Part One : A Strange Place
Little Green Man Number 737 was sitting in his big soft chair and thinking. After a while, he felt hungry. Turning to the control panel, he pushed a button. Almost at once a plate came out. On it were four green pills. Number 737 ate them all and felt full right away.
"How easy life is", he thought, "and how dull". He pushed another button on the control panel. His chair moved over to the window. Far down on the ground below were streets stretching as far as the eyes could see.
On the streets were hundreds of green people, each with two antennas. They were going every which way, but they were all standing still. Only the streets moved, carrying people here and there.
Number 737 looked over the tops of the green houses. He could see green saucers landing and taking off to fly in the green sky.
Number 737 sighed and pushed another button. The chair moved over to another window. Here he could see green children in a green playground. They were playing with a cat and mouse. The cat and mouse were machines.By pushing some buttons,the children made the cat run after the mouse.But the mouse got away.
"How dull", said Number 737. "If only the mouse would run after the cat once in a while. But the machines don't work that way. If only we had some real animals on this planet even a bird. Machines are so dull. I must find some fun somewhere". He went up to the top of his house and climbed into his flying saucer. At once it went straight up and off into space.
With great speed he flew far away from his planet, past many stars and suns. All at once, there under him lay what looked like the liveliest rug he had ever seen.
"I must land and see what that is," he said. And slowly he brought the saucer down in a very big field.
As soon as he climbed out of his ship, a strange being walked over to him. It had red hair and blue eyes, and it was wearing funny clothes.
"Hello," said the strange being. "I'm Thompson. Glad to meet you!"
"But you are not green, and you do not have any antennas," said number 737 with surprise. "And those animals over there," he said, pointing to a cow and two chickens. "They do not look like machines!"
Thompson laughed. "They are not machines! The big one is my cow, Betsy, and the two are my chickens. That is Ricky, my rooster, and Myra, my best hen." Then, taking good look at the green man, he said. "And who are you and where did you come from?"
"I'm number 737," he said. "I come from the Green Planet. It is many stars and suns past the Milky Way."
"Well, well," said Thompson. "You must be hungry and tired after such a long trip. Come over to the house for a bite to eat."
Number 737 was hungry. He rested in an easy chair. Thompson cooked some eggs and hot cakes and a pot of tea for his strange caller.
"What lovely pills these are!" said Number 737. "Ours are always green. What are they made of? What button did you have to push?"
Thompson laughed again. "Those are not pills, they are eggs. And I did not make them, Myra did. And she did not have to push any buttons. Come, I'll show you how to eat them."
Never had 737 tasted anything so good. When he was through eating, he stretched with a sigh.
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