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Pasta for Astronar By Kurt Douglass 2018 In this science fiction story, two boys help out a surprise visitor. As you read, take notes on the details that draw the reader into the story. [1] “What was that?” Kyle and his little brother, Trent, ran to the window and peered into the night. From the woods in their backyard came a pale green glow that cast eerie1 shadows across the lawn. Only seconds before it had sounded like a small plane had crashed there. “I’m going to see what happened,” said Kyle, who had been left in charge while their mother was out for the evening. He ran to the closet and grabbed a flashlight.

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“Kyle,” said Trent, “I want to go, too.” [5] “No,” said Kyle. “I don’t want you following me around in the dark.” “But, Kyle,” pleaded Trent, “I want to go. Don’t leave me here. I-I’m scared!” Kyle was going to tell Trent to stop being a scaredy-cat, but he didn’t because he was scared, too. He now understood why his mom always told him not to watch late-night science fiction movies on TV. As his imagination ran away with him, he pictured himself wrapped in the tentacles2 of a space monster about to suck out his brain through his eyes. Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the back door. Kyle and Trent froze. Kyle was sure that at any second the door would be broken down and 1. creepy; mysterious 2. Tentacle (noun) a long thin body part on the head or around the mouth of some animals like an octopus or squid

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they would be seized by giant tentacles as the monster sucked out their brains. [10] There was another knock. “Hello?” said a voice. Kyle and Trent looked at each other in surprise. Had a huge, terrifying3 brain sucker just said “hello”? Raising his flashlight in defense,4 Kyle slowly unlocked the back door and opened it. He and Trent stared in astonishment at the creature that stood before them. It wasn’t a monster at all, but rather a very short person with pale skin and no hair. He was dressed in a long, faintly glowing silver robe and he carried a silver cane. He smiled at the boys and said, “Greetings, human boys. My name is Astronar from Planov in the Siderian System of the Galaxy Orblac, and I...” He stopped when he saw the boys’s shocked and confused faces. “Excuse me, but do you understand me? By Orion, I was sure I was flying over North America when I crashed, but perhaps I was mistaken. H’m... Parlez-vous français?....¿Hablan español?...” “No, no,” stammered Kyle, finally finding his voice. “We understand English.” [15] “Thank Leo!” said Astronar, relieved. “I thought I’d have to use sign language! Anyway, as I was saying, I was flying past your planet when I noticed my fuel was low so I decided to stop and refuel here. But I ran out as I was entering your atmosphere and had to make an emergency landing. I am sorry if I frightened you, but if you will give me some fuel, I will be.... oh, what’s the expression? Oh yes! Out of your noses in a jiffy.... No, I mean, out of your hair in a jiffy.” “Fuel?” asked Kyle. “You mean gasoline?” “No, no,” said Astronar. “I need only a simple food item. My converter is still working, so all I have to do is put in the food, punch a button, and it changes it into fuel. It’s easy as alphabet soup.... I mean, easy as ABC.” “What kind of food do you need?” asked Trent. “H’m,” said Astronar. “I believe you call it pasta. I assume5 you have some?” [20] Kyle burst out laughing. He had expected a brain-sucking monster, and now an alien was asking for pasta to fuel his spaceship. It was too funny! Trent laughed, too, and they went off to raid the pantry.

3. Terrifying (adjective) causing great fear 4. Defense (noun) something that protects or guards 5. Assume (verb) to suppose something to be true without knowing the actual facts

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They quickly emptied all the spaghetti, macaroni, linguine, and lasagna noodles they could find into a big paper bag. When they were finished, the boys, still giggling, handed the bag to Astronar. “Will this be enough?” asked Trent. “Yes, it should get me to the next refueling station,” said Astronar. “Um, why are you two laughing so much?” “It just seems funny that a spaceship would use pasta as fuel!” Kyle chuckled. Now Astronar burst out laughing. “By Pleiades, you humans have so much to learn!” [25] He then reached into his robe and pulled out a huge wad of money. Kyle and Trent were again shocked into silence. Astronar handed the money to Kyle and said, “Please accept this as payment for the pasta. I am not very familiar with Earth money, but I hope this is enough to pay for it.” Both boys’s mouths dropped open as Kyle counted the money, which would have bought enough pasta to fill a warehouse. “That is enough, isn’t it?” asked Astronar. “Y-y-yes,” Kyle said, still goggling at the money in his hand. “Thank the cosmos!” said Astronar. “That is all the Earth money I had, but I didn’t know if it would be enough. I do think it’s rather silly that you Earthlings use something as flimsy6 as paper for money. Anyway, I must be going now. Thank you for the pasta, boys. Good day — I mean, good night.” [30] “Do you want us to carry the bag to your ship?” asked Kyle. “No, that will not be necessary. Just set it on the ground.” Kyle did this, and Astronar tapped his cane on the ground. The bag rose into the air and followed him as he departed.7 As Kyle and Trent watched him go, they realized that he didn’t walk but rather glided across the ground. He disappeared into the woods, and after a few minutes they heard a soft humming, and out of the trees rose a silver spaceship. They watched as it shot off with incredible speed, completely disappearing in less than five seconds. “Kyle?” said Trent softly.

6. not solid or strong; weak 7. to leave; go away

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“Yes?” [35] “What are we going to tell Mom when she asks where all the pasta went?”

"Pasta for Astronar" by Kurt Douglass, Spider, © by Cricket Media, Inc. Reproduced with permission. All Cricket Media material is copyrighted by Cricket Media, Inc. and/or various authors and illustrators. Any commercial use or distribution of material without permission is strictly prohibited. Please visit http://www.cricketmedia.com/childrens-content-licensing for licensing and http://www.cricketmedia.com for subscriptions. Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

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