Operation Slingshot continued with random attacks on Mrs. Warren occurring before and after school. She kept blaming Cat who wished she knew who was behind the attacks so she could thank them.
Annabel White kept watching for her chance to steal Cat's saddle bags. She finally got the opportunity on Friday. Miss Winter called both Cat and Laura up to solve arithmetic problems on the board at the same time. Annabel took advantage of the fact that neither Laura nor Cat were at their desks and Miss Winter's attention was on them and the boys who would laugh at the girls for making mistakes. She lowered herself onto the floor and crawled to Cat and Laura's empty desks. Then she took Cat's saddlebags and put them under her seat. When school was dismissed, Cat was upset to find that her saddle bags were missing and started looking for them. Just then, Laura came back into the school and said, "Cat, Annabel has your saddle bags."
Before Miss Winter could do anything, Cat ran from the schoolhouse and caught up with Annabel. "Those are mine! You stole them! Give them back!"
"No. I wanted them so I took them and I'm not going to give them back. My mama said I can have anything I want, even if it belongs to someone else."
Cat reached for her saddle bags and Annabel shoved her backwards, making Cat very angry. It had rained the night before and there was a large puddle right behind her tormentor. Cat shoved Annabel as hard as she could and the older girl fell down into the puddle. Cat grabbed her saddle bags and turned around to find Miss Winter standing there. "Catherine, give those to me and then I want both of you girls inside the school, sitting at your desks until your fathers get here. Jeffrey, George, would you please see if Mr. White and Mr. Cartwright are in town and tell them I would like to see them?"
The boys ran off from the school toward the center of town. Jeffrey spotted Ben's horse tied up in front of Roy's office. He opened the door, went inside and said, "Mr. Cartwright, Miss Winter needs you to come over to the school right away." He ran out before Ben could ask him any questions.
Ben looked at Roy and said, "If that girl started a fight, she is going to have a very hard time sitting down for supper tonight."
"Now Ben, don't go getting yourself all riled up until you know why the teacher needs to see you. Cat might not have done anything wrong."
"You're right of course. I'm so used to Joe getting in trouble in school that I'm overreacting before I know what is going on. I'll go over to the school now and see why Miss Winter needs to see me." He walked over to the school and found Mr. White starting to walk up the stairs into the schoolhouse.
Both men walked into the school and found their daughters sitting in their seats. Annabel was wet and muddy. Miss Winter looked at them, held up the saddle bags with the back toward them, and said, "Gentlemen, thank you for coming. Your daughters had an altercation over these saddle bags. I know who they belong to but I wanted to question both girls in front of you to see which of them would tell the truth. Annabel, please describe these saddle bags for me."
"They're mine. They're just regular saddle bags made from light colored leather."
"Thank you. Catherine would you please describe them?"
"Yes ma'am. They're made out of light colored leather. The flaps have fringe on them and it's been dyed different colors. The Ponderosa brand and my name, Wild Cat, have been burned into them. My marbles are in the left side and there's dog hair in them because my puppies used to ride in them until they got too big. They were a birthday present from two of the soldiers guarding my Godfather." Miss Winter showed the front of the saddle bags to Mr. White before handing them to Cat.
"Who is your Godfather?" asked Mr. White.
"President Grant."
"You're lying," screamed Annabel and launched herself at Cat. "Those are my saddle bags and President Grant is not your Godfather!" A fight ensued with Annabel trying to use her size to pin Cat down and pummel her. However, Cat was smaller and lighter, used to fighting children larger than herself and was easily able to dodge Annabel's blows while landing several of her own.
The fight only lasted a few minutes before the girls were pulled apart by their fathers. Mr. White landed several hard smacks to his daughter's backside and demanded, "Why did you steal Catherine's saddle bags? You have no need of them. You do not have a horse."
"I wanted them and she wouldn't give them to me. Mama said I could have anything I want and if someone had something I wanted and wouldn't give it to me, it was alright for me to take it."
"Your mother told you it was alright to steal?"
"Yes. Mama said I could have anything I wanted. She also said I shouldn't associate with people unless they were rich."
