fables folktales · Ages 6-8

The Bat Who Tried to Belong to Both Sides

A bat changes his story between birds and beasts, and ends up trusted by neither group.

The whole story

1. At sunrise, Bramble the small brown bat hung upside down and watched the birds gather in the trees.

2. “I belong with birds,” Bramble said. “I can fly, and I love berries.”

3. The birds welcomed him for a while. Bramble sang the brightest song he knew, though it sounded more like a squeak.

4. That afternoon, Bramble visited the beasts below. “I belong with beasts,” he said. “I sleep in caves, and I know every dark path.”

5. The beasts made room beside their fire. Bramble told them he never cared for noisy birds.

6. The next morning, the birds asked, “Will you fly with us?” The beasts asked, “Will you stay with us?” Bramble wanted both answers to be yes.

7. To the birds, Bramble said, “The beasts are dull, and I would never choose them.”

8. To the beasts, Bramble said, “The birds are foolish, and I would never choose them.”

9. But a sparrow heard one story, and a fox heard the other. Soon, both groups whispered.

10. “Which story is true?” asked the birds. “Which side are you on?” asked the beasts.

11. Bramble opened his mouth, but no clever answer came out. He had changed his story too many times.

12. Bramble told the truth at last. The birds and beasts were kind, but they did not trust him. He had tried to belong to both sides, and now he belonged to neither.

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