"The Watery Place" by Isaac Asimov revolves around an alien visit in the sheriff's office in the small town of Twin Gluch. The narrator (the deputy) watches in disbelief as a flying saucer lands and two alien beings exit their spacecraft, entering their office in formal attire. Sheriff Bart Cameron, engrossed in his tax calculations, does not notice the spectacle, and when he finally looks up, he perceives the aliens as simply 'foreigners'.
The beings communicate that they have been observing humanity and chose this particular area for contact because of its peace and solitude. With great formality, they explain that they come from a "watery place" that humans call Venus. They request to have meetings arranged with the 'important men' of their country to discuss joining their 'great organization'.
Sheriff Cameron misunderstands their request. He believes the aliens are arrogant foreigners who want to rope in local officials to join a random organisation. In frustration, Cameron kicks them out of his office. The aliens oblige peacefully and leave, promising not to return.
Once they have left, the horrified deputy finally manages to tell Cameron that the 'foreigners' were actually from another planet. He physically shows the Sheriff their spaceship as it ascends into the night sky. As they watch the alien spacecraft lift off, traces of a reddish glow in the sky prove their extraterrestrial origins. The spaceship grows smaller until it looks like a fading shooting star. The deputy utters with despair that the aliens will never return after being treated so poorly.
Struck by this revelation, Sheriff Cameron admits that he misunderstood the aliens. He thought they had merely needed to learn English, making him assume they were Italian. The deputy corrects him, reminding him that the 'foreigners' explicitly mentioned they were from Venus, referred to by them as "the watery place."
Shocked and finally realizing the gravity of his blunder, Sheriff Cameron whispers that when the aliens referred to the "watery place", he mistakenly thought they meant Venice, thereby missing a potentially epoch-making interaction due to a foolish misunderstanding.