Corporal Punishment

On Sunday, we all go to church together. We girls, from our first period onward, wear white dresses; the younger ones wear colorful dresses, and the boys wear white shirts and trousers with suspenders.

Cynthia is nervous and tearful.

"You have to get through this now," I tell her.

"You brought this on yourself; you knew it was wrong."

When we arrive back at the farm, two ropes are already lying in front of the barn, and a footstool is standing there. Cynthia has to undress until she is completely naked. I take her clothes from her. Then Ben takes her hands, fastens the ropes to them, and throws them over the beam. Cynthia has to stand on the stool. Fred, my second brother, and Ben pull the ropes taut so that they are now drawn all the way up, and they fasten them at the sides so that her arms point upward in a V-shape. Then Ben kicks the stool away; now Cynthia hangs naked by her arms.

My father now comes out of the house, in his hand a wide leather strap and a willow switch. He steps behind Cynthia, whose face is turned toward us, and first hands the switch to Ben.

"As punishment for your violation of the divine order and the rules of the community, you have been sentenced to forty lashes with the strap and ten with the switch. Do you consider this punishment just?"

"Yes, Lord, it is just before God."

"Count along."

With those words, he strikes Cynthia’s backside with the strap.

"One," comes out through her screams.

After "Ten," there is a brief pause. Cynthia is already screaming loudly from the pain.

"Twenty." That only came out as a strained gasp.

"Thirty." Was nothing more than a sob.

After "Forty," she is nearly ****.

But it is not over yet. My father steps forward and speaks to Ben.

"So that you also learn how to fulfill your future role as master, you will take over the further punishment of your sinful sister. You already have the willow switch. She is to receive ten more lashes."

You can tell how uncomfortable Ben is, but he steps behind the naked Cynthia and lets the willow switch whistle through the air a few times. Then he strikes.

"One!" Cynthia bellows.

After the tenth strike, everyone except Cynthia, Ben, Fred, and me must go into the house. I have to fetch a bucket of water and spray down Cynthia’s bloody back. Then Ben and Fred untie her and carry her to our room, where they lay her face down on the bed.

I sit down with her and begin to carefully dab her battered back and backside with a healing tincture.

Hopefully, this will be a lesson to Cynthia.