?"

"Yes they do, don't they James?"

"Yes Mr. Cartwright, the boots do fit Cat. There's enough room in them for her to grow some without having to get new boots right away."

"Thank you James. Yes Cat, you may get those boots. Now we need to start for home before Hop Sing and your brothers think I've let Paul or Roy kidnap you and your puppies think I've lost you. When we get home, you need to do your chores and then get your homework done." Cat frowned at the mention of homework. "Don't frown Kitten. It's unbecoming."

"Then stop saying bad words like homework. My uncles said I had to go to school but they didn't say anything about having to do homework."

Ben laughed and gave one of her braids a playful tug. "Sorry Kitten but homework is part of going to school. If you don't do your homework, you won't get good grades and if you don't get good grades, you won't be spending your summer with Rip, Lucas, and Matt."

"That's not fair."

Ben laughed harder. "I'm sorry Kitten, but life isn't fair. Adults make the rules and children have to live by them." After Cat put her school supplies in her saddle bags, Ben handed her a licorice stick and the bag of candy. "You may have the licorice and four pieces of candy now. If you have room after supper, you may have more candy and I'll tell Hop Sing to put two pieces in your dinner pail tomorrow. Who is going to ride in with you tomorrow?"

"Someone who won't make me go to school."

Ben laughed long and loud. "Who is that? I'd like to know."

"Carrie Ingalls."

Ben continued laughing. "Oh, that is precious. We'll stop at the Ingalls on the way home and tell Charles and Caroline what you said. I'm sure they'll enjoy the laugh. Come on silly girl. Let's go before I laugh so hard I won't be able to stay in the saddle."

They stopped at the Ingalls where Ben told the family what Cat had said and everyone enjoyed a good laugh. "Cat, Laura told me you were struggling with your arithmetic lesson today," said Caroline. "I'm sorry that you didn't get a chance to practice in class because those boys got into a fight. If you ever need help and nobody is home to help you, come over here and I will help you. I don't want you falling behind because you don't understand the lesson. How is your reading?"

"Cat's in the seventh grade reading class," answered Laura. "Even Mary isn't that good."

"That's excellent Cat," said Charles. "I'm sure that your Uncle Matt will be very pleased when you write and tell him."

"Laura," said Cat. "Do you need another book to read? Joe and I are almost done with King Arthur and I've read Robin Hood before. I think Pa and I are going to start Gulliver's Travels next."

"I think we still have four or five chapters of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland left," answered Laura.

"Ok, When you finish it, come and get another one."

"That reminds me," said Ben. "When I enrolled Cat this morning, Miss Winter said that she'd like to start a lending library at the school. Some parents can barely afford to buy school books for their children and certainly can't afford to buy them any other books."

"What a wonderful idea," said Caroline.

"I agree," added Charles. "I'll attend the next school board meeting and add my voice in support of the idea."

"Thank you Charles. Now I'd better get this one home before her brothers and Hop Sing start thinking I let Roy or Paul steal her. I'm sure that by now, her puppies think I've lost her."

When they reached the Ponderosa, Joe was out in the yard. He helped Cat down off of Beauty, hugged her and said, "Hi Squirt. How was the first day of school."

He laughed when Cat replied, "Terrible!" and proceeded to tell him everything she had told Gerald McLeod. Before Cat could say anything else, she was attacked by two bundles of fur and energy. She laughed, got down on the ground, hugged her puppies and was rewarded with wet, sloppy puppy kisses. After taking care of Beauty and filling the kitchen wood box, Cat grabbed a brush and ran out to the pasture to see Fury.

About five minutes later Ben walked out to the barn looking for Cat. He walked up to Joe and asked, "Where is your sister? I told her to come in the house and do her homework after she finished with her chores."

"She's out in the pasture with Fury. Since she's training him, I would think that would be part of her chores. After all, that colt won't train himself. I said I'd give her half an hour before getting her. She said all she had to do for homework was ten arithmetic problems and Gerald McLeod already helped her with one."

Ben chuckled. "Thank you son. You're right. Since Cat is training Fury, that would be considered part of her chores. It would save us a lot of time if the horses could train themselves."

"Yes it would. Then I would have more time to spend with the pretty girls."

"Joseph, there is more to life than pretty girls."

"Well, there's horses too, but the girls are more fun to be with."

Ben sighed and shook his head, hoping that his youngest son would grow up and settle down before too long. "Let's go out to the pasture and see what your sister is doing with that colt."

They walked out to the pasture where they found Cat putting her puppies on the colt's back. "You two are starting to get too heavy for me to pick up. I guess it won't be much longer until you're too big to ride on Fury's back until he's all grown up. I sure wish there was a way to make him grow up faster. I don't want to wait two whole years before I can ride him. Come on Fury, let's walk around the pasture before I have to go in the house and do yucky arithmetic. I'd almost rather eat carrots and vegetables that start with r than do arithmetic. Sometimes I'm not sure which one is worse 'cause they're both real awful."

"Hurry up Cat," called Ben. "You still have homework to do." Cat ignored her father and kept walking around the pasture with her colt and puppies. When they got back to the gate, Ben said, "Alright Catherine, that's enough. You have homework to do. Say goodbye to Fury and go into the house."

"But we haven't run yet and I only have nine more arithmetic problems to do. I almost always went fishing after school and did most of my homework while I was fishing. Uncle Matt didn't care just as long as it was right and I got it done before bedtime so why should I have to do it right now?"

Ben sighed. This was a battle he wasn't prepared to fight. "You're not in Dodge any more. The rule in this house is you come home from school, do your chores, and then do your homework. Now go and do your homework. There will be consequences if you continue to argue with me!"

Cat looked at Fury with tears in her eyes and said, "I can't wait until you're old enough to travel 'cause as soon as you are, you, me, Lassie, and Silver Chief are going to Dodge where we belong. I'm tired of being yelled at because of dumb rules that don't make sense. It shouldn't matter when I do my homework just as long as I do it and it's right. That's what Uncle Matt always said, so why should it be different here?"

Ben heard what Cat said to her colt and started to open the pasture gate. "Pa," said Joe. "You just sprung a new rule on her. How did you think she was going to react? What happened to telling her about new rules before expecting her to follow them? When we were in the barn, I told her she had thirty minutes to spend with Fury and then she needed to do her homework. She didn't argue with me. She just said ok, grabbed a brush and ran out here with her puppies. I know she's not good at knowing how much time has gone by so I told her I'd come and get her when it was time. She's making the same argument I used to. It shouldn't matter when her homework gets done as long as it gets done and it's right."

"Alright son, you take care of your sister. We'll talk about this as a family this evening."

After Ben walked away, Joe looked at his watch and said, "You've only got ten minutes left Cat, so if you and Fury are going to run around the pasture, you had better do it now."