THE BIRDS, THE BEASTS, AND THE BAT.
The birds and the beasts once went to war. The bat—which could not be said to be bird or beast—at first kept out of the way of both, but when he thought the beasts would win the day, he was found in their ranks, and to prove his right to be there, he said, “Can you find a bird that has two rows of teeth in his head, as I have?” At last the birds had the best of the fight, so then the bat was seen to join their ranks. “Look,” said he, “I have wings, so what else can I be but a bird?” “To grind with all winds” was thought base in the bat by both sides of the fight, and he could not get bird or beast to own him, and to this day he hides and skulks in caves and stems of trees, and does not come out till dark, when all the birds of the air have gone to roost, and the beasts of the field are wrapt in sleep.
One must not blow hot and cold.