A Martian Odyssey by Stanley G. Weinbaum: Project Gutenberg Australia

A Martian Odyssey by Stanley G. Weinbaum: Project Gutenberg Australia

"We are v-r-r-riends! Ouch!" A classic sci-fi short story from 1934: On the first expedition to Mars, an astronaut gets stranded hundreds of miles from his colleagues when his auxiliary rocket's engine quits. During the long walk back he encounters incredible forms of life and makes a faithful friend. I read this in an anthology (Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 1) as a pre-teen, when I was just starting to get into science fiction. I'm happy to find it online. Although it's still under copyright in the US's Disney-fied IP laws, it has passed into the public domain in Australia, which is why Project Gutenberg's Australian branch can republish it. They've got many other classics that are in the same legal limbo, including Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, and Gone with the Wind.