Nigerian Folktales

Why Bats fly at night | Nigerian Folktale

The bat and the squirrel were very good friends and both lived in a village near Idin forest. There came a time that the bat became jealous of the squirrel because he was good looking and he, the bat, was ugly.
The bat was a very good cook and so whenever the squirrel visited the bat, the bat would cook a mouth watering soup which the squirrel would gladly eat. The squirrel was never good at cooking, so one day, he begged the bat to teach him how to cook a delicious soup. The jealous bat said to the squirrel, “whenever I want to cook my delicious soup, I use to dip myself in boiling water then cook the soup with the hot water“.
The squirrel was very glad and he thanked the bat. He ran home and told his wife to boil some water which she did. The squirrel narrated what the bat had told him to his wife who laughed and told him it was all a lie. When the squirrel’s wife was not looking, the squirrel quickly jumped into the boiling water and died instantly.
The squirrel’s wife was very angry and reported the matter to the king who also became angry. The king was so angry that he ordered his guards and the villagers to capture the bat and kill him. That evening, two ants were strolling past the bat’s house and were discussing the king’s order to capture and kill the bat. When the bat heard this, he became so scared and went into hiding in Idin forest. Since then, afraid that he might be caught if he fly during the day, the bat has been flying at night.
This is why bats fly at night.
Thanks for reading,
OldNaija.com

Cite this article as: Teslim Omipidan. (July 8, 2017). Why Bats fly at night | Nigerian Folktale. OldNaija. Retrieved from https://oldnaija.com/2017/07/08/why-bats-fly-at-night/

5 Comments

  1. Gud story and I believe it’s a fairy story but bat also fly during the day. The bird that fly in the night is owl. U can verify later.

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