When the Animals Talked
Something woke Ben Cartwright out of a sound sleep. He didn’t know what it was; the house was silent now. Maybe it had been a strange noise, or maybe the absence of a noise that should have been there. He didn’t know which. All he knew what that this was the first Christmas without his wife, Marie, and it wasn’t easy. Though it had been several months since her death after a riding accident, they all still missed her very much.
Rolling over, it hit him again how lonely it was without her comforting gentle warmth beside him. This season, he knew, was also hard on his sons. Ever since Marie had come into their lives, Christmas had been brighter and more joyful as she had filled the house with love and laughter. But now it was all over. Oh, he’d been proud of his older sons, Adam and Hoss, as they tried to make the holidays as festive as they could for their youngest brother Little Joe, who was only six. They had gone to cut down a tree and pulled out all the decorations, even the special ones Marie had brought from New Orleans. Just this evening, together as a family, they had all trimmed the tree while Adam played Christmas carols on his guitar. Then they had all taken turns telling stories around the fire, eating popcorn and laughing as if there wasn’t someone missing. Before taking the protesting Little Joe to bed, they had hung the stockings on the mantle above the fireplace. Strange to see only four there, when last year there had been five.
Once Little Joe was in bed, the need for pretending that everything was all right was over. After filling the stockings and placing a few presents under the tree, the older three Cartwrights soon retired for the night. Ben knew how hard it was on Little Joe, this first Christmas without his mother. In typical six-year-old fashion the sadness came and went for his youngest son, but over the past few days it seemed to have gotten a little worse. He’d been more subdued during the day and was having bad dreams, wondering if his mother still loved him and thought about him, especially now that she was gone. His brothers had done a fine job of distracting him this night, but how long would that last?
Slowly he sat up in bed, thinking to ease his own mind by checking on his sons. Putting on his warm robe against the chill of the winter air, he slipped into the hallway. The first room he peeked into was Little Joe’s. He wasn’t too surprised to see the covers tossed back carelessly, revealing an empty bed. When Little Joe had trouble sleeping, he often found his way into one of his brother’s rooms. He went down the hall a little further and looked into Hoss’ room. His bed, too, was empty. Now that was a little puzzling. Hoss, at 12, was a very sound sleeper. But tonight was a special night, Ben mused. The last room he checked was Adam’s. Expecting to see all three of his sons, he was startled to find that one empty as well.
Quickly Ben headed toward the stairs. Coming into the living room, he looked around, hoping to see his family. All was quiet, all was still. The only sound was the faint crackling and popping of the logs in the fireplace. The only light came from the full moon shining in through the windows softly illuminating the tree, and the red glow of the coals that had been banked for the night.
A faint noise over by the front door drew his attention, and he went over, noticing that the door was slightly ajar. He opened it, looking out into the courtyard. The moon glowed across the new fallen snow, clearly highlighting two sets of footprints leading into the barn.
More curious now than concerned, Ben hurried upstairs to pull on his pants, boots and warm coat. Before going out into the crisp, cold night, he lit a small lantern. He really didn’t need it outside, so bright was the moonlight reflecting off the fresh snow. But he knew it would be dark in the barn. He followed the tracks up to the barn door and eased it open just enough to slip inside. The warmth generated by the animals immediately enveloped him as the lantern shed its feeble light on the comforting bulk of the sleepy horses. “Adam? Hoss?” he called out. Stepping in a little further, he called again. “Little Joe? Are you here?”
“We’re up here, Pa,” came Adam’s soft reply from the hayloft above.
Holding on to the lantern carefully, Ben climbed up the wooden ladder to the loft. The light revealed his three sons huddled close together in a pile of hay, just close enough to the edge to be able to look over onto the horses below. Warm blankets covered them. Little Joe was asleep, cuddled up with his head on Adam’s chest and his feet on Hoss’ lap. Hoss was dozing as well. Only Adam was awake; at 18, he had a lot on his mind, a lot to think about this Christmas. He’d been enjoying the quiet stillness of the barn.
“What are you doing here?” Ben asked as he sat down near them on the hay. He shielded the lantern slightly so the light wouldn’t wake the two youngest boys.
Adam smiled, “Remember that story I told tonight about the animals being given the gift of speech at midnight on Christmas night?”
