Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. story_codes: Mf gi pedo reluc Avery's Shoplifting Punishment by Tinus story_intro: Eight year old Avery was caught shoplifting. She begged Paul, the security guard, to let her go. She told him she would do anything for him. As Paul was a paedophile who lusted for little girls he made her keep her word and let him do ANYTHING to her. ====This story is a work of fiction.==== Any resemblance between this story's fictional characters and real people is entirely coincidental. I have to warn you not to try this at home as true girl lovers don't harm or hurt little girls. Avery's Shoplifting Punishment Written by Tinus Paul was a security guard at a toy store called "Kiddie Land Toys" that also sold children's clothing. He loved to watch all the kids in the store looking for things they wanted. He especially enjoyed looking at the little girls because secretly Paul lusted after them. Up to now he never had the nerve to do anything more than look. He was too scared of going to jail to actually approach some little cutie and make advances to her. He watched the girls wearing very short skirts sometimes. When they bent over or squatted to look at some things on the bottom shelves he often got views or glances at their white cotton panties. Sometimes he even saw a nice camel toe when the panties were molded to a young crotch. He always tried to stand at the right angle to a little girl he fancied so as to have a good look between her sweet thighs when she squatted. One time a little angel about 4 years old was in the store wearing a very short skirt and he followed her to the little girls toys corner. Paul was at a great angle when she sat down on the floor with her legs spread giving him a good look at her panties. They were a bit loose so when she moved her legs sometimes the leg band gaped open a little giving him a glance at her bare pussy. He felt his cock rising in his pants as he stared at the exposed pink crack. He squatted down beside the little girl to get a better look at what she was inadvertently showing him. He was tempted to reach out and touch her where her panties gaped away from her groin. He almost got caught when he was so near the little girl and staring at her. Her mother came looking for her. She gave the man a look and frowned at him. Paul saved himself by telling her that he just was about to ask the girl where her mom was. She looked like she didn't believe him but there was not much she could do. Fortunately he had resisted the urge to touch the girl. One day he was watching a girl who he saw in his store a lot and who he suspected was a shoplifter. She was about 8 or 9 years old with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He had once seen her with her mother and had heard the woman call her Avery. She was a skinny girl with a flat chest. She was always dressed in the same 3 or 4 outfits. Paul suspected that her mother might be out of work and didn't have the money to buy her daughter new clothing. Avery had only her mother and baby sister and they lived near the store. Paul found out later that her dad had been sent to prison for robbing a gas station. Watching Avery he caught her shoplifting a package of girls undies as well as some Barbie Doll outfits. He grinned as he realized that this would be an opportunity for him to have some fun with the girl. Paul was the only guard on duty at that moment. The store only employed two full time guards and they worked different shifts. He approached Avery, telling her he had seen her take the things. He summoned her to come with him into the security room. In a stern voice he asked the girl, "Why did you take these things? Don't you realize that shoplifting is a serious crime?" Almost crying Avery told him, "I'm sorry, sir. I have taken lots of stuff from this store because my mother cannot afford to buy my little sister and me clothing or toys. If I get in trouble because of this me and my little 4 year old sister might be taken away from our mother. I'm 8 years old and I have to protect my li'l sis from anything bad happening to her. Please let me go mister and I promise I will never take anything from this store again." Paul thought about it and he decided to use her fear to his advantage. He put the fear of the law in Avery. "When I turn you in to the police they will put you in jail in juvenile hall. Your mother will most likely lose custody of your little sister too." Then Paul told Avery, "However perhaps I can work out a deal with you to keep your family together. You must agree to let me play with you and do anything I want to with you." Avery was desperate and so she did agree to it. He told her to sit on his lap and she did. Paul slowly took his time and felt her all up and down. He stroked her flat chest over her worn out clothes and Avery took it all shivering at his touch. Paul kissed and licked her neck and lips and then he kissed her with his mouth open. She resisted a bit, keeping her lips closed. He said, "You better open your mouth, girl. Remember that I will have you arrested if you continue to resist me." Avery gave in and she even opened up her lips to let in his probing tongue. She didn't