So you've broken a classroom window and you're standing outside the principal's office with sweaty palms and a serious sinking feeling in your stomach. Do you think no one's ever had a life as bad as you? Well, you're wrong—this book reveals how kids in the past have had to suffer much worse punishments than a lecture about how they've let the whole school down. For instance, however angry your principal gets, it's fairly certain that she's not going to put you in a pillory and nail your ears to it. All through history, children have been getting into some serious scrapes, and they didn't often get off lightly. This is a guided tour to children for whom laughing, dancing on a Sunday, killing a rabbit that wasn't on your land, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time could mean a beating, beheading, or ordeal by hot water (no, it's not a nice warm bath with bubbles and a little plastic duck).