On July 1, 1965, near Valensole, France, a farmer named Maurice Masse noticed something unusual in his lavender field. It was around 5:45 a.m., as Masse was smoking himself a cigarette before starting his tractor, when he was suddenly startled by a whistling noise. At the time, he was positioned next to a 7-foot-tall rubble pile at the edge of a vineyard, so he had to step out from around this to view the source of the sound. It was then that he saw something shaped rather like a rugby ball and about the size of a Dauphine automobile, resting on four legs some 200 feet away in his lavender field. Close to the curious looking object were two figures resembling “boys of about eight years.” More curious than afraid, Masse approached and when he got within approx. 15-20 feet of the figures, they became aware of his presence and stood up. Masse described the beings as less than 4 feet tall, as dressed in gray-green overalls with smooth, bald, pumpkinlike heads, large slanted eyes, and with little holes for their mouths. They made grunting sounds between them, although their mouths did not change appearance, and Masse was not sure where on their bodies the noise was coming from.

One of the beings pointed a pencil-like object at Masse, whereupon he found that he could no longer move. Then the being placed the object into a small case or holster on its left side, and then the two beings moved with great agility toward the UFO, which they entered through a sliding door. Then with a whistling noise the UFO lifted off the ground and within seconds had disappeared in a westerly direction. After about 20 minutes, Masse had regained full control of his body again.

Marks from the apparent craft remained visible on the ground. Three days after the incident, Masse suffered a great loss of energy. He slept 12 to 14 hours on the first day, and then the next day he slept nearly 24 hours. It was several weeks before he was able to resume his normal sleep routine.

A number of investigators who had interviewed Masse (including the distinguished Professor Jacques Vallee) concluded that he wasn’t telling the whole story. Though he hinted that there had been some sort of communication between himself and the beings, he never revealed the particulars to investigators. He told Vallee that one was best off not sharing such encounters with anyone, even family. “One always says too much,” he added.

Reference: The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon from the Beginning (Vol. 2: L-Z), by Jerome Clark. Omnigraphics, Inc., Penobscot Building, Detroit, MI 48226. 1998. ISBN: 0-7808-0097-4.