WHY THE BAT COMES OUT AT NIGHT
The bat, being half a bird and half a beast, hoped to escape fighting, and so save his skin.
On the day of battle, the bat, thinking the birds were most likely to win, flew up in the air, taking care, nevertheless, to keep at some distance, so as to see how the matter went. After much fighting, the beasts appeared to be having the best of it. Down flew the cowardly bat to join them.
He told them that as his body was very like that of a mouse, it was to them he owed allegiance. The beasts agreed to receive him, and he swore to be true always to their cause.
However, in the end the birds, through the cleverness of their general, the eagle, won the day, and the bat, in fear of his life, took to flight.
Since then, as if ashamed to show himself, he hides in caves and hollow trees, never appearing until dusk, when all the birds have gone to roost.
Story Title: The Birds, The Beasts, and the Bat
Book Title: Aesop's Fables
Author: Lena Dalkeith
Published: 1908
Rights: CC0 Public Domain
Online Source: Aesop's Books
Process: Light editing for punctuation and paragraphing.