I was roused from my sleep by another screaming bat. Yawning, I fluttered out of my sleeping place. The sounds of waking bats filled the cave. It was meal time. Like all other animals, bats need to eat to survive. Most of the bats hung out with family or friends in search of food, and most of them went to the creek a mile and a half away. It was a relatively long trip, but it was one of the few places in our area that had a lot of food. Notice how I said one of? Well, there was another place, but most bats didn't go there. And for good reasons too. It may have only been half a mile away, but this site was right behind a human village. Humans roamed that area all the time, and humans didn't like bats. At least they didn't act like they did when they saw us. So it was very dangerous to go back there. Why am I talking about this? Well, I was young at the time, and even though I knew of the many dangers of going to eat at Throw (as most people called this site at the time), I was ready for the adventure, and I have to admit, I was quite tired of traveling so far to get food. So when I tried to sneak past my father's nest that night, I was very careful not to wake him. You probably guessed that I was planning on going to Throw to get some food. I was very surprised when I found him at the entrance of the cave, with his wings folded as he glared at me. You have to understand that my father was a very large, muscular bat, and he was very imposing. He was a well-known military hero, and I was… well, I was young and small. Very small for my age, and living in my father's shadow made me restless for glory or something. This was one of the reasons I had always looked for adventurers... middle of paper...w sure they were gone and would never come looking for me again, I climbed out of the hole I had, hid and flew as best I could to the cave. Why did I tell that story? Well, to you young people it might seem like an exciting adventure. But in reality it wasn't. From that lesson my father gave me I learned that he truly knew what would keep me safe. I also learned that you didn't have to be reckless just to appear brave and heroic. Those who are truly courageous do not seek danger, but fight it. Don't be the fool I was. Yes, my wing is healed and yes, I'm not dead. But it doesn't matter. What matters is what I know now... and what you should know now. I grew to my father's size and eventually even surpassed him. I fought many battles and became a well-known warrior. But to this day I have never returned to Throw. And I never will.