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Week 7 Story "The Boiled Bat"

One day the Bat and the Bush Rat were eating together in a field. They both made soup at their homes and brought it to eat with each other. The Rat asked if he could try the Bats soup and he did. The Rat exclaimed, "Wow! this soup is so good, it tastes so sweet and savory." The Rat asked the bat how in the world he made his soup so good. The Bat, knowing he could pull one over the rat, exclaimed, "You see Rat, I simply boil myself in the broth of the soup before I make it. My flesh sweetens it up."

The Rat replied, "Wow, how interesting. That is something I will have to try." They both parted ways and went home.

On the way home the Rat became upset. You see the rat had already asked the Bats wife how the soup was made but he had forgotten. So when he asked the bat for the recipe so he could remember and he replied with boiling himself in the broth the Rat knew he was lying. He knew that he couldn't forget something that outrageous.

So the Rat devised a plan to get back at the Bat when they would meet for lunch again.

The next day the Rat greeted the Bat at their usual spot and the bat seemed very surprised. "What are you doing here?" the Bat exclaimed.

"Why I'm just meeting you for lunch like I always do old friend."

The Bat was uneasy the rest of the lunch date. Right before they parted ways the Rat said to the Bat "I tried your trick to make the soup better, it worked out very well! My wife and I, along with both of our children tried it. It made amazing soup, thanks for the tip!"

The bat was so confused on his way home. He contemplated if this trick was real or not, he decided he had to find out for himself.

The next day when the Bat was cooking soup he decided to jump into the boiling pot of water. He was quickly dead. His wife saw what had happened and quickly became enraged. She sent an order to the king to make all Bush Rats prisoners, and so he did.

All of the bush rats ran and hid. They hid inside of walls, under houses, and in deep dark places. This is why you will never see a Bush Rat out in the open. They will always be hiding from the king's men.

Authors Note: This story is an adaptation of the story "Why the Bat flies at night." In that story, the rat dies and the bat is sent into hiding but in this story, the mouse has the upper hand on the bat and he eventually goes into hiding.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Nigeria unit. Story source: Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).
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Comments

  1. Dallas JonesOctober 6, 2019 at 10:42 PM

    This story was very entertaining. I always find it odd where stories like this can originate. The thought that the bat would give the advice that his soup taste the way it does because he boiled himself is crazy. I also find the cleverness of the rat to be interesting. I haven’t read the original but after reading your story I will have to read it!

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  2. Cade ShawOctober 9, 2019 at 10:49 PM

    Ryan,

    Awesome story! I read the author's note because I did not read this story, but it was great to see how you transformed this story. I think you did a great job keeping the reader engaged the entire story, there were so many crucial components that made this story great! I loved the part where the rat tricked the bat. Awesome job!

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  3. lindsiunsellOctober 12, 2019 at 1:52 PM

    Ryan, I like this trickster story a lot. I like that you switched up the animals. It works very nicely because they are both night creatures that are usually hidden. I wonder what the king is like. What if you gave more detail about the king and how he could easily banish an entire species?

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  4. Cate HowellOctober 13, 2019 at 10:17 PM

    Hey Ryan,

    You did a good job keeping with the storytelling voice and technique employed with folktales. Trickster stories are always interesting because you never know who will get the upper hand and who will outsmart whom. People (and animals) do crazy things when they're pushed far enough! It's sad that the Bat and the Bush Rat couldn't get along like the old friends they were.

    Thanks for your story!
    - Cate

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  5. charleyOctober 14, 2019 at 2:09 AM

    I really like the reason that the rat knows that the bat is lying, it is simple yet brilliant. The trick he pulled on the bat was hilarious, especially since the bat fell for it hook line and sinker. I really enjoyed the conclusion as well, it really made sense how rats hide and scurry, due to them being hunted.

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  6. CamilleOctober 14, 2019 at 11:05 AM

    Hey Ryan!
    Great job. This story was so much fun and I really enjoyed reading it. It actually reminded me of a story I read as a really young child. I have zero idea what it was, but for some reason this seemed very familiar to me. I wonder what ever happened to the one bush rat who told the bat to boil himself. I hope he could escape forever. Regardless, great story and great job. I really enjoyed it!

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  7. GracieOctober 15, 2019 at 12:07 AM

    Hi Ryan, Great story! I laughed out loud as I was reading this story! I think that the way the rat tricked the bat into thinking what he had done was real is hilarious. I cannot believe the bat believed the rat enough to try it for himself. I thought that the bat would live after jumping into the hot water but I guess he got what he deserved. This story was light and funny.

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  8. Samantha VaughtNovember 17, 2019 at 7:52 PM

    I really like your adaptation of the original story. I noticed it sounded similar, and then by the end I had remembered that I read it. It's so clever how they come up with these little fairy tales. It was a very interesting story, so I am glad that you retold it in your own way. There were some grammatical errors, just make sure you proofread!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Samantha VaughtNovember 17, 2019 at 7:52 PM

    I really like your adaptation of the original story. I noticed it sounded similar, and then by the end I had remembered that I read it. It's so clever how they come up with these little fairy tales. It was a very interesting story, so I am glad that you retold it in your own way. There were some grammatical errors, just make sure you proofread!

    ReplyDelete

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