(Untitled)

[zane314]

It's a vaguely common literary situation (in that I can think of one off the top of my head and it does not seem strange that there would be more)- the main hero visits another planet, and the aliens are so enamored of the character, they give him one of their young (generally in the form of an egg that will hatch) to take back with him

Comments

[dragonmudd]

I've never encountered this literary device.

[zane314]

Huh. Okay, scratch "vaguely common", then.

I know it happens in "The Journeys of McGill Feighan". Also vaguely in Schlock Mercenary with the Kreelies, although that's more a slaver trade than a baby gift.

Giving an alien pet happens more often, I suspect (The Norby series from Asimov, for example). I don't really know what brought the thing to mind in the first place, anyway.

[tortoise]

A Case of Conscience by James Blish does the baby thing. Then again, it has enough other logic failures that this one doesn't really stand out too much.