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Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to Mr. Nelson Mandela. He was a great man from South Africa who helped his people. He died last week. I tried to find a South African folktale about bats, but I couldn’t find one. This is an African tale that I found at Pedagogy Ideas. It’s about a little bat who couldn’t make up his mind. Why the Bat Flies at Night So long ago that no one remembers why, the animals and the birds fought a war. The bat could not decide which group to join. As the bat watched, the birds seemed to be winning, so he flew to the side of the birds. “What are you doing here?” demanded the birds. “You are not a bird.” “See my wings?’ asked the bat. The birds accepted him. Unfortunately for the bat, the birds were being tricked by the animals. The animals won the war. The bat flew to where the animals were. “What are you doing here?” demanded the animals. “You are not an animal.” “See my teeth?” asked the bat. He opened his mouth and showed his little fangs. The animals chased him away. Maybe some of them had seen him with the birds. The birds saw him coming back from the animals, and would not have him back. No one accepts the bat now. He still hides from everyone during the day, and only flies about when he can hide in darkness. In Memory of Nelson Mandela 1918 -2013

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. This week, illustrator E. Wright contributed an animated illustration for today’s blog.   White Nose Syndrome is a terrible disease that is killing North American bats. It’s really sad. Here is a poem that I wrote about a little bat who is sick. Asleep in my cave all toasty and warm, I plan to stay through the winter storm. Dreaming of bugs flying about, “Squeak, squeak, squeak” all the bats will shout. But wait! What is this itch? It wakes me up and makes my nose twitch. I don’t like this feeling one little bit. How do I stop it? When will it quit? I’m awake now. What do I do? It’s cold outside. Who will help me? Who? This is strange. It isn’t right. I’m awake, so I take flight. It’s too cold for me. Now I feel sick. Someone help me! Save me! Quick! –Rachael

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and that everyone was thankful for the little bats. Since we wouldn’t have Thanksgiving if it weren’t for the Native Americans, I thought I should post one more Native American story. This one tells about how bat and flying squirrel came to be and how bat saves the day. I found this one at the First People website, too. The ball game between the Birds and the Animals: A Cherokee Legend The old ones tell us that one time, the animals challenged the birds to a great ball game, and the birds accepted. The leaders of each made the plans and set the date, and when the time came, both parties met at the place for the ball dance. The animals met on a nice smooth grassy area near the river, and the birds perched in the treetops overlooking the animals. The captain of the animal team was Yo-na, the bear, and he was strong and heavy, and could take care of anyone who got in his way. All along the way to the ball game, he was showing his strength by tossing logs and boulders into the air. He boasted of what he would do to the birds at the ball game. Da-ga-si, the terrapin, was a huge terrapin, and his shell was so hard, not even the heaviest blow to him would hurt. He kept standing on his hind legs and then dropping to the ground, bragging that this is what he would do at the ball game. He would crush any bird that tried to take the ball from him. There was also A-wi, the deer, who could easily outrun any and every […]

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Since it’s almost Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to post a Native American story on bats. I think it shows how wonderful bats are. I hope you enjoy it. I found it at the First People website here. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! And for everyone celebrating Hanukah, I hope you all enjoy your special holiday. Apparently, the 2 holidays won’t be on the same day again for another 75,000 years! How the Bat came to be: An Ojibwa Legend Long ago, as the sun began to rise one morning, he came too close to Earth and got tangled up in the top branches of a very tall tree. The harder Sun tried to escape, the more he became caught. So, the dawn did not come. At first, all of the birds and animals did not notice. Some of them woke up, then went back to sleep, thinking that they had made a mistake, and it was not time to get up. Other animals, who loved the night, like the panther and the owl, were really glad that it stayed dark, so they continued to hunt. But, after a while, so much time had passed that the birds and animals knew that something was wrong. They gathered together, in the dark, to hold a council. “Sun has gotten lost,” said the eagle. “We must look for him,” said the bear. So, all of the birds and animals went out to look for Sun. They looked in caves and in the deep forest and on the mountains and in the swamps. But, Sun was not there. None of the birds and animals could find him. Then, one of the animals, […]

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. This week, we welcome illustrator E. Wright, who created illustrations for today’s blog.   It got cold this week. I wonder if the bats are as cold as I am. I’ve been thinking about knitting them little sweaters for Christmas. Wouldn’t that look silly? The cold weather inspired my poetry. —Rachael Bats On A Cold Autumn Day Huddling together on this cold Autumn day, Why won’t the wind stop blowing our way? The people below complain as they sneeze. They don’t seem to like this drafty breeze. A good day’s sleep is all we want. We need our rest before the night hunt. Dreaming of moths in the moonlight, We can’t wait for that first tasty bite.

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. I am so exited because my bats are back!!!!! The first one got here around dinner time one night last weekend. A couple of hours later, there were two more. So far, I have only seen the three of them. Two of them like to cuddle together and one of them sits off by itself. There is also a “blob” up in a corner, but it’s too dark in there for me to tell how many there are. I always try to count their noses, so that I can figure out how many there are. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, they look at me. I think it’s fun to look up at the bats and see them staring back at me. They are so CUTE!!! I have not seen them flying around yet though. L I remember one time a few years ago when one of them flew down at my dad when he was looking at them. It was really funny. That was the evening that we all learned not to stand in their doorway when they’re leaving to go eat.