"Young lady, you are in a lot of trouble. You are going to feel the sting of my belt on your bare bottom for stealing from Catherine and starting that fight as well as the one that landed you in a mud puddle. Furthermore, you are restricted to your room for a week. We are going to go through your bedroom and you will receive an extra day's restriction for everything I find in there that does not belong to you, even if it means you are restricted for a month. You will only be allowed to leave your room for meals, chores, school, and church. You will return everything you have stolen to its rightful owner and apologize to that person. During the time you are restricted, you will write an essay on why stealing and starting fights are wrong. I will also be discussing your stealing with your mother and if I find out you lied to me about what she said, you will be in even more trouble. The next time I catch you stealing, not only will your punishment be the same as it is now, you will be giving half of your toys to the orphanage in Carson City. Now apologize to Miss Winter, Mr. Cartwright and Catherine for the trouble you caused!"
"I'll apologize to Miss Winter and Mr. Cartwright but I ain't apologizing to that orphan. Mrs. Warren is right. She shouldn't be here with decent people. There's no telling where she came from or who her parents were."
Ben got angry. "Not that it is any of your business young lady, but Catherine is my younger sister's daughter. She was born on the Ponderosa. Her father was killed in the war and her mother was murdered in June. In the future, I suggest that you take a good long look at yourself in a mirror and count your blessings before belittling someone else. Children who have been orphaned are not to blame that their parents are dead. They are God's children and deserve love and compassion the same as everyone else."
"I'm sorry for the way my daughter has acted Ben," said Mr. White. "I fully intend to follow through with the promised punishment. If I find out that my wife did indeed tell our daughter that stealing was acceptable, she will suffer a fate similar to what Annabel will be receiving. Stealing is against the laws of God and man and I will not tolerate it from any member of my family. Nor will I tolerate an adult telling a child that it is alright to steal."
As Mr. White pulled Annabel toward the school door, she turned around and screamed at Cat, "This is all your fault. I'm not going to forget what you did and I will get even with you no matter how long it takes."
"Annabel," said Mr. White. "You just earned yourself two more licks with my belt for blaming Mr. Cartwright's daughter for your actions and for threatening her. At the rate you are going, you are not going to be able to sit down comfortably for at least a day. Now march yourself home, do your chores and go straight to your room. I will be up to deal with you shortly."
"I'm telling mama what you said you were going to do. You'll see. She won't let you punish me for anything. I am her little princess and can do anything I want to!" Mr. White delivered another strong smack to his daughter's bottom.
"I highly recommend you do as you were told before I bend you over a desk and give you a whipping right here and now. I have reached the end of my patience with you and will not tolerate any more disrespect toward me, Mr. Cartwright, Miss Winter, or Catherine. Now get yourself home unless you want a whipping right here and now!" He gave Annabel another strong smack to emphasize his point.
After the Whites had left the school, Miss Winter said, "Mr. Cartwright, Catherine is not in any trouble. She could have handled Annabel's stealing her saddle bags differently, but Annabel started the altercation in the schoolyard. Catherine was just defending herself. I must admit that I am curious. Is President Grant really Catherine's Godfather?"
"Yes he is. So are Generals Sheridan and Sherman. They were good friends with Cat's father when they were young. When Cat was born, they promised her parents if anything ever happened to them and no family member could take her, one of them would raise her as his own. Thank you for telling me that Cat is not in trouble and did not start the altercation in the yard. Come on Cat. Get your books and then get the mail and newspaper. If I do those things, you will not be paid for today. Meet me at Roy's office and we can ride home together. Who knows, maybe I'll let you beat me in a race."
Cat laughed. "Pa, you couldn't beat me in a race ifn I was ridin' backwards with my eyes closed."
Miss Winter laughed at Cat's statement. "Catherine, don't forget you have a grammar test on Monday that you need to study for. You need to stop talking like your brother Hoss. Polite young ladies use correct grammar."
"Thank you Miss Winter," said Ben. "I have been trying to get her to use correct grammar at home and I believe that Hoss also had a talk with her about that same thing. I want to get this wild one home before she decides to take the town apart one board at a time. Have a nice weekend"
"That sounds like fun Pa. I just need to borrow a hammer from someone."
Miss Winter laughed. "Good luck keeping her corralled. I'll see you in church on Sunday."
Ben sighed. "Come on Scamp. Go get the mail and newspaper and meet me at Roy's office." On the ride home, Ben asked Cat, "Have you ever stolen anything?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. Maybe when I was real little. You have to ask Uncle Matt."
