In what manner does his aunt attempt to hurt Nicholas in Saki's "The Lumber Room"?

The retributive aunt of Nicholas attempts to disappoint and hurt him with a punishment of deprivation.

Because he has tricked his aunt into denying something that is true--there is really a frog in his "wholesome bread-and-milk"--Nicholas is deprived of what his aunt considers a privilege: a trip to Jagborough sands. Furthermore, after Nicholas predicts that his boy and girl cousin will not enjoy themselves because the boy's boots are too tight and the girl has scraped...

The retributive aunt of Nicholas attempts to disappoint and hurt him with a punishment of deprivation.

Because he has tricked his aunt into denying something that is true--there is really a frog in his "wholesome bread-and-milk"--Nicholas is deprived of what his aunt considers a privilege: a trip to Jagborough sands. Furthermore, after Nicholas predicts that his boy and girl cousin will not enjoy themselves because the boy's boots are too tight and the girl has scraped her knee, he is also forbidden to enter the gooseberry garden because he is under "disgrace."

However, the clever Nicholas is far too creative and intelligent for his aunt. As the aunt busies herself, Nicholas enters the forbidden lumber room, to which he has found the key. There he delights in the unique entertainment of his own imagination as he explores the artistic items hidden from others. Furthermore, since he has held no real interest in going into the gooseberry garden, Nicholas feels no deprivation in being forbidden to enter it; he merely pretends to try to enter it in order to keep his aunt occupied with guarding the garden while he amuses himself.

Finally, after his cousins return, they are disgruntled about their trip, especially since "the tightness of Bobby's boots has had a disastrous effect on his temper" and the two cousins have been prevented from running on the beach because it was hidden by the high tide. The aunt, too, has spent a miserable thirty-five minutes trapped in a rain tank in the gooseberry garden because of Nicholas's refusal to enter it and disobey his aunt's orders as he pretends she is the Evil One, and not his aunt. Thus, the aunt's attempts to deprive the imaginative and clever Nicholas of an enjoyable day have succeeded only in defeating everyone else but him.