It was 2007. He was lying in the sun, when an unusual green object floated down from the sky and landed in the valley beside him. It seemed to be made of trees and leaves, and as he walked through an opening and looked inside, he saw that it had no electrical parts on the inside either. Yet it had been floating in the air and then landed gently.

To his surprise, the contraption suddenly reduced to miniature size, with him shrinking inside along with it. He wondered how tall he was now. Before he could think too extensively about that, the object floated into the air again and flew and flew for some time, and then landed in a tomato patch. He stepped out to stretch his legs and clear his head, so that he could work out what to do next.

Before he could make any decisions, the strange object floated away, leaving him stranded there at tiny size. He looked at the tomatoes closely, and found that he was no taller than the fully grown ones. He began walking towards a house.

Then he saw its door open and out stepped a beautiful woman, and one whom he recognized. He’d seen her once a week for quite some time. It was Jenny Hilder. She’d never noticed him at his regular size. He’d just been part of the furniture in the background. She walked towards him and then saw him. She glared in recognition. He’d never seen her look that way at Kevin the boyfriend. 

"So you're the thief who stole my baby tomatoes before they could be picked! I don’t know how you managed to reduce yourself, but I do know that your tiny size is how you managed to sneak into my garden."

"No. It wasn't me. I just got here!"

"I don't believe you. Anyway, you won't get away with what you've done. It's 10 am now. I’m Jennifer Hilder. You'll have 9 hours to think about the punishment that awaits you, because at 7 pm, I shall eat you for my dinner. That will teach you to steal tomatoes from a woman."

She carried him into the living room, put him on the table and sat down on the couch to do some sewing.

"Jennifer, even if I was a thief, eating me would be too much of a punishment."

"To you maybe, but I don't look at it that way" she said casually.

Jennifer was obviously at ease, able to enjoy her day. Her mind was free of any concerns about her plans for him, and her beautiful mouth was eagerly anticipating the evening meal that he would have no choice but to become for her. Her lovely white fingers continued sewing a dress that was as lovely as the one she wore.

"Jennifer, I can't think of any way to prove my innocence. So I won't keep arguing about the tomato theft, but do you mind if I talk with you while you're sewing and I'm waiting to be eaten?"

"Not at all. It will be the first time that I have had a meal capable of making conversation."

“Have you ever been deeply in love?”

“Yes. It’s a wonderful experience, although one that you’ll never know about now.”

"I do, because I did fall in love with someone once."

"Did you ever tell her how you felt?"

"No. I was too shy."

"You should have overcome your shyness when you had the chance. Now you will never be able to tell her of your feelings. If you had been with her today, you would never have come here."

"But what if I had told her, and she had laughed at me?"

"Well  if you really loved her, you would have to take the chance."

"I guess so. That's a nice dress you're making."

"Thank you. I'll be wearing it when I take my walks."

"What's the scenery around here like?"

"I could tell you about it if you liked, but would you prefer it if I took you for a walk?"

"That would be interesting."

She put down her sewing, and took him on the most scenic quaint walk he had ever been on, and then returned to her home.

Jennifer served him some lunch and ate her own.

"You seem to be concentrating more on watching me eat than on your own food. I would have thought that a tomato thief would be interested in his own lunch."

"I am watching your mouth, to help prepare for when I go into it tonight. I never thought the day would come when you could swallow me whole."

"I see. Well eat your food too. I don't want you passing out from starvation tonight. I expect you to be wide awake to face your punishment as it happens."

At 2:30 they were talking in the living room again, when a lady knocked on Jennifer's front door.

"Come in" said Jennifer.

"I just bought you some tomatoes from the shops to replace the ones I borrowed. I didn't have a chance to tell you. I was in such a hurry when we had visitors coming."

"Oh thank you" said Jennifer, "I was wondering about a thief. It's nice to know it was actually just a neighbour. Help yourself again if you're ever in urgent need."

"Thank you Jennifer. Goodbye."

"Well little boy, I must say that I owe you an apology for calling you a thief."

She picked him up and kissed him.

"I am so glad you know the truth now" he said, "I didn't like the way you would have thought that I would rob from a nice lady like you.  I would never do that to you Jennifer."

"I believe you now."

"Could I ask your advice about something?"

"Sure."

"If you had been that lady I love, and I told you about it, how would you have reacted?"

"Well you're a handsome one. If it had been me, I think I would have been quite flattered."

"So you think I should tell her then?"

"If you were at your full size, I would say 'Go and tell her of your feelings' , but you won't be able to do that. I know you're not a thief now, especially after the pleasant company you have been for me all day. However, I shall still be going ahead with my plans to eat you for dinner tonight at 7 pm. You're the tastiest looking little thing I've ever had."

"What? How can you still punish me when you know I'm innocent?"

"It won't be a punishment. I'll simply eat you for the pure enjoyment of the luscious meal that you shall make."

"You mustn't. It's not fair."

"I understand how you feel, but I shall gobble you all up tonight. Now let us make the most of this afternoon together. Now that you're cleared of the theft charge, we can be proper friends again. What would you like to do now?"

"I feel angry with you."

"Yes, but you cannot save yourself by being angry. Now would you like to be my friend for the afternoon, or shall I find a good book and lock you in a cage until dinnertime?"

"You're right. It's nicer to be together. I'll still be your friend, Jennifer."

"I'm proud of you" she said and smiled adorably.

She lay back and enjoyed an hour and a half of conversation with him.

"It's 4:30 now" she said "I'd like to have you in the oven by 6:30 and ready to serve on the table at 7 pm. So we can do this for 2 more hours, or would you like to do something else?"

"Your garden is lovely. It would be nice to sit on your shoulder out in the garden. Maybe you could sit on the grass facing away from the tomato plants towards the lovely pink flowers." 

Soon he was on the top of her dress on her shoulder. He kissed her cheek and said goodbye.

He slid down the back of her dress, ran into the tomato patch and hunted for a place to hide more effectively. She turned and crawled after him, but he was out of sight. She stood up and walked around, looking down to try to find him.  It was a confusing maze of tomatoes and leaves.

Then Jennifer felt about with her hands, stooping down until she saw and caught him.

"I stopped you. I think we'll go inside now. You can lie on my pillow while I rest for an hour."

"Hey, it's nearly 6:30. We're due in the kitchen in a minute."

She cooked him in the oven at a low temperature, served him at the table, and said "I'm sure I would have eaten you, thief or not, but I shall enjoy this more, knowing that I am gobbling down a sweet little innocent one. Now I shall do that. So farewell."

"Farewell enormous gobbler" he called.

She smiled and licked him a few times, opened her mouth wide, put him into it and gulped him down to her stomach.