After Joe and Hoss returned home, the family sat down with Cat to talk to her about letting them know when something was wrong or she needed something. "Cat, you are only nine years old and should not be trying to take care of yourself," said Ben. "You have a family and taking care of you is our job. Telling one of us when you need something, something is wrong, or someone or something is bothering you is NOT bothering us. It is what you are supposed to do. I am one hundred percent positive that your friends tell their parents when they need something, so why don't you tell us?"
Cat just looked down at her feet and didn't say anything. Joe thought of something, picked Cat up, put her in his lap, hugged her and asked, "Are the kids at school still teasing you about being adopted?"
"Yes," she answered quietly.
"Who has been teasing you and what have they been telling you?"
"Annabel and her friends, Billy, Tommy and their friends. They said if I couldn't take care of myself, you were going to send me to an orphanage and the orphanage would kill my puppies and Fury."
Joe hugged his sister tightly. "They are wrong. We would never send you away, especially to an orphanage. I know Pa told you before that the only time we would send you away is if everyone else in the house was sick. Then you would go to the Ingalls, Devlins, or Kings to keep you from getting sick and you would come home as soon as everyone was well again. You were born here little sister and this is where you belong. I think Mitch and I are going to ride to school with you and Mike tomorrow morning. We have some friends that will be graduating in the spring and I think we'll ask them to have a little talk with the kids who have been teasing you. Now as far as your puppies and colt go, I think that Adam, Hoss, and I are going to play poker for them. If you're lucky, we'll wrap them up and put them under the Christmas tree for you."
Cat giggled. "Is there enough paper in the world to wrap Fury up? I don't think he'll fit under a Christmas tree. If you put him under the Christmas tree, does that mean he can sleep in my room?"
"No Cat," laughed Ben. "Fury cannot sleep in your room even if your brothers put him under the Christmas tree. Before you ask, no he cannot sleep in any of your brothers' bedrooms either. I want you to think about what Adam told you when you were in town, what I told you a few minutes ago, and what Joe just told you. This is your home. You were born here and this is where you belong. You have a family that loves you very much. Even though I love your brothers very much, I have always wanted a little girl. Now that I have one, I am not going to let her go. I don't even want to let you spend the summers with your uncles because that means I won't get to see you every day and I will miss you very much. If something every happened where you couldn't live here any more, you would live with one of your uncles, your aunt, or one of your Godfathers, not in an orphanage. Those children at school are wrong. They're just saying things like that to upset you. It's a game to them and you're letting them win. Don't let them win. Walk away from them when they start teasing you. Come to us when you need something, even a slate pencil. Let us know when something is wrong or something or someone is bothering you. We can't help you if we don't know you need it. Promise me that from now on, you will let us know if something is bothering you, wrong, or if you need something. I will be spending tomorrow talking with some fathers about their children. They should not be teasing you and Billy, Tommy, Annabel and their friends are not supposed to be anywhere near you. How are Tommy and Billy able to tease you? Tommy's brother is supposed to be watching them. If me talking to fathers and Joe and Mitch talking to their friends doesn't solve the problem, maybe I'll let Hop Sing go to the school with his spoon. I know that Billy and Tommy don't want to feel that spoon again."
"They run off in different directions and one of them hides. While Richard is looking for the one who is hiding, the other one picks on me."
"Billy and Tommy don't care how much trouble they get into," said Joe. "They think it's fun to pick on kids who are smaller than they are. When we go to the school tomorrow, Mitch and I are going to have a few things to say to Billy and Tommy. They are not going to like it when we tell them what will happen to them if they don't stop picking on Cat. The boards over that old well can always be removed and those two can always find themselves at the bottom of it."
"Joseph, you and Mitchell are NOT to threaten anyone with harm! That is a poor example to set for your sister. I raised you better than that. I know that you were thrown into that well by an older boy when you were only ten, but threatening to do the same thing to others is wrong in every sense of the word." Joe didn't say anything but decided to talk to Mitch about having their friends tell Tommy and Billy what would happen to them if they didn't stop teasing Cat.
Mitch and Joe rode to school the next morning with Cat and Mike and talked to their friends who agreed to deal with any of the older students who were picking on Cat. Jasper, Mike, and Mitch Harris were talking with Sally, Mary, Laura, Cat, and some of the other children. "Are you going to the Harvest Festival on Saturday?" asked Jasper.
"I know we are," answered Mary. Sally and the other children said the same thing.
"What about you Cat?" asked Jasper.