"Well, if you stole something when you were very young, that's not important because very young children don't know any better and many times they're just curious and forget to put things back where they belong. But you haven't stolen anything since you were five, have you?"
"No sir! Uncle Matt woulda killed me if I had. I probably wouldn't have been able to sit down until I was twelve."
When Mr. White arrived at his home, he found his daughter complaining to her mother about the way her father had treated her at the school and his promised punishment for her stealing. "Annabel Marie! I distinctly remember telling you to do your chores and go to your room when you got home."
"Mama said I didn't have to go to my room."
Mr. White glared at his wife. "Your mother and I will be discussing this later. Your deliberate disobedience of my instructions has just earned you an extra week of restriction. Besides the essay I have already assigned you, I will also be assigning extra chores for you to do as well. Now get upstairs to your room. I will be there momentarily to deal with your stealing, lying and starting fights." He delivered another hard smack to his daughter's bottom as she slowly walked toward the stairs.
"See mama, I told you that Pa was being mean to me."
"Annabel, if you continue disobeying me, you will be on restriction until after Christmas. Is that what you want, to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in your bedroom with extra chores to do? That's not what I want but it's your choice. You already have two weeks restriction plus an additional day for every stolen item I find in your bedroom. If you want extra licks with my belt and your restriction to be even longer, continue talking back and disobeying me, because I guarantee that is exactly what will happen to you."
"Go upstairs and do your homework Princess," said Mrs. White. "I won't let your father punish you. After all, that girl should have given you her saddle bags when you told her to."
Annabel stuck her tongue out at her father and said, "See, I told you mama wouldn't let you punish me. I'm her little princess and I can do anything I want to."
Mr. White glared at his wife and said, "You and I are going to be discussing this later and I can guarantee that you will not like the discussion. Right now, I need to deal with our daughter. I am warning you, do not interfere with me on this. Annabel, I am sick and tired of your disrespect and disobedience. It's time you learned that I mean what I say." He picked his daughter up and carried her up to her bedroom where he delivered the promised whipping. Then he walked outside to the barn and returned with four crates. He entered his daughter's room and said, "Start taking your toys out. I want everything you have stolen in two crates and everything that is yours in the other two."
"Why do I have to put my toys in crates?"
"Because I told you to do it. If you want to stand there and argue with me, I can always make your bottom hurt worse than it does now and add more time to your restriction."
Once the toys had been sorted out, Mr. White had Annabel go through her clothing and other belongings. When everything had been sorted out, Annabel was told that she would be on restriction for a total of six weeks. Then he told her to put her clothes away, picked up the crates containing her toys and walked out of the room with them.
"Those are mine. Why are you taking them? You can't have them. I'm telling mama."
"You have lost the privilege of having these until your restriction is over. You are being punished and I will not have you sitting up here playing when you are supposed to be writing an essay and doing extra chores. If I catch you with any of them before your restriction is over, you will not get them back until after the new year."
"That's not fair. I'm going to tell mama and she'll give them back to me. You'll see. She lets me do anything I want to."
"Annabel Marie! You are dangerously close to going over my knees and getting a spanking on top of the whipping I just gave you! If the disrespect continues, not only will you get a spanking right now, your restriction will be extended until after Christmas. Start on your homework. I will have a list of chores you will be doing during your restriction after supper. Tomorrow we will return the things you stole and you will start on your extra chores. You will be expected to keep up with your schoolwork and keep your grades high even though you will have extra chores. Any chore that is not done correctly will result in you having to redo it and an additional day of restriction. Refusal to do any chore will result in a spanking and an additional day of restriction."
After supper, Mr. White handed Annabel's list of chores to her. She looked at the list and read, "Feed the chickens and gather the eggs, muck out the stalls every day and put fresh bedding down, clean the fireplace every Friday, dust and polish the furniture, sweep the entire house, beat the rugs, clean the hen house, put new nesting material in the boxes and rake the coop every Saturday, polish the banister and spindles, polish the silver, help your mother do the laundry, wash the windows, stack wood after it has been cut, fill the wood boxes after school and twice a day on weekends."
"I can't do all that."
