Mother counted three minutes, then, with a dry and ironic tone, remarked that it was surprising that I had a normal temperature whereas I was supposed to be feverish, and given the temperature shown by the thermometer when she walked on me. Maybe I had an explanation? I don’t recall what I tried to answer. Probably nothing, for the case was so obvious that fake excuses would have done me no good.
Mother then proceeded to spank me, while chiding me for misbehaving. I had committed several offenses: I had tried to cheat, then lied about it, and I had also risked damaging a mercury thermometer, which would have been both dangerous and difficult to clean up. Furthermore, these lies were about health, which she considered an important issue and not one for play.
While Mother definitely had a liking for spanking on our bare bottoms, most of the time she did not spank long or hard, counting on embarrassment more than on physical pain for deterrence of future misbehaviour. Unfortunately for me, this time she considered the problem serious enough to warrant a long and hard smacking.