Long long ago, there was a war between the birds and the beasts. No one knows what they fought about.
很久以前，在鸟类与兽类之间发生了一场战争，没人知道战争的起因是什么。
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.
蝙蝠开始并不知道自己该站在哪边，他左思右想，终于决定了，无论如何必须同最终的胜利者站在一起。
So he watched from far away. After a while,it seemed that the birds were going to win.He flew over to join them.
因此，他躲得很远进行观察。不久，鸟类有了获胜的迹象，他飞到了鸟类阵营。
"What on earth are you doing here?" a bird shouted at him.
“你到这里来想干什么？”一只鸟向他叫道。
"Can't you see I'm a bird?" the bat said with a smile. "Look , I have wings, just like you."
“你看不出来我也是一只鸟吗？”蝙蝠笑着说道，“看，我和你一样有翅膀。”
Come along, then,"said the bird."Don't hide behind others."
“那就一起来吧，”鸟说道：“不要躲在别人后面。”
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.
但是风云突变，这回是兽类看上去要赢了，蝙蝠匆忙而飞速地离开鸟群奔向了兽类。
"What are you doing on our side?"an animal called out to him. "Are you spying on us?"
“你到我们这里来干什么？”一只野兽向他吼道：“你是来做间谍的吗？”
"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?"
“你难道看不出来我是你们的一分子吗? ”蝙蝠反问道，并且露出了牙齿。“看，我不是也同样长有牙齿吗？”
"Who are you trying to fool?"said the animals. "We saw you fighting on the side of the birds just now."
“你想愚弄谁？”野兽说道，“我们刚才还看到你站在敌方阵营同我们作战！”
So the beasts drove him off. Of course the birds refused to take him back.
然后兽群驱逐了蝙蝠，当然鸟群也拒绝他回到他们的队伍。
When the beasts and the birds saw neither side could win, they decided to stop fighting.
当兽群和鸟群看到谁都无法获得最终的胜利时，他们决定停战！
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.
无论兽还是鸟都不再视蝙蝠为朋友，他不得不离开他原来拥有的舞台，之后只能躲在漆黑的夜晚出没！
权威出处：《小学阅读指南（一二年级版）》2009年09期