- This is probably one of the most famous stories in this book—it's been republished in many anthologies. It's short, weird, sad, and beautiful.
- In Allendale, California (yep, we're back on Earth), an automated house goes on its automated way.
- Every hour is announced and the house does what's it's supposed to do.
- It makes breakfast in the morning for the family and lights a cigar for the husband at night.
- But where are the people?
- Oh. They're all dead, and the rest of the city is a heap of radioactive rubble.
- The only trace of the family that lived here is the shadows that burned into the side of the house when they were vaporized).
- The family dog comes home and dies. The house cleans up the body.
- The house reads Sara Teasdale's poem "There Will Come Soft Rains." Written after World War I, the poem is about how nature will outlive humans. (See "Shout Outs.")
- Toward the end of the day, a strong wind breaks a window and starts a fire.
- The house tries to contain the fire, but it can't, and the fire triumphs.