"What in the world happened here, boys?!" Shouted Papa Joseph.
5-year-olds John and Nicholas winced and shrank in on themselves as they felt fear rise within them. At their feet were the smashed remains of the Smith family's only piece of china plate, passed from father to son over thirty generations. Alongside the smashed remains, there laid the deflated husk of a beachball. A small, yet noticeable, shard of the china plate stuck in the only hole.
Papa Joseph had an angry look on his face, one that John had only seen when he was angry at Megan. For some reason, Megan was not seen very well by Mama and Papa. Something about fireworks, having a seen-your boy friend (why they were mad at her being friends with a boy, John didn't understand, especially since Samantha had Terry as a friend who was a boy) when she was a fresh man (John thought Megan was a woman, but Papa said man can also mean woman, like how God is the God of Man), and being dis-re-spect-ful to Mama and Papa when she slept with him.
He didn't understand why they were mad that she slept with her seen-your boy friend, he and Nicholas slept together during nap time at school! It's very cold in Winter...
"Well? Are either of you going to speak?" Said Papa Joseph in that scary voice he had when his other siblings got in trouble. It wasn't like when he yelled at Megan, but it was still scary to be on this side of it. John and Nicholas glanced at each other.
Nicholas spoke up first, his voice getting more and more wobbly as he spoke, "M-Mister S-Smith. I'm s-sorry. We-we were throwing th-the ball, and-and-and we hit iiiit." He said the last word with a sob and crying. The angry face on Papa Joseph's face started to soften. He looked at Nicholas much less angry than he did just a few seconds ago, but he firmed up again once he turned to his son. "Well?" He asked sternly, yet still softer than before, "Is that true, son? Did you both throw the ball and knocked off the china plate? Even when I explicitly told you two not to?"
John felt his heart speed up. The sound of drums in his ears and tears about to fall from his face when he saw the "you were a bad boy" look on his father's face. He was about to say something to affirm Nicholas' testimony, when he remembered something he saw just a few days ago.
8-year-old Samantha had been tasked with sweeping the house, but Terry had come over on his new bicycle to show off to his best friend, Samantha, and other Smith siblings. Papa Joseph was out in the fields tending to the corn, while Mama Sarah was out to the doctors to make sure that the next child was healthy and fine. They were being watched over by the older siblings, except for Megan who was with her grad-you-ate-ed boy friend, but the elder siblings allowed Samantha to stop working to see her friend.
After spending time with Terry, she realized that she hadn't finished sweeping the house when she saw Papa Joseph coming back for lunch, and she rushed inside to try and finish it. Unfortunately, Papa Joseph was in the Sanctification stage while she has only recently entered Seed stage. This meant that she only managed to get half a room done before Papa entered and asked her why she wasn't done with the sweeping.
Samantha told Papa that, "I'm so small, and the house is so big. I've been sweeping all day, but I haven't finished it all." John knew that wasn't true, he was out there alongside her looking at Terry's new bicycle.
Yet, despite her not telling the truth, she wasn't punished and was told by Papa to continue with the work. John didn't know how to take it, especially since God said that lying was a sin. He made it as part of His ten rules!
John remembered this, and decided to do what she did. "P-Papa, we didn't do this." Papa Joseph's stern eyes narrowed instead of soften. "Oh?" He asked his son. "You didn't do this? Who did, then?" John panicked. He didn't think this through! He thought up of the first person Papa Joseph would get mad at. "It-It was Megan! She-she broke the plate, and popped our ball with it!" John swallowed as he saw Papa Joseph didn't get any less angry at John.
Papa stared at his son for a few moments before looking at the china plate remains and popped beach ball, and then turned his gaze back to Nicholas. "Nicholas, is what John saying the truth? Did Megan do this?" Nicholas, who had calmed down a little because he was confused on why John was not saying the truth, snapped back to Joseph. "I-I-" He began stuttering.
John's heart was soaring and pounding! Sweat was pouring out of his face. Was he about to get away with this? Was he about to get out of punishment by not telling the truth?! Was he about to get away with a lie?
Could he get away with a sin?
Nicholas managed to not stutter enough to get his answer out. "N-No, Mister Smith. We did do it. It-It's broken because of us." He sniffed and tried to brace himself for whatever Papa Joseph was going to do next. "Nick!" Exclaimed John, feeling betrayed by his friend.
Papa Joseph snapped back to his son, "No! John, I already knew you were lying. Don't look at me like that!" John turned his surprised face back to his dad at how he already knew. "You've decided to not only disrespect your father, but lie to him, too!" Papa Joseph's arms crossed and his face was very, very scary. Almost, if not the same as the face he made when Megan came back home after spending days with her boy friend.
"What you've done is very, very bad, son. I was going to just have you two just clean up your mess, and have Nicholas tell his father what he did. However! Since you decided to lie to me, John, you're going to get spanked." John could feel his fear rise and a sharp emotional pain in his heart. He ran forward, gripped onto his father's pants, and started his begging to not be spanked. He remembered vague memories of being spanked for doing something, but he couldn't remember anything other than the fact that spanks hurt.
Papa Joseph stayed firm in his decision, and just held John's face against his leg. Letting his son's sobs be muffled by his leg, Joseph spoke to Nicholas. "Nicholas, you are going to do the right thing and clean up your mess, and tell your father what you did when he comes to pick you up. However, I will tell your dad that you don't deserve to be punished any further. You told the truth when your friend decided to lie. Honesty, especially when it seems easy to lie, should always be rewarded."
Papa Joseph pointed to the living room, and addressed Nicholas once more. "Please, Nicholas, sit on the couch while I punish my son for his lies." Nicholas nodded, tears still in his eyes and sniffing up runny snot, but he wasn't sobbing. He went and did what Joseph said.
Joseph picked up John like a sack of potatoes. John, now able to speak clearly, begged once more for mercy. He also begged for help from Nicholas about what his dad was going to do. Nicholas just looked back from where he sat, unable to do anything.
Joseph took his son into his and his wife's room, and proceeded to pull down his son's pants and underwear to spank his son's bare butt. He spanked his son ten times, all while listening to his son's wails and cries from the pain. After it was over, he pulled up his son's pants and underwear before putting his son on his feet in front of him.
His son was still sobbing and crying, looking down at the floor while rubbing his butt. Joseph spoke to his son, "Son. Son, look at me." John did so, eyes red from tears, "Son, you know why you got spanked, right?" John nodded. "Can you tell me why you were spanked?" John nodded, and managed to get his sobs and cries down enough to talk.
"I-I got spanked, be-because I got caught lying." Joseph shook his head. "No, son, I spanked you because you broke one of God's Commandments. 'Thou shall not lie.' If you hadn't lied, I would've just had you cleaned up your mess." John sniffed and let out, "T-Then why didn't you do it to Sammy?"
Joseph was confused. "Sammy? She wasn't playing with you two, today." John shook his own head, still sniffing and crying a little. "N-No, when she said that she was too small, and didn't sweep the floor." Joseph thought on it, trying to remember what John was talking about, before realizing what John meant.
"Ah, well, you're saying she lied?" John nodded. He told his father about what happened that day. Joseph gave out a sigh through his nostrils. "John, I will tell you and Nicholas how to clean up your mess, and then I will deal with Samantha later on today. Do you understand? She won't get away with lying. No one gets away with committing sins." John nodded once more.
John and Nicholas cleaned up the mess, and then sat and waited for Nicholas' dad to come and pick him up. Samantha was with Terry at his house, and would come back to a spanking of her own.