(Screenplay Version)

The scenario is a piece of industrial waste land in the centre of England. The camera pans across from left to right, showing, first, the shells of some unused redundant buildings standing in rough, tussocky, humpy ground, then the boundary fence of a railway line, then a paddock where two horses are grazing.

Two figures are seen in the distance, coming steadily closer. A man and a boy, walking hand in hand. They are our old friends Simon Scott and Major Maxwell G Riche.

This is the 11-year-old Simon, a few months before his castration: scruffy, untidy and in need of a wash. He is wearing scuffed white trainers, grubby khaki shorts and a T-shirt that is nearer grey than white. The Major is his usual dapper self, tweed cap, trench coat, cavalry twill trousers and highly polished brown brogues. He has lured Simon to this spot hoping to seduce him.

As they draw nearer we can hear what they are saying. Simon speaks first.

Simon. Why have we come all this way down here, Uncle Max?

M.G.R. I thought it would be nice to get to know one another better, Simon. Don’t you agree?

Simon. Uh-huh. Thing is, I need to go to the bathroom- very badly! I can’t wait till we get back to the house. And I don’t mean just a wee.

M.G.R. That’s no problem – you can just do it here.

Simon. I can’t – I’ve no toilet tissue.

M.G.R. I’ll show you what native boys do, in the bush. They never have toilet tissue.

Simon. Do they use grass, or leaves, or something?

M.G.R. No, nothing like that. Now, we’ll just go over there, by that old pump-house. (The camera follows them).

M.G.R. Now Simon, take your shorts and underpants off, and step right out of them.

(Simon does so. The camera zooms in on him. At this time Simon’s penis is not like most prepubescent boys’, slender and tapering to a point, but more like a thimble – he has had a partial circumcision to discourage him from “fiddling”. His testicles are intact – for a few more months! but they are small for his age.)

M.G.R. Now, stand with your feet apart. Bend your knees a little. Lean forward a bit – not too much! Get hold of your bum-cheeks and pull them wide open. More than that– more yet! That’s better! You’ll stay perfectly clean if you hold your bum-cheeks open. When I say “Push” you know what to do. Now, PUSH and keep your bum-cheeks open….

The camera stays focussed on Simon. A look of surprise comes over his face as he does as he’s told. Urine jets out of his penis in a high arc, and a turd shoots out of his behind into the long rank grass.

Simon. Gee, that’s a neat trick, Uncle Max!

M.G.R. It’s the way the native boys always do it. Put your shorts and pants back on. Leave that where it is – if anyone comes this way, they’ll think a dog did it. (Simon gets dressed).

Simon. Can we go look at the horses, Uncle Max?

M.G.R. (under his breath) Good! I hoped he would ask that. (To Simon) Of course! Let’s go right away.

(There are two horses in the paddock, a chestnut filly and a bay gelding).

Simon (pointing) That one’s a female.

M.G.R. You can tell the difference, can you?

Simon. Of course I can. It’s the same with humans. I’ve got a willie, and my cousin Sue just has a sort of slit between her legs. Her kid sister Vikki’s just the same. Sue always goes around at bathtime with just these transparent white nylon knickers on. You can see everything through them.

M.G.R. You like to see her with just her knickers on, do you?

Simon. You’re not kidding, Uncle Max – I love it! I get a funny feeling all over, and there’s something else – my willie always goes stiff and starts twitching. Why’s that?

M.G.R. That’s quite normal, for when a boy sees a girl with no clothes on – or very little.

Simon. Yes, but Sue doesn’t like to see me like that. She’s told her Mom – Aunt Jennifer – that I ought to go and be doctored. What does “doctored” mean, Uncle Max?

(Nature now takes a hand in answering Simon’s question. The camera focusses on the horses. The filly snuffs the air and gives a whinny. The gelding trots across and tries to mount her. After a few moments’ unsuccessful attemps at penetrating her, the gelding gives up and ambles away.

Simon. What are they doing, Uncle Max? Why did the bay horse try to climb on to the filly’s back? And just look at the horse’s willie hanging down, it’s enormous!

M.G.R. Let’s use the proper word, Simon, shall we, and say “penis”? Look carefully at the horse – do you notice anything about him?

Simon (after a few moments’ consideration) Yes – he has no balls. Is there a proper name for “balls” that I ought to use, Uncle Max?

M.G.R. Yes, but everyone says “balls” so you can go on saying it. Well, you’re quite right. When that horse was born he had balls, like every male animal. But there’s a problem with male horses – if you put two of them together in a field, they’ll fight. Besides that, they can become violent-tempered, always kicking and biting – altogether too difficult to manage.

Simon. But that bay horse looks very calm and quiet.

M.G.R. I’m just coming to that. A very long time ago people discovered that if a horse lost his balls – and in the first place I expect he didn’t have them cut off, but lost them by accident – then his behaviour was altogether different. Just like you say, he became calm and quiet and altogether easier to handle. It wasn’t long before they started doing it on purpose to all their working and riding horses – or nearly all. And it’s still done today. Except for a very few that are kept for breeding – particularly thoroughbred racehorses – all male horses are “done” when they are quite young, usually in their third year, before they’ve “gone” with a filly.

Simon. How are they “done”, Uncle Max?

M.G.R. The vet comes round in his van, and while someone keeps the horse occupied, like giving him a bowl of oats to munch on, the vet gives him a local anaesthetic between his hind legs. Then as soon as it’s taken effect the vet uses special instruments to take the horse’s balls out, quite painlessly. And that’s all, really

Simon. Seems a bit mean, just as the horse is getting interested in females. What happens next?

