communication.

'And then, looking more nearly into their features, I saw some

further peculiarities in their Dresden-china type of prettiness.

Their hair, which was uniformly curly, came to a sharp end at the

neck and cheek; there was not the faintest suggestion of it on the

face, and their ears were singularly minute. The mouths were small,

with bright red, rather thin lips, and the little chins ran to a

point. The eyes were large and mild; and--this may seem egotism on

my part--I fancied even that there was a certain lack of the

interest I might have expected in them.

'As they made no effort to communicate with me, but simply stood

round me smiling and speaking in soft cooing notes to each other, I

began the conversation. I pointed to the Time Machine and to myself.

Then hesitating for a moment how to express time, I pointed to the

sun. At once a quaintly pretty little figure in chequered purple and

white followed my gesture, and then astonished me by imitating the

sound of thunder.

'For a moment I was staggered, though the import of his gesture was

plain enough. The question had come into my mind abruptly: were

these creatures fools? You may hardly understand how it took me.

You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight

Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in

knowledge, art, everything. Then one of them suddenly asked me a

The Time Machine