A greenship captain, tasked with transporting yumquat trees, encounters a soil deficiency during a space run. To remedy this, he diverts to an out-of-bounds system to replenish the soil solution. The planet he chooses is inhabited by primitive civilizations. While extracting nutrients, a small boy from the planet boards the ship, stealing a snirk bird, a toy, and trading disks. The captain pursues the boy, who escapes by climbing down the ship's capillary tube. The boy's mother aids him by providing a tool to sever the tube, forcing the captain to retreat. Despite the interference with the planet's culture, the captain rationalizes that such cultures adapt by mythologizing unfamiliar events.
By Robert F. Young · First published 1957 · Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Satire