react though and her tongue stayed in her mouth. She just endured his tongue roaming over her teeth and in her mouth. Then Paul made another move. His hands lifted up her tee shirt until her chest was exposed. The family was so poor that she didn't even wear any undershirt or training bra, not that she needed a bra yet. Paul's wandering fingers caressed her budding nipples. She was just starting to get breast buds. Although Avery didn't like the touching she shivered when her nipples were caressed. Her nipples erected, much to his delight. Although she didn't like it her body certainly reacted. The next thing Avery felt was Paul's hand creeping up her inner thighs. She tried to close her legs but they were resting along either side of Paul's legs. So he opened up his legs and her legs just followed. This made her skirt ride up and her panty crotch was exposed. Paul's hand went higher and higher until his fingers touched Avery's panty clad pussy. She shivered at the touch. Rubbing her pussy slit through her panties made Paul's cock rock hard and Avery felt his hard dick in her butt crack. Although she was a virgin and had never seen a man's cock she sure knew what it was when she felt it. She had secretly seen some porn magazines at a friend's house. Then his fingers slipped into her panties and rubbed her bare slit. Avery panted and shivered again. Goose bumps covered her neck and back when she felt Paul's fingers explore her bald pussy. Over the next hour Paul felt her up inside her panties and top as well as on the outside. Part of her resented it. Yet another part of her felt her body respond and sometimes she purred like a kitten. However when she felt Paul's finger try to probe her virgin pussy she backed up hard. Backing up on his lap so hard she hurt Paul's dick and he cursed her. He said, "Damn you girl, I'm going arrest you for that and I will see to it that your mother looses custody of your little sister!" Avery started to cry and said, "Please no sir, I'll do anything you want." Paul said, "I will give you one more chance to make up for hurting my cock. I want you to go home now but come back and meet me here in front of the store at 9:00 p.m. which is closing time. You can make up some excuse like you are spending the night at a friend's house or something so you don't have to go home tonight." Avery did as she was told. She showed up at 9:00 p.m. Paul pulled up in his car and she got in. Once inside the car he tried to blindfold Avery because he didn't want her to see where they were going. That way she could never send the police to him. Avery backed up when he tried that. Again he had to blackmail her with her mother loosing her little girls before she let him blindfold her. Then he started the car and drove to his secluded house. He lived in a remote part of town with no other houses around his. Paul escorted Avery into the house and led her into the living room. He looked at her for a moment, thinking of the things he would be doing with the girl that night. Avery was dressed in a loose fitting pink Barbie tee shirt that left her belly exposed and a jeans style skirt that went to just above her knees. Her clothes were a bit worn out but it made her body look mouth watering. Then he took her blindfold off. "Sit down on the couch, Avery. I'm going to grab us a couple of drinks." He came back with a beer for himself and a soda for her. He sat down next to her on the couch and he asked her a lot of questions about herself and her family. Avery told Paul that her mom was about 26 years old so she was pregnant with Avery when she was 17. Her father was in jail for robbery and had been in there for about 5 years. He would be there for a very long time to come because he had used a gun and shot the clerk. She had a little sister named Harmony who was 4 years old. But Harmony's daddy was not her father but another guy who skipped out. Avery's mom recently found work at the local gents club as a "waitress". But Avery was pretty sure that her mom was actually a stripper there. Avery kept saying over and over, "I'm sorry for shoplifting. I don't want to get in trouble or be taken away from my mommy. I don't want to lose my li'l sis Harmony either." Paul told her, "The reason I brought you here to my house Avery is to punish you in my own special way. If you cooperate with me I will not have you arrested. But if you do not go along with my punishment you will be sent to jail and your mum will lose you and your little sister for sure. The courts take a dim view of mothers who work as strippers, you know." "Now then, get up and stand in front of me." He reached into a drawer, pulled out a digital camera and took a few pictures of her fully clothed. He stood up and took her shirt off exposing her flat chest and tummy. Her pink nipples were just beginning to poke out. She was pale white from not getting very much sun exposure. He got on his knees and took some close-up pictures of her face and chest, and then just of her budding nipples. He pointed the camera at one of her nipples while he pinched the skin around it, forcing it to puff out, and he took a few pictures of the make believe little tit. Then he did the same to her other nipple. Avery