Project Gutenberg 2021-02-27 Public domain in the USA. 92 De Courcy, John Courcy, John de De Courcy, Dorothy Courcy, Dorothy de Goma's Follicles Produced from Planet Stories Summer 1948 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Goma's Follicles" by John De Courcy and Dorothy De Courcy is a science fiction short story published in the mid-20th century, specifically in the summer of 1948. The narrative revolves around the humorous and peculiar dynamics between human colonizers and the alien natives of Procyon IV, primarily examining the consequences of cultural misunderstandings related to something as ordinary as haircuts. The story captures the clash between the colonists' goals and the traditions of the indigenous people. The plot unfolds with Captain Webster of the spaceship "Franklin" making an unscheduled stop on Procyon IV to pick up a passenger, Sam Purcell, who is desperate for a haircut after spending years on the planet. The local chief, Goma, is initially embarrassed about his long hair, which has become a source of ridicule among his peers. A series of events culminate in Goma being persuaded to get a haircut, only for it to be revealed that the native's hair is linked to their sensory nerves, resulting in significant emotional fallout for Goma. To maintain his status as chief and avoid shame, Goma ultimately negotiates for land by agreeing that the barber should leave—highlighting the absurdity and consequences of intercultural interactions. The story blends humor with a critique of colonial attitudes and the often-comical misunderstandings that can arise from them. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.1 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Space colonies -- Fiction Mines and mineral resources -- Fiction Barbers -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 52206 2025-06-25T12:02:52.972734 text/html 28291 2024-10-18T11:28:40 text/html 797783 2025-06-25T12:02:54.792751 application/epub+zip 796577 2025-06-25T12:02:53.416715 application/epub+zip 84494 2025-06-25T12:02:53.161717 application/epub+zip 833724 2025-06-25T12:02:55.987715 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 826213 2025-06-25T12:02:54.572736 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 114684 2022-09-29T06:22:16.259080 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 45033 2025-06-25T12:02:52.847730 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 25226 2024-10-18T11:28:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17701 2025-06-25T12:02:56.110713 application/rdf+xml 31570 2025-06-25T12:02:53.261739 image/jpeg 5242 2025-06-25T12:02:53.211732 image/jpeg 846505 2025-06-25T12:02:52.992739 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