SHANDY
BY RON GOULART
Shandy was a teddy bear, a lion,
an ape, a rival for Nancy Tanner's
affections.... But what else was he?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1958.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Holman came down out of the forest of giant orange-woods and trudgedacross the plain toward the place where Nancy Tanner lived. It was lateafternoon and the woods beyond Nancy's home were already growing darkand dim.
The door of the old spaceship was open and a dark flowered rug hungover the rail of the gangway. Late sun glazed the round windownear the door, but Holman thought he had seen Nancy behind thestrawberry-patterned curtains.
Wearing a pale blue cotton dress, tan and slender, Nancy came out ofthe ship and into the low-trimmed grass. She held up one arm and wavedonce, smiling. "Ken," she said and turned to roll up the rug.
Holman said, "How you been?" as he came near, walking at his usual pace.
Setting the rug carefully on the bottom step, Nancy looked up at him."Fine. Yourself?"
"Not bad. Had a cold last week." Holman put his suitcase down next tothe neatly rolled rug.
Nancy frowned. "You still don't eat enough greens. That's why."
Holman kissed her, his hands gentle on her back. "Well, here I am," hesaid.
"Well, come in and we'll talk." She stepped slowly away from him andwent up into the ship.
Holman gathered up his suitcase and the rolled rug and followed her.
He looked in and all around the kitchen before he entered.
Nancy watched him over her shoulder while she got two china cups. Shegrinned at him as he stepped into the room.
"I left the rug and my grip in the hall," Holman said and sat down in astraight-backed chair. Stooping to retie his hiking shoes, he glancedunder the table. "Made it from the settlement in under four hours. Ofcourse, I took big steps."
"Would you like rum or whisky or something like that in your coffee?"Nancy asked, touching the handle of the coffee pot.
"School teachers don't drink before sundown."
"You're on vacation."
"I'll wait. You go ahead, though."
Nancy set a cup in front of him and backed away. "You really have atent in that little suitcase? You're not trying to get me to put you uphere?"
"It's one of those monofilm ones." He pulled the cup closer to him andit rattled in the saucer. "I told you my intentions in my letter. Andyou said okay. So here I am to court you." Holman started to rise.
Nancy nodded him down. "I supposed it will be all right. I don't know."She went back to the stove.
Holman stood and started toward Nancy. He was distracted by a clickingsound in the hallway outside. As he turned to the entrance-way, a largetan lion came in, its black-tipped tail swishing slowly.
Holman stopped as the lion crossed the kitchen between him and Nancy."Don't panic, Nancy," he said in a calm voice. "If nobody moves, it'llgo away."
Nancy smiled. "Why should he go away? It's only Shandy."
The lion nuzzled his head over the backs of Nancy's knees and made agrowling, purring sound. The tip of his tail flipped against the smoothwhite stove.
Holman frowned at the lion and dropped back into his chair. "Shandy?The last time I saw him he was a St. Bernard dog."
Nancy rumpled the lion's mane. "Well, you know how Shandy is. Hedoesn't stay one thing for long. He saw a