Probably the best episode of Original Trek.
What I like most about it is there's no real villain. You can't blame the miners for not realizing the silicon nodules were eggs; and you can't blame Mama Horta for going on the warpath when they started destroying them. Just one of those nasty first contact incidents that turns out to be nobody's fault.
It is greatly to the credit of both the Horta and the Human miners that they decide to call it even and start all over again once communications are established.
