Rat & Bat #6

Rat & Bat #6 Summer 2021 This was a hard summer for Rat and Bat in that we reached the second year in which we couldn’t travel home to see our families due to COVID and China’s travel restrictions. We took refuge in a lot of puzzles, stories, and for Bat at least, sitcoms. The Guinea Pig clan and their adventures grew and grew. Now there’s Barley, Barney, Brownie, Brandy, Brawny, and in some versions they’re alien piggies from space that beam up Rat (claims Bat) or Bat (claims Rat) for intergalactic, interspecies fun.

Anyways, Bat would ask for a bed time story, and Rat would invariably start with “once upon a time there was a Guinea Pig Kingdom. And in that Kingdom…”. The same words were said every night, also in the same sing-song cadence. The same story night after night, but the problem was that Rat’s voice was so sweet and soothing, Rat’s embrace so warm and cozy, that Bat would fall asleep minutes into the story, despite themself, like a fairytale hero meant to guard enchanted treasures (and failing). Rat &Bat #6 is Rat’s present to Bat of the story told a dozen times, and a dozen times forgotten. Finally, Bat got to know the story.