Table Manners
by M.C.
Little Penny teaches her older brothers proper table manners.

Penny sat down and prepared to start her breakfast.It was a quiet 
Saturday morning. Her parents were away for the weekend,her twin 
brothers sleeping in their bedroom. The thirteen-year old girl had the 
whole house to herself - just the way she liked it. No hassels about 
getting up early and going to school.She just wanted to spend a quiet 
morning by herself.Unfortunately,it was not to last.As she began to 
eat,she heard her brothers getting up."That's strange" she thought to 
herself.Usually after one of their wild parties on Friday night they 
sleep in until the afternoon on Saturday.As her two brothers(Rick and 
Jeff)came down the stairs,Penny could feel the tension between 
them.Something had obviously happened at the party last night to tick 
them off ,Penny reasoned - probably they fought over a girl.She smiled 
her pretty smile at them."Good morning,boys"she said.They didn't respond 
- something definately was not quite right. It didn't take long to find 
out.They soon began to argue with each other.Because her parents were 
not around,Penny felt it was her duty to keep the peace in the family. 
"Please don't fight at the table boys - it's bad manners,"she said.They 
ignored her and continued to argue;if anything the arguement 
intensified. 

Rick and Jeff were both large for their age.Nearly six feet tall and 
around two hundred pounds,they dwarfed Penny's Five - foot ,ninety pound 
frame.As the argument threatened to lead to a fistfight,Penny decided it 
was time to intervene.She reached out over the table and with her right 
hand grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt;with her left - Jeff. "You 
boys are my brothers and I love you both very much " she said to them; 
"but I cannot allow this kind of behavior at the dinning room table.I 
think you need to put your heads together and solve your problem". 
"WHACK" Penny slammed their heads together."Tell me something, are two 
heads better than one?",she asked as she banged their heads together 
again. Rick and Jeff were now helpless in Penny's powerful grip;they 
were barely concious. "I think the two of you should kiss and make 
up........NOW !!!" The boys had learned from painful past experiences 
that when Penny spoke to them in this tone -they'd better do exactly 
what she told them to.Rick and Jeff looked at each other.......and 
kissed."OOOOH, that's so sweet "Penny teased.But she wasn't done with 
them yet.She wasn't a cruel sister; she really did love them both a 
lot;but she also felt they needed to be taught a good lesson on how to 
behave. " The first two times I 'bonked' you was for fighting " she told 
them; "this time is for your bad table manners ". "WHACK" Penny slammed 
them together again and then gently lowered her now unconsious brothers 
to the table."Ahhh,peace and quiet at last " she said to herself.Penny 
comely picked up her fork and resumed eating  her breakfast. 

When she finished eating,Penny got up and walked around to the other 
side fo the table. She put one of her small but powerful arms around 
Jeff's waist , the other around Rick's. Without showing any sign of 
strain,she lifted both boys up and easily carried them - one two hundred 
pound  boy under each arm - up the stairs,to their bedroom.She put each 
one in his bed,tucked him in and kissed them on the cheek. "Pleasent 
dreams boys",she 
 said softly as she turned off the lights.Penny walked back down the 
stairs with a smile on her pretty face - it will be a quiet morning 
after all.