Always Fair!

The month of January had arrived, the children returned to school after the holidays. With the New Year, a new banker Mr. Singer had arrived, releasing Amelia from her banking obligations. With Ethan's agreement, she volunteered if the man needed help, especially early on.

"Mom, there are 12 eggs this morning!"

"Great Tess thank you! We can bake a cake later if you want."

"Oh yes, Mama!"

"Give me 3 eggs please."

"Here."

"Thank you, sweetheart! How many eggs are left for the cake?"

"I count 9 Mama! Don't you know?"

"Yes, I wanted to be sure!" Amelia replied.

"Can I stay outside to play with my chickens?"

"Yes Tess, as long as I know where you are you can, don't leave the gates of the yard."

"Yes, I know! Thank you!"

Amelia was surprised at how easily Tess counted the eggs, she spoke very well too. She had an idea in mind but she needed Ethan's permission first.

Around noon Amelia called Tess. The child was beyond the gates of the yard.

"Come here, you mustn't go out of the yard! Come help me set the table, please, Tess." Amelia instructed.

"No! I'm still playing!" The child replied defiantly.

"Tess!" Amelia growled, "You must obey me! Come here now!"

"No! I will come after my game!"

Amelia couldn't let the child challenge her authority. Going inside, she grabbed the wooden spoon from the drawer before going back to the willful child.

"I'm counting to three Tess! If you're not in front of me by the count of three, I'll come and spank you with the spoon! One... "

Amelia prayed that the child would obey.

"Two! ….Thr..." Tess obeyed 'Phew, it worked!' Thought Amelia.

"Tess, when I call you, you come straight away! You don't disobey and you don't say 'NO' to me!" Amelia growled. Sitting down in a chair, she put the little girl on her knee, lifted her dress, and spanked her once over her panties, just with her hand.

"Ouch! I'll tell Papa!" Tess replied, sticking her tongue out at her new mother.

"Alright, let's do that! In the meantime, go to your room! We'll see what Papa says when he gets home!"

Amelia could feel her mood rising and she didn't want to act upset, she preferred to put the child in her room to give herself time to calm down. Just like Ethan did with the children when he punished them.

Ethan was doing his rounds as Dakota had taken the morning off to take Marie to the doctor. It was a check-up for the unborn baby. Ethan was lured bythe sound of a brawl in the saloon. A different group had been at a game table. The men argued, just as Adam and Joseph would have done when they were playing chess!

Everything seemed normal until one of the men drew his gun!

Ethan was faster! Unsheathing his own!

"NO! Put that gun away!" The sheriff ordered in a relentless voice!

"But he cheated!" You would have thought Joseph was speaking!

"A twelve-year-old uses those same words! You are grown men!"

"But sheriff! .."

"Stop! The game is over! Everyone gets their stake! Give me your guns, you'll get them back at my office by paying a one-dollar fine for disturbing the peace and wasting my time!"

"But sheriff! ..."

Ethan retrieved the weapons. "I am expecting you this afternoon! If you are worried about the amount, you will find it easy to pay in installments."

"Yes Sheriff, thank you," said one of the men.

Ethan was finishing his round when Mrs. Dodd called out to him.

"Sheriff!" She called.

"Hello Ma'am, what can I do for you?"

"I had an incident with Joseph and young Carl."

"What did they do?"

"I scolded them for trying to start a fire with cuttlefish grass and a magnifying glass. Luckily it didn't work, the sun is not strong enough at this time, but I think a discussion with their father is necessary. If they start again when it is warmer, they could set the town on fire!"

"I agree! "Ethan was furious, this was the second time these two had tried this trick! "Where are they?"

"They're having lunch at the back of the school."

"Could you send them both to my office now, please? I promise I will give them a good spanking and they won't do it again!"

"Thank you, Sheriff! If all fathers were like you, my job would be better! Do you want Carl too?"

"Yes, I have his father's permission to treat him as I do my son."

"Pa? You wanted to see us? It's nice today ... huh?"

"Come here!" ordered Ethan!

The children obeyed uncertainly, standing in front of him as he leaned on his desk, crossing his arms.

"I had an interesting conversation with Mrs. Dodd. Do you guys have anything to say to me?"

"No Pa!" Joseph replied.

"It's about two naughty, disobedient little boys, cuttlefish grass and a magnifying glass, still nothing to tell me?"

At that the boys looked at each other.

"Sorry, Mr. Sheriff! We knew it wouldn't work! We were just having fun!"

"I already talked to you both about trying to start fires! What did I say? Joseph?"

"That you would warm our butts with your belt. Pa, no! Please! We didn't set anything on fire!"

