He climbed onto her hand and looked at the first surprise.

"Do you like my new dress?" she said.

"It's lovely Miss Balfour."

It was an old fashioned dress that left most of her shoulders bare.

"Your second surprise is to see where we are."

She unfolded her fingers, and he saw that she sat in the box seat high above the rest of the audience at a theatre.

"We're going to see a play."
"This is the best view of all" he said.

"It must be extra high for you."
"Yes. Can I sit on your shoulder and lean against the side of your neck?"

"I'm sure you'll be comfortable like that" she said and put him on her shoulder.

They saw the first half of the play and then there was an intermission.

Miss Balfour lowered Timothy onto the edge of the box and looked down at him.

"I'm going to tell you about your next surprise" she said "I feel that I have already had enough romance to last me the rest of my life."

"Don't think like that Miss Balfour. You may be older than me, but we've still got decades to go."

"Yes but the excitement of falling in love with you is over now, and I need to come up with something as enjoyable for me."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well Timothy, I was thinking of that day after we first met. I can't help thinking that I might have been denied something, because you saved yourself from being eaten."

"And our romance has been much more fun."
"Yes it has up until now. However, I have thought this through, and I have made up my mind. If I keep on letting you talk me out of gulping you down and keeping you there, I will continue to feel as though I am missing out on that. The only solution is to gobble you down once and for all and leave you inside my stomach. You have managed to avoid it so far, but you are not going to delay it anymore. You are destined to be gobbled up, and this time nothing is going to dissuade me from doing the gobbling. You may think of tonight's treat here as a reward for the nice meal that you will finally make. Tonight, after the play has finished, I am going to take you home and eat you for my supper."
"Is there any chance that I could try talking you out of it?" he stammered.

"When you next wake up you will be in my stomach, a captive forever. Hush now, the play is going to start up again."

She sat back up and watched the curtain open.

Timothy stared off the edge of the box and wondered if he could chance a jump to the lap of a lady far below in the audience. No. It would hurt him badly.

"You can't escape" said Miss Balfour.

She had lowered her face to just behind him. She picked him up and sat upright.

"You know you are better than an after dinner mint, Timothy. So you can watch the rest of the play like this."

She put him into her mouth and lay him on her tongue with his neck resting on her lower lip.