# Help me ID this short story. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780 "2003-06-10T03:48:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/1 "2003-06-10T03:48:16Z")
When I was younger, my older sisters had a couple of high school textbooks with stories by famous writers. I inherited these books at a very young age, so please understand if I can’t provide a lot of details. The story basically revolves around a guy traveling back in time. He takes a trip as part of a vacation offer, IIRC. One of the rules of the trip is that he must not step off the walkway, or touch anything in the past, as it will alter the future. Something happens, and he stumbles off the walkway. When he puts his foot on the ground, he ends up squashing a butterfly. When he goes back to the future, everything has changed, and the guy from the tour starts yelling at him. I don’t remember anything past this. I think it had a long title, but I can’t remember anything about it. It came up tonight because we were talking about time-travel, and the Boyfriend referenced the Simpsons episode where Homer travels through time using a toaster. 🙂 It’s driving me crazy. Please help! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/2 "2003-06-10T03:56:05Z")
Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder” from the collection “R is for Rocket” ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/3 "2003-06-10T03:58:23Z")
Wow! 8 Minutes! I knew there was a reason I loved this board. Thanks, **Captain Amazing**! [sub]I never thought I would say _those_ words… :D[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/4 "2003-06-10T04:04:52Z")
Possibly coming to a theater near you [next year](http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&id=1808405972&cf=prev). ---
**Author:** ![Grousser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Grousser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grousser)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/5 "2003-06-10T08:21:28Z")
And there is another story in that style, dealing with ants, probably by Clifford D. Simak, may some of you remember the name? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/6 "2003-06-10T10:18:22Z")
Sounds like one of Simak’s “City” stories? … I remember the bit where Joe the mutant stamps on the anthill. ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/7 "2003-06-10T12:29:25Z")
Cool. I think this was the first science fiction story I ever read, and I must have read it a hundred and one times that summer. And as for becoming a movie, that’s even cooler. (Not to mention the fact that they may have Edward Burns. Woo!) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-short-story/180780/8 "2003-06-10T14:14:07Z")
This was actually filmed as an episode in the “Ray Bradbury Theater” anthology of the 1980s.