"I don't know. I know that my brothers are going but I don't know if I am or not. If Adam's grandfather doesn't want to go, Pa won't go. That means I won't be able to go because you know that he won't let me go without him. About the only thing he lets me do without him is come to school. He just wants me to sit on the settee and read and do girl stuff like sewing all day."
Joe walked over, picked his sister up and hugged her. "You are going to the Harvest Festival Cat even if it means you come with Sally and me."
"But if Grandpa Stoddard doesn't want to go to the festival, Pa won't go. That means I won't be able to go because he won't let me go without him even if you, Hoss, and Adam are going."
"Tell you what little sister. Why don't you just worry about the arithmetic test and let me, Adam, and Hoss worry about making sure you go to the festival on Saturday? If you don't do well on it, even if Pa goes to the festival, he'll make you stay home and do arithmetic pages. He did it to me several times when I was a kid. So you just do the best you can on that test and I'll talk to our brothers about making sure you go to the festival. There's the bell. Give me a quick hug and scoot before you're late."
"Thanks Joe. I love you."
"I love you too little sister. Good luck on that test. I know you'll do well."
Cat still had two unfinished problems when Miss Winter asked Mary to collect the arithmetic tests. "I hate arithmetic," she said as she gave her paper to Mary." Mary saw the unfinished problems and smiled in sympathy.
During recess, many of the children were talking about the Harvest Festival. Since Cat had never been to one, her friends were telling her about it. "There's all kinds of stuff to do," said Mary. "There's a pie baking contest and a quilt contest too. There are games too. There's a three legged race, a wheelbarrow race, a calf riding contest, and a four kid relay race." At Cat's confused look she explained, "There are a bunch of teams and each team has four kids on it. The one who is going to go first is given a stick. When the race starts, they have to run all the way to a pole in the ground, back to their team and give the stick to the next person in line. The race ends when all four people on one team have gone up and back with the stick in their hand. If you drop the stick, your team is out of the race. It's a lot of fun. Why don't you, Laura, Mike, and Jasper make a team. You're all fast runners. Maybe you'll win."
"Everyone brings lots of food to eat and there's a dance after supper," added Laura.
"There's even a greased pig contest," said Jasper. "Maybe I'll win this year."
"I don't think so," said Mitch Harris and Mike together.
Adam, Hoss, and Joe were waiting in the yard for Cat when she returned home from school. "We've been talkin'," said Hoss, picking her up out of her saddle and hugging her. "If ya did well on that test, I'll partner with ya in the wheelbarrow race on Saturday."
"And I will be your partner in the three legged race," said Adam.
"I'm riding Cochise in the race at the festival," added Joe. "But I'm driving Sally Ann Morgan there in the buggy. If you bring home a good grade on that test, you can ride Cochise to and from town on Saturday."
"There is one more thing," said Adam. "We talked to Hop Sing. He said if you want to enter the pie baking contest, he'll teach you how to make one. Joe talked to Sally Ann and said she won't mind taking your pie, if you make one, and your dress for the dance in the buggy with them. She said she'd take your dress over to the Martins and you can change there."
Cat hugged her brothers. "Gee thanks lots. Now all I gotta do is hope I passed that dumb test."
"You have to hope you passed the test," corrected Adam. "You have to start using proper grammar."
"That's right Punkin," added Hoss. "I've done told ya lots of times not ta talk like me 'cause I don't talk right. Yore a little girl and need ta talk like one. Pa's gonna start getting' mad at ya ifn you don't' start talkin' right."
Cat was very excited when she got home from school on Friday. She tied Beauty to the hitching rail and ran in to the house, "Pa! Pa, guess what!" she cried running into the great room only to find Paul Martin sitting on the setee, talking to Ben and Abel. "Oh," she said dejectedly, I didn't know you had company. I guess I'll tell you later if you're not too busy," and started toward the stairs.
"Since when am I company?" asked Paul.
"I didn't say anything about being too busy to hear what you have to say," added Ben. "Now what is your big news? I'm sure that Paul would like to hear it also."
"I got an eighty five percent on my arithmetic test! That's the best I've ever done! I can't wait to tell Adam, Hoss, and Joe. We're gonna have lots of fun at the Harvest Festival tomorrow."
"That is wonderful Cat. I am very proud of you. However, you are not going to the festival,"
"Why not? I got my best grade ever on my arithmetic test. The best I ever did last year was a eighty percent."
"Adam's grandfather doesn't want to go, so I am not going and I don't want you there without me being there also."
