Bat had a friend, and the friend's mother was sick.
The straw-coloured fruit bat colony over 37 Military Hospital and the Accra ridge at dusk — thousands of them, every evening, in season.
2 min readSource-backed story
Listening to Why the Bat Flies at Night
Why the Bat Flies at Night
Story 1 of 1
0:001:16
Read transcript
Why the Bat Flies at Night
Bat had a friend, and the friend's mother was sick. Bat, who had some medicine and more pride, promised to come and cure her. He took his time.
By the time he arrived, she had died.
The friend's family — and here the tellings sharpen — did not forgive him. Some say the friend himself swore that Bat would never again be welcome in daylight where the living could look at him. Some say Bat was so ashamed of the delay that he decided it himself.
Either way, Bat became a creature that does not want to be seen. He hangs where nothing else hangs. He comes out when the light is gone and the ones who might recognise him are asleep. He is neither a bird nor a mouse and belongs to neither company, so no one claims him and no one asks him questions.
And when a Ghanaian tells you a bat is a bird you must not eat, or that a bat in the roof means something, you are hearing the end of this story.
If you visit Ghana. The straw-coloured fruit bat colony over 37 Military Hospital and the Accra ridge at dusk — thousands of them, every evening, in season.
Bat had a friend, and the friend's mother was sick. Bat, who had some medicine and more pride, promised to come and cure her. He took his time.
By the time he arrived, she had died.
The friend's family — and here the tellings sharpen — did not forgive him. Some say the friend himself swore that Bat would never again be welcome in daylight where the living could look at him. Some say Bat was so ashamed of the delay that he decided it himself.
Either way, Bat became a creature that does not want to be seen. He hangs where nothing else hangs. He comes out when the light is gone and the ones who might recognise him are asleep. He is neither a bird nor a mouse and belongs to neither company, so no one claims him and no one asks him questions.
And when a Ghanaian tells you a bat is a bird you must not eat, or that a bat in the roof means something, you are hearing the end of this story.