Long long ago, there was a war between the birds and the beasts. No one knows what they fought about.
很久以前，在鳥類與獸類之間發生了一場戰争，沒人知道戰争的起因是什麼。
The bat did not know whose side he should take. He thought and thought, then decided he must try to be on the side of the winners.
蝙蝠開始并不知道自己該站在哪邊，他左思右想，終于決定了，無論如何必須同最終的勝利者站在一起。
So he watched from far away. After a while,it seemed that the birds were going to win.He flew over to join them.
是以，他躲得很遠進行觀察。不久，鳥類有了獲勝的迹象，他飛到了鳥類陣營。
"What on earth are you doing here?" a bird shouted at him.
“你到這裡來想幹什麼？”一隻鳥向他叫道。
"Can't you see I'm a bird?" the bat said with a smile. "Look , I have wings, just like you."
“你看不出來我也是一隻鳥嗎？”蝙蝠笑着說道，“看，我和你一樣有翅膀。”
Come along, then,"said the bird."Don't hide behind others."
“那就一起來吧，”鳥說道：“不要躲在别人後面。”
But things changed soon. Now it seemed that the beasts were winning. So the bat left the birds in a hurry and went over to the beasts.
但是風雲突變，這回是獸類看上去要赢了，蝙蝠匆忙而飛速地離開鳥群奔向了獸類。
"What are you doing on our side?"an animal called out to him. "Are you spying on us?"
“你到我們這裡來幹什麼？”一隻野獸向他吼道：“你是來做間諜的嗎？”
"Don't you know I'm one of you?"asked the bat, showing his teeth."Look. Can't you see I've got teeth,too?"
“你難道看不出來我是你們的一分子嗎? ”蝙蝠反問道，并且露出了牙齒。“看，我不是也同樣長有牙齒嗎？”
"Who are you trying to fool?"said the animals. "We saw you fighting on the side of the birds just now."
“你想愚弄誰？”野獸說道，“我們剛才還看到你站在敵方陣營同我們作戰！”
So the beasts drove him off. Of course the birds refused to take him back.
然後獸群驅逐了蝙蝠，當然鳥群也拒絕他回到他們的隊伍。
When the beasts and the birds saw neither side could win, they decided to stop fighting.
當獸群和鳥群看到誰都無法獲得最終的勝利時，他們決定停戰！
Neither beasts nor birds would have the bat as their friend,so he was afraid to leave his home. Ever since then, the bat comes out only at night.
無論獸還是鳥都不再視蝙蝠為朋友，他不得不離開他原來擁有的舞台，之後隻能躲在漆黑的夜晚出沒！
權威出處：《國小閱讀指南（一二年級版）》2009年09期