"That's not fair!" cried Cat. "Adam was going to partner with me in the three legged race, Hoss was going to be my partner in the wheelbarrow race and Joe said I could ride Cochise to and from town. Laura, Jas, Mitch and me were going to be a team in the relay race and Hop Sing said he'd teach me how to make a pie for the contest. The kids at school were right. You don't love me. You only adopted me 'cause you felt sorry for me! I hate you and I wish you would have left me in Dodge!" Cat ran upstairs, slammed her door shut and started shoving clothes into a carpet bag.
"You're being very selfish," scolded Paul. "You're not going to the festival and you don't want Cat going without you, because you don't want her to do anything except go to school unless you are there. You are not being fair to her at all. It hasn't been that long since you promised to stop being so overprotective of her. If you and Abel don't want to go, that's fine but you don't have to punish Cat by making her stay home also. She has three grown brothers who will look after her as will many other people including Virginia and I. I don't understand you Ben. You have been warned that if you don't stop being so over protective, you're going to lose her."
"Benjamin, you didn't tell me that there were children's games that Cat would want to participate in." said Abel. "You only talked about the race and women's contests and the fact that we would be in town all day and into the night because there was a dance after supper. If you don't want to go, that's fine, but I don't appreciate not being told the entire truth about tomorrow's activities."
Cat walked downstairs carrying her carpet bag. She took her bow, arrows, and hat off the armoire and walked out the door. She was crying and not watching where she was walking, so she didn't see her brothers and walked right into Adam who picked her up and hugged her. "What's wrong Cat. Why are you crying and why are you carrying those things?"
"I'm leaving. Pa doesn't love me. He only adopted me because he felt sorry for me."
"I don't understand. Pa loves you and so does everyone else in this family."
"No he doesn't. I got my best grade ever on the arithmetic test but I still can't go to the festival tomorrow."
"Why not? You weren't running in the house, were you?"
"No. Your grandfather doesn't want to go so Pa's not going and he says I can't go unless he does. It's not fair. He should have left me in Dodge. He doesn't love me but Uncle Matt does."
"Why don't you leave your things here on the porch, go spend time with Fury, and do your homework. While you're doing that, we'll talk to Pa and get things straightened out. He promised to stop being so overprotective and we're going to see to it that he keeps his word."
Cat set everything but her saddle bags down and walked out to the pasture to work with Fury. Adam, bent down and picked up a crumbled piece of paper from the porch and looked at it. It was Cat's arithmetic test. He and his brothers walked into the great room and demanded, "Why aren't you letting Cat go to the Harvest Festival tomorrow?"
"Because Abel doesn't want to go and I am not about to leave a guest home alone. I do not want your sister there unless I am there also."
"Why not?" demanded Adam. "What has she done wrong? Did you even look at her arithmetic test? She got a very good grade on it."
"She hasn't done anything wrong. I just don't want her going without me."
"That ain't right Pa," said Hoss. "Ya promised to stop bein' overprotective of her but yore still doin' it."
"I hope you're aware that you are about to lose her forever," said Adam. "She is planning on leaving for Arizona today."
Ben exploded. "I am sick and tired of that child threatening to leave everytime she doesn't get her own way! When I finish with her…"
Adam interrupted. "She isn't threatening to leave. If we hadn't come home when we did, she would already be gone."
"Go and look on the porch and you'll see what we're talking about," added Joe. "She's been hurt so much since you brought her home from Dodge that she doesn't want to stay here any longer and I don't blame her."
"Ya know Pa," said Hoss. "Ifn she woulda left, I probably wouldn't of been able to track her. The Apaches taught her how to hide her horse's tracks an' I just don't know ifn I woulda been able to find her or not. I shore hate to think of my nine year old sister traveling to Arizona by herself with two horses, a colt and two puppies. Anything can happen out on the trail an' she ain't big enough to handle everything that comes her way."
"Well there you have it Ben," said Paul. "Your overprotectiveness almost cost you your daughter."
"I'm just afraid she'll get hurt if I'm not there."
"HOGWASH!" exclaimed Paul. "You were at church with her when Millicent Warren attacked her. Your insistence on making her ride double to school with you last week, brought her unwanted attention from Thomas and William and look how that turned out. We've been friends for many years, but I'm telling you here and now that if you don't stop trying to hold that child so close and not wanting her to do anything unless you are with her, I will personally take her to one of her uncles. I can no longer sit by and watch you attempt to break her spirit by being overprotective. The choice is yours. Either you ease up and start letting her enjoy life the way a child should or you will lose her."