said, "Ouch! That hurts!" but he ignored her. He unbuttoned her jeans skirt and let it drop to the floor. Then he took a few pictures of her in her matching Barbie princess panties. The panties were also pretty worn out, but that way her bald slit shone through a bit making it look even more arousing. He sat her on the couch and pushed her knees into her chest, then spread her legs and took a few pictures of her filled panty crotch. It made a nice camel toe and her slit showed though the thin fabric. Finally he pulled her panties off and took a few pictures of her totally bald baby-soft pussy and tiny anus hole. He showed her how to spread her pussy lips with her fingers. Then he took some extreme close-up pictures of her clit and inner pussy. He told her to spread her little labia real wide and he took a few close-ups of her untouched hymen. Avery was scared and she started to cry so Paul took a few pictures of her tears. Paul made her kneel on the floor and put her face down into the carpet. That way he could take nice pictures of her ass and butt hole sticking up in the air. Paul's penis was ready to burst through his shorts but he knew it would be satisfied later. Next he took her downstairs to his basement into what looked like an entertainment room. In the centre of the room was a child's version of a gynaecologist examination table that had wrist and ankle straps to hold a person down. He had built it himself for just such an occasion. Now at last he had a little girl to use it on. He told her to hop up on the table and put her feet in the stirrups. He strapped down both her ankles tight enough for her not to escape but not too tight so as to hurt her. He extended the arm supporters and tied down both her wrists making her arms extended and reaching out from both sides. Then he pushed the back rest up so she was reclined but not totally facing him. He pushed in the leg extenders and locked them in place so her knees were almost up to her chest. Then he spread them as far as they would go and locked them in place. Avery was completely and 100 percent at the mercy of Paul with her little nude body spread open, tied down, and locked in place. She begged to be set free but all Paul did was laugh at her. He left the room but returned about 5 minutes later. He was nude and wearing a leather mask. He had a sports bag and a video camera attached to a tripod. He set the camera in place and turned it on. Later he would sell the video to a foreign kiddy porn site he knew of. The video immediately picked up the audio and video feed of Avery begging to be let go. Paul said. "Shush baby girl, it's okay." He got on his knees and slowly licked her bare pussy, tasting every inch of it. Oh, how he liked the taste of her immature pussy! Being so nervous she peed in his mouth a little and the taste of the young girl's pee excited Paul even more. He licked her from the top of her pussy to her anus hole and back. He slid his pinkie finger inside her. Then he looked into the camera, said "hymen" and laughed. He reached over and grabbed his sports bag. He took out a tiny set of anal beads and a bottle of baby oil. He poured oil all over the beads and then slowly put one bead into her butt hole. A couple of minutes later all 8 beads were inside her butt hole with the only thing still being seen was the string and ring they were attached to. By now Avery was begging to be let go. Paul reached into his bag and he pulled out what appeared to be a gun with a suction cup on the end. He placed the cup over her left nipple and attached the cup to her nipple. Starting the suction her nipple was pulled inside the cup and away from her body stretching it to its limit. Along with the nipple the skin around it was pulled into the cup. Avery screamed in pain but all Paul said was "Shush!" Then he attached a cup to her other nipple causing the same effect to that one. Paul stood back and looked at the prize in front of him. He had an 8 year old sexy girl totally naked, strapped down to a table with her legs wide open, anal beads filling her anus, and suction nipple cups attached to what slight breasts she had. He grabbed the video camera and got close-ups of all the external pleasures that were abusing her poor tiny body. He set the tripod back down with it pointed towards her open legs. He went back to his bag of toys and pulled out a cordless drill. He tested the battery and smiled knowing that it was fully charged. Then he pulled out a dildo that had the diameter of a nickel. It was as long as an average sized pencil. His drill had an attachment that would allow the dildo to fit securely to it. He set the speed on the drill to slow and tested it with spinning success. Paul massaged baby oil all over the dildo and then poured some on Avery's bald, smooth cunny making sure an ample amount poured inside of her. He positioned the dildo at the base of her pussy and let it slide about half an inch inside. He pressed the grip on the drill and watched his toy come to life at the entrance of her tight pussy. Avery began to cry even more as the toy spun, trying to get inside her extremely tight cunny. Paul tried to slide it in but it met with resistance. Paul stopped the