14 year old Ferdinand was walking through a forest behind his old school. He saw a tiny leprechaun woman in trouble, and used his size to save her from the stream she was drowning in.

She told him of a nearby passage leading underground to her kingdom, and he carried her to its entrance. She could fit into it, but he could not. He was like a giant.

"Thank you so much, handsome boy!" she said, and waved goodbye.

He thought the tiny person was so pretty. He told his friend Ellie Blish about it, and she offered to shrink him. He took her to the tunnel entrance, and waited for her to shrink him to tiny size with her recently acquired device. He thanked her and watched her walk off.

He was about to enter the tunnel, when a woman's hand grabbed him from behind.

He turned to see that she was more beautiful than the tiny person, and much older than him.

She sat down and leaned against a rock, and said, "I'm from many years into your future. I have knowledge that would change your mind about going into that tunnel. In my time, I was eating my lunch in an outdoor mall. I noticed a handsome younger man staring at me. It was your future self. I came over to sit with him and asked if your wife would be happy about you staring at another woman? Your future self said he'd never married, which surprised me, until he explained that he went into this tunnel today and told the tiny person woman how much he loved her. She told him she was sorry, but he was too young for her. He then had to get back to his schoolfriend who’d shrunken him, in order to get restored to normal size.”

She had to be telling the truth. She knew all about his plans, and the existence and location of the secret tunnel, and the very day he planned to go down it.
"It was very kind of you to come back and save me from humiliating myself with the tiny woman," he said, "but did my future self tell you where to find my friend Ellie?"

"I didn't think to ask," she said, “I think I can change the past a little more than that. I wanted to arrive in this time after you'd shrunk, but before you'd gone into the tunnel. My time machine's only a minute's walk away. I've got a picnic basket in it, which I brought back in time."

This woman had, in Ferdinand’s present day time, been one of Sandra Corlani’s time travel students.

She took him to the time machine, collected the picnic basket, and placed him gently on the top of the folded rug, which was resting atop other picnic items. He was level with the top of the basket, and could still look at her, and the forest, as she started walking deeper into it.

"I was so pleased to hear that a tiny young boy existed back in this time. That's why I decided to use my time machine."

"You're a nice friendly lady, and having a picnic lunch with you would be fun, but I don't know how I'm going to cope, when you've returned to your own time."

"Once the picnic's finished, you won't need to worry about anything. I came back in time to enjoy a delicious rare treat for a picnic lunch. That's why you're in the basket. As soon as we find a nice place to spread the rug, I'm going to sit down and eat you."

"As bad as my tiny size is, we know I can change it eventually. So I do thank you for coming back to see me, but I must respectfully ask you not to eat me."

"Then I must respectfully inform you that I'm going to do it," she said.

He looked up at her face as she walked. It was calm, attractive, and friendly, but she meant every word of what she had just casually announced. Her long skirt swayed gracefully as she continued walking. She found a suitable spot and sat down and enjoyed her meal.