"I will be going to the festival," said Abel. "I do not appreciate you keeping the fact that there were children's activities and that Joe is riding in the race, from me when you told me about the festival."
"I had forgotten about the children's activities. Except for the dance, I haven't attended that festival in several years and I wasn't aware that Joseph was planning to ride in the race."
"Catherine is not a very young child who needs to be constantly watched to prevent her from wandering away," added Abel. "She will be ten on her next birthday and will probably spend the day with her brothers and friends. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she didn't try and talk Joe into letting her ride his horse in the race instead of him."
"She can't ride in the race," said Joe. "The rules say that you have to be at least twelve in order to ride in it. I know she won't be happy but those are the rules. At least she'll have the consolation of knowing that when she is old enough to ride in the race, she'll be riding her own horse and not someone else's. I have a feeling that those two are going to be almost unbeatable."
"What's it going to be Pa?" asked Adam. "Is Cat going to the Harvest Festival tomorrow or are Hoss, Joe, and I taking her to Rip in the morning? If we do, the only time we'll get to see her is if we go to Dodge or Rip's fort. They'll never let her come back here again, even to visit."
Ben sighed. He knew Adam was right. He had been looking forward to a quiet Saturday but if he kept Cat home like he wanted to, he would lose her forever. He didn't want to go to the festival but he didn't have a legitimate reason to keep Cat home. He finally admitted to himself that the reason he didn't want her to go to the festival is because he would be embarrassed by the fact that his daughter would want to participate in the contests that were normally only entered by boys. He also knew if he didn't go and show his support for her in the children's events, he would probably be the only father not in attendance, and she would think he was lying when he said he loved her and wanted her to be part of his family. "We're all going to the festival tomorrow. Joseph, please go and tell your sister that she will be going to the festival. Also, please remind her that she needs to be doing her homework either in the barn or the house. It's much too cold for her to be sitting out in the pasture doing it. Paul, will you stay for supper? It's almost ready."
"Thank you for the invitation which I gladly accept. Virginia isn't expecting me home because I had no idea how long Mrs. Schmidt's labor would last. She gave birth to a healthy set of twins, a boy and a girl."
Joe walked out to the pasture and told Cat the good news. She hugged him and asked how they had changed Ben's mind. "Paul threatened to send telegrams to Matt and Rip and take you to Rip himself. Adam told Pa if he didn't let you go the Harvest Festival, the three of us would take you to Rip tomorrow morning."
"I didn't think that Pa listened to anybody but Pa."
Joe laughed. "Well, sometimes he does listen to other people and this is one of those times. Pa really does love you and he doesn't want to lose you. None of us do. Now, why are you sitting out here doing your homework? I know that both Adam and Pa told you it's too cold to be sitting out here on the ground. It will be mid to late spring before you can sit out here and do your homework again. You can do it in the barn or in the house but not out here. Before we go, how much weight are you putting on Fury's back?"
"Not much. Just my saddle bags with my school books in them. They weigh less than what Lassie and Silver Chief did when I first started putting them on Fury's back."
Joe hugged her. "That's very good. I'm glad you remembered what I told you about putting too much weight on him while he's still a baby."
"Joe?"
"Yes Cat?"
"Can I ride Cochise in the race tomorrow?"
"Sorry Squirt. The rules say you have to be twelve before you can ride in the race. Don't look so down. Think of it like this. When you're finally old enough to ride in the race, you'll be riding Fury instead of somebody else's horse. As fast as he is, you'll have a very good chance of winning. Now, you had better go and get your homework done because if it isn't done, Pa will not let you go tomorrow."
"I already did it. All I had was reading and I read to Fury and my puppies while I was out here. Do you think Pa will at least let me keep reading out here if I promise to wear my jacket and sit on a couple of old saddle blankets?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask Pa but remember to ask politely because if you don't, Pa will say no."
"Ok. I will. Are Fury and Lady still going to have to stay out here when there's snow on the ground?"
"As long as it isn't too cold, the horses will be out in the pastures for part of the day. If it's too cold, they'll be in the barn."
"That's good. I have to remember to ask Pa to get some long underwear and winter clothes for Fury. I don't want him to be cold."
Joe picked Cat up and hugged her. "Come on silly one. Long underwear and clothes for a horse. Now I've heard everything. I can't wait to see what everyone else has to say when you ask Pa to do that for you."
Cat walked into the great room and asked, "Pa, can I ask you something?"
"Of course you can. What's on your mind?"
