Project Gutenberg 2019-10-19 Public domain in the USA. 75 Einstein, Charles 1926 2007 Michael, D. J. Emshwiller, Ed 1925 1990 Emsh Emsh, Ed Alexander, Ed Emshwiller, Edmund A. Willer EMSH Short Snorter Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1958 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Short Snorter" by Charles Einstein is a science fiction short story published in the late 1950s. The narrative centers around the unexpected encounter of a vacationing couple, Fred and Alice Daniels, with a peculiar flying saucer and its occupant, Mr. Steariot, who claims to be from Venus. The story explores themes of disbelief, the human tendency to judge by appearances—especially in relation to money—and the clash between the fantastical and the mundane in everyday settings. The plot unfolds as Fred and Alice venture into the woods and discover a red flying saucer, which leads them to meet the seemingly ordinary Mr. Steariot, who is actually an extraterrestrial. Despite his polite demeanor and the legitimacy of his claims, the couple, along with the hotel manager Mr. Mason, grapple with their disbelief regarding his background. Steariot presents them with a Venusian banknote, a five-djino bill, as a souvenir, prompting reflections on the nature of value and belief. The story subtly critiques societal preoccupations with money and skepticism, illustrating how easily people dismiss extraordinary experiences when they don't fit comfortably within their understanding of the world. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Hotels -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 38770 2025-06-24T06:59:57.826101 text/html 14765 2024-10-17T14:15:48 text/html 301971 2025-06-24T06:59:59.714091 application/epub+zip 300791 2025-06-24T06:59:58.305091 application/epub+zip 69836 2025-06-24T06:59:58.040109 application/epub+zip 334822 2025-06-24T07:00:00.997128 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 327809 2025-06-24T06:59:59.492122 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 97077 2022-09-27T10:38:11.211879 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 32173 2023-09-26T05:40:00.431250 text/plain 12349 2024-10-17T14:15:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17697 2025-06-24T07:00:01.165069 application/rdf+xml 26587 2025-06-24T06:59:58.133093 image/jpeg 4767 2025-06-24T06:59:58.088107 image/jpeg 456254 2025-06-24T06:59:57.838114 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia