(F—Franklin, D---Dad, B—Bat, Br—Bear, FM—Franklin’s Mom, BM—Bat’s Mom)
Franklin could count by twos and tie his shoes. He could swim and ride a bike and do many things really well. But one day Franklin learned that the thing he could do best was just himself.
F: Wow! Look at all those stars, Dad! There must be a zillion of them.
D: Maybe we should count them to find out.
F: Dad.
D: Let me show you some groups of stars that look like animals.
F: Animals? Where?
D: Well, let’s see here…Okay, there’s Pegasus, the horse.
F: I don’t see a horse.
D: It’s up there. You have to use your imaginations.
F: Hmm…Show me another one, Dad.
D: That group of stars…Over here in the North is Ursa Major, the Bear.
F: The bear? It doesn’t look anything like the bear I know. Did you see that star?!
D: That was a firefly that thinks it’s a star!
F: I’m going to catch it! Hey, what was that? Woops! Sorry, I didn’t know you were chasing it too. Who are you?
B: Bat. What’s your name?
F: I’m Franklin. You must be new around here.
B: No, I’ve always lived here. When did you move into this neighbourhood?
F: I’ve lived here since I was born. How come we’ve never met before?
BM: Bat, where are you? You haven’t finished your breakfast yet.
B: That’s my mom. Gotta’ go.
F: Wait, where do you live?
B: In the big oak tree by the bridge.
F: Hey. Can I visit you sometime?
B: Sure. That’s be great.
F: Gee, it sure is late to be eating breakfast.
D: All bats eat their breakfast right after dark which is just when little turtles should be going to bed.
F: Au Dad, do I have to?
D: Come on up on my shoulders. I’ll show you some more stars on the way home.
F: Show me some stars that look like a turtle.
D: Ah yes, the constellation called, “Franklin”.
F: Dad.
Hey Bat! Are you home? Maybe this isn’t the right place. Hey, Bat, where are you?
B: Up here Franklin. I’ll be right down.
F: What? You’re upside down.
B: So are you! Do your mom and dad know you’re up this late?
F: Late? It’s morning. Where are your mom and dad?
B: Sleeping.
F: Gee, your whole family hangs upside down.
B: Heh, yeah. How do you sleep?
F: Well, I lie down; but I’m not a bird.
B: I’m not a bird either. See? No feathers.
F: Oh yeah.
B: That tickles.
F: Is it hard to fly?
B: No, it’s easy. Watch!
F: Wow! Gee it must be fun to be able to do that.
B: Yeah, it is sorta’ fun.
BM: Bat, what are you doing up so late?
B: I’m coming!
F: You have to go to sleep now?
B: Sure. I’ve been up since I saw you last night.
F: You get to stay up all night!
B: Actually, I’m supposed to have after midnight naps. But sometimes I play instead.
F: Can you come over to my place later?
B: Okey. Where do you live?
F: In the round house by the pond. Come over right after you’ve had supper…er breakfast…I mean just before dark.
B: Sure. See you late Franklin.
F: Neat. There…all done. Oh yeah, this is great! I look just like him.
Br: Franklin, what are you doing?
F: Trying to get some sleep.
Br: Ummm…Upside down!
F: That’s how Bat sleeps.
Br: Who’s Bat?
F: I met him last night. I’ve never seen anyone like him!
Br: Yeah! What does he look like?
F: He’s got ears..and wings…like me!
Br: How come I’ve never seen him around?
F: Because he sleeps during the day. And he stays up all night.
Br. All right. How does he play soccer in the dark?
F: He doesn’t do that stuff. He does other things. That’s what’s so neat about him!
Br: Oh.
F: Hey, we can both be bats! You can sleep upside down on that branch!
Br: Gee Franklin…I don’t have to take naps in the afternoon anymore… Don’t you want to ride bikes or something?
F: Hmm, maybe tomorrow, Bear.
Br: Okey See ya’ later/
F: See ya bear.
FM: You know you can’t stay up too long, Franklin.
F: I know, Mom. I’m just going to play with Bat for a while…We’ll stay right here in the backyard.
FM: That’s fine.
F: I can feel the wind, lifting my wings.
B: Hi, Franklin!
F: Hi, Bat.
B: Hey, nice ears.
F: Yeah, and I’ve got wings like you too.
B: Great. Do you know how to fly yet?
F: A little…But not with my feet off the ground.
B: Go ahead, let’s see.
F: Okey. I haven’t tried it like this yet.
B: Are your okey?
F: Oh, yeah, I’m Okey. That’s the farthest I’ve flown yet.
B: It is? You didn’t go anywhere.
F: But, my feet were off the ground.
B: Now this is flying.
F: I don’t know how to do it like that.
B: Oh, well, that’s okay. You fly your way with your feet on the ground. But, that’s not how bats fly.
F: So?
B: You’re not a bat.
F: That’s for sure.
B: What’s the matter. We can still have fun. We’ve got all right.
F: No, we don’t. It’s almost my bedtime.
B: Eh? You’ve got to go to bed now? It’s night time.
F: I know. I sleep at night. My whole family does.
D: Franklin, Time to get ready for bed.
F: See…Turtles don’t play at night. Thanks for coming, Bat.
B: Yeah…See you around, Franklin.
Br: Hey, Franklin.
F: Hi, Bear.
Br: What happened to your bat costume?
F: I put it away.
Br: How come? I thought you wanted to be a bat.
F: The only bat thing I can do is hang upside down…And that gives me a headache.
Br: Why do you want to be like bat anyway? You’re already good at being Franklin.
F: What’s so neat about that?
Br: Right there. That’s what’s so neat.
F: Why?
Br: Skipping stones…I can’t do that. Can Bat do that?
F: He wouldn’t be able to hold the stone the right way. Anyway, he does other things.
Br: And so do you Franklin. Swimming and Playing soccer…Heh, heh, hiding in your shell…And there’s one other thing, you’ve always been great at.
F: What’s that?
Br: Being my best friend.
F: Thanks Bear. You’re my best friend too.
Br: Now teach me how to skip a stone.
F: You have to find a nice flat one.
Br: I know that already!
F: Hey, Bat. Are you there?
B: Hi, Franklin. What’s up?
F: I was wondering if you’d like to come to my house again tonight.
B: You want some flying lessons, right?
F: No, I’m a turtle…I want you to come and meet some of my friends.
B: Okay!...Can I bring some of my friend too?
F: That sounds great. We’ll play some games and stuff. See you tonight Bat.
B: Franklin, wait.
F: Yeah?
B: Before I go back to sleep…could you take me for a ride on your wheel thing?
F: On my bike? Sure. Hang on.
B: Wow, this is great!
F: Yeah it is, isn’t it!