A long, long time ago, there was a pretty average-looking bat named Ralphie. You see, for years and years, Ralphie and his bat ancestors had lived among all sorts of creatures, making friends with high and low, near and far. Throughout all of these years, bats like Ralphie had lived through times of peace and prosperity.
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| A modern interpretation of Ralphie, courtesy of Pixabay user Alexas_Fotos |
But now, a storm was brewing among some of the creatures that were not bats. You see, the quarreling creatures, the birds and the beasts, had decided that they were sufficiently different enough to be reason for a war to be had.
The beasts thought that the birds, with their thin, flimsy feathery wings, looked like they were trying to show off by being both literally and figuratively above them.
The birds were of the opinion that the beasts were intentionally trying to make the world a more disgusting place for all animals by being coated in thick, sweaty fur that they hardly ever cleaned. They also stomped anywhere they liked, which sullied the Earth’s beautiful green carpet.
Ralphie was very nervous about the upcoming battle. Being not quite a bird nor quite a beast, he decided who better to talk some sense into these warring parties than he.
On the day of the battle, Ralphie went to the field of battle that was mutually decided upon by the birds and the beasts: a very steep half-grassy, half-rocky stretch of land. Ralphie saw a giant horde of beasts gathered at the bottom of the hill making grunt-like chants that were filled with anti-bird slurs. The birds were hovering above the hill’s peak, cleaning each other’s beaks and doing some last minute fluffing of their feathers.
Ralphie ran up the cliff and yelled for the attention of all the creatures.
“BEASTS AND BIRDS! HEAR ME OUT!”, he yelled.
“My animal brothers and sisters, there is no reason for fighting! Birds, I know that you don’t understand the fur of the beasts and beasts, I know you aren’t comfortable with the wings of the birds.”
Ralphie paused, swallowed deeply, and then continued.
“But my friends, these differences are not insurmountable! You see, we have been friends for so very long, but I, too have wings like the birds. But you beasts find no quarrel with me! And birds, I have had my thick furry body for as long as I can remember! Yet we still fly together in the skies in peace.”
A great, audible awe fell over both sides of the young, optimistic bat. Ralphie was thrilled. This was working! This was actually working!
But just before Ralphie continued, a raspy voice bellowed out from down below, “So bats are just furry birds? How disgusting!”
“Agreed! They’re so hideous now that I think about it!”, echoed one of the birds.
And so Ralphie the disgusting, hideous bat saved the animal kingdom from a terrible tragedy by uniting two very opposite creatures.
Author's Note: In the original Aesop fable, the battle between birds and beasts was also resolved peacefully without any fighting, but I thought it would be funny to have resolution come about as the result of mutual dislike for the in-between character. Poor Ralphie.
Bibliography. "The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts" from Aesop's Fables by Aesop. Source
Ahhh poor Ralphie! I'm left wanting to know whether or not he's going to be ok! Does he unite the sides, but then they all fight against the bats? That would be so sad! Were things resolved?
ReplyDeleteI liked your dialogue in this story. Sometimes that's a lot harder to include than one would think, and you used it quite well.
As you said, it is funny how both sides disliked him, but it is also sad at the same time. I think I like your story better than the original. In the original, the bat ends up being an outcast. In this one, at least he was able to be helpful.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the picture is not showing properly on the post. I went to the original link and it looks cute. It even shows Ralphie’s character.
I really enjoyed reading your story. Your tittle does not elude to the topic of your story. My favorite part is when the bat calls to the other animals as is brother and sisters to stop fighting. I enjoyed the way you used direct dialogue between your characters. Unfortunately,the photo that you uploaded for this story does not allow the image to be viewed for some reason. I look forward to reading more of your writing through out the semester. Feel free to visit my blog as well.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the wow moment was the fighting ending with mutual disgust of the one being that was trying to end the fighting. I was curious to see how the bat was going to stop the battle from occurring. I thought he would maybe unite them by showing them that they aren’t very different after all, but instead, his ugliness united the two side. I wonder, now, how Ralphie would get along with the birds and beasts after this. Is he now shunned and forgotten? Or is he a hero? Or maybe he is both? It would be interesting to see how he handles his predicament now. It would be interesting to know what finally caused the fighting between the birds and the beasts. It may not be a key component to your story; however, it could be interesting to see the tipping point. If they got along for so long, what caused the fighting to begin?
ReplyDelete