Little Bat's Dream

Little Bat had a daydream,

All the big bats were asleep,

Curled up in their wing-beds

Upside down, all tucked and neat.

Little Bat dreamed of perching

On the finger of a child,

Welcomed, like a bluebird,

With bright feathers, soft and mild.

Not the rubbery things

He stretched out to flap about.

Not the frightful things

All the humans talked about!

Bats! How they were hated!

Put in stories black and grim.

Little Bat dreamed of showing

All the good they do for men.

Gobbling up mosquitoes,

Nasty things that sting and bite!

Eating bugs by moonlight,

Going to sleep in the daylight.

He wasn’t made a cardinal

To announce the start of spring,

He was a night bug eater.

Bats are truly marvelous things!

When Little Bat woke at nighttime,

When the children go to sleep,

He went to work as bats do...

And he hopes his dream you’ll keep.