'The Rocket,' and 'The Rocket Man' Summary

In 'The Rocket,' a man called Bodoni watches the rockets launching and flying overhead every night. One night his neighbor Bramante talks to him and observes that they will never be able to afford to go on a rocket, no matter how much they dream. Bodoni tells him that he has saved up enough money for one of his family to travel on a rocket just once. Bramante warns him that this is a bad idea, as the rest of the family will always resent the one chosen.

Bodoni tells his family the news and they instantly start struggling to decide who will go. Everyone wants to, but no-one wants to be the one who prevents the others from going. They decide by picking straws, but each time the one...