



Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net









                            Growing Season

                           By F. L. WALLACE

                _Why would anyone want to kill a tender
                of mechanized vegetation--with, of all
                things, a watch and a little red bird?_

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
               Worlds of If Science Fiction, July 1959.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


The furry little animal edged cautiously toward him, ready to scamper
up a tree. But the kernel on the ground was tempting and the animal
grabbed it and scurried back to safety. Richel Alsint sat motionless,
enjoying himself greatly.

Outside the park in every direction were many tiers of traffic. He was
the only person in the park; it was silent there except for birds. One
in par