Peeking out, he saw that her last bite had left small bits of fish hanging loose. This time it was her tongue that approached, licking and tasting what little remained, which was too small for her mouth to manipulate loose from the fish’s head. There was no way to avoid the touch of her tongue rubbing against his face.

He was elated, both because she had decided not to bite any more, and because the feel of her tongue was actually pleasant. He had come as close as any man dare to being eaten, and been surprised at the last moment by a fringe benefit.

Suddenly he was lifted a little higher than her mouth and saw her twinkling eye peeking in at him.

“No wonder the fish didn’t taste entirely like a fish,” she said, “I see that it has been seasoned with the flavour of a little lad who has made it his third hiding place.”

He stayed still, frozen in shock.

“You might as well come on out, little man. If I have to reach in to pluck you out, you might get hurt with so little space in there. I’m no longer hungry tonight, so you won’t have to worry until breakfast time,” she said.

“I’ve already started worrying,” said Nils, as he stepped out onto her palm.

The giantess laughed, cleaned up after her meal, washed Nils well and put him into a cage with a cushion to serve as his mattress, locked it and placed it beside her bed.

“Sleep well, my little breakfast. In the morning, you and I shall meet for our last meal together, and you shall be the meal.”

“I never even had the chance to eat any of your berries, and I didn’t know of your claim on them,” said Nils, “Could you not show me some mercy?”

“I already have,” said the giantess, “We have played our game and you have lost. I lie here comfortably, looking forward to swallowing the prize of my victory in the morning.”

He soon realised that there was no point in pleading with her any further, and watched her doze off to sleep. The anxiety of his situation kept him from falling asleep straight away. He finally succeeded and dreamt a mixture of replays of the events of the day just gone.

Then he heard the cage being unlocked, stirred, opened his eyes and saw that the sun had arisen.

“There’s no more time for you to be sleeping,” she said, “I’m hungry, lad.”

She took him from the cage, to the kitchen, and into a clean pot. She filled it to his shoulders with warm water, and let it heat up a little, sparing him any burning sensation, and then took him to the table and sat down.

“I told you I’d eat you if I caught you a third time,” she said, “It didn’t work out as I’d planned, but there’s nothing more you can do about it now.”

With that, she put Nils into her mouth and swished her tongue around in all directions. Nils struggled to keep from being brushed into her throat, but eventually the tongue won, and Nils slipped down and began his rapid descent into her stomach.