erything he said. Even a bout of coughing that
afflicted him half-way through seemed to be getting a phonetic
transcription. From time to time, they would interrupt his lecture with
questions so pertinent, so well-thought out and so courteous that all he
could do was answer them.

His antennae lifted to catch the whispers that from time to time were
exchanged between even the best-behaved of the students. "Isn't he
precious?" "Seems like a nice fellow--sound grasp of his subject."
"Sweet little thing!" "Unusually interesting presentation." "Doesn't he
remind you of Winnie the Pooh?" "Able chap." "Just darling!"

After class, instead of rushing out of the room, they hovered around his
desk with intelligent, solicitous questions. Did he like Earth? Was his
desk too high? Too low? Didn't he find it hot with all that fur? Such
lovely, soft, fluffy fur, though. "Do you mind if I stroke one of your
paws--_hands_--Professor?" ("So cuddly-looking!")

He said yes, as a matter of fact, he was hot, and no, he didn't mind
being touched in a spirit of scientific investigation.

He had a moment of uplift at the teachers' cafeteria when he discovered
lunch to be virtually inedible. The manager, however, had been
distressed to see him pick at his food, and by dinner-time a
distinguished chef with an expert knowledge of Saturnian cuisine had
been rushed from Washington. Since the school food was inedible for all
intelligent life-forms, everyone ate the Saturnian dishes and praised
Narli as a public benefactor.

* * * * *

That night, alone in the quiet confines of his small room at the Men's
Faculty Club, Narli had spread out his notes and was about to start work
on his history when there was a knock at the door. He trotted over to
open it, grumbling to himself.

The head of his department smiled brightly down at him. "Some of us are
going out for a couple of drinks and a gabfest. Care to come along?"

Narli did not see how he could refuse and still carry the Saturnian's
burden, so he accepted. Discovering that gin fizzes and Alexanders were
even more palatable than champagne and more potent than vilbar, he told
several Saturnine locker-room stories which were hailed with loud
merriment. But he was being laughed _at_, not _with_, he knew. All this
false cordiality, he assured himself, would die down after a couple of
days, and then he would be able to get back to work. He must curb his
intellectua