A Job Well Done

Once upon a time there lived a bat. His name was Matt. He lived in a tree by a stream, near the palace of a great king. During the day he was inclined to sleep, but at night he worked especially hard. While Matt wasn’t the smartest bat out there, he was the one who did his job well; he never missed a night eating mosquitoes. His mother had told him that his job was very important because without him the king would never come outside.

In this very same tree there also lived a nightingale whose name was Carol. During the day, she also slept, but at night she sang, and because her song was so lovely the king would come out and listen to her sing. Sadly, this caused Carol to become proud and she started to make fun of her neighbor the bat.
“Thou art so worthless,” she taunted “thou spends every waking second eating mosquitoes.”
The bat didn’t answer at once. This thought had never crossed his mind. Worthless? That was not what his mother had said.
“It is an important job!” he answered.
“Important?” Carol laughed. “Look at me, I sing for the king, my job is not even comparable in importance to eating mosquitoes.”
“Thou doesn’t realize,” replied Matt, “that without me the king would never come outside.”
“He does not come outside because of thee,” she sneered, “He comes to listen to my music.”

Matt knew he should not reply. He decided to show her what he meant. The next night he did not go out and eat the mosquitoes. Instead, he watched while Carol sang her song to the king. She was so into her own song, she didn’t notice that her audience was distracted. Soon they were swatting the hungry mosquitoes that attacked them and they quickly retreated back into the palace. Not one remained.
Carol was quiet for awhile, then, knowing that the bat was correct, she sighed. “Thou was right, Matt, the job that thou hast is just as important as mine. I can sing for the king, but I cannot do it without the help thou gives.”
Matt smiled, and from then on the two worked together. Carol sang, while Matt caught mosquitoes. The king and his royal court once again came outside and enjoyed the lovely song of the nightingale. Clearly, we need to learn to be thankful for those around us that do their job well. Without them, we wouldn’t be successful in ours.