The fable:
A Bat blundered into the nest of a Weasel, who ran up to catch and eat him. The Bat begged for his life, but the Weasel would not listen.
"You are a Mouse," he said, "and I am a sworn enemy of Mice. Every Mouse I catch, I am going to eat!"
"But I am not a Mouse!" cried the Bat. "Look at my wings. Can Mice fly? Why, I am only a Bird! Please let me go!"The Weasel had to admit that the Bat was not a Mouse, so he let him go. But a few days later, the foolish Bat went blindly into the nest of another Weasel. This Weasel happened to be a bitter enemy of Birds, and he soon had the Bat under his claws, ready to eat him.
"You are a Bird," he said, "and I am going to eat you!"
"What," cried the Bat, "I, a Bird! Why, all Birds have feathers! I am nothing but a Mouse. 'Down with all Cats,' is my motto!"
And so the Bat escaped with his life a second time.
"You are a Mouse," he said, "and I am a sworn enemy of Mice. Every Mouse I catch, I am going to eat!"
"But I am not a Mouse!" cried the Bat. "Look at my wings. Can Mice fly? Why, I am only a Bird! Please let me go!"The Weasel had to admit that the Bat was not a Mouse, so he let him go. But a few days later, the foolish Bat went blindly into the nest of another Weasel. This Weasel happened to be a bitter enemy of Birds, and he soon had the Bat under his claws, ready to eat him.
"You are a Bird," he said, "and I am going to eat you!"
"What," cried the Bat, "I, a Bird! Why, all Birds have feathers! I am nothing but a Mouse. 'Down with all Cats,' is my motto!"
And so the Bat escaped with his life a second time.
The moral of this story is that "It is wise to turn circumstances to good account". Meaning that one has to turn things to their benefit, according to how things come.
I believe that this fable also shows the duplicity of the bat, it shows how a person can change their beliefs according to circumstances and how two faced people manage to get away with problems in their life and deceive others. It is possible then to change the narrative of the fable and give to it a different meaning.
But that is a story for another time.
As things are one could say that this fable shows how one should adapt to circumstances to make the best of them, how one should be quick in thinking and giving convincing explanations.
I narrated this fable and you can find it on YouTube by pressing the link below: