The two boys, 10 year old Anthony and his 7 year old brother Daniel, had been playing up their mother during a trip to the supermarket. Like children do they had pestered her to buy things the family could not afford. She had issued the normal threats of "Wait till I tell your father" but the boys knew she rarely did tell their father because she did not approve of her husbands extremely harsh disciplinary measures. The boys parents had married late in life and their father was 51 years of age. Mother was 5 years younger so both were of an age where "spare the rod and spoil the child" had been the rule while they were growing up. Mother believed in corporal punishment but usually confined herself to whacking the boys with an old gym slipper. Father however was "old school". He believed in ritual. He believed in humiliation. But most of all he believed that punishment, if it was to be effective, should result in pain. Mother disapproved of his methods but was too timid to protest so when the kids were naughty when Father was not around she usually dealt with it herself and said nothing to him. If father caught them misbehaving the punishments were severe and brutal. The boys were not concerned therefore when Mother had issued her threats.
On arriving home Father was waiting. "Help your mother with the bags" he had told his offspring. "I hope you have behaved yourselves today".
"Yes dad" they had both replied.
It was at this point, to the boys horror, that Mother said "They have both been very naughty" and proceeded to tell father about the pestering. She also mentioned that Anthony had tried to put some chocolates in her trolley without her noticing. It was just lucky she noticed it when they were unloading the goods at the checkout. Father glared at the boys and yelled at them that they knew the consequences etc. etc. Both boys started to cry and mother began to regret that she had mentioned anything. "Get upstairs and prepare yourselves" father yelled. Both boys knew what this meant. They went tearfully to their bedroom and started to undress. When they were both totally naked they went back downstairs. Before entering the lounge, where punishments took place, Andrew went to the cupboard under the stairs and pulled out a wooden trestle bench which he took to the lounge and placed in the centre of the room. Daniel went to the hallway closet where his father kept the whip which he used on them and took it with him to the lounge where he joined his brother. He placed the whip on the coffee table. Both boys stood, at attention, in total silence and awaited fathers arrival.
Eventually father entered the lounge. Still no words were said but both boys knew the routine. Andrew picked up the whip and handed it to his father. It was a riding crop, approximately 30 inches long. The boys were tearful now as both had felt its sting many times before. The boys continued with the routine. Both went to the trestle bench and, standing side by side about 18 inches apart, bent right over it holding on to the legs the other side. Father stood behind his sons and stared briefly at their upraised bottoms. Both still bore the fading marks of earlier thrashings. Father drew his arm back as far as he could and lashed Andrew across his backside, once, twice, three times. Each lash drew a scream from the bending child. He didnt try covering his bottom however, knowing that to do so would result in extra strokes. Father then turned his attention to his younger son. Again three lashes, each accompanied by a scream from the young boy. Then he went back to Andrew and delivered three more. More screams and pleas to stop ensued. Then there were three more for Daniel with the same result.
The punishment continued for a few minutes longer. Eventually Andrew had been given fifteen and Daniel a dozen. Andrew was older after all and it was he who had sneaked the chocolate into the trolley. Not a single word had been spoken by father during this ritual until he decided his sons had learnt their lessons and he simply said "That will do" and left the room, leaving the whip on the coffee table. The boys knew what to do now. Anthony folded the trestle and replaced it under the stairs, Daniel picked up the whip and took it back to its home. Then both boys went to the kitchen where mother had been busying herself during their ordeal, trying to shut out the pitiful screams and please she could hear from the lounge. Andrew went first "Im sorry mum" he sobbed through his tears. His younger brother followed with the same words. The boys then returned to the lounge. Each went to a corner, turned and faced the wall and put their hands on their head. They would stay there until father told them they could dress. Normally this part of the ritual lasted for anything up to three hours.