The Flood

By Tennessee

It was a mild winter with not much snow at all. Ben and the rest of the men were worried about it being so warm with very little snow. Big Dan told them that the Indians predicted lots of rain for the spring. Some of the men laughed. "Only the ranchers have to worry about that," said another.

Ben said, "If it floods, it not only affects the ranchers. It would hurt the whole town."

Shelby said, "Ben is right."

Eli said, "We all need to work together to block the water. We are all friends, and we all have family to worry about."

Everyone agreed and they all went on their way. Two weeks into spring the rain started. One night it rained so hard and so fast that it woke everyone up at the Ponderosa.

Ben went to the boys’ room and sat with them. The rain got harder and harder.

Adam said, "Maybe we should go check the stop, Pa."

"Not now," Ben said. "At daylight."

After dawn Ben asked Hoss and Little Joe to check that horses. "Adam and I will go check the cattle," he said. The all went to change clothes and then went to work.

Hoss and Little Joe brushed the horses in the barn and gave them food and water. Adam and Ben got to the cattle and found ponds of water everywhere.

"Pa, this is a lot of water," Adam said.

Ben turned to him. "Got get Hoss. We need to move the cattle to higher ground."

Hoss and Little Joe were coming out of the barn when Adam rode up. He yelled, "Hoss! We need you!"

Hoss got on his horse and left with Adam. Little Joe refilled the bins that held the wood for their fire, and Hop Sing told him to put on dry clothes before he caught a cold. Hop Sing gave Little Joe some hot tea.

It took Ben, Adam, and Hoss the rest of the day to move to the cattle. It was muddy and wet and the cattle moved slowly. When they got home they changed their clothes and ate supper and went right to bed.

Ben could not sleep. He knew if the rain did not stop soon there would be a lot of flooding. He kept looking out the window in his bedroom.

At about noon the next day, the rain stopped. Little Joe yelled in delight but Adam said, "Look at the clouds."

Ben said, "Adam is right. It will rain some more soon. We need to go see how the Greens are doing. We’ll stop by the Goodmans and in town if there’s enough time before the rain starts again." He continued, "Why don’t I go in to town? Adam, you check on the Goodmans. Hoss, you go to the Greens. If they need anything, you can help them, but I want you to head right back here if the rain starts again."

Adam and Hoss nodded and ran to their horses. Adam rode to the Goodman as fast as he could without endangering Beauty. They were doing all right, so he talked with them and then headed back home.

Hoss made it to the Greens. Their land was lower and there was water everywhere, even in the house. The ranch hands were helping to get the water out. Hoss ran to Tess and asked what he could do to help. He helped clean up the water. When the house was dry again, Hoss went home. Adam and Hoss did their chores before they went into the house.

Ben went by the lake to see how high the water was. The lake was at flood stage, out of its banks. Ben rode on to town but everything looked to be okay there. Big Dan told Ben he’d be at his shop if Ben needed him. "I saw the lake. You and Margaret are in for a lot of flooding if the rain starts again."

About that time the clouds grew darker and the rain started, quickly turning the streets into muddy rivers.

Ben said, "I need to get home to my sons."

"Not in this," Big Dan said. "The boys will be all right, Ben. Hop Sing is with them."

Eli and Ben talked in the trading post while Ben waited for the rain to stop. Big Dan rode out to check the depth of the lake. It was coming out of its banks. He rode fast to town to tell everyone. They collected everyone they could find from town to make sandbags to stop the water.

Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, and Hop Sing were talking when it started to rain again. Adam heard something and ran to the window to see what it was. "Do you hear that?" he asked the others.

Adam noticed the pools of water in the yard. And then water began to seep under the backdoor. "Listen to me," Adam said. "We need to stay calm and work together."

The rest nodded.

"Hoss, you get the rags and mop up the water. Little Joe, you come with me. We need to put blankets on the window and by the doors. Hop Sing, make more rags."

Ben and the rest of the town were still working to stop the water from flooding out of the lake. The rain was finally slowing and the sandbags were stopping the water. Finally the sun came out.

Ben smiled and said, "Thank you, everyone! Without your help we could not have stopped the water."

Everyone went back to town. Ben got on his horse and headed home. He stopped by the Goodmans to make sure everything was all right there. He also checked on the Greens. They told him about Hoss’s help and Ben told them about what everyone in town had done to stop the lake water. When Ben reached the Ponderosa he checked on the cattle and horses. He was glad they’d moved the animals to higher ground. When he went to the house, he told the boys and Hop Sing how the town’s citizens had worked together against the flood.

Adam said, "We have some great friends, don’t we?"

"We sure do, son. And I see that you boys worked together too."

The next day everything was still wet and the lake was out of its banks but the sun was out and quickly drying everything up. Four days later, things were back to normal.

Ben and the boys had a dinner at the Ponderosa for everyone who had helped during the flood. He raised his glass. "My sons and I and the Greens and the Goodmans want to thank all of you for your help. Because of what you did, we still have our ranches and our stock. Here’s to all our friends."

Everyone was happy as they ate Hop Sing’s good cooking. And that night Ben went to bed thinking of all his friends.

The End