drill, looked at the camera, muttered the word "HYMEN" and then restarted the drill. He turned it to its highest setting which would cause some tearing and bleeding. Then Paul did what he had been waiting for. He rammed it all the way into her which shredded her cherry and caused a small amount of blood to spray out because of the drill speed. Avery screamed with pain but he ignored her. He stopped pushing but turned the speed of the drill to its medium setting. Avery was becoming wet from the pleasure she was receiving because there was an increasing amount of clear fluids dripping from her cunny. Yet it hurt and she continued screaming. Paul reached over and pulled the tripod closer to her. He pulled out the anal beads. Avery thought her abuse might be stopping but Paul had something different in mind. He replaced them with a larger set of beads and popped all 8 of them into her stretched anus hole. Paul used his free hand to spread her pussy lips so the dildo was accepted with as little resistance as possible. He could feel her pelvis bone so he knew he had reached the maximum the dildo would go. The audio picked up poor Avery's terrified screaming as well as the gentle hum of the drill. Paul stopped the drill and pulled it out. Then he took her beads out too. He stood in front of her blood and bodily fluid soaked cunny and positioned his manhood in the dildo's place. He slid the head in, then without warning drove his cock deep inside of her, causing Avery to scream in agony once again. He pumped into her with ruthless aggression while holding onto her unmoving hips which remained in place. Knowing that he would cum at any second he pulled out and walked around to the top of the table where her head was. He positioned her head facing his baby oil, blood, and bodily fluid covered cock. He slid it into her mouth and fucked her open mouth at the same speed he had been fucking her pussy. With his free hand he played with her suction cupped nipples noticing that they had changed colour to black and blue by now. With a grunt he sprayed her mouth with shot after shot of warm sticky cum. He tilted her head which allowed his spunk to drip down her throat and into her tummy. As Paul recovered from the best orgasm he had ever experienced he removed the suction cups and the leather straps holding her in place. He walked over and turned the camera off. Poor Avery couln't stand on her own two feet so he picked her up and took her to a warm bath that was awaiting her. He placed her in it and washed off all the evidence from her experience. This also allowed her to regain some strength so she could support herself. He dried her off and rubbed some lotion over her bruised nipples and her abused pussy. He dressed her and carried her upstairs to his couch. Paul asked her, "Are you ever going to steal again, Avery?" She put her head down, started to cry and said "No, sir." Paul walked over to his closet and pulled out a shopping bag. Avery began to cry some more thinking that it was another bag of extreme sex toys. He assured her that it was not and he pulled out two un-opened packages of girls panties. Then he pulled out 3 full outfits of matching tops and bottoms that would fit her. Paul told Avery that she would never have to steal another thing again. She wanted to smile but was not sure if she was happy or if she could trust Paul. He told her, "I have loved you ever since I saw you in the store. I will buy you any toy or bit of clothing you want, Avery. But let me remind you that I will make sure you are put in jail and taken away from your mommy if you ever tell anyone what I did to you tonight. Are you going to tell?" Avery could hardly believe that the man who had hurt her so much now said he loved her. She said, "No, I will not tell on you, Uncle Paul." He was pleased that the girl had decided on her own to call him "uncle". He asked her if she was happy with her bag of presents and she finally smiled and said "Yes, sir." He asked her if she wanted more gifts and she laughed a bit and said, "Yes please, Uncle Paul." Paul told her that he would buy her the world if she would come over to visit him every day after school, at home or in the store or maybe for a whole weekend sometimes. He knew that he could do whatever he wanted to with her while at work because he was the only guard on duty and he could take her into the security room for some fun. She agreed but asked if he would hurt her again on the table like he did before. Paul just smiled and said, "It will never hurt again as much as it did this first time. It costs more money then your mom will ever earn dancing to treat you as special as you deserve. So the choice is yours. But I may just have to go and turn your mother into social services for being a bad mother. So you may want to hop up on the table on your own so your mommy does not get in trouble." Avery began to cry but she said, "Okay I'll do it. Just don't throw me in jail and take me away from my li'l sister and my mommy." This gave Paul an idea so he said to Avery, "Come by tomorrow after your mommy goes to work and bring your little sister with you. And tell your mom the two of you are going to stay the night with a friend of