Once, there lived a bat. He always wanted to live a comfortable life as he was very lazy. He hated to go out and hunt for insects. One night, he saw a parrot hanging in a cage in the balcony and a little girl was putting a variety of food in her cage. The bat thought what a comfortable life she was enjoying and wished to be a pet. He decided to change his daily routine. Next morning, he got up early and went to the park so that some child might spot him and take him home as a pet. He flew everywhere so that people might notice him but as the bats are not attractive nobody paid attention. The bat, now, decided to change his looks. He made an artificial beak, stuck a load of feathers to his body, and learnt chirping like a bird so that nobody might recognise him. The next day, he came back again in the park and luckily a little boy, Jack, saw him.
The boy was short-sighted, so he could not recognise that it was actually a bat. Jack took the bat home and put him inside a cage. The bat was very happy as he was expecting a variety of food without making any effort. He felt like the best of all bats, and also the cleverest. But that feeling was short-lived. It was only up to the time he got his food.
The bat expected to get flies and insects but Jack gave him seeds and grains. Every day, Jack gave him the same food which bats do not eat. The bat was dying of hunger. Jack and his parents noticed that the bat was getting weaker and weaker, and decided to set him free. The bat returned home and was ashamed; he could not tell anyone what had happened. Though he had been set free, he was sad at heart. But one thing was sure. He was no longer worried about the discomfort of living freely.
