This is the tale of the eleven year old occupants of the school`s smallest dormitory which had just six beds in it. First I will introduce you to our six heroes; Henry Elliot, Graham Harper, Jason Hill, Adrian Jackson, Oswald Moore and Mark Rutherford.
I refer to them as heroes because they are not naughty boys. They are good, well behaved lads who one day unwittingly breached a strict school rule and as a result found themselves facing a most bizarre punishment! One evening while playing cards in their dormitory they thought it would make the game more interesting if they played for pennies. It was only pennies - chicken feed - and it is doubtful if any of them would win or lose more than about twenty pence. It did not even occur to them that they were breaking a school rule - no gambling! Unfortunately for them they received an unexpected visit from their housemaster and were caught red-handed. The housemaster reported them to the headmaster.
Thus, one Friday afternoon, six trembling boys were lined up in front of the headmaster`s desk. First they were given a long lecture on the evils of gambling.
"And now," continued the headmaster, "we come to the question of your chastisement! I have decided that your punishment should teach you just what a capricious pursuit gambling is. We are going to have a little gamble to determine how much punishment each one of you will receive!"
He held out the confiscated pack of cards. "Harper! Take these cards and shuffle them!"
Nervous and bewildered, Graham shuffled the pack. "Now slide off the top six cards onto my desk."
The headmaster took six envelopes from a drawer and keeping the cards face down put one in each envelope. He sealed the envelopes and signed each one across the flap then handed them back to Graham.
"Give them out, Harper. One for each of you. You can swap them about among yourselves if you wish, but there would be little point in it! None of us know which cards are in these envelopes. You will not open them until you are told to. Tomorrow afternoon you will all report to me in the gymnasium at three o`clock in your sports kit and bring your envelopes with you. You will each receive the slipper! The number of strokes each of you will have will be determined by the number on your respective cards! Jack, Queen, King and Ace will count as eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen! Furthermore, those of you who have a black suit will be slippered over your shorts and those of you with a red suit will be punished with your shorts removed! I hope that is quite clear! You may go now!"
They left the study looking pale and anemic. Butterflies in tummies had started already and they had to endure nearly twenty-three hours anticipating their respective fates! They walked slowly to their dormitory in silence. They were all in a state of shock.
"Isn`t this awful!" said Adrian, "I mean not knowing how many we`re going to get!"
"I don`t think I can eat any supper tonight!" commented Henry.
"We can`t go without food for twenty-four hours!" Graham responded, "That will make us feel worse if we go to the gym tomorrow on empty stomachs. We must try to eat!"
Jason started to cry. He was the baby of the group; not in age, but he was the most timorous. Graham put his arm around him.
"Now, come on, Jason, you mustn`t get like that. We`re all worrying too much. It probably won`t be as bad as we think." Graham tried to console him, "This time tomorrow it will be all over!"
Graham was beginning to emerge as the leader. It was not that he had ever considered himself as having leadership qualities, quite the opposite in fact, but he realized that somebody had got to try to keep them all calm and sane. He was particularly worried about Jason, a timid boy scared of the teachers and terrified of bullies. Jason was to have two more tearful sessions that night; on each occasion Graham tried to comfort him.
The boys did manage to get some sleep that night, probably due to mental exhaustion. Saturday was a free day apart from a morning assembly. Graham had managed to persuade them to eat something at breakfast time even if was to nibble a piece of toast! As the morning passed the butterflies became more intense and they all found themselves paying frequent visits to the toilet! None of them, not even Graham, could face any lunch.
The time reached two-thirty. "Come on!" said Graham, "Let`s change into our sports kit, we must`t be late!"
They changed into their red and yellow shirts and navy blue shorts - their house colours - and sat down on their beds, constantly consulting their watches. At ten minutes to three Graham stood up.
"Come on.! Let`s go!" he said.
Tears began to trickle down Jason`s cheeks. "I`m frightened." he squeaked. Graham again put his arm around him.
"Come on Jason! Try taking some deep breaths. It helps to stop the butterflies in your tummy!" advised Graham.
