Rain, Rain, Go Away (short story)

"Rain, Rain, Go Away" was originally published in the September 1959 issue of Fantastic Universe

"Rain, Rain, Go Away" is a short story by Isaac Asimov. A fantasy rather than a science fiction story, it was based on an idea by Bob Mills, editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, but rejected by him. It was instead published in the September 1959 issue of Fantastic Universe and reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories.

Plot summary

The story concerns a seemingly perfect family, the Sakkaros, who become neighbours of another family, the Wrights. The Wrights are puzzled at the great lengths the Sakkaros go to avoid any contact with water, such as when Mrs. Wright tells her husband that Mrs. Sakkaro's kitchen was so clean it seemed to be never used, and when she offered Mrs. Wright a glass of water she filled the glass carefully while covered with a napkin, but Mr. Wright chalks it up to Mrs. Sakkaro being a good neighbor. The only other odd fact about the home was that the family always seems to be tanning, but at the slightest chance of rain they all rush inside the safety of their home. Mr. & Mrs. Wright see the study of the Sakkaro residence is filled with newspapers and encyclopedias, which Mr. Sakkaro explains is part of his research. Nor do the Wrights know the ethnicity of their neighbors, with Mrs. Wright thinking it could be a Spanish name while Mr. Wright thinks "Sakkaro" sounds Japanese. ^{[note 1]} To find out more about the Sakkaros the Wrights invite them out, and the Sakkaros pay for them all to go to a town carnival. The Sakkaros are extremely cautious and bring a radio with them that is tuned to the weather channel, and a barometer. At the carnival they seem to have a good time with Mr. & Mrs. Wright and their son Tommy, but they display bizarre food choices, particularly candy floss. When their radio unexpectedly calls for rain, the Sakkaros appear to be in shock until they get to their house. When they pull up, it starts to drizzle, and the Sakkaros rush to get to the safety of their home. Mrs. Wright annoying says to her husband "Honestly, George, you would think they are..." the downpour happens and the Sakkaros are hit by the rain, causing the faces to blur and their bodies to dissolve, leaving only their clothes and sticky heaps. Mrs. Wright is unable to stop her sentence "...made of sugar and afraid they would melt".

Notes

Sources

• Asimov, Isaac (1975). Buy Jupiter, and Other Stories (1st ed.). Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-05077-1. 

External links

• Rain, Rain, Go Away title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database