Once upon a time, there was a man named Mat who lived in a small village. One day, while he was taking a walk in the forest, he found a bat. The bat asked him for help to catch a cat that had stolen his hat. Mat agreed to help and together they went in search of the cat. They finally found the cat sitting on a tree branch with a rat at its feet. The rat was wearing the hat! Mat and the bat approached the cat and asked for the hat back, but the cat refused. Instead, the cat proposed a race – whoever could climb the tree fastest would get the hat. Mat accepted the challenge, but the bat knew he wouldn’t be able to climb the tree because of his wings, so he came up with a plan. He asked the rat if he could borrow his hat for a moment. The rat agreed and gave the hat to the bat. The bat then flew up to the top of the tree and placed the hat on a branch. The cat, thinking it had won the race, climbed down to get the hat, but the bat flew down and took it back! Mat, the bat, and the rat all laughed as they walked back to the village, each wearing a silly hat of their own. The end.

Reflections

• What did the man named Mat find in the forest?
• Why did the bat need help catching the cat?
• How did the rat get involved in the story?
• Who won the race to the top of the tree?
• How did the friends solve the problem at the end of the story?