"Kid Stuff" is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American writer

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

. It was first published in the September 1953 issue of '' Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' and reprinted in the 1957 collection ''

Earth Is Room Enough ''Earth Is Room Enough'' is a collection of fifteen short science fiction and fantasy stories and two pieces of comic verse by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1957. In his autobiography '' In Joy Still Felt'', Asimov wrote, "I was st ...

''. Asimov wrote the story in January 1953, intending it for a new magazine called ''

Fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...

'', but it was rejected by its editor, Harold Browne. Asimov then submitted it to

H. L. Gold Horace Leonard Gold (April 26, 1914 – February 21, 1996) was an American science fiction writer and editor. Born in Canada, Gold moved to the United States at the age of two. He was most noted for bringing an innovative and fresh approach to s ...

, who accepted it for a new sister magazine of ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...

'' called ''Beyond Fantasy Fiction''.

Plot summary

Jan Prentiss, a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

writer is busy at work, when a foot-long talking

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

materialises before him. He declares that he is an

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

, and is in fact a mutant—a "super-elf"—with new powers that he is still experimenting with. Most of his kind are

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

. During the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, they used

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

s as "psychic amplifiers" to augment their own abilities. However, since the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, the elves and other related beings have avoided mankind, since they are unable to manipulate

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, and have retreated to Avalon, an island in the Atlantic Ocean cloaked in a psychic shield. Prentiss' elf, however, can manipulate electricity and possibly fission uranium. It needs to use Prentiss' brain as a psychic amplifier though, since Prentiss, being a fantasy writer, is one of the few humans with a mind sympathetic enough for the elf to control. When Prentiss balks at being taken to Avalon as an 'advisor', the elf threatens Prentiss' wife and ten-year-old son with physical harm. Prentiss' son comes home from school, and the elf tries to take control of his mind, too; but the boy, being a modern 1950s child, doesn't believe in "kid stuff" like fairies. The elf is unable to control both minds, and the boy crushes the elf with his schoolbooks.

External links

* {{Earth is Room Enough Short stories by Isaac Asimov 1953 short stories Science fiction short stories Works originally published in Beyond Fantasy Fiction