yours." Taking his little mistress home Paul didn't blindfold her again, so she could find his house on her own next time. He was sure she was too afraid to tell on him. The next day Paul didn't have to work and he waited at home for Avery to come. Shortly after school time Paul's doorbell rang. He opened the door and was happy to see Avery standing there with a weekend bag. Behind her was her little blonde sister, shyly peeking out at him. Paul reached behind Avery and drew the little girl to him. He said, "Hi little Harmony, are you coming to play with us too? I have some nice toys for you." "Please Uncle Paul, don't hurt my sister!" Avery begged. "You should've thought about that before you shoplifted," Paul said. "Well come on in you two, and let's go straight to the playroom." Frightened, Avery stepped in dragging her little sister with her. She went down to the basement playroom and noticed some more toys were displayed. She looked very scared when she saw a huge dildo. Surely such a thing would tear her apart! "Well you know what to do. Undress and hop up on the table," Paul said to her. "If you don't your li'l sis will suffer." Avery started to undress quickly while Paul grabbed little Harmony and pulled her dress over her head. Avery looked scared as she saw him stripping Harmony. Quickly she pulled down her last peace of clothing, her panties, and stepped out of them naked. Paul really liked her shapeless body but he liked her little sister's body too. He spoke softly to the little girl as he stripped her, telling her they were going to play a game. She also was naked down to her panties and Paul fondled her flat chest. He liked what he was feeling. He placed little Harmony in a chair and tied her wrists to the arm rests. He placed the chair next to the table and said, "Just sit here and enjoy the show until it's your turn." "Okay, you first," he said to the shaking Avery. "Your punishment is simple today. I will stretch your pussy to its limit until you scream like a pig. If you can take it I will spare Harmony. If you back out Harmony will take your place." "I can take it," Avery said trembling. "Please don't hurt Harmony. I'll do anything." "Anything huh? We'll see." With that he undressed, put on the leather hood, and started up the video camera. Then he placed his engorged cock up to Avery's slit. He pushed in with force and his dick slipped into her dry cunt three inches at once. Avery screamed out in pain and Harmony looked in horror at what was happening to her big sister. Harmony began to cry. She had never heard of sex and didn't know what was happening. She did know that the man had a large pee-pee and he was pushing it into Avery's pee-pee. She didn't understand how that was possible. Paul fucked Avery hard and deep hurting her with every in push, bumping into her cervix hard every time. Paul just couldn't wait, he just had to fuck this girl first. Playtime would be after that. Avery didn't know that. She thought the fucking was her punishment and although it hurt real bad it was bearable. It was different this time and did not hurt like before. She even started to enjoy it, fucking back at him and moaning with new pleasure. When Paul's orgasm was coming his dick extended some more and filled Avery's little fuck hole to the hilt. His cum spurted out and hot globs of it bumped into her cervix and entered her womb. When his dick deflated and pulled out of her cunt she was relieved. She was able to take her punishment and her sis was safe. She smiled at Uncle Paul and kissed him, to his delight. "Well time for your punishment," Paul said, grinning at his willing little mistress. Avery looked at him in disbelief. "You mean this wasn't the punishment?" "No," Paul said, "This is," and he took the huge monster dildo from the table. "O no!" Avery whined. "That's much too big for me. It will split me in half!" "Okay," Paul said, "I will try it on little Harmony then." "No please. Not Harmony. It will certainly rip her to pieces! Take me instead." "Okay, that was my intention anyway. Be glad I fucked you first. Your cum-filled pussy will make it easier on you." He moved between her widely spread legs and placed the monster cock against her pussy. Although just fucked and opened up by Paul's big cock, the monster cock looked ridiculous against her tiny orifice. It seemed that there was no way it could fit in there. That didn't stop Paul though. He placed it against her entrance and started to push. It didn't go in so Paul pushed harder. When her pussy started to open up wide Avery started to cry. Paul paid no attention to her crying and pushed even harder. Her pussy opened up some more until with a forceful trust he shoved the thick helmet in. Avery cried out when her vagina tore a little. Blood dripped from her torn pussy but Paul only enjoyed seeing this more. He knew the huge dildo was intended only for mature women who had given birth. Yet he could not resist trying it out on a young girl like Avery. He was curious to see how far her vagina could stretch. Would it rip open and need a surgeon to sew it back up? He pushed the tool further in. He abused her pussy and she cried her eyes out. Her tight inner folds had to open up