Many years ago, what looked like a meteorite fell in a desolate section of the lake country just north of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was actually a spaceship carrying a family of tiny space travelers from Quatro, the fourth planet of Alpha Centauri. Their captain and leader had a Quatrainian name that is unpronounceable in English, so earthlings called him Shortcake, because he stood only 2 1/8 inches tall. One autumn day, while visiting the Wisconsin woods, the boys met Shortcake, who, along with his clan, were painting the leaves in the northern forests. After a tree was fully colored, the painters would sail back to the ground on the leaves. And so, thanks to some small but artistic aliens, Erbert and Gerbert learned why leaves change color and fall off the trees.