M.G.R. The horse’s whole personality changes. You’ve seen how, with that bay gelding over there. By the way “gelding” is a special word. It’s the name of the operation itself, and it’s also used to describe male horses afterwards. The majority of riding and working horses are geldings – that is of course, apart from females.

Simon. That bay horse – wasn’t he trying to mate with the filly?

M.G.R. (with a chuckle). Let’s see if you can work it out. Do they give you sex lessons in school?

Simon. Oh yes – I know all about that. (He goes on in a monotonous gabble). The-boy-puts-his-penis-in-the-girl’s-vagina-and-ejaculates-sperm-and-

M.G.R. I see you know all about it! Now, for the boy to be able to do that, his penis has to be quite hard and straight, so that he can put it up the girl’s vagina. It’s the same with horses. Now besides having no balls, what else did you notice about the bay gelding?

Simon. His penis looked to be all floppy and soft. Not hard at all.

M.G.R. Yes, it was, and that’s because of the operation to remove his balls. His penis stays limp all the time and he can’t get it into the filly’s vagina.

Simon. Then why did he try, if he can’t do it?

M.G.R. He looks a young horse to me – probably only gelded a few weeks ago. I don’t suppose his best friends have explained things to him yet. (Simon giggles).

Simon (thoughtfully) Uncle Max, is that operation ever done on humans – on boys?

M.G.R. Oh yes, quite often. It’s sometimes done on very naughty, disobedient boys. And just like horses, they become quite well behaved and sweet-natured after their balls have gone. It sort of makes them realise who’s the boss. And much more often it’s done on boys who have started to be a nuisance with girls. (Under his breath he murmurs “Like you!”)

Simon. So that afterwards, they can’t ever “do it” with a girl, or get married, or have children.

M.G.R. That’s quite right.

Simon. Is it done the same way on boys as on horses, having their balls taken right out?

M.G.R. It used to be, but not any more. Have you ever heard of a boy “having his balls pricked?”

Simon. (thinks). Yes – one afternoon on the sports field some of the chaps were talking about it. When a boy has had his balls pricked they dry up. How’s it done – with a pin or something?

M.G.R. Hardly with a pin, Simon! No: a doctor uses a hypodermic to inject a drug into the boy’s balls, and then, as you say, they dry up.

Simon. Does the stuff – the drug – sort of burn the boy’s balls out?

M.G.R. I wouldn’t say “burn”. No, but it breaks down the tissues, so that his balls first go soft, then wither away. And there’s another thing: the drug attacks the nerve-endings in the boy’s penis, so that he can never make it go stiff – however much he wants to, and however hard he tries. So he can never have sex with a girl.

Simon. Uncle Max, could I ever have it done?

M.G.R. (surprised) Why, do you think you might want to?

Simon. Well, then I could watch Sue going around in her knickers and she wouldn’t mind because my penis wouldn’t go stiff anymore. So I want to know, could I have it done? Am I the right age?

M.G.R. (with a tremor in his voice). I’ll be able to answer you better if I take a look. Shall we go in here?

(The camera follows them into the derelict pump house. It’s dirty and cobwebby, with pieces of discarded machinery lying around.

M.G.R. Now then, just slip your shorts and pants down. (Simon does so, facing MGR with a cheeky grin.) Now, I’ll just take a look.

(M.G.R. gently fondles Simon’s testicles. The camera zooms in: Simon’s penis twitches, then stiffens into a two-inch schoolboy erection).

Simon. Do you think I’m the right age to have my balls pricked?

M.G.R. (quietly, more to himself than to Simon) I love playing with boys’ balls.

Simon. Do you play with your own?

(M.G.R. doesn’t reply, but bends down, taking Simon’s penis in his mouth and sucking it).

Simon. (with a nervous laugh) Uncle Max – you rude thing!

(M.G.R. sucks Simon’s penis for a while longer. When he finally takes it out of his mouth the foreskin is rolled back, the glans pink and swollen.)

M.G.R. Was that nice, Simon?

(Simon’s face is pink and flushed. He is in a state of high sexual excitement – for an 11-year-old).

Simon. Uncle Max, there’s something you would enjoy much more than playing with my balls and sucking my cock. It’s….(he puts his mouth to MGR’s ear and whispers something. Between giggles we catch the words “up my bum”)

M.G.R. Have you ever done that before?

Simon. Tons of times! At school there’s a boy, a prefect, called Ramsay. Every Sunday afternoon we go on our bikes to a place he knows, and we do it. He puts Vaseline round my bum-hole and on his – his penis, to make it slide in easily.

M.G.R. And you like doing it?

Simon. Oh yes – I love it! At first I thought I might have a baby afterwards, but I know better now. A boy’s insides aren’t the same as a girl’s.

M.G.R. No, it’s perfectly safe for a boy to do that; nothing can happen. Now if I spread these sacks on the floor you won’t hurt your knees, alright?

(Simon gets down on all fours, presenting his buttocks to M.G.R, who takes something from his pocket).

M.G.R. Now this isn’t Vaseline, it’s cold cream. It’s less sticky than Vaseline and easier to wipe off. (He lubricates Simon’s anus).

(As the Major takes his pants off, he speaks, more to himself than to Simon. The words come out as a kind of mantra.)

M.G.R. Yes, you’ll have those little balls out, and you’ll never, never, never be able to “do it” with a girl. In my mind’s eye I can see you now, with a girl. She’s taken her little white cotton knickers off to have sex with you, and then she’ll see your useless little pea-nut. How she’ll laugh!

(The camera focusses on Simon as MGR kneels on the floor behind him. With one hand MGR fondles Simon’s penis while with the other he guides his erection into the boy’s bottom. After a few thrusts he spends in the boy’s bowels. Simon’s face registers pleasure and excitement.

FADE OUT.