even further to accommodate this monster dildo and it hurt her badly. With one more tremendous push he shoved the tool up to her cervix and that muscular orifice to her uterus shredded a little too. Should he try to force it into her little womb? Paul decided not to go that far. He did not want to destroy the girl, at least not yet. Then he started to pump it in and out. Every time he pulled outwards her over-stretched pussy lips came out with it and every time he pushed in her lips completely disappeared making her clit pop out of its hood and rub against the dildo. He smiled when he saw the exposed clit. The tool was ribbed so it rubbed her exposed clit which was real sensitive. Even with the pain her stretched vagina gave her, the rubbing of her clit made her cum. The pain even enhanced her orgasm and Avery bucked and writhed in her bonds, forced to her first ever orgasm. Paul forced the monster in and out for another minute and then pulled it out quickly. Her pussy lips had to stretch wider again to let the thicker head out and Avery screamed again as it ripped her pussy further. Paul made sure her pussy wasn't damaged too badly. It seemed to be okay. Just a little tear that wasn't even bleeding anymore. So he said, "Time to play with Harmony now." "No please, you promised to let Harmony alone, Uncle Paul." "I only promised that I was not going to fuck her with this monster dildo," Paul said. "Besides, it would kill her. I'll use something smaller on her. So get off of the table and you can tie Harmony down for me." Horrified Avery did what she was told. Telling Harmony how sorry she was, she tied her li'l sis spread-legged to the table. "That wasn't so hard," Paul said. "Now sit in the chair and watch, Avery." He took a tube of KY jelly and spurted a lot on Harmony's pussy slit. O, she was so tiny. Paul would open her up with a small dildo first and then he just had to fuck her. She would be so tight! Already his mouth watered in anticipation of fucking the cute little four year old. When Harmony's tiny pussy was nicely slippery Paul took a small dildo from the table and placed against the tiny entrance. It was a small dildo all right but against that tiny orifice it looked huge. Paul rubbed it up and down the tight slit and then he pushed it in and out just a little to smooth the entrance. When he thought she was ready he pushed real hard and in one blow he ripped through her hymen. Harmony cried out loudly but Paul kept pushing in until he hit her cervix. Immediately after that he fucked forcefully in and out of her tight bleeding pussy without letting her get used to the filling of her little vagina. She cried and cried all the time he fucked her with the small dildo. He worked the jelly in real good to make her ready for his already throbbing cock. He couldn't wait any longer. He took the dildo out and replaced it with his cock. He pushed in with force again and ripped her pussy really open. He burst into her extremely tight pussy while she screamed and screamed. She was so tight that he could hardly move his dick in and out but he managed to do that. Her inner folds were pushed in and out with his dick and her pussy looked extremely stretched. Paul couldn't last long in this tight vice. He pushed his dick in as deep as he could, bursting into her cervix again and he spurted his sperm right into her immature womb. Paul was spent. He gasped and then took his dick out of the raped child. He looked at Harmony's pussy and it looked red and raw, swollen and extremely abused. He grinned, satisfied at what he had done to her. He turned off the video camera and removed his hood. He knew that the video of the little girl being raped would fetch a good price. "You can clean the two of you up now and get to sleep, Avery. After a good night's sleep you will both be okay, if a little sore. I'll give you breakfast in the morning and then you can go back home." "I want the two of you back next week. Then I will take both of your virgin asses." Avery didn't even try protesting anymore. Her pussy was very sore and so she looked at Harmony's pussy. It looked even worse and the little girl would not stop crying. She didn't even dare think about how sore their butts would feel after Paul was done with them. But somehow thinking about it made her really aroused too. Was she going to enjoy the pain? She remembered the unexpected pleasure of her first orgasm too. Later that night when Harmony was sound asleep Avery slipped out of bed. She went to Paul's bedroom and woke him up. "Uncle Paul, my pussy itches. Could you fuck it for me again please?" she asked, much to his delight. Smiling he pulled back the covers and the naked girl joined him in his bed. The end? Copyright (c) 2009, Tinus. ALL Rights Reserved ================================ This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. ********************************** Wish to read more texts of this writer? To load archives, pass to a file [0contTinus.htm] in the same catalogue. Or on my homepage Sergdriver http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/Sergdriver/www/index.htm There more many fascinating stories of other writers and mine too! *********************************