Ellie Blish continued to arbitrarily shrink boys at the school for her amusement. She reduced a boy named Edmond to tiny size with the machine, and then picked him up and deposited him in the bushes on the outskirts of the school grounds. He waited until morning tea time soon he saw a few girls coming and sitting around talking, and eating, including Harriet Stone whom he’d admired for some time, as he looked out from the edge of the flowerbed. He took out his lunch, which had been reduced by the device along with himself, when Ellie had fired at him. He ate all of it, and made sure to deliberately rub some cream from the bun on his cheeks. Then he called out to the girls, and let them see him.

Harriet crawled in close and stared at him.

“I’m Edmond,” he said.

“I’m Harriet.”

The other girls introduced themselves.

“I’ve been eating a sticky cream bun and it’s left cream on my cheeks,” he said, “Since you have such a big tongue, would you mind licking me clean, Harriet?”

“Of course. I’ll be glad to help,” said Harriet.

The girl gently picked him up in the palm of her hand and swished her enormous tongue over his entire face and cleaned all the cream off with a single giant lick.

“Thank you, Harriet. You’ve turned me into a nice clean boy.”

Harriet licked him again.

“And tonight I’m going to turn you into the main course of my dinner!” she said, smiling in the most beautiful taunting manner.

“Are you serious, Harriet?” asked another girl.

“I’m very serious,” said Harriet, “He’s delicious!”

Harriet put him in her pocket and returned to go on with the day’s classes. During lunch hour, he looked up at her eating and eagerly anticipated his turn.

After school, Harriet started walking out of the school grounds with her friends.

“You can’t eat him, Harriet,” said the girl who had asked if she’d been serious, “He’s just a little boy.”

“I can eat whoever I want to eat!” said Harriet defiantly, “Say goodbye to my friends, little boy. By the time I see them again, you’ll be far down in my tummy.”

“Goodbye,” said Edmond.

“I think we should tell Miss Woodfield or Miss Corlani now,” said another girl.

“Oh you do, do you?” said Harriet, “I’m going to walk home with Edmond in my mouth. If Miss Woodfield or any other teacher comes anywhere near me, I’ll gulp him down before they can do anything about it. Or you can all just mind your own business, and he’ll at least have one more afternoon before I swallow him.”

Edmond didn’t want Harriet’s well-meaning friends to spoil his plans.

“You better just let her do it,” he said.

“Wise words, young lad. Now in you go, just to be sure,” said Harriet.

In front of her friends, she opened her mouth wide and placed him onto her tongue and then closed it. Half an hour later she opened her mouth and he could see that she was sitting at a table in her house.

She took him out and placed him on her shoulder.

“It was nice being in there,” he said, “Your tongue is very big, Harriet.”

“It was only nice, because I didn’t swallow you yet,” teased Harriet, “You can expect some huge gulps the next time you go into my mouth!”

“You’ve got me, Harriet. I’ll just have to be swallowed.”

She laughed and smiled.

She did her homework and then took him to the dining room table and sat down, looking lovelier than ever.

“Goodbye little boy. I’m going to eat you all up for my dinner now,” she said.

She put out her tongue in a taunting manner and licked him.