Fraidy Bat and Confident Bat

There lived a bat. And he was afraid of everything. People, his shadow, and so went the list. Fraidy Bat was always so afraid, but there was one thing Fraidy excelled at. The Art of Theater. He loved to play on stage, acting and playing roles of different people. When he was on stage no one could see the bat as being afraid. He was daring, adventurous, and talented. But because he was too anxious around people, no one ever knew.

One day, came another bat named Confid. She was loud, outspoken, and courageous. The people thought her to be breathtaking. When she came into town that's all anyone would talk about. When Fraidy Bat heard of her he felt envious and sad. Confid was the very ideal person he wanted to be. However, because he was easily afraid, he thought that would never happen. Confid later learned about Fraidy Bat from the locals and wanted to help him. So she went to meet him.

She made several attempts to get Fraidy out of his comfort zone. Several tries to build confidence in him and to interact around people. But each attempt and try had failed. Fraidy Bat was still anxious around people, including her, to an extent. That was until she overheard him on stage one evening. He was alone, or so he thought. And there she saw a side of Fraidy she never known to exist. He was loud, confident, and had memorized his lines so well that no one would have thought that he was afraid. Fraidy Bat was no longer Fraidy Bat in Confid's eyes. He was... Courageous Bat.

And at that moment she knew just how to help Fraidy Bat. The next day, she asked him to write out a detailed plan on how to gradually help make a character that was known for being scared of everything braver with time. Fraidy Bat was confused by the task, but did so nevertheless. The next day he came with his detailed plan. He explained to her that normally when someone is afraid they lack the confidence and faith that they can have an input that will fix the circumstances. To overcome this, start with small actions that will increasingly build up to them accomplishing what they were originally afraid to do. This would no doubt build confidence, faith, and belief. Understanding better where his thinking was, Confid now was certain what needed to happen. So for months to come she and Fraidy Bat worked little by little to build his faith, belief, and confidence.

The months turned to a year of them practicing. Soon the day came when Confid would have to travel again. So to know whether or not the time she spent trying to help Fraidy was worth it, she made a plan. She would put on a play and they would perform it in front of an audience. Fraidy Bat was deathly, afraid believing he could not perform because of the crowd. He was certain it would be better done without him. But Confid didn't give up. She had the locals help her with preparations and design for the characters. Even before that, she and Fraidy Bat put together a play script so all that needed doing was getting the theater together. Afterwards, Confid gave out invitations to the townspeople.

Hearing that Fraidy Bat, the most frightened bat in town, was going to perform, people just had to come and see for themselves. Confid even hired other actors so Fraidy wouldn't feel so trapped or alone. However, when Fraidy saw the crowd, he froze backstage. He was deeply afraid. He just knew he was going to embarrassed himself and make a fool out of Confid for trying to help him. And after seeing Fraidy Bat's hesitation, Confid worried if the play had been too much after all. She couldn't help but wonder if, while trying to help, she might've pushed Fraidy Bat to be even more afraid. Though, the show must go on, so she and the other actors began the play without Fraidy. He was relieved and also saddened. His new friend tried so hard, yet he couldn't push himself to do it.

It was then that a new problem arose. Confid was a terrible actor. She was by far no good at it which left the others actors in a pickle. Because she was loud, outspoken, and courageous she did not know how to act timid, meek, or even afraid. The people watched anticipating what she might do, and for the first time Confid wasn't so confident. The people's demanding gaze left her speechless. When Fraidy saw this he knew then he had to do something. Fraidy Bat took a step onto the stage. All eyes shifted to him. Confid was convinced that Fraidy Bat couldn't do it, so imagine her surprise when seeing him on stage. Fraidy wanted to turn around and run, never looking back.

But knowing his friend, Confid, believed in him so much outweighed his fear. It encouraged him to try. Fraidy Bat, for the first time, performed in front of a crowded audience. No one could believe it at first. But by the end of it they had a standing ovation. Confid had done the impossible. She helped Fraidy Bat to not be as afraid as they assumed and thought. In fact, it was a joint effort. Fraidy Bat didn't stop being afraid, he just learned with practice, belief, faith, and confidence that he could work through it while being afraid.

He could be courageous. And from that moment on, Fraidy Bat was no longer Fraidy Bat. Instead he was called Courageous Bat! And everyone in town looked forward to the many more plays he did. Confid learned that it wasn't always a bad thing to be afraid. After all, it was her very own arising fear that helped Courageous Bat overcome his own fear. Confid learned what being meek and timid could do to help another person and used that skill as she traveled.

The end, and God bless you.