It was a nice, warm summer’s day and my mother and I were at the zoo as a special treat for my birthday. I was turning five at the time, and I was a little over-excited at seeing all these real live animals for the first time.
My mother asked me what I’d like to see first, when we got there, and I immediately replied: “The lions!” We went over to the lion enclosure and stood looking at the animals for five minutes or so. Mummy went to a nearby stand and picked up a map for us to use for the day.
We went from enclosure to enclosure, seeing the giraffes, the baboons, the armadillos, snakes, tigers, rhinos – everything. I was having a wonderful time looking at all of the animals, until Mummy decided it was time for lunch. I wanted to keep walking around the zoo, and I told my her this in a rather whiny voice.
“Now, Mark, remember this is your birthday treat. You don’t want to ruin it by getting a spanking, after all.” This prospect made me resume my angelic behaviour.
We reached an area where sandwiches, cakes and the like were sold, and Mummy asked me to find a table while she bought us lunch. I ran quickly over to a table under a shady tree and waited. And waited. It must have only been five minutes but it seemed like forever to a five-year-old. And then I saw the sign pointing to the hippopotamus enclosure.
These were my favourite animals – surely, Mummy wouldn’t mind if I just went and had a quick look? I got up and followed to where the sign seemed to be pointing. I walked and walked and walked – until I realised that the hippos were nowhere to be found and I had no idea where I was. I began to get scared and I started to whimper.
An attendant soon came up to me. “Do you know where your mother is, son?” she asked. “No,” I sniffled. The attendant then took me to the head office, where they paged my mother over the PA system.
Approximately 10 minutes later, my mother came into the room where I was waiting. “Thank you very much for looking after him,” my mother said to the attendant. “I’ll take it from here.”
She looked at me sternly, and grabbed me by the hand and took me straight to the car. “But, Mummy,” I whined, “I wanna see the hippos!” “I think you’ve seen enough today. We’re going straight home!” Mummy was clearly angry and I was quiet for the rest of the journey.
We got home, and Mummy took me straight into my bedroom, sat down on my bed, and stood me in front of her.
“What you did today was very naughty! You could have been kidnapped, or hurt – I even told you to stay with me all the time, and you disobeyed me. You were a NAUGHTY boy,” Mummy said in a firm voice. “Do you know what happens to naughty boys?” she asked as she started undoing my shoes.
“No, Mummy, please don’t spank me,” I cried, the tears flowing now. But she took no notice of my whining as she took my T-shirt off, undid my pants and pulled them down and off. “Now, take your underpants off and lie down on my lap!” Still crying, I pulled down my undies and stepped out of them.
I stood next to Mummy and sobbed. “I’m sorry, Mummy, please don’t spank me. I didn’t mean to make you mad…” As I stood there crying, she placed a hand on my shoulders and put me down over her lap.
She shifted my weight so I was completely off the ground; I felt her place her strong left hand on my lower back to hold me down and she laid her spanking hand on my bottom for a second.
“No, Mummy, no, please…” But despite my appeals, she raised her hand and smacked my little bottom again and again. I sobbed and sobbed and after about 20 smacks began to kick and scream. I remember clearly crying out: “Stop, Mummy, I’m sorry!”
She finally stopped after about 30 smacks and let me stand up. I told her that I was sorry. She made me stand in the corner for another hour, without any clothes on – and I can tell you that I never wandered away in a public place again.
Contributor: Mark