It was not long before Trudi and Murray were both found and captured by a giant widow in her forties and kept in her house as pets to amuse her. They made many attempts to escape, but were always recaptured before they could get far enough away from the widow’s house. After two years, the widow decided to put an end to their runaway escapades, by purchasing a cage and keeping them inside it most of the time, unless she was around in person to keep an eye on them.

One day after a few more months, the widow went out for a long walk, planning to have a picnic lunch by herself. Towards the end of the day, the widow came home and took Trudi and Murray out of the cage.

“Let me tell you about my day,” said the widow, “In the morning, I caught another little woman your size, and put her in my knapsack to bring her home and keep us all company. I took her out and sat her down on the grass while I prepared to eat my picnic sandwich. I raised the sandwich to my mouth, about to bite into it, when she turned and ran away. I caught her soon enough, but dropped my sandwich onto the grass where I’d been walking just before lunch time, while I was chasing her. Since she’d made my lunch too dirty to eat without risking making myself sick, I told her that it was only fair that she should relieve my hunger in person. Unlike my sandwich, which was made of bread and whatever vegetables and meat had spilled out of it, I was able to wash the young woman in the nearby lake. So I swallowed her whole, and made my way home.”

“Oh my goodness!” said Trudi, “The poor woman.”

“Well she not only saved me from hunger pains that she would have caused in the first place by running off. She also made me aware of something about you two. It’s quite a revelation to learn only today, that the two little captives I’ve entertained in my home for the last two years...”

“Entertained is one way to put it,” interrupted Trudi in a caustic tone of voice.

“...that the two little captives I’ve entertained in my home for the last two years,” said the widow, raising her voice just a little, in order to regain control of the conversation, “would both make an unquestionably scrumptious evening meal for me as well.”

“Do you mean you’re going to eat us too?” asked Trudi.

“You get the general idea,” said the widow.

“But you’re not even hungry now. There’s plenty of clean food in your house.”

“And every night I choose whatever I feel like the most from the refridgerator or the pantry for dinner. Tonight, what I feel most like eating is the two of you, after I put you in the oven to warm you both up a little. Don’t worry. I’ll have you out again long before you could burn to a crisp.”