"I did not say; 'If it worked,' I said; 'If I heard of you playing with the magnifying glass and the sun in this case, I would use my belt!' So,…that's why the spanking is going to happen!" Ethan said sternly.

Carl, your Pa said if I had to punish you he would have his turn at home, I'll take it into account. I'm going to give both of you five smacks with my belt here. Then you go back to school. After school you go home immediately and wait in your rooms. Joseph, you will then have five more with my hand on your bare backside. Carl, if your father wants to give you his belt too, that will be his choice."

"Yes sir!"

"I PROHIBIT YOU TO PLAY LIGHTING A FIRE IN ANY WAY!"

Ethan unfastened the buckle of his belt, slipping it along the loops of his pants, and folded it in half.

"Pull your pants to your ankles! You can keep your underwear on." The man ordered. Ethan thought it would be too humiliating for Carl to be naked, he would leave that to his father.

"Joseph! On my knee!" Ethan hoisted the child onto his knee, lifted the belt, and slapped it five times severely on the upturned little butt!"

"Ouch! Ow! Ow!…. Pa! Sorry! I wouldn't do it again! Ouch!" Joseph was crying.

"Carl, on my knee!"

Ethan repeated the same spanking for Carl, the child was already crying!"

"Oh! Ow! Ouch! Please don't! I am sorry, Sheriff!" The child was sobbing too!"

Joseph threw himself into his father's arms! Ethan hugged him tight, then opened his other arm inviting Carl if he wanted to. The child also accepted comfort.

"I don't want a spanking from you anymore, Sheriff! It hurts too much!"

"That's the purpose of a spanking Carl! Don't make me do it again!"

"Yes, sir! Will you give me a note for my father?"

"No Carl, I'm going to go talk to him to his face. Go back to school and remember, straight to your rooms after school!"

"Yes sir!"

Ethan drove over to Carl's house. It was on his way home for lunch.

The boy's father worked in his fields.

"Hello, Sheriff Cord."

"Hello Mr. Stone. I came to tell you that I spanked your son with mine today."

Ethan explained to the man what the children had done. He mentioned his threat from the last time, and that he had to follow through. He told him about the five belt strikes he immediately inflicted on their underwear and the promise of more after school.

"It was partly a solution to give you a role with your son, without it being too hard!"

"Yes, I told you he would have the same from me! How are you going to punish your son tonight?" Mr. Stone asked.

"I plan to bare his butt, put him on my knee for five severe spanks with just my hand. That leaves some leeway of a threat if he does it again, to give him the whole thing with my belt. I'm going to tell him this! I would do it now but he didn't cause damage. I think five strokes of the belt is dearly paid! If they had succeeded, I would have another stronger reaction and speech!"

"You are a righteous man Sheriff! Thank you for caring enough about my son to punish him with yours! I would do as you did with Carl It is right that they are punished the same way! I apologize if my son trains yours! "

"Thanks, Mr. Stone, but Joseph has a brain of his own! Creating nonsense is his decision! No reason to apologize. He's ten years old, he's going to do stupid things again!"

"Ok Sheriff! Thank you! You can call me Jim, our sons are friends!"

"Okay Jim, the name is Ethan, not Sheriff! I have to go, my wife is expecting me for lunch! Bye!"

"Goodbye, Ethan! The man squeezed her hand. "Oh Ethan, I have two beautiful cows for sale at a good price are you interested? Maybe you know someone looking for one?"

"Yes, I was just looking for cows, how much do you want for them?"

"Fifteen dollars for both, they are young and have a lot of milk!" Ethan took out his wallet and paid the man.

"Deal is done! I trust you! I will send my eldest children to pick them up at the end of the afternoon! Thank you!"

Amelia had prepared the meal.

"Ethan? How was your morning? "

He told her about Joseph's stupidities.

"You were strict but fair my love, as always! I will make sure he stays in his room when he comes back from school!"

"Thank you, darling! How was it for you this morning?"

Amelia told him about Tess' nonsense.

"I only spanked her once, then I was so angry that I sent her to her room! I didn't want to be too harsh and regret it."

"Yes, you reacted well. You have all the rights to punish the children with your hand, the spoon, or something else. Never do it when angry and never past their age no matter what they have done is my rule. Tess's behavior is getting worse and worse! Her backtalk and her disobedience must stop! She is three! What will it be at fifteen? I need to be tougher on her! Did you spank her with just your hand?"

"Yes, just my hand because she did obey as I counted. I threatened using the spoon."

"Alright, please give me the spoon, come, let's both talk to her."