Spring Summary

The twigs are different in the spring which means that the girls' beatings are different in the spring. The twigs are beautifully disguised in forsythia and lilacs but their sting lasts longer than the switches of winter. Even years later, Claudia can't think of spring without feeling the sting of those fresh branches.

One Saturday when Claudia had been particularly lucky and had just enjoyed the fresh grass, she finds Frieda crying in her room. Claudia asks if Frieda had been whipped and her sister told her that she hadn't. After some coaxing Frieda tells her that their father had beaten Mr. Henry because he had touched her breasts. It had been a big scene. Their father threatened to shoot Mr. Henry and all the neighbors came to watch the commotion.

Frieda tells her that it wasn't a whipping that is making her...