RELUCTANT PRESS

spect girls instead of thinking of them as slaves. Just remember, we expect your total cooperation. The last item is your surly bad attitude. It has to go! We've put up with it since we moved in, but no more."

"You already look like a girl," Helen added sternly. "You will learn how to behave like a girl. To accomplish that, you must feel like a girl. If at any time I feel you're not trying your best to learn how to behave like a proper young lady, your punishment will be extended past the wedding for the entire summer! Possibly even beyond that point! Only when you begin to naturally think and react like a girl will I be satisfied that you have learned your lesson and allow you to resume being a boy! Your punishment will continue until I am sure that your bad attitude is gone!"

Sheldon was terrified by what he heard. Not only did she want him to look and act like a girl, she wanted him to think and react like a girl! There was no way he was going to be able to do that in eight days! The full impact of his hasty misdeed hit him like a baseball bat on the head. Never before had he been punished with such ferocity. A spanking had always curbed his brash spoiled behavior. But never had a punishment been designed to quash his boyish spirit as this

one was.

"It will do no good to appeal to your father," Helen asked after giving the sissified lad a chance to think. "He has agreed to allow me to determine when you've been suitably punished. I've told you when that will be. Now it's up to you how long it will take. I'll tell you now that the more you cooperate, the easier it will be. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Shelley?"

Sheldon shivered with dread at her cold insistence. Meekly, he nodded his assent since he knew he had no choice. The anger of his father when he had hurt Cindy left no doubts in his mind that his fate was totally in his stepmother's hands. Sadly, he realized that by injuring Cindy he had so far overstepped the line of acceptable behavior that his parents were determined to punish him to the point where his boyish bad attitudes would be crushed and eradicated.

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TWO LITTLE GIRLS

By JENNIFER SUE

"Excellent," Helen said in a voice that was suddenly full of love and kindness. "We will begin your attitude adjustment with lessons in girlish behavior. The first thing is to teach you how to curtsy."

Sheldon shivered at the mere thought of learning how to curtsy. The act was one that only girls performed, so for him to learn how to do it would be extremely humiliating.

"To curtsy properly you must smile prettily the entire time," Helen began the instructions. "Now to begin, stand up straight while reaching down with both hands to delicately grasp the hem of your skirt with your fingertips. At the same time, lift your left foot slightly and keep the heel off the floor as you place the tip of the toe behind the heel of your right foot. Then, you dip gracefully by bending your knees while at the same time slightly lifting the hem of the skirt away from your body."

Humiliated beyond belief, Sheldon dejectedly followed the instructions. He thought that if he could make his efforts appear genuine but have the result sloppy, his step-mother would give up her silly plan. The awkward curtsy was far from satisfactory.

"That wasn't bad for a beginning," said Helen with a smile sensing his hopes. "You need a lot of practice to do it properly. Stand in front of the mirror and do it so that you can see yourself. I want your movements fluid and graceful. I want the smile to be sincere and genuine. You will practice until you can do it properly without thinking about it."

Sheldon's hopes for a quick reprieve were dashed by her statements. With a sinking heart, he turned to the mirror to once more gaze upon the pretty girl he'd become. Reluctantly, he did another curtsy, finding to his disgust that his step-mother's comment that his first attempt wasn't too bad had been accurate!

"Once you learn how to properly curtsy, you will do so whenever you enter a room," Helen instructed. "You will curtsy when you stand after sitting. You will curtsy whenever an adult enters a room. You will curtsy before asking a question. You will curtsy after receiving a reply. You will curtsy

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