A Story about Being Loyal.
Suggestions for Introducing the Idea of
Loyalty:
In the Old Testament book of I Kings, chapter 18, verses 21-24, we are told the first part of a story about loyalty. The Prophet Elijah said to the people, “If the Lord is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him.” Be loyal to one or the other. Then Elijah set up a test to see which god was really God. You may have to explain to the Scouts that Baal was believed by some ancient people to be the god of the storm, and the king of all the gods. They didn’t understand the real God is the creator of all of us who loves us and walks with us on a daily basis.
You can have one of the Scouts
read I Kings 18:21-24, talk a little about Elijah’s challenge to Baal, then
tell the story of “Bat.” After
the story of “Bat” you can talk with them a little bit about the nature of
Loyalty.
By the way, “Bat” is an old
Native American story, and one of the requirements for “Indian
Lore” Merit Badge is to learn such a story.
If any of your Scouts are interested in earning this merit badge, the
story of “Bat” will give them a start.
Once there was a war between beasts and birds. Bat was on birds’ side. In the first battle, the birds were badly beaten. As soon as Bat saw that the battle was going against them, he crept away, hid under a log, and stayed there till the fight was over.
When the animals were going home, Bat slipped in among them.
After they had gone some distance, they saw him and asked one another: “How is this? Bat is one of the men who fought against us?”
Bat heard them, and he said: “Oh, no! I am one of you; I don’t belong to the bird people. Did you ever see one of those people who had o and look in their mouths and see if they have. If you find one bird with double teeth, you can say that I belong to the bird people. But I don’t; I am one of your own people.”
They didn’t say anything more; they let Bat stay with them.
Soon after, there was another battle; in that battle birds won. As Bat’s side was getting beaten, he slipped away and hid under a log. When the battle was over and birds were going home, Bat went in among them.
When they noticed him, they said: “You are our enemy; we saw you fighting against us.”
“Oh, no,” said Bat, “I am one of you; I don’t belong to those beasts. Did you ever see one of those people who had wings?”
They didn’t say anything more; they let him stay with them.
So Bat went back and forth as long as the war lasted. At the end of the war, birds and beasts held a council to see what to do with him. At last they said to Bat: “Hereafter, you will fly around alone at night, and will never have any friends, either among those that fly, or those that walk.”
[This is a story from the Modoc tribe, California.]
NOTE: This is from Feldmann, Susan. The Storytelling Stone: Myths and Tales of the American Indians. NY: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. [A Laural Original], 1965, pp. 250-251.
This story is cited as being from Curtin, Jeremiah. Myths of the Modocs. 1912.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.