The boy's father was furious. His 9 year old son , Paul, had been caught shoplifting. He had stolen 3 chocolate bars from the local store. The store owner knew the boy's dad and immediately telephoned him and told him what had happened. Paul had tearfully denied the theft but the video which had captured the incident didn't lie. Paul's dad was a very strict father who believed in the liberal use of the cane or the whip to punish his offspring. Paul knew this was a very serious matter and was terrified of the consequences. He was weeping openly when walking the short distance home with his father, who held him firmly by an arm. Paul knew he usually got between 6 and 12 strokes on his bare bottom, but he also knew this was a more serious offence than the usual misbehaviour.
Arriving home in silence (not a word had passed between father and son on the way home) they paused at the doorway to allow Paul to remove his outdoor shoes as he was ordered always to do when entering the house. He had forgotten this rule only once, when he was 7, and had learned the hard way by being given 6 with the cane. Paul had lost count of the number of times he had been made to bend over, touching his toes, in his dad's room to await the sting of cane or whip. Punishments occurred very frequently and often for what Paul thought were silly little things, such as forgetting to switch off a light or neglecting a small chore around the house. His older brother, Gary, who was 11 had been given a dozen only 2 days before simply because he had spilt some milk on the living room floor. The fact was, although neither boy realised it, that father secretly enjoyed the fear his children had of him. He enjoyed the dominance and most of all enjoyed hearing their pleas for leniency before he administered their dose of discipline.
Still without speaking father led the 9 year old boy up the stairs to his bedroom. Father sat on the bed and beckoned for the child to come to him. Paul obeyed. Father held the boys left leg, raised it off the ground, and removed the small white ankle sock. He repeated this with the right leg. Then he grasped the child's light blue t shirt and pulled it over the boys head, throwing it onto the bed to join the discarded socks. Next he inserted his fingers inside the waistband of Paul's very short black shorts and pulled them to the child's ankles before removing them completely. Next came the tiny dark blue briefs which were removed in the same way. Paul was still sobbing, knowing full well the severity of the punishment to come.
Father then rose from the bed and walked menacingly to the cupboard in which he kept his disciplinary instruments. He selected the riding whip. He turned to face Paul and again beckoned his son to him. For the first time since leaving the shop he spoke to his son. His voice was cold as he told Paul what his punishment would be. "Theft is not naughtiness Paul it is CRIME. The punishment you will receive today will reflect this. I will not tolerate theft in any way. You will be given the most severe thrashing of your life today and I expect it to be a lesson to you. You will receive 25 lashes. Bend over and touch your toes"
Paul bent over and , bending his knees slightly, touched his toes. He knew if he tried to protect his bottom from the whip his dad would give him extra strokes, as he would if Paul tried to get up before ordered to do so. He also knew he had to recite the number of each lash as it connected. Father stood behind his son's raised bottom and flexed the whip. He delivered the first, stinging lash. Paul wailed "Aaah, One". Father paused. He was anxious to prolong the session knowing that Paul would take longer to compose himself after each lash. The second was delivered "Aaaahh, Two". Another few seconds and then the third "Eeeeahh, Thr-Three". And so the thrashing continued. The whiz of whip through the air, the sharp crack of whip on boyflesh and a tearful pitiful cry followed by a sobbing child reciting a number.
The punishment lasted 20 minutes. The intervals between lashes increased to over a minute towards the end of Paul's ordeal as the 9 year old bravely tried to compose himself so the punishment would be over with. The last lash arrived , followed by "AAAAAAHHHHHHH, TW-TWE-TWE-TWE-TWENTYF-TWENTYF-TWENTYFIVE". Then after a brief period of silence father returned the whip to the cupboard. He then turned to the still bent form of his son and told him to rise. Paul rose and faced his father. Paul's punishment was not yet over however. His father grasped his arm and led him, still naked, downstairs. To Paul's horror and embarrassment he was told to go and mow the lawn, completely naked. He pleaded with his dad to be allowed at least to replace his briefs but his dad was unrelenting, telling Paul he'd get the whip out again if he continued to argue. Paul spent the next 30 or 40 minutes manfully mowing the lawn with his dad's Flymo.
Eventually the task was done to dad's satisfaction and Paul was allowed back indoors. However he was still not allowed to re clothe himself. He was told to bring a hardbacked chair into the parlour, place it in the centre of the room, and stand on it with his hands on his head. He was forced to remain in that position until he was told to go upstairs to bed.