"If I promise to wear my jacket and keep it zipped up and sit on two folded up saddle blankets, can I please do my reading in the pasture? Fury likes it when I read to him and I'm teaching him to read like Lassie and Chief do."
Ben chuckled at how she had taught her puppies to read and wanted to do the same thing with her colt. "It's 'May I' and yes you may but it's only going to be for a few weeks until we start getting snow. However, I only want you doing your reading out there because it's too cold to sit out there for a long time."
"Thanks Pa. Will you please buy some long underwear and winter clothes for Fury? I don't want him to get cold."
Everybody in the room started laughing. Hoss picked Cat up and hugged her. "Dang if you ain't the silliest little critter I ever met. Critters don't need long underwear and winter clothes. God gives them thick coats to protect them from the cold."
"But Fury doesn't have a fur coat and I don't want him to get cold this winter."
"Don't worry Cat," said Adam, trying not to continue laughing at his sister. "Fury's coat is getting thicker and once the weather gets colder, he'll be in the barn most of the time. Remember, the wild horses live outside all the time and they stay warm in the winter."
"But Fury is extra special and I don't want him to get cold."
"Trust me," said Ben. "He won't get cold. Don't forget, one of your birthday gifts was a nice, warm blanket for him. He doesn't need human clothes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Kitten. I am positive that your colt does not need human clothes. If you put human clothes on him, all of the other horses might laugh at him."
"Oh. That would be really bad. Ok. I won't put clothes on him but if he gets cold, I'm going to let him sleep in my room."
"Cat," said Joe. "You are being silly. Fury won't be too cold in the barn. Our horses stay out there all winter. We put blankets on them and they don't get cold. Can you imagine how crowded this house and the bunkhouse would be if everyone brought their horses inside during the winter?"
"Horses stay in barn, not house," came Hop Sing's voice as he entered the great room. "Supper almost ready. Everybody wash up."
The next morning, Ben walked into the kitchen before breakfast and was amused to see his daughter covered in flour as she tried to follow Hop Sing's instructions on making a pie crust. He was proud of her for trying to do something new and let her know. He knew the chances of her winning were small as she would be competing against women who had been baking pies long before she was born but kept his words positive. "Cat, I'll put clean clothes in the bath house for you. Hop Sing will kill both of us if I let you track all that flour through the house. I am very proud of you for trying to make a pie to enter at the festival and I can't wait to have a piece of it. I'm sure it will be delicious."
"Thanks Pa. This is lots harder than I thought it would be."
"I understand. Everything is always hardest the first time you do it because you're just learning. There will come a time when you will look back on today and laugh at yourself being all covered in flour but the important thing is that you're attempting to do something new and difficult and I am very proud of you for doing it." Once Cat's pie was in the oven, Hop Sing told her to go wash up and change clothes. He said since he would keep an eye on hers, take it out of the oven, and put it to cool when it was done.
While Cat was in the kitchen with Hop Sing, Ben asked Abel, "Do you want to ride a horse into town or take the surrey? Joe will have the buggy."
"I am concerned that Cat will be too tired to ride Joe's horse back home. Also, I am not used to riding long distances yet so I think it would be best if we took the surrey."
After breakfast, Joe went upstairs to get Cat's dress for the dance and found her staring at three of them laid out on her bed. She looked at him and said, "I can't decide between the blue, the green, or the gold."
Joe sighed. Sally Ann was waiting for him to pick her up. "Why don't you wear the gold?" came Adam's voice from behind him. "I'm wearing a gold shirt and it will be like you're wearing my brand. Everyone will know you belong to me."
"Hey wait just a doggone minute older brother," said Hoss. "Little sister don't belong to jus' you. She belongs to all three of us."
"Well then, I highly suggest the two of you change your shirts or I will not let you even have half a dance with my best girl."
"Your best girl!" exclaimed Joe. "When did our sister become your best girl?"
"I'm the oldest, it's my right and I'm claiming it."
Joe started getting upset with Adam when Hoss said, "Joe, quit lettin' Adam's nonsense git to ya. Everyone knows that Cat is my best gal. You had best change shirts, grab Cat's dress and pie and go get Sally Ann before she thinks ya fergot her."
On the way to town, the family came across Joshua and Thaddeus who were also on their way to the festival. "Hi Ben, Adam, Hoss," said Thaddeus. "Cat, does Joe know you stole his horse?"
Cat giggled. "No he doesn't. You're not going to tell him, are you?"
"Of course not. I promise, your secret's safe with me."
"Hello boys," said Ben. "I didn't expect to see you two going to the festival."
