She was walking towards him.

“I don’t know,” said Stanley.

What he really meant was that he didn’t know how to explain it to her.

“Do you mean you don’t want to tell me?” asked the girl.

“No. I want to tell you,” said Stanley.

“Well I want to listen. I’m Alice,” said the girl and began walking with him in his direction, “Why don’t you try to explain why you’re so unhappy?”

He told her the whole story in depth.

“I understand very well how you feel,” said Alice, “I recently met a little boy who encouraged me to eat him, and I enjoyed doing it. I would like to do everything I can to help you to be mistaken for a goblin and eaten by your teacher. I’ll need to get something, but I can give it to you tomorrow, and I’m sure that it will solve your problem for you.”

Alice arranged to meet the boy outside the school during recess break the following morning. In the meantime, she went back to the Robert Hole, where she had first followed the White Robert down into Wonderland. She collected some of the Wonderland cake, which she knew would have the effect of shrinking Stanley, and took it back to him the next morning during recess. She explained that eating some of it would make him tiny for a while, and gave it to him.

“If it works, I’ll never see you again,” said Alice, hugging him, “I’m glad to help.”

At lunch time that day, Stanley concealed himself in the same isolated garden again, and hoped that Mrs Weaver would assume that she would find more goblins there if she made another search. Soon enough he saw her crossing the school grounds, heading into the little used part of the school gardens where his own personal hiding place was. He quickly ate some of the cake and left the rest wrapped up in the garden. Before he knew it he was shrinking down to the size of the goblin that she had eaten the day before.

Peeking out, he could see Mrs Weaver drawing closer.

“She’s come out here to hunt for goblins and catch one and eat him,” he thought, “And now she’ll hunt for me.”

Stanley was exhilarated beyond words as he saw her towering form get closer. She veered a little to the side, as she reached the garden. He realised that she was going to look in the same section where she had caught and eaten the goblin the day before. There were far fewer large concealing shrubs there, and many more small flowers. He ran into that section of the garden, and now had no trouble looking up out at Mrs Weaver as she walked around, about six or seven feet away from the garden and stared in.

“If there had been another goblin here, she wouldn’t stop until she found him,” thought Stanley, “It probably won’t take her the rest of lunch hour to find me.”