The Birds, The Beasts and The Bat
There was once a terrible war between the birds and the beasts. For a long time it was doubtful which would win. The bat said, "I am not a bird and I am not a beast, so I shall fight on neither side."
At
last the beasts seemed to be gaining the victory. The bat flew to them
and said, "I am a beast. Look at my body and you will see that I am. I
shall fight on your side."
New flocks of birds came to help their relatives, and the battle soon turned against the beasts.
Then
the bat skulked over to the other side. "I am a bird," said he. "I can
prove it by my wings," and he fought with the birds.
At last the war was over. 
After
that day, neither Bird nor Beast befriended the bat. Both saw his
dishonesty. Both made war upon him. And to this day, he is obliged to
slink off and hide in dark places during the day, never showing his face
until dusk.
DIDDILY'S
IS A LOVELY LAND OF DREAMS AND WONDER WITH MANY PLACES TO CHASE THE
HOURS AWAY. ALONG EACH STREET AND ACROSS EACH BRIDGE THERE IS ALWAYS
SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL FOR YOU TO SEE.
The Mouse's Visit
"Mother, may I go
into the country today? You said I might go some day. I am big enough
now to go out alone. Do let me go," said Frisky, a young mouse, to his
mother. "Well, child, I can not be with you always. I suppose there
must be a first time for you to go out alone. I dread to have you go,
but if you will promise to run home if a cat comes near you, I will let
you go," said Mrs. Gray, the mother.
"I will run, mother, if I
see a cat. You know how fast I can go. I should like to see any cat
catch me. I shall not be gone long. Good-by, mother," and off went
Frisky.
Mrs. Gray watched him until he was out of sight. "I wish I
had gone with him," she said. "He does not know the world as I do. I
fear some harm will come to him," and she looked very much worried as
she turned to go into her house. She tried to sleep, for she was very
tired; but when she dozed she dreamed, and her dreams were all bad ones.
At last she went back to the door and looked for Frisky. He was
coming, leaping along in a great hurry. He began talking to his mother
before he reached her.
"Oh, mother," he said, "I met two big creatures on the other side of the pasture. 
"One
of them was very fine looking. She had very gentle ways. She stepped
about so quietly that one could scarcely hear her. Her dress was of soft
gray fur, much like yours, mother, and she wore whiskers like yours. I
knew you would like to see her, so I was just going to invite her home
with me when a terrible-looking creature with a long tail and four legs and huge teeth had not chased her away.
"Then came a very fierce looking animal, he frightened me very much, he
walked as if he were too good to step on the ground. His legs were
naked, his toes were long, and his toe nails were strong and sharp. His
dress was not so soft as yours. It was black and white. His mouth looked
like a trap. I tell you, mother, I should hate to get caught in that
trap. On top of his head was something that wobbled as he walked. He
straightened himself up, raised his arms and screamed. Such a scream! It
nearly frightened me to death. He isn't coming, is he, mother? Do let
me run into the house."
"My son," said his mother, stopping
Frisky as he tried to pass her, "I shall not let you go out alone again
until you know more.
"That animal which you liked so well and
wished to invite to our house is a cat. It is the very one no doubt that
killed all of your brothers and sisters when they were quite small. She
would have killed you too at the same time if a dog had not come along
and frightened her away. If you had gone close to her this afternoon, I
should never have seen you again. I thought you would know a cat.
"The
creature of which you were afraid cares nothing for us. He would not
have harmed you. He has bare legs so he can wade about in the grass and
not get his clothing wet. He uses those long toes and sharp claws to
scratch in the earth for food. He does not catch mice with them. He uses
that strong bill for picking up grain. People call him a rooster."
DISCLAIMER Disclaimer: This website contains materials authored by me and also partly a collection of items from the internet. The collections are, I believe, in the Public Domain. In case any material, inadvertently put up, which has a copyright please do write to me and it will be removed. The compilations are for entertainment purposes only and have not been compiled for educational or historical purposes.
