nt in different solar systems. At least they were picking up
as souvenirs some of the feathers she'd shed in her tumble, which showed
they took an interest.

Stet turned back to her. "These are fellow-members of the press."

She was able to catch enough of what he said next in Terran to
understand that she was being formally introduced to the aboriginal
journalists. Although you could never call the natives attractive, with
their squat figures and curiously atrophied vestigial wings--_arms_, she
reminded herself--they were very Fizboid in appearance and, with their
winglessness cloaked, could have creditably passed for singed Fizbians.

Moreover, they seemed friendly; at any rate, the sounds they uttered
were welcoming. She began to make the three ritual _entrechats_, but
Stat stopped her. "Just smile at them; that'll be enough."

It didn't seem like enough, but he was the boss.

* * * * *

"Thank the stars we're through with that," he sighed, as they finally
were able to escape their confreres and get into the taxi. "I suppose,"
he added, wriggling inside the clumsy Terrestrial jacket which, cut to
fit over his wings, did nothing either to improve his figure or to make
him look like a native, "it was as much of an ordeal for you as for me."

"Well, I am a little bewildered by it all," Tarb admitted, settling
herself as comfortably as possible on the seat cushions.

"No, don't do that!" he cried. "Here people don't crouch on seats. They
sit," he explained in a kindlier tone. "Like this."

"You mean I have to bend myself in that clumsy way?"

He nodded. "In public, at least."

"But it's so hard on the wings. I'm losing feathers foot over claw."

"Yes, but you could...." He stopped. "Well, anyhow, remember we have to
comply with local customs. You see, the Terrestrials have those things
called arms instead of legs. That is, they have legs, but they use them
only for walking."

She sighed. "I'd read about the arms, but I had no idea the natives
would be so--so primitive as to actually use them."

"Considering they had no wings, it was very clever of them to make use
of the vestigial appendages," he said hotly. "If you take their physical
limitations into account, they've done a marvelous job with their little
planet. They can't fly; they have very little sense of balance; their
vision is exceedingly poor--yet, in spite of all that, they have
achieved a quite remarkable degree o