A short story by Haruo Sato

“Once upon a time, there was a bat. It was only a toy—cut out of cardboard and covered with purple art paper. Inside it was a tiny spring mechanism that made its wings flutter, as if it were really flying. One day, for some reason, this bat returned to the shop of the craftsman who had made it. It was about the hour when the blue gas lamps began to flicker on in the streets. The craftsman had just finished his day’s work and was putting away his wooden horses, birds, and the many bats that were brothers to this one. Then, lighting a cigarette, he took a puff and rested for a moment. Just then, he saw something fluttering low over the ground, coming toward him from the corner of the street. At once he realized that it was the very bat he himself had made. “Well now,” he thought, “I wonder if I left some mechanism unfinished.”“

Author : Sato Haruo
Narrator : Nana Nagao
Produced by：Koé no Shoten
Special Thanks：Shigoto, Inc.
Listening Length：
Release Date：2025/