Going Batty

by Nancy Krulik

  Katie was stuck in the dark, dismal Cave of Darkness! It was just her and the bats. Right now, Katie Kazoo was a creature of the night. How could she escape? Even with her bad bat-eyesight, she could see that she was trapped inside the exhibit area. There must be a door somewhere. But if she did escape, what then? She’d still be a bat flying around the zoo.

  This was soooo not good.

  And neither was the itchy feeling. Katie stretched her wing out a little farther to get a better scratch. Then she licked at her fur with her tongue. Mmm . . . it felt so good to groom herself.

  The bat hanging next to her didn’t seem to like what Katie was doing, though. Apparently, it didn’t like being bumped into. It stretched out a wing and shoved Katie slightly.

  “Hey!” Katie shouted. “You almost knocked me off my perch.”

  “Yeah, well, you hit me with your wing and woke me up,” the other bat told Katie. “And I like my beauty rest.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry,” Katie apologized. “I just had an itch.”

  Of course, Katie’s apology didn’t sound like words at all. It sounded more like ping . . . ping . . . ping noises.

  And a moment later, those same sounds echoed back to Katie. From the sound of the echoes, Katie could tell that there were some tasty mosquitoes flying by.

  Tasty mosquitoes. Now there were two words Katie never thought she’d say in the same sentence. For one thing, Katie was a vegetarian. And for another, mosquitoes were bugs. Who would want to eat a bug?

  A bat. That’s who!

  Katie pushed off from her perch and began to flap her wings. Wow! How cool was this? She was flying!

  As she soared through the dark cave, Katie opened her little bat mouth and let out a pinging noise. A moment later it echoed back. Now Katie knew exactly where that mosquito was.

  Dinnertime! Katie swooped down and swallowed the bug whole.

  Soon Katie was joined by several other bats, each sending out their own sounds in search of food. She had to admit it was kind of fun, just flying around in the dark, catching bugs.

  Then, suddenly behind her a flash of light pierced the darkness. Katie turned. The light hurt her eyes. Someone had opened the back door into the exhibit area. Was it a zookeeper? Or was it someone more dangerous?

  Chapter 9

  “It’s your fault we got sent to the help desk,” the someone said angrily.

  Katie listened carefully to the high-pitched, loud voice. Definitely not a zookeeper, she thought.

  “This is not the help desk,” a second human voice said.

  Katie gulped. There were two people inside the bat exhibit. Who were they?

  “Obviously,” the first voice answered sarcastically. “We made a wrong turn.”

  Suddenly, Katie realized she knew that voice really, really well. “Suzanne!” she shouted out.

  But all Katie’s best friend heard was “Squeak!” After all, Katie was a bat now.

  “Did you hear that?” the second someone said.

  Katie’s bat-mouth broke into a large grin. That slow, southern accent had to belong to Becky. The two someones weren’t big, bad predators. They were just fourth-grade girls!

  Katie was soooo happy to know that there were no predators in the cave with her, it made her want to fly!

  “Whee!” Katie squealed excitedly. She did a joyful loop-the-loop in the air, and caught a passing mosquito in her teeth.

  “AAAAHHHHH!” Suzanne and Becky cried out at once. “A bat!”

  Oops. Katie hadn’t meant to scare her friends. She’d just wanted to show them how happy she was to see them.

  “We’re inside the bat exhibit,” Becky shouted.

  “Not for long. I’m getting out of here!” Suzanne said. Then she stopped for a minute and looked around. “Um . . . where’s the door?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Becky said. “I’m all turned around.”

  Katie understood why the girls couldn’t find the door. The back wall was painted floor to ceiling with pictures of cave rocks and flying bats. It made it impossible to see where the door was in the wall.

  “I can’t believe you got us stuck in here!” Suzanne yelled at Becky.

  “I did not,” Becky answered. “In fact, I was following you.”

  “Well, who asked you to?” Suzanne shouted back.

  “Ms. Sweet,” Becky reminded her. “She said we had to stick together. And you said you knew how to read the zoo map.”

  “Yeah, well, this is no big deal,” Suzanne told her.

  “No big deal?” Becky demanded. “Are you kidding? We’re stuck in here with a bunch of creepy, dirty bats.”

  Now Katie was the one who was mad. She wasn’t creepy. And she certainly wasn’t dirty. She’d just groomed herself.

  “Relax,” Suzanne told Becky. “As soon as a zookeeper comes in here to take care of the bats, the door will open. That’s when we’ll leave.”

  “What if the zookeeper doesn’t show up until tomorrow?” Becky asked. “We could be stuck in here overnight.”

  “Don’t say that, Becky!” Suzanne shouted.

  All this arguing was getting to Katie. She perched upside down and pulled her wings tight over her ears to block out the loud voices. But it didn’t help. Her sensitive bat ears were picking up every sound.

  It was amazing. It didn’t matter where Katie went or who she switcherooed into. Suzanne and Becky’s battles followed her everywhere!

  Chapter 10

  Katie wasn’t the only one getting a headache. She could tell by the way the other bats were squeaking that Suzanne and Becky were scaring them.

  Katie tried making noises to tell the other bats not to be afraid of her friends. But they didn’t believe her.

  “We don’t like when non-bats come in here,” one bat told Katie.

  “Except that zookeeper human,” another bat said. “Sometimes she brings tasty insect treats for us to snack on.”

  “Well, these aren’t zookeeper humans,” the first bat insisted. “They’re regular humans.”

  Katie sighed. She wasn’t getting through to the bats at all. And she knew she wasn’t going to be able to calm Suzanne and Becky’s fears either.

  Katie wished she could tell Suzanne and Becky that bats were cool. They were great flyers—better than birds even. And the whole echolocation thing worked really well. There was never any problem finding food. But there was no way Katie could explain that to them right now. Becky and Suzanne didn’t speak bat.

  But Katie did. And right now, one of the bats was yelling at her.

  “We have to get those two humans out of here!” the bat squeaked angrily.

  “I know,” Katie agreed in bat-speak. “But they can’t find the way out.”

  “I’m right by the door,” the bat told her. “Just get them over here.”

  How was Katie supposed to do that? She couldn’t just lead them there. Suzanne and Becky would never follow a bat. They would run away from her instead.

  That was it!

  Suddenly, Katie got one of her great ideas! If she couldn’t lead the girls to the door, she would have to scare them there!

  All Katie had to do was keep flying behind Becky and Suzanne. They’d try and run away from her. Eventually, Katie would force them to run in the direction of the door.

  “Ping! Ping! Ping!” Katie let out a few high-pitched sounds.

  Ping! Ping! Ping! The sounds echoed right back, letting Katie know exactly where Suzanne and Becky were standing. She took off and flew right for the girls.

  “Aaaahhhhh!” Becky and Suzanne cried out. They began to run.

  Their loud squeals hurt Katie’s sensitive ears. But she refused to let that stop her. She had a job to do, and she was going to do it!

  “Move, move!” she squealed.

  Ping. Ping. The sounds echoed back.

  “Aaahhh!” Becky screamed.

  “Stay out of my hair!” Suzanne added as she ran away from Katie.

  The plan was working! Becky
and Suzanne were moving quickly toward the side of the cave where the door was. Katie could tell by the echoing sound of their footsteps.

  “Did you find the door yet?” Becky asked Suzanne nervously.

  “Not yet,” Suzanne told her. “But I’m running my hands along the wall. Sooner or later I’ve got to hit a doorknob.”

  “I sure hope it’s sooner,” Becky answered her.

  “I found the door!” Suzanne yelled out suddenly.

  “Open it! Fast,” Becky told her.

  Suzanne did just that. A moment later a burst of light flooded the dark bat exhibit. Katie’s bat-eyes squinted. Instinctively, she flew off to a dark corner.

  “Let’s get out of here!” Suzanne shouted.

  “Right behind you,” Becky agreed.

  “Au revoir,” a bat called out to the girls as they left the cave.

  Katie’s bat-eyes opened wide. Who knew bats could speak French?

  Katie heard the sounds of footsteps rushing out the door. Then Katie heard the door closing. The cave was dark again. Suzanne and Becky were gone.

  Katie was happy for her friends. They were back outside where they belonged.

  But she was also sad for herself. Yes, being a bat was fun. But she was ready to turn back into herself again.

  Yawn. Suddenly Katie felt very tired. All that flying, eating, and chasing had taken a lot out of her. She flew over to a nearby tree, hooked her feet on a thick branch, and flipped over for a well deserved, upside-down nap.

  But no sooner did Katie shut her bat-eyes, than she felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her wings.

  She wondered if any of the other bats felt air rushing into the cave. But they all seemed perfectly fine, hanging there, upside down.

  This wind seemed to be blowing only on Katie. And that could mean only one thing. This was no ordinary wind. This was the magic wind.

  The magic wind picked up speed then, swirling and whirling around Katie so hard that she thought her little bat body might be blown away. She gripped the branch hard with her claws and held on tight.

  And then it stopped. Just like that. The magic wind was gone, and Katie was back.

  Thud! Katie fell to the ground and landed on her rear end. Red sneakers could not grip tree branches the way bat claws did. But that was okay. She was just glad to be back to herself again.

  Quickly, she ran her hands along the walls of the cave until she found the doorknob. As soon as she did, she opened the door and raced outside.

  “Bye!” she called back to the bats, hoping they understood.

  Chapter 11

  Katie wasn’t afraid of the bats anymore. But she was worried about what was going to happen when her teacher realized she’d wandered off. Mr. G wasn’t going to like that. Not one bit.

  Uh-oh. Just then she saw Mr. G coming toward her.

  “Katie, there you are!” Mr. G exclaimed. Luckily, he sounded more relieved than mad. “I was wondering what had happened to you.”

  “I . . . um . . . I went back to get my map, and I got all lost and wound up here,” Katie told him.

  That was the truth, sort of. She’d just left out the whole part about the magic wind and turning into a bat.

  “Oh,” Mr. G replied. “Well, I’m glad we found you. I’m just sorry you missed the Hall of Lizards. I know you would have liked the chameleons.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Katie apologized. “I didn’t mean to end up at the bat cave.”

  Now that was definitely the truth.

  “Well, we found you just in time,” Mr. G told her. “I’m glad you won’t miss this exhibit. After all, you’re one of our fourth-grade bat experts.”

  Katie grinned. She was a bat expert all right. More than Mr. G would ever know!

  A little while later, Katie was sitting on the bus heading back to school with her friends. She was really tired from all the flying. But it had also been fun. And it had helped her make an important decision.

  “Hey, you guys, I think I know what animal we should adopt,” Katie told Suzanne and Becky.

  “Which one?” Suzanne asked.

  Katie took a deep breath. She had a feeling her friends weren’t going to like this. “A bat. A little brown bat.”

  “Oooh, gross!” Becky shouted. “I hate bats.”

  “I don’t like them, either,” Suzanne said.

  Katie sighed. Finally her friends were agreeing on something. But it didn’t make Katie happy.

  “Ouch!” Suzanne exclaimed. She started scratching the red bumps on both her arms. “I’m like a mosquito magnet. Look how many bites I got last night.”

  “Bats eat mosquitoes. Did you know that?” Katie asked Suzanne. “So you should be grateful to bats.”

  “Um . . . I guess so,” Suzanne murmured.

  “A bat would be a great animal to adopt,” Jeremy told the girls. “There are bat heroes, like Batman.”

  Becky turned to Jeremy. “Do you really think we should adopt a bat?” she asked him as she batted her eyes and smiled.

  Jeremy blushed red and shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

  “Then I think we should adopt a bat,” Becky said.

  Suzanne rolled her eyes. But a moment later she said, “Okay, a bat it is. This whole adoption thing was Katie’s idea anyway. She should get to pick. And bats are kind of graceful when they fly.”

  Katie laughed and sat back in her seat. She was happy that they had all finally agreed on a zoo animal to adopt. Everything was peaceful again.

  But not for long.

  “I think we should name our brown bat Batly,” Becky said.

  “That’s a dumb name,” Suzanne told her. “In fact, it’s not even a name.”

  “Well what name were you thinking of?” Becky asked Suzanne.

  “Aurora,” Suzanne answered. “Like the princess in Sleeping Beauty. Because bats sleep in the daytime.”

  “But they’re awake at night,” Becky said. “And who ever heard of naming a bat after a princess, anyway?”

  “Here we go again,” Katie said to Jeremy.

  “Those two will never change,” Jeremy agreed.

  Katie smiled. She was actually glad about that. With all the changes and switcheroos she kept going through, it was good to know that some things would always be the same.

  Chapter 12

  Bat Facts!

  Being switcherooed into a bat taught Katie a whole lot about what bats are really like. Luckily, you don’t have to wait for a magic wind to turn you into a bat to become a bat expert. There are plenty of cool bat facts right here!

  Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

  Bats are ancient animals that have been around at least fifty million years.

  One of the world’s smallest mammals is the bumblebee bat from Thailand. It weighs less than a penny!

  The giant flying fox bats of Indonesia have wings that stretch out as far as six feet—that’s how tall many adult men are!

  The brown myotis bat can catch more than one thousand mosquitoes in an hour—often two in a second!

  Vampire bats adopt orphan bats. They’ve been known to risk their own lives to share food with the less fortunate bats.

  Honduran white bats cut large leaves to make “tents” that protect their colonies from jungle rains.

  There are nearly one thousand different species of bats. Most of them are so small they could fit in the palm of your hand.

  African heart-nosed bats can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand six feet away!

  About the Author

  Nancy Krulik is the author of more than 150 books for children and young adults, including three New York Times best sellers. She lives in New York City with her husband, composer Daniel Burwasser, their children, Amanda and Ian, and Pepper, a chocolate and white spaniel mix. When she’s not busy writing the Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo series, Nancy loves swimming, reading, and going to the movies.

  About the Illustrators

  John & Wendy have illustrated all of the Kat
ie Kazoo books, but when they’re not busy drawing Katie and her friends, they like to paint, take photographs, travel, and play music in their rock ’n’ roll band. They live and work in Brooklyn, New York.