survived were a few thin and scrawny hens, providing them with infrequent eggs.
Maretta’s father and mother were absent throughout the length of the day, having to take any labouring work they could find at neighbouring farms or businesses, their pay usually being in the form of some food to feed the family in the evening; mostly, the food they were “paid” was inadequate and, in consequence, the family was almost always hungry. With the absence of her parents, Maretta was looked after by her elder brother throughout the day.
By the time Maretta was around eight or nine years old, her mother had felt it appropriate to inform her daughter that girls and boys were very different from each other:
‘You need to be careful,’ the mother warned her daughter, looking at her significantly. However, she did not elaborate further. This lack of explanation did not surprise Maretta, because serious conversations with her parents were very infrequent and invariably brief. By the time the adults returned from their day’s labours, they had little energy for conversation and the whole family retired to their sleeping areas as soon as the meagre evening meal had been consumed.
Later that evening, lying in her narrow bunk, Maretta recalled her mother’s teaching. What had she meant, “very different”? The girl turned her thoughts to her little brother who was around five years old at this time. Like Maretta herself, the little boy was in the care of her elder sibling during the day; this care included giving him his daily wash in a large wooden tub, set down in front of the shack and filled to a shallow depth from their supply of collected rainwater.
This was a routine that had previously been applied to Maretta when she was younger; of course she was now much too old to need someone to wash her and these days her ablutions were carried out carefully and in private. In her mind, she now scrutinised her little brother’s naked body as he stood in the tub, examining it slowly and with great care to establish all the significant differences between his body and her own.
No “big sister” of a baby boy is unaware of the physical difference between baby boys and themselves. On first sight of the child being bathed or changed, their curious eyes are drawn to that peculiar (ugly?) little tube of flesh set in the groin and, in response to their questions, spoken or unspoken, their mother explains that “all boys are made like this”. It is common for the girl to accept this explanation with pensive neutrality.
Remembering this scene some years before and now visualising the familiar sight of her little brother standing naked in the tub, Maretta could not identify any other physical differences; in fact, as far as she was concerned, all other parts of the little boy’s body were identical to her own. Head, neck, shoulders, arms, body and legs were just like her own.
She puzzled about this for a while, then she thought: ‘Maybe it’s other boys who are “very different”. How can I find that out?’
Despite her young age and disadvantaged life, Maretta was an intelligent and resourceful little girl, well used to solving her own problems. Now she lay quietly and wondered how she could solve this particular problem. Suddenly, she brightened: ‘I know exactly how I’m going to do it!’ she whispered triumphantly and turned over to go to sleep with a little smile of satisfaction on her face.
The opportunity to put her plan into action came several days later when her elder brother took his sister and brother into the village to buy a small quantity of salt for the family. The previous day, his father had been paid a few coins for his day’s work and the family needed to replenish their small stock of this essential item, used for cooking and flavouring.
The day was perfect for Maretta’s purposes, being very hot and still. On such a day, she knew it was highly likely that some of the village boys would be swimming and
Maretta’s father and mother were absent throughout the length of the day, having to take any labouring work they could find at neighbouring farms or businesses, their pay usually being in the form of some food to feed the family in the evening; mostly, the food they were “paid” was inadequate and, in consequence, the family was almost always hungry. With the absence of her parents, Maretta was looked after by her elder brother throughout the day.
By the time Maretta was around eight or nine years old, her mother had felt it appropriate to inform her daughter that girls and boys were very different from each other:
‘You need to be careful,’ the mother warned her daughter, looking at her significantly. However, she did not elaborate further. This lack of explanation did not surprise Maretta, because serious conversations with her parents were very infrequent and invariably brief. By the time the adults returned from their day’s labours, they had little energy for conversation and the whole family retired to their sleeping areas as soon as the meagre evening meal had been consumed.
Later that evening, lying in her narrow bunk, Maretta recalled her mother’s teaching. What had she meant, “very different”? The girl turned her thoughts to her little brother who was around five years old at this time. Like Maretta herself, the little boy was in the care of her elder sibling during the day; this care included giving him his daily wash in a large wooden tub, set down in front of the shack and filled to a shallow depth from their supply of collected rainwater.
This was a routine that had previously been applied to Maretta when she was younger; of course she was now much too old to need someone to wash her and these days her ablutions were carried out carefully and in private. In her mind, she now scrutinised her little brother’s naked body as he stood in the tub, examining it slowly and with great care to establish all the significant differences between his body and her own.
No “big sister” of a baby boy is unaware of the physical difference between baby boys and themselves. On first sight of the child being bathed or changed, their curious eyes are drawn to that peculiar (ugly?) little tube of flesh set in the groin and, in response to their questions, spoken or unspoken, their mother explains that “all boys are made like this”. It is common for the girl to accept this explanation with pensive neutrality.
Remembering this scene some years before and now visualising the familiar sight of her little brother standing naked in the tub, Maretta could not identify any other physical differences; in fact, as far as she was concerned, all other parts of the little boy’s body were identical to her own. Head, neck, shoulders, arms, body and legs were just like her own.
She puzzled about this for a while, then she thought: ‘Maybe it’s other boys who are “very different”. How can I find that out?’
Despite her young age and disadvantaged life, Maretta was an intelligent and resourceful little girl, well used to solving her own problems. Now she lay quietly and wondered how she could solve this particular problem. Suddenly, she brightened: ‘I know exactly how I’m going to do it!’ she whispered triumphantly and turned over to go to sleep with a little smile of satisfaction on her face.
The opportunity to put her plan into action came several days later when her elder brother took his sister and brother into the village to buy a small quantity of salt for the family. The previous day, his father had been paid a few coins for his day’s work and the family needed to replenish their small stock of this essential item, used for cooking and flavouring.
The day was perfect for Maretta’s purposes, being very hot and still. On such a day, she knew it was highly likely that some of the village boys would be swimming and
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