He moved closer towards the grass, so that he would make himself more visible to her. Then he stopped between two flowers, where there was enough space to make him visible and looked up out at Mrs Weaver. She was looking slightly to the right of him, but her eyes were panning in his direction. Soon she would see him.

He watched as her gaze arced around and came upon him.

“I see you, little boy,” she said with satisfaction, “I caught a little one like you for my lunch here yesterday, but I have different plans for you.”

“So you aren’t going to have me for lunch?” he asked, beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to realise what had become so compelling for him over the last 24 hours.

“No I’m not,” said Mrs Weaver, and began to step forward and bend down to reach in for him, “My name is Mrs Weaver and I’m going to take you home with me and eat you for my dinner.”

He was elated as her hand closed around him and lifted him out of the garden. She had no idea that he was one of her best behaved students, and was looking on him with the same dining prejudice as she had looked upon the real goblin.

“You were wise not to run away,” she said.

“I could never get away from you, Mrs Weaver,” said Stanley, enjoying his role more than ever.

“Indeed you could not. I would fetch you back in no time. Now I need to hide you in my desk, while I teach my afternoon class. If you make any noise to give yourself away, I shall slip you into my mouth, unseen by anyone else and gulp you down on the spot. Can I trust you to be quiet?”

“Yes Mrs Weaver.”

“You’re very sensible.”

She took him to her desk and taught the afternoon classes, reacting audibly to the apparent absence of his Stanley persona. What he did not know was that ‘Stanley’s’ absence from the class surprised her more than anyone else. The others were getting used to student disappearances, but Mrs Weaver had been responsible for all of the other absences. She began to wonder if Mrs Grimble had somehow made her way to this area to hunt for more boys to eat. Then she dismissed it, and guessed that Stanley might have simply gone home sick.

How delighted Stanley was to see her face, when she opened the desk drawer after the others had gone.

“My students have all left for the day,” she said, “If you were their size, I’d willingly teach you too, and if any one of them were your size, I’d eat him up with no regrets. It’s as simple as that. Yesterday’s goblin was delicious, and I’m sure you will be too.”

Sitting at her desk, she lifted him out of the drawer and brought him towards her mouth. As she had said that he would be taken home for dinner, he wondered what she was doing now. When he was about two inches from her face, he saw her tongue coming out of her mouth, and realised with glee that Mrs Weaver was going to lick him!