The aunt lifted Marek's pajama shirt over his shoulders and took the belt from the maid. Gracia walked around the desk and took the young man's hands firmly in hers.

"Ten strokes will be enough for the first time, I think," said the aunt and she slapped on the thin boy's ass with her strong hand but not too hard.

 Marek's whole body shuddered. He was lying on his stomach on the narrow sloping table top looking out of the window. Near the verandah in the front garden there were lilac bushes and the sunlight burned on their leaves.

Pani Felicia sighed. Pursing her lips she swung the wide leather belt across the boy's bare buttocks. Marek jerked on the desk but the maid held his wrists tightly. The impact of the belt burned then the pain slowly faded.

 "One," said Pani Felicia. She took the hand with the belt back, lingered a moment and gave it a second lash.

 "Two… Don't you dare do any handwork in my house! It's disgusting!" the aunt said and lashed Marek for a third time.

His buttocks burned so that he gave a short cry and jerked again, and again Gracia held his hands.

"Three!… Four!… Five!"

After counting out five strokes, the aunt took Marek by the chin and looked into his face.

 "And remember something well," said Pani Felicia, looking into the young man's eyes, "Every morning I will come to the outhouse and if you behave like a pig again… another time you will get whipped with rods! You must get rid of this bad habit once and for ever."

"Yes, Aunt Felicia."

 Pani Felicia nodded to Marek and caressed his cheek with her hand…

Either the aunt began to lash more painfully or the young man's buttocks became more sensitive from the blows of the belt, but Marek got unable to endure the punishment in silence. The young man twisted on the desk and could not contain his screams. Alisha, the maid, stood with a duster by the sideboard and watched the punishment without taking her eyes off. Alisha was a short hard-boned girl. She had a broad expressionless face small bright lips and narrow black eyes.

 "Six!… Seven!… Eight!… Nine!… Ten!" counted Pani Felicia.

 Gracia let go of Marek's hands. The young man bent down and pulled on his pajama pants. His buttocks, whipped by the belt, were on fire.

"Still corporal punishment is something like the dark ages in our enlightened age," said Katarzhina pushing aside her cup of half – finished coffee, "it looks so… so vulgar, if you like!"

 "You may be right, my dear," Pani Felicia sighed, "but what are you going to do with these unbearable young men?"

 The aunt gave the maid the belt.

"Marek, change for breakfast and we are waiting for you. And thank me for the spanking."

And Pani Felicia held out her hand for the young man to kiss. Marek looked at his aunt's face. Pani Felicia gave him a sad smile and straightened her unruly bangs that had fallen over her eyes.

"Thank you for the spanking, Pani Felicia," muttered Marek, and kissed his aunt's hand.

 Pani Felicia's dacha stood on a hill in a pine tree forest. Marek remembered that there was a lake near the cottage. Once outside the fence he went by the path covered with pine needles. The young man was not mistaken, and soon the path led him to the shore of the lake. Marek wanted to go for a swim, but somewhere nearby he heard the splash of water and a girls' laughter. The young man crawled through the bushes and saw two girls of his age bathing naked in the shallow water. The sun was at its Zenith and the water in the lake was sparkling. From behind the bushes he could see the girls' brown thighs, white buttocks and breasts. The black-haired one had large breasts like a grown woman and the other, with red hair had no breasts at all. The girls splashed in the water laughing and screaming. Marek noticed the marks of a recent spanking on the white round ass of the red-haired girl. This observation for some reason excited Marek. Warmth spread down his belly. A sweet pain in the groin… Splashing water and laughing, the girls ran off in the shallow water aside. Now Marek could not see them through the bushes. A weather-beaten birch tree lay on the bank nearby. The trunk of an old tree lowered with one end into the water. Holding on to the branches Marek walked along the birch trunk. The girls' laughter rang closer and closer. At last when Marek reached the water's edge, he looked out from behind the bushes and saw them close by. Marek even stopped breathing with excitement. A black girl with big breasts was looking for something on the lake bottom. Pannochka stood back to Marek bending down to the water's edge. Short thick black hair curled between her white unburned buttocks. . Shivering, Marek took another step on the sloping slippery log. The youth's feet slipped from the birch trunk and with a startled cry and a splash he fell into the lake…

 It was a hot July afternoon. Pani Felicia was sitting in the arbor in the shade of the apple trees, fanning herself. The aunt listened to the pannochkies' complain about Marek. Or rather it was a tall black-haired girl who spoke. Her name was Lyudmila. There, on the shore of the lake Lyudmila gave Marek two ringing slaps. The boy's cheeks were still burning. Lyudmila's friend Irenka stood by and said nothing. Irenka was thin half a head shorter than Marek. The girl's red curly hair wet from the bath lay on her shoulders. Irenka had a small upturned nose, fretful plump lips and a sharp chin. The girl's hazel-colored eyes kept darting around. Marek stood beside his aunt with his head bowed and water dropped from his wet clothes onto the wooden floor of the arbor.

 "The little ones are punished for this," said the aunt after listening to Lyudmila.

 "Gracia, please, pick some nettles in the garden. Yes, tear the young one, it burns more painfully."

 "I will, Pani Felicia," said the maid pulling on her gloves. Then she began to pluck the nettles that grew near the fence.

Gracia did not touch the old tall nettles but tore up the young ones with bright juicy green leaves.

 "Ah, Marek, Marek!" Pani Felicia sighed.

The aunt rose from her chair and putting her hand on Marek's shoulder led him out of the arbor into a corner of the garden. There was an old wide long bench between two old apple trees.

 "It's a shame to spy on girls," his aunt said to Marek and he felt his ears burn.

 "You're an adult, but you're acting like a child. So I'm going to treat you like a child. I'll whip you with nettles… Well, what are you waiting for? Lie down on the bench."

Marek could see that his aunt was sorry to punish him for the second time that day. But she couldn't act another way. Marek also knew that it was his own fault. The young man did not argue and didn't try to beg his aunt not to punish him. He also thought that nettles might be easier to bear than a belt.

The pannochkies came and stood next to the bench. Marek tried not to look at Lyudmila and Irenka. The young man unbuttoned his belt, pulled down his trousers to his knees and quickly lay prone down the bench.

 "And take off your underpants," reminded his aunt.

 Marek heard the girls giggle. With clumsy trembling fingers the young man pulled the underpants off his buttocks. The marks of the morning's flogging were still visible on Marek's thin pale ass.

 "Poor boy," said Pani Felicia, patting Marek on the head, " you'll get it again."

The young man didn't answer but just jerked his head.

 "Here are the nettles," said Gracia, coming up.

The maid handed the aunt gloves and a bunch of nettles. She went to the bench and sat on Marek's back so that the young man could not escape during the spanking.