"You can and you will. There is nothing on that list that is too hard for you. Children younger than you do many of those things every day. In fact, feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs will be part of your regular chores from now on. You're almost twelve years old and it's high time you started helping around here more. Since most of those chores will be done after school, I realize that some of them will take several days to complete. As long as I see you making progress on them, you will not be punished. Once you have done everything on the list, you will start the list again. These are things that your mother and I do every week. Doing the things on this list will help you understand what it takes to run a household. There are only three stalls so it won't take you too long to muck them out and put fresh bedding down. I truly hope that you will cooperate and do the things on this list without complaining. I do not enjoy punishing you and do it to teach you a lesson. I want you to grow up to be a lady whom people respect as being honest and helpful. Now go and help your mother in the kitchen. Then go up to your room and stay there until tomorrow morning when you will feed the chickens and gather the eggs before doing your usual morning chores. After breakfast, you and I will return everything you have stolen and you will apologize for stealing those things. When we return home, you can clean the hen house and rake the chicken coop. Then I will carry the rugs outside so you can beat them."
Once Annabel was asleep Mr. White took his wife out to the barn to have a talk with her. He yelled at her for telling their daughter it was alright to steal from people. He also yelled at her for telling their daughter she should only play with children whose parents had money and for undermining his authority with Annabel. He told his wife that except for meals, chores, school, and church, their daughter was restricted to her room for six weeks. He also said that he had taken her toys away and she was not to have them back until her restriction was over. When Mrs. White protested that Annabel was a princess, had done nothing wrong and people with money were the only ones worth associating with, her husband pulled her over his knees and gave her a sound spanking. Then he told her to read her Bible to see what it had to say about stealing and only associating with wealthy people. He also told her that she would receive another spanking if she interfered with Annabel's punishment. She was to show the girl how to do things and supervise, but she was not to do Annabel's chores for her.
After breakfast the next morning, he hitched a horse to the buggy, put everything Annabel had stolen in the back seat, put the top up because it was raining, and set off to have his daughter return everything to its rightful owner. Their second stop was the general store where Annabel had to return several toys she had stolen from Mr. McLeod. Mr. White stood behind his daughter and noticed that she had one hand behind her back with her fingers crossed while she was apologizing. He knew that to children having your fingers crossed behind your back meant you didn't really mean what you were saying and became very angry. He pulled Annabel's hand out from behind her back and held onto it. "George, may I please borrow your wood shed? I have a very disrespectful little girl to deal with.
Knowing exactly what Annabel was doing, Mr. McLeod replied, "Of course you may Fred. You are also welcome to use my storeroom if you'd like. Either one will suit your purposes."
"Thank you George. I won't be too long." He pulled his daughter out of the store and into the storeroom. After scolding her and telling her how disrespectful she was being to him and Mr. McLeod, he made Annabel bend over a crate and used his belt on her bare bottom. When he was finished, he informed her that her restriction had just been increased by another week. Then he escorted her back into the store where she made a proper apology to Mr. McLeod.
On Saturday, Adam, Hoss, and Joe rode out to check on the mines. Ben was about to tell Cat he would pay her if she helped him clean tack again when she ran down the stairs and outside into the pouring rain. He scolded her when she came back inside. "You are in big trouble little girl. Not only were you running in the house, you ran down the stairs. We have had this discussion too many times and you know what the consequences are for running in the house and down the stairs."
"I had to go real bad Pa. I waited as long as I could but it wouldn't stop raining. I had to run because I was going to wet my pants."
"Why didn't you ask me or Hop Sing for a chamber pot?"
"What's that?"
"You don't know?"
"No, I never heard of it."
"It's a special pot that you keep under your bed to use when you can't use the outhouse."
"Like the buckets Uncle Matt has in the cells in his office? I'm not going to use a bucket."
"It's not a bucket. It's a special pot and you will be using one this winter. It gets entirely too cold at night to use the outhouse."
"Not me. I'll just put clothes on and use the outhouse like I did when I was here for Christmas."
"We'll talk about that when the time comes. Because you had a legitimate reason for running in the house, I am not going to punish you for it this time."
"What does getimet mean"
Ben fought to keep from laughing at Cat's pronunciation of the word. "The word is legitimate and it means that you had a real reason this time, not just that you were in a hurry."
"Oh. Why isn't being in a hurry a getimet reason?"
"The word is pronounced li-jit-uh-mit. Because I said it isn't. You are too young to always be in a hurry. Now, if you want to earn some money, take your wet moccasins off, put them by the fire to dry. Then put some dry clothes, socks and your boots on. Put your wet clothes by the fire to dry, get your rain slicker and meet me in the barn. Tack needs to be cleaned and I'll pay you to help me just as I did the last time."
