A selected group of the Human Race was sent to live on Venus. It seemed like a miserable place because it literally rains all year long with about 20 minutes of sunshine each year. The story was set in a elementary school classroom where most of the children didn’t even know what it was like to see the sun, for most it was just a yearly abnormal phenomenon when the sun would peak out. One girl however, knew of the sun quite well because she had lived on Earth only a few years prior. It was very clear that she was depressed because of the unrelenting rain and darkness on venus. She was especially happy this day because the scientists said the sun would come out. The other school children bullied her for a while and then stuffed her in a closet. Lo and behold the sun did indeed come out. The children went out and played, even getting a little sunburned. 20 minutes later the clouds came back and the rain started again. No more sun for 364 days, 23 hours, and 40 minutes. While they were out playing they had forgotten about the girl in the closet. Sheepishly they went to let her out, all feeling bad that she had missed the sun she was so looking forward to.
This is how the story ended. It didn’t leave time for the reader to see the reaction of the little girl. It didn’t have to, the expressions and emotions of the other children told the story quite well enough. It was a very a very sad and shameful feeling. My heart ached for the little girl. Not only had she been correct and smarter than the other students, she was the most excited about seeing the sunlight. After having been bullied and stuffed in a closet by her peers, she missed the only thing she looked forward to each year. I would definitely recommend reading this short story. As with The Tell Tale Heart, I found it as a free pdf online instead of going to the Boston Public Library.
About the Author Ray Bradbury:
Ray Bradbury has published some 500 short stories, novels, plays and poems since his first story appeared in Weird Tales when he was twenty years old. Among his many famous works are ‘Fahrenheit 451′, ‘The Illustrated Man’ and ‘The Martian Chronicles’. (Courtesy of Amazon.com)
To see more of the books I’ve read and reviewed, check out my virtual bookshelf from Shelfari.com:
