“Sure,” Daniel answered. “Anything.”
Megabat glanced at Birdgirl to make sure she wasn’t listening.
“Does yours think Birdgirl is loving Megabat too?”
Bats don’t blush, but the way Megabat’s shoulders were hunched up in embarrassment made it clear he would have been blushing if he could.
“I don’t know anything about pigeons—or girls,” Daniel said. “But even I can tell she’s crazy about you.”
“And a Daniel is muchly loving Megabat,” he said, like he needed to confirm it.
“Yeah, yeah,” Daniel said. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
The bat straightened out his back. “Then Megabat is not needing the land of Papaya Premium,” he said, looking around the shed. “Megabat is home.”
“You mean, you want to stay?” Daniel asked. “With me? And Birdgirl?”
“And Talia,” he added. “It’s is oka-hay?”
Daniel didn’t mean to, but suddenly he found himself dripping again, just a little. “Of course,” he said. “Actually, it’s kind of better than oka-hay.”
A NEST FOR TWO
Late summer turned to fall. Megabat’s wingtip healed, leaving a silvery scar. One day, he found he could glide from the rafter to the shed floor. He worked up to crossing the yard, then circled the block with Birdgirl at his side. He landed with shaking wings and bowed. Talia and Daniel applauded.
When the weather got colder, Daniel asked Megabat if he’d like to come back to live in the attic—but Megabat hunched his wings in embarrassment.
“Birdgirl,” he said, “is keeping Megabat warm at night.”
Daniel didn’t ask any more questions about that.
Daniel was sure Megabat still missed his bat brothers and sisters—just like Daniel still missed his friends in Toronto—but they didn’t talk about it as often, and neither of them dripped much. Daniel even made a few new friends at school.
Really—life was good, except for one minor detail.
It was a few weeks before Christmas and the friends were hanging colored lights in the shed when the door burst open.
“I wondered what you guys were doing back here!” There stood Jamie wearing a fur-lined hat and his usual sneer. “It’s the bat, isn’t it? He’s back! Talia, if you don’t agree to be my servant for life, I’m telling Mom!”
“You leave Megabat and Talia alone!” Daniel put his hands on his hips.
“Or else what?” Jamie challenged.
Suddenly, Daniel had an idea. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he motioned to Birdgirl. She landed on his shoulder. He whispered in her ear and she took off out the door into the wintry air.
“Jamie,” Talia said, “just go home, okay?”
“Fine…” he said. “I will. But only to get Dad’s cell phone so I can record the talking bat and show Mom.”
As soon as he left, Talia sat down in the wheelbarrow. “Great. What are we going to do now?”
“Just wait for it,” Daniel said.
“Wait for what?” Talia asked.
A minute later they heard a commotion outside the shed. It sounded like a helicopter landing. Daniel threw open the door to reveal Jamie, running back toward them with a cell phone, already recording. In fact, he was so busy looking at the screen that he didn’t notice the huge flock of pigeons at first.
“Shoo,” Jamie said, waving his arms as the first one crossed his path. “Get lost,” he said when a second one swooped past his ear.
“Coo-woo!” Birdgirl called.
That was when the pooping began. And not just regular pooping. Massive pooping. Every pigeon in the air—and there were almost a hundred—let loose at the same time.
“No!” Jamie tried to cover his head. “Gross! Make them stop!”
“They’ll stop if you leave Megabat alone,” Daniel shouted. “For good. And no more making Talia be your servant, or else they’ll get you…every time you go outside.”
“Okay, okay. Fine,” Jamie said.
“Coo-woo!” Birdgirl ordered. The pigeons dispersed in the air like confetti.
“Clever, clever bird,” Talia said, as Birdgirl came back to roost in the shed.
“Yes,” Daniel agreed, “the cleverest.”
Megabat flew up to perch beside her. He bowed down low. “Birdgirl.” He looked up at her adoringly. “Mine hero, mine love. Will yours marry Megabat?”
“Coo-woo!” She flapped her wings.
It was a definite yes.
Then the four friends watched as Jamie picked up his pigeon-poop covered hat and ran from the yard.
“Coo-woo,” Birdgirl said, contentedly.
“Yes,” agreed Megabat. “A muchly happy ending.”
A Little Bit about Bats
Megabat is based on a real kind of fruit bat (or megabat) called the lesser short-nosed fruit bat. These bats are tiny, weighing between 21 and 32 grams—which is about as heavy as an AA battery, or a mouse—and live in South and Southeast Asia and Indonesia (Borneo), usually in rainforests, near gardens, near vegetation or on beaches.
Of course, even though Megabat is based on a real kind of bat, he’s also made up. I don’t need to tell you that actual bats can’t talk…not even in the funny way that Megabat talks! But it might be worth mentioning that bats don’t make good pets, either.
Bats are amazing creatures and an important part of our ecosystem. North American bats eat insects, and they’re rarely dangerous to humans. So if you see a bat in the wild it’s okay to observe it from a distance, but don’t try to touch it or trap it!
A Mega List of Thanking Yourses
I started writing Megabat for my kids, Grace and Elliot, just after we moved to a new city. We were all feeling a little lost and lonely in a place that was brand new to us—plus, what was with that weirdo leak in the roof?!
Thankfully, we eventually figured it out (it wasn’t bat tears—just a bad roofing job), and because of the warm welcome my husband, kids and I received from our neighbors, it wasn’t long before our new city felt exactly like home. That’s why this book is dedicated to the people of our street (both past and present): Christine, Steve, Alex, Olivia, Cheryl, Jude, Emery, Selah, Anne, Cara, R.J., Liam, Mason, Nina, Jay, Audrey, Henrick, Brian, Cathy, Denise, Mike, Erin, Erich, Sandra, Jeff and Austin.
Of course, once it was written, Megabat also needed a home. That’s where my amazing literary agent, Amy Tompkins, came in and introduced Megabat to the wise, witty and wonderful Samantha Swenson at Tundra Books. Not only did she take this batty little book under her wing, but she saw it through production with help from an A+ team including Andrew Roberts, Christie Hanson, Liz Kribs and Sylvia Chan. I’m most grateful to them, as well as to Kass Reich, whose utterly adorable illustrations melt my heart a little every time I turn a page.
Finally, I’d like to give a big high five to the Ontario Arts Council for their support of Megabat, as well as for their ongoing support of the arts in Ontario.
ANNA HUMPHREY has worked in marketing for a poetry organization, in communications for the Girl Guides of Canada, as an editor for a webzine, as an intern at a decorating magazine and for the government. None of those was quite right, so she started her own freelance writing and editing business on top of writing for kids and teens. She lives in a big, old brick house in Kitchener, Ontario, with her husband and two kids and no bats. Yet.
KASS REICH was born in Montreal, Quebec. She works as an artist and educator and has spent the majority of the last decade traveling and living abroad. She now finds herself back in Canada, but this time in Toronto. Kass loves illustrating books for all ages, like Carson Crosses Canada and Hamsters Holding Hands. This is her first book about a bat.
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Megabat Page 5
