Parable of the Rodent Rebuffed

His offer of friendship and close affinity derided, disowned as a kin by the bat, the rebuffed rat retorted: "Snobbish acrobat, you're so rude, unschooled in civility; with nocturnal queers like you I hate to have affinity. Stinking, skin-winged flapper of the night, your boasts are many; but look at you, swinging feet up, head down, stupidly funny. One day, like an umbrella needing repair, you'll flip-flop down and be with us you so despise whose paws touch the earthy ground!" Indeed, in choosing a relative, one must be tentative, for not all creatures of the same fur swing close together, Sir.