After dinner, Adam, Hoss, and Joe reluctantly joined their sister and father cleaning tack in the barn. When they were finished for the day, Cat had earned another eight dollars toward a new saddle for her uncle Matt. "Eight whole dollars. WOW. Now I only need another ten dollars before Miss Kitty can order Uncle Matt's new saddle for me."
"What are you doing with the money I am paying you to get the mail and newspaper and help Hop Sing weed the garden?" asked Ben.
"I'm saving that so I can get Uncle Matt something for Christmas."
"I am glad that you are saving it instead of spending it on candy."
"I'm going to spend Adam's money on candy."
"Little stinker. There is at least one puddle in the yard with your name on it," teased Adam.
"If you throw your sister in a puddle son, you'll have to wash her clothes and make sure she has clean ones to wear. Otherwise they'll hear Hop Sing yelling all the way in Denver."
"In that case, I'd better let him know what I'm going to do so he can get Cat's bath water ready. That way after I throw her in a puddle, I can put her right in the bath, clothes and all. Then little sister and her clothes will all get clean at once and I won't have to wash her clothes."
Ben laughed. "Adam, I lost count of the number of times you boys tried to do that when you were Cat's age. I told you then and I'm telling you again, you cannot wash the clothes and the child at the same time. Although you will get the clothes clean, the fact remains that the child will not be clean."
Cat grew tired of Adam threatening to throw her in a puddle so she jumped onto his back. "Beauty worked hard today so you're gonna be my horse."
"Oh I am, am I? Where am I supposed to take you?"
"To town. I want to buy some candy."
"It's pouring rain outside."
"That's ok. You're supposed to be a magic horse so I won't get wet."
"And what about me?"
"It's ok if you get wet, just so I don't."
"Scamp! Just for that, I am going to take you up to the hayloft and drop you from it just to see how high you will bounce." He started climbing the ladder to the hayloft with Cat still on his back, giggling the entire time.
"Adam, that's not a very good idea right now. You know that your sister is just as hard headed as Joe. If you drop her from the hayloft, she could break the boards on the floor and make a very large hole in the ground. It is almost suppertime and repairing all of the damage she could cause might take most of the night. Why don't you take your rider into the bath house and get her washed up for supper?"
Before beginning the church service, Reverend Long told the congregation that the church and parsonage roofs leaked when it rained. He also told them there would be a school board meeting the next day. After church, Cat was talking with her friends when Annabel walked up, blamed Cat because she had been punished for stealing and hit her. Mary ran over to where Ben and Mr. White were talking with some other men and said, "Mr. White, you need to hurry. Annabel just hit Cat and is blaming her because she was punished for stealing. Cat is trying real hard not to hit her back but she might if you don't hurry."
Mr. White thanked Mary and followed her to where Cat and her friends were standing. He saw Annabel hit Cat again, grabbed her and gave her a very hard smack, asked Mary to tell his wife he was taking Annabel home. He scolded Annabel on the way home. "What did I tell you on Friday about blaming other for your actions? We are going home now where you will receive another whipping and your restriction is now eight weeks. Three whippings in three days. This must be a new record for any child. I don't know what your problem is but that is not the way I raised you."
Ben hurried over to make sure that Cat wasn't hurt and praised her for not losing her temper. Since Hop Sing was visiting cousins in town, the Cartwrights decided to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant and invited the Ingalls to join them.
One week after Annabel tried to steal her saddle bags, Cat was more than two hours late coming home. The later it got, the more worried Adam became. Finally he went outside and started saddling his horse. He had just finished tightening the cinch when Mrs. Warren drove into the yard in her buggy. Adam groaned, "She is not supposed to be here and it will be forever before I can get out of here," he thought. "That woman can talk the ears off a bug."
"Good afternoon Mrs. Warren. What brings you out here this afternoon?"
"Well hello Adam. I am so happy that I found someone at home. I've come to solicit a donation for the church and parsonage roof fund. The Reverend was just saying on Sunday that everytime it rains, he runs out of pots and buckets to put under the leaks in the church and the parsonage."
