Looking for a Sci-Fi short story book

[euphorikitty]

There is this one book that I've been looking for for years, my intermediate school teacher would read us a new short story when we had enough time. I know it's an old sci-fi book, it could have been published any where between 1950's to 1990's. It's a book full of short stories, but I only remember one small scene of a story. It's set in a diner, a human man is looking at human-looking alien strangers that just walked in the diner. The strangers sat down, but the strange man didn't pull his pants at the knee to sit, and the human man watching that thought that was odd, because every male knows to do that, so their slacks don't bunch and tighten.

That's the only part of the whole book I can clearly remember, though I think there was another story about robots being used in homes. Sorry this is all super vague. I hope someone, somewhere can help me

Comments

[calzephyr]

It's a very famous Ray Bradbury story! It's funny you remembered that specific detail, because we often remember details that don't yield any clues to the book.

[euphorikitty]

I am elated that you had a clue what I was describing. I knew remembering that peculiar detail would yield some sort of result.

[calzephyr]

"The Fox and the Forest"

A couple living in a war-ravaged future society on the brink of collapse uses time travel to escape to 1938 Mexico. They and others before them have used the technology to enjoy life before chemical, nuclear, and biological warfare ruined everything. Unfortunately, the authorities have also traveled back in time to return the exiles to the future.

It was dramatized for radio as X-Minus One episode #29, "To the Future" - https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles

You might enjoy the above link, as many of Bradbury's stories were adpated for radio.

[euphorikitty]

OMG, thank you so much, I found it, I found the exact line I remember my teacher pausing at to explain what it meant: "you did not pull up your pant legs when you sat down." Which is probably the reason I remember that one specific part of the whole story.

It's been 10 years since that book was read to me, so I thank you so much. I don't have to go with it weighted on my mind.

[calzephyr]

Yay!! Glad to be of service. The title isn't particularly memorable - I didn't realize that was what it was called either.

[euphorikitty]

It's from "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury, so once I typed in "The Fox and the Forest" I was able to find it with ease. That was the book that my teacher would read to us when I was in 7th grade. I found a PDF version of the book (https://ny18000436.schoolwires.net/cms/lib/NY18000436/Centricity/Domain/166/Ray_Bradbury_The_Illustrated_Man.pdf) and it made me remember the other stories, like "The Rocket Man"

[kaylee66]

X-Minus One!!! Thanks for reminding me; it's been a while. :)

[calzephyr]

You're welcome! I think most people get introduced to Old Time Radio via X-Minus One :-D I think a couple of Ray Bradbury stories also ended up on Suspense - I think The Veldt, Zero Hour and a dinosaur one.