Ben nodded. He remembered. That had been Little Joe’s favorite, as it had been his mother’s.
“Well,” Adam continued, “Little Joe came into my room soon after I came upstairs and asked me to take him to the barn before midnight. Seems he wanted to hear the horses talk. Knowing my little brother, I knew that if I didn’t take him, he’d go on his own anyway.”
Ben chuckled. How true that was!
Adam, too, laughed softly. “I’m surprised he didn’t wake you up with all the noise he made trying to be quiet, because he did wake up Hoss. We all three decided to come out to the barn and wait for the animals to speak.” He looked down lovingly at the curly-haired head nestled next to him, “He didn’t make it though. Fell asleep before midnight!”
“Hoss too?” Ben questioned, reaching out to brush a few stray pieces of hay out of his middle son’s hair.
“No, not right away. We talked some.” Adam stared at the blanket. “It’s been hard, Pa. Real hard. Hoss and I, we’ve been trying, especially for Little Joe. I know Marie wasn’t our mother, but we loved her just like she was, and we miss her so much.”
“I know, son,” Ben said softly. He leaned over and gently grasped Adam’s hand. “She knew how you felt about her, and I know she’d be proud of all you’re doing to make this a good Christmas for your brother. We’ll get through this together, I promise.”
The sound of voices roused Little Joe. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “What time is it?” he asked sleepily.
His movements woke Hoss, who also sat up. “Hey, Pa,” he said, seeing Ben. “What’re you doin’ here?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ben answered, smiling. “I guess I was just a little curious about what you three were up to in the barn in the middle of Christmas night.”
“We’re gonna hear the animals talk!” Little Joe said excitedly. “Is it midnight yet?”
“Past, I’m afraid,” Adam said, affectionately rubbing Little Joe’s brown curls.
Little Joe fell back, his face crestfallen. “Oh no!” he said, his voice trembling a little. “I missed it!” He looked quickly around at his brother’s faces. “Did you hear? Did they talk?”
“They sure did!” Hoss spoke up before anyone else could answer.
“They did? Really? What’d they say?” Little Joe bounced out from under the blanket and raced to the edge of the loft. Ben snagged him by the robe before he could tumble off.
Ignoring the exasperated look from his older brother, Hoss continued, “Why, they said the things we heard about in the story, didn’t they, Adam?”
“Uh, sure.” Adam said slowly, his mind churning rapidly as wondered how he could get out of this gracefully. Little Joe had been so excited at the prospect of hearing his pony speak that he didn’t want to spoil the magic now. “Since you know so much about it, Hoss, why don’t you tell him what they said?”
“Oh, we’d rather hear it from you, wouldn’t we, Little Joe?” Hoss replied, grinning merrily at Adam.
“Yes, Adam, please! Please tell us what they said, please!” Little Joe looked back at Adam before lying down on the floor, his arms extended over the edge toward the horses. A few clumps of hay floated down and landed on the horse’s nose, causing him to snort and look up. “Start with Buck!” he cried with delight.
Adam glanced over at Ben, silently asking for any help in getting out of this. Ben grinned, and shrugged. “I’m interested in knowing what they had to say, myself,” he said.
Rolling his eyes, Adam looked away. No help from that quarter! He had no choice but to come up with a story.
“Okay,” he said, running his hands through his thick, dark hair as he stalled for time. “You know, Christmas is a very special time of year, even for animals. Because if it wasn’t for the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem, or the cows and horses that gave up their manger so the baby Jesus could have a bed, there might not have even been a Christmas.”
Little Joe turned around and quietly crept back under the blanket between Hoss and Adam. “And?” he prompted.
“That’s why God gave them the ability to speak at midnight on Christmas, as a reward for all they had done. And what do you suppose the animals talked about?” Adam continued.
“I don’t know!” Joe answered, his green eyes wide and his attention totally riveted on his oldest brother’s face.
“They talked about Jesus, of course,” Adam said, trying to incorporate bits and pieces of the story he had told earlier into this one without being obvious. “Take Buck here, for instance. Right at midnight, he started telling all the other animals about the bright star that shone over the manger in Bethlehem. And about the angels that came down from heaven and told the shepherds not to be afraid for they brought good news of great joy of a baby born that night. How suddenly a whole lot of angels appeared and praised God before going back into heaven.” He paused.