"Well," said Thaddeus. "It sounded like a lot of fun and we heard that the prettiest filly on the Ponderosa was going to be at the dance tonight. Joshua here bet me a nickel that she wouldn't dance with me so we have to go."
"Benjamin," said Abel. "I didn't realize that you allowed the men who work for you to call you by your name."
"Abel, let me introduce you to the two young men who saved Cat's life. Joshua, Thaddeus, this is Adam's grandfather, Abel Stoddard. Abel this is Joshua and Thaddeus Daniels. If it hadn't been for them, our little Wild Cat would not be with us now. They, along with my foreman, Pete, are the only ones who have permission to call me by my name. Julia Grant seems to think that Thaddeus and Cat will get married when she's old enough, provided I decide to allow her grow up. I like the thought of keeping her a little girl forever. Joshua, Thaddeus, you are more than welcome to join us for the day. Hop Sing packed enough food to feed three of Hoss plus the rest of the family."
Everyone had a good time at the Harvest Festival. Cat and Adam tied for first place with Mike and Mitch in the three legged race. She and Hoss finished third in the wheelbarrow race and thanks to how fast Mike and Jasper ran, their team finished first in the relay race. Cat was disappointed when her pie didn't even place. Caroline Ingalls saw how disappointed she was, hugged her and said, "I know that you're disappointed you didn't win, but the important thing is that you tried. You did something that most nine year old girls don't even try. Mary is eleven and hasn't learned how to make a pie yet. Remember, very few women win pie baking contests with the first pie they ever make. I started baking pies when I was thirteen and didn't win my first contest until I was eighteen." Caroline's words made Cat feel better. She thanked and hugged her and ran off to join the rest of the family to watch the race, which Joe won by a head. The biggest surprise of the day came when a buckskin clad nine year old girl who had no idea what a calf riding contest was, won the blue ribbon.
Cat didn't want to get her clean clothes all greasy, so she didn't enter the greased pig contest. Jasper won it and gave the pig to Cat after wiping it off. "Gee thanks Jas but I don't know how I'm going to get him home. I know Pa won't take him in the surrey. Why don't you take him home and bring him the next time your family comes out to the Ponderosa? Pa will have to let me keep him if you bring him to the ranch."
"Uh Cat, this is a girl pig, not a boy."
"Oh. I didn't know. I never had a pig before. You gotta help me name her."
"Ok. I'll take her home and clean her up better too. When I'm done, she'll be almost as shiny as a brand new penny."
"Hey, that's it. I'll call her Penny. Let's go and show Pa and my brothers."
Cat carried Penny over to where the Cartwrights, Joshua, Thaddeus, Sally Ann Morgan, the Devlins, Ingalls, Longs, and Kings were all gathered. "Pa, look what Jas gave me. Isn't she pretty? Her name is Penny. I gotta make a bed for her in my room."
Ben sighed and rolled his eyes. "Get used to it Ben," laughed Charles. "You've got a little girl in the house now and they attract animals like a beehive attracts bears. Half Pint is always bringing animals home."
"How are you planning to get her home?" asked Ben. "You're riding Joe's horse and I don't want a pig in the surrey."
"Jas said he'd take her home and clean her up more and bring her over the next time his family comes for a visit."
"That's fine but that pig will not be sleeping in your bedroom. If you ask them nicely, maybe your brothers, Joshua, and Thaddeus will build a pen for her."
Cat had a lot of fun at the dance. She danced with all of her family members including Grandpa Stoddard. She also danced with Mike, Jas, and Mitch, as well as Joshua and Thaddeus. She danced with Thaddeus for two dances so Joshua would have to give him a dime instead of just a nickel. On the way home, Hoss noticed Cat starting to nod off. When she almost fell out of the saddle, he rode up next to her, reached over and pulled her in front of him. "Say Adam, take Cochise, will ya? Little sister's half asleep."
"I'm not sleepy," said Cat.
"No of course yore not. That's why ya almost fell out of the saddle."
"My eyes were tired and I was resting them."
"Well Squirt, ya can rest them right here. Just think of me as a big ol' pillow, lean back and close your eyes." Cat was asleep before they were half way home. When they reached the Ponderosa, Joshua and Thaddeus hugged Cat and offered to take care of Sport, Chub, and Cochise so Hoss and Adam could get Cat ready for bed. Cat dreamed of riding a calf in the horse race and winning. When he went to bed, Adam heard her giggling, looked in on her and wondered what she was dreaming about. He covered her up again, kissed her on the forehead and blew out the lamp before going to his own room.