"Yes, I know. I'm sure that Pa will be more than happy to give you a donation. He's not home right now and I am in a hurry. I have something important to do." Mrs. Warren didn't listen to a word he said and just kept talking for fifteen minutes. Finally Adam said, "You're going to have to excuse me Mrs. Warren. My sister is very late getting home from school and I'm afraid something has happened to her. I was just getting ready to ride out in search of her when you drove in."
Once again, Mrs. Warren ignored what Adam said and kept talking. Just when he had about reached his wit's end with her, Cat came riding into the yard with three stringers full of fish. "The fish were really biting good today Adam," she exclaimed happily. "Look at how many I caught. I'll bet that I even caught more than Hoss can eat."
It was all Adam could do to keep from laughing at Cat's comment. "Young lady, do you know how worried I have been about you? You are almost three hours late coming home from school. Go, take the fish to Hop Sing, take care of your horse and do your chores. Then you and I are going to have a little talk."
Just then Cat saw Mrs. Warren and became very afraid. "Why is she here Adam? I thought the judge said she wasn't supposed to be here. You're not gonna let her hurt me again, are you? Where's Hoss? He'll protect me from her."
Adam saw how upset Cat was getting and said, "Don't worry little sister. Mrs. Warren is leaving right now. She isn't going to hurt you ever again. Ride your horse over to the kitchen and we'll talk after Mrs. Warren leaves and you finish your chores."
After Cat took the fish to the kitchen, Mrs. Warren said, "I hope you and then Ben take that disobedient, ill mannered, impudent brat out behind the barn and gives her a good thrashing with a razor strop. She needs to be whipped until she can't sit down for a month! Since you are just standing there and not doing anything about her, I will! Somebody needs to teach that brat a lesson and you and your father don't seem up to the task so I will do your job for you!"
She started to get out of her buggy, whip in hand and Adam blew up. "M…i…s…s…u…s War…ren, First of all, you are not supposed to be on the Ponderosa for any reason. Second, my Pa has raised three sons to adulthood without any outside help! I am quite certain that he can manage one girl without any unsolicited advice, especially from someone who has never had any children! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to deal with my sister! I will be letting Sheriff Coffee, Mr. Parker, and the judge know that you were out here today when you have been forbidden by the court to be here at all! Good day Mrs. Warren and do not return to the Ponderosa again! If you do, whoever is home will have some of the hands take you to the sheriff!"
Mrs. Warren gave a loud, "Well, I never…" turned her buggy around and drove out of the yard. When she reached town, she began talking bad about Adam to anyone who would listen. Most people walked away when they saw her coming and a few including Dr. Martin and Reverend Long listened politely and laughed when they were finally able to get away from her. They knew the Cartwrights hadn't heard the last from Mrs. Warren and felt sorry for them. After she walked off, they walked over to Roy's office and told him that she had been out at the Ponderosa without having been invited.
Adam sat in the rocking chair on the porch and waited for Cat to do her chores. When she still hadn't come out of the house after almost fifteen minutes, he walked into the kitchen. "Hop Sing, where is Cat? She was supposed to bring her fish to you and then do her chores."
"Missy Cat very frightened of nasty lady being here. I tell her go upstairs and wait until I call her. I tell her I use big knife on nasty lady if she come in house."
"Thank you Hop Sing. The next time I go to town, I plan to let Roy know that Mrs. Warren was here when she's not supposed to be. I'll go upstairs and get Cat." He walked upstairs and found Cat's bedroom door closed. He knocked on it and receiving no reply, walked in. When he didn't see his sister, he looked into the tree outside one of her windows, thinking she may have climbed into it for safety. When he didn't see her in the tree, he said, "Cat, it's Adam. You can come out now. I promise you it's safe now. Mrs. Warren has been gone for fifteen minutes. She can't hurt you and when I go to town tomorrow, I am going to tell Roy that she was here." Not receiving a reply, he looked under his sister's bed where he found her puppies curled up together in the far corner. Then he opened the wardrobe and found Cat curled up in a ball on the floor, shaking like a leaf. Adam gently picked his sister up, cradled her in his arms and sat on her bed rocking, singing, and talking softly to her, much as he had done with his youngest brother years before. It took a while to get her calmed down and when she finally did, Adam said, "Let's go and see if Hop Sing has any lemonade and cookies. After we finish them, I'll help you clean the fish if Hop Sing hasn't already cleaned them and I'll help you with your chores. Then we can sit on the porch and talk for a little while.