Project Gutenberg 2021-07-05 Public domain in the USA. 120 St. Clair, Margaret 1911 1995 Saint Clair, Margaret Clair, Margaret St. Hazzard, Wilton Seabright, Idris Clair, M. St. Terry, W. E. 1921 1992 Terry, Willis E. Terry, Bill Return Engagement Produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy January 1952 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Return Engagement" by Margaret St. Clair is a science fiction story written in the early 1950s. The narrative revolves around a human named Joseph McBream, who recounts a peculiar incident involving an Earthman, Denis Farquarson, a distinguished culinary figure on an intergalactic voyage. The story explores themes of cultural misunderstanding, the consequences of carelessness, and the quirks of interspecies interactions. The tale begins with Farquarson's poorly timed curiosity about an alien delicacy, which leads him to inadvertently put himself in peril among the Talipygians, a non-humanoid species native to the satellite Iapetus. After unwittingly cooking foods sacred to the Talipygians, Farquarson’s life hangs in the balance, prompting McBream to embark on a rescue mission. The adventure unfolds with humorous and dramatic elements, culminating in a whimsical resolution where Farquarson must fulfill an annual commitment to entertain the Talipygians, much to McBream's annoyance at being overlooked despite his crucial role in saving his life. Overall, the story combines comedy and a thoughtful exploration of human and alien relationships in an imaginative universe. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Cooks -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 56624 2025-06-26T06:20:06.490102 text/html 32876 2024-10-18T14:44:16 text/html 462982 2025-06-26T06:20:09.639594 application/epub+zip 461813 2025-06-26T06:20:07.839141 application/epub+zip 141116 2025-06-26T06:20:06.980117 application/epub+zip 929557 2025-06-26T06:20:10.899601 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 921807 2025-06-26T06:20:09.161607 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 671547 2022-09-29T15:25:19.916531 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 50441 2025-06-26T06:20:06.366094 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 30630 2024-10-18T14:44:15 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17890 2025-06-26T06:20:11.022564 application/rdf+xml 28531 2025-06-26T06:20:07.425116 image/jpeg 4775 2025-06-26T06:20:07.200113 image/jpeg 3951600 2025-06-26T06:20:06.533141 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