Jason`s tears dried up and the six of them made their way across the courtyard to the gymnasium, each clutching an envelope which held his impending fate! They entered the building to find the headmaster and three prefects waiting for them beside the vaulting horse which had been placed in the middle of the room.
"Right! We will not waste any time! Line up here in alphabetical order." ordered the headmaster, "That`s Elliot on the left, then Harper, Hill, Jackson, Moore and Rutherford."
The boys were lined up about three yards from the horse."Elliot! You are first! Come here, open your envelope and remove your card!"
Henry stepped nervously forward and slit open his envelope. He looked almost relieved when he saw his card!
"Three of diamonds!" said the headmaster, taking the card and envelope and handing them to a prefect. "Take your shorts off!"
Henry stepped out of his shorts and two of the prefects lifted him up onto the horse. Neither hands nor feet reached the ground, his young naked bottom sticking out in an "asking for it" fashion! Two prefects, kneeling down on the ground, one each side of the horse, held his ankles and wrists firmly so that he could not move.
The headmaster raised the slipper. The acoustics of the large empty hall were to enhance the sound as the slipper met the tender naked skin. There was an ear-splitting "CRACK!" which made the other boys wince! A large pink blotch appeared across Henry`s bum-cheeks.
CRACK! Henry remained perfectly still. CRACK! He had been lucky to draw only a three! He was lifted off the horse. At least the first one had taken it without any trouble. He put on his shorts and gave a little smile as he returned to the line. He did not even rub his bottom, but his face was red, probably due to embarrassment more than anything else!
It was Graham`s turn next! He had no idea how much a slipper would hurt. He, nor the other five for that matter, had ever experienced anything like this before, but he was determined to try to set a good example for the sake of the others.
"Harper!" was the only word the headmaster spoke to him. Graham stepped forward and opened his envelope. His card was the six of hearts.
"Take off your shorts Harper!"
Graham removed his shorts and was hauled up onto the horse. He knew that he must be presenting the same humiliating spectacle as Henry had!
CRACK! The first stroke stung, but it was not too painful. Graham thought that if it got no worse than this it would be bearable.
CRACK! The sting increased with the second stroke. It was then that Graham realised that the sting would intensify with each blow.
CRACK! Now it was really hurting! Could he hold out for six without crying out?
CRACK! The forth felt like a hot flatiron being laid on his bottom!
CRACK! He screwed his face up in pain. He wanted to cry, He wanted to shout, but with sheer will-power he managed to remain silent. He clenched his teeth as he braced himself for number six.
CRACK! Graham strained every muscle he could find to try and ease the burning pain. He felt himself being taken down from the horse. He desparately wanted to clasp his bottom but he somehow restrained himself. He replaced his shorts and returned to his place in the line. Despite the burning pain, he was now worrying about Jason, who was next. Graham fully expected that Jason would break into tears as soon as he was called and would scream blue murder with the first stroke!
"Hill!" Jason did not cry. Graham was giving a silent prayer that his card would be a low one! Jason`s shaking hand opened the envelope and removed the card.
"Six of clubs!" announced the headmaster.
Jason was put over the horse, his tightly stretched navy blue shorts outlining the shape of his pert little buns, the reflection from the lights above him causing a silvery, shinny blob at the crown of each bum-cheek. Henry and Graham both shut their eyes as the headmaster raised the slipper.
CRACK! Not a sound from Jason! CRACK! CRACK! Still the only sound was from the slipper itself!
CRACK! Henry and Graham looked at each other in amazement. Graham could easily have believed that he was dreaming had his own stinging backside not been reminding him that it was all too real!
CRACK! CRACK! Jason had unbelievably taken all six strokes in complete silence! He was brought back to the ground. His face showed that he was in pain. He rubbed his bottom with one hand and wiped away a solitary tear with the other and even forced a momentary smile as he returned to the line. Graham gave him a pat on the back. If Graham had been an example to theothers, Jason had been an inspiration!