Little Joe nudged him impatiently. “Is that all?” he asked.
“No, because then Sport had a chance to talk. His favorite part is about the wise men, and how they traveled a long time following the bright star shining in the east, knowing it would lead them to a great king. When they found the child Jesus, they were overjoyed and presented him with gifts of gold and incense. And even though King Herod tried to trick them into leading him where Jesus was, they were too smart and went home a different way.”
He had captured everyone’s attention by now. Even Hoss, who knew it was just a story, was staring at him in fascination. Ben was heartened at the tale his oldest son was weaving for the benefit of his baby brother. He was a little surprised to find that Adam knew and cared so much about the meaning behind Christmas; he hadn’t really shown an interest in it before. Love and pride welled up inside him as he watched his sons, sitting close together and enthralled in a story.
“Chubb got to speak next!” Little Joe said, breaking into Ben’s reverie.
“That’s right,” Adam laughed, pulling Little Joe and Hoss in closer. “He told about the shepherds in the fields, watching the sheep. When they heard what the angels had to say, they knew they had to go to Bethlehem to see this special baby. They found him with Mary and Joseph. They saw all the animals in the stable with the baby lying in the manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. The angels had said that would be the sign that he was the savior, the Christ.
“Finally it was Jake’s turn,” Adam continued, with a wave of his arm he indicated the pony that belonged to Little Joe. “They were almost running out of time. They don’t get to speak for very long, you know. He finished up by telling what the shepherds did next. After seeing Jesus, they were very excited and happy, and went running all over town telling everyone about the baby and what they had been told about him by the angels. Everyone who heard them was amazed at what they said. Then the shepherds went back to the fields, praising God for everything they had seen and heard, for it had all happened just as they had been told.”
They sat in silence a few moments after Adam finished. With a puzzled look on his face, Little Joe leaned as far forward as he could without leaving the warmth of his brothers, trying to look over the edge of the loft. He was sure he had seen his mother’s roan mare in her stall. “What about Ruby?” he asked quietly, his face a little sad.
Adam groaned inwardly. The story was done, and he had forgotten about Marie’s horse. The mare had been out in a pasture for the past few months, but had been brought into the barn when the snow started to fall. She was a painful reminder of Marie, yet Ben couldn’t bring himself to sell her; that was something too final, too absolute. Adam looked at Ben, appealing again for help and at a real loss for words.
Clearing his throat, Ben smiled warmly back at Adam. “I think I know what Ruby talked about,” he said softly. He held out his arms, suddenly feeling a need to hold onto his youngest son, Marie’s child. Little Joe jumped out from under the blanket and scampered the short distance to his father’s lap. “She spoke about Mary, how Mary heard all the things that the shepherds were saying about her baby and treasured them in her heart. That way they’d always be there for her to think about, and remember him and that special night of his birth forever, no matter where she was. Ruby told how Mary loved her little boy more than anything in the world, but not more than God did. And even during the times when Mary couldn’t be there with him as he grew up, she would know that the Lord was taking care of him for her.” And the rest of his family, he added silently.
“Is he taking care of Mama now, too?” Little Joe asked in a small voice.
“Yes, son, he is,” Ben answered, hugging him close. “He’s taking care of all of us.” He looked over Joe’s head at Hoss and Adam. Adam’s eyes were suspiciously bright, and he silently mouthed “thank you” to his father.
They sat in silence a few minutes, each lost in their thoughts. Finally Joe became restless and squirmed around in Ben’s lap. “Pa, can we go open presents now?” he said. “It’s almost morning!”
Ben glanced at his other two boys, who were suddenly looking eager as well. “I don’t see why not,” he smiled, his heart suddenly feeling light again.
One by one they went down the ladder. Adam picked up Little Joe to carry him across the snowy courtyard and Hoss held the small lantern. Ben paused a moment before leaving. He could hear the boys laughing together as they trudged through the new fallen snow to the house. Moving quickly in the semi-darkness, he went and got a scoop of grain out of the feed bin, tipping it into Ruby’s bucket. “Thanks, my love,” he said softly into the air, stroking the mare’s soft neck. Ruby nickered as if in reply and nudged Ben with her nose, knocking him in the direction of the door. “I get the point!” he chuckled, and went out into the beautiful clear night to follow his sons’ home.
*****END*****
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