It was beginning to dawn on all of them that there had been no card higher than six and the probability was that there must be a big one or two lurking somewhere in those last three envelopes! Not a comforting thought for the boys yet to come! Yet Adrian had a low card! It was the four of clubs. They now realized that three or four strokes, although painful, was something they could all cope with. Adrian`s bottom presented a similar picture to that of Jason as he was held firmly across the horse
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Adrian did not even squirm, he had taken four with no problem. He came down from the horse, a quick rub or two and rejoined the other boys.
Oswald looked devastated as he drew his card from it`s envelope.
"The jack of hearts! That`s eleven strokes! Get your shorts off Moore!" said the headmaster. Oswald was a brave and tough little lad, but he knew that he would break down before eleven!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! His little bottom was looking painfully red.
CRACK! CRACK! Oswald was beginning to squirm. His mates were wondering justhow much more he could take.
CRACK! CRACK! incredibly he had taken eight strokes without uttering a sound!
CRACK! Number nine was too much for him!
"Aooowl! Aooowl! Aooowl! Stop it! Please stop it! Aooowl!"
CRACK! "Arrrgh! Arrrrgh! Arrrgh! No! No! Stop! Stop! Please stop.!"
CRACK! "Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!"
When he was helped down he flopped down onto the floor, lying on his tummy, both hands clutching his soft tender young bum-cheeks! He soon recovered enough to get up and replace his shorts, the tears flowing freely down his face.
Oswald`s experience had done little for Mark`s nerves, nor had the long wait while he had had to watch his five friends being whacked one after th other!
"Rutherford!" called the headmaster.
Mark felt his stomach somersault as he drew out the nine of diamonds! Stretched across the horse it did not help to be able to hear Oswald crying in the background!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Like the other boys, Mark found the first three bearable, the forth really beginning to burn. He knew that he would be calling out before the end so he decided it might help if he deliberately shouted out from now on!
CRACK! He let out a loud "Arrrgh!" His left bum-cheek was burning like mad, but he found that it did help to give his lungs and vocal chords a little exercise!
CRACK! "Arrrrgh" Another deliberate one, but he had now reached the limit of
his threshold of pain.
CRACK! "Arrrrgh! Arrrrrgh! Arrrgh! Arrrgh!. This time it was not deliberate! He was shouting out in agony and the tears began to roll!
CRACK! "Arrrrrrrrrgh! Arrrrrrrrrrgh! Arrrrrrrrrrgh! Mark was released and ordered to replace his shorts. He lined up again with his friends.
"That concludes your punishments." announced the headmaster, then starting with Henry, he and the three prefects walked along the line shaking hands with each of the boys! It was an old school tradition!
The headmaster told the boys that they could leave when they were ready to, and he and the prefects left the building. The first thoughts were for the two crying boys. Oswald and Mark assured the others that they would be alright in a few minutes. Graham turned to Jason.
"I must say, you`re the one who surprised us, Jason!"
Jason smiled. "I surprised myself!" he said, "I saw how you and Henry had taken it so I thought perhaps I could! Then the first whack wasn`t as bad as I thought it would be so I just tried to get a grip of myself and hang on! But dosn`t it get worse with each whack!"
Yes! We all found that out!" said Graham.
The six boys returned to their dormitory to do what all schoolboys do after having their backsides warmed up - examine their bottoms in the mirror!
Two of them had definitely benefited from the experience. Graham had found qualities he had not known he had - the ability to keep calm in a crisis and take command! But the one who had benefited most was Jason! The way he had taken his punishment had done wonders for him. Those few moments across the vaulting horse had converted him from a timid little mouse into a self-confident boy feeling able to face anything fate could throw at him! For all of them, it had cemented their friendship.
"He didn`t spare us did he?" said Mark, "He didn`t half whack us hard!"
"I`m not surprised!" said Henry with a chuckle, "We must have looked very tempting! We`ve all got lovely bums!"
"I`m starving!" said Adrian. They all were!
"It will be teatime in an hour," commented Henry, "What are we going to do in the meantime?"
A cheeky grin came over Graham`s face! "Anyone fancy a game of cards?." he said!