Last week on the 4th of July, I watched the movie for the very first time. I agree with EndlessWire94's valid statement that it wasn't Stellaluna's fault for leaving the nest, it was the baby birds'. I don't blame him for being mad. I wrote this story to break away from my usual Great Mouse Detective material. Enjoy!
"Stellaluna, this is all your fault!" Flap accused the poor bat girl, Stellaluna, as regards to Flap and her siblings leaving the nest.
"My fault?!" Stellaluna snapped back, unable to take this accusation any longer. "If you wouldn't have left the nest in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"You led us in the wrong direction, right in the owl's nest!" Flap continued.
"That was one mistake I made," Stellaluna pointed out, "But that still doesn't mean you should blame me for everything! I'm so sick of you not appreciating my help! That's why I'm telling your mother!"
"Tattletale," Flap scoffed under her breath.
"No, I'm being informative!" Stellaluna bravely insisted, "You're not old enough to be on your own yet! She'll be thinking the same way! She'll find a better way to protect you than I would!" Her wings flapping with rage, she glided through the woods in search for their mother. I hope she believes me, she thought with a sigh.
…
Upon arriving back in the nest, Stellaluna found the mother bird cleaning up her nest. "Oh, Stellaluna," she gasped at the sight of her, "How did it go?"
"Not good," Stellaluna replied gloomily.
"What's wrong?" Mama Bird asked, her tone turning concerned.
"Pip, Flitter, and Flap blamed me for them leaving the nest," Stellaluna began.
"Where are they now?"
"They're resting under the bushes where the hollow tree is."
"Oh, we should go out there and speak to them."
"Although, I did make a mistake of all of us falling inside the owl's nest."
…
Back in the shady spot where Flap and Stellaluna had their argument, Stellaluna and Mama Bird finally found her and her other siblings. "Children, come here this instant!" Mama Bird snapped.
Her children hopped over to greet their mother.
"What is it, Mother?" Flap asked, a little shaky at her mother's sudden stern tone. It was not often her mother used this, but she and her siblings followed her command, anyway, as instructed.
"You have deliberately left the nest without my permission!" Mama Bird scolded.
All baby birds gulped, except Flap, whose jaw dropped agape.
"You have also blamed Stellaluna for it!" Mama Bird continued, "Shame on you! Stellaluna would never do you any harm!"
"But she knocked all of us in the owl's nest!" Flap insisted, "She's weird! She's the worst bird in the world! You're not her mother! Why do you keep defending her?!"
That hit a nerve inside Stellaluna, but Mama Bird hugged her gently in a motherly manner as if Stellaluna was her daughter who was part of the family. Even so, the bat could never be one of them. She hardly knew where her bat family was nor did she remember they were alive.
All of a sudden, a flashback in the owl's nest came to her. Yes, the owl did separate her and her mother, which made her forget her origins a few minutes after her birth.
"Yes," Mama Bird defended, "But that still doesn't change the fact that you blamed Stellaluna for what you've done! Get back in the nest!"
With guilt brushing upon their faces, Flap, Pip, and Flitter hightailed up to the nest.
"Well, Stellaluna, it's just you and me," Mama Bird said now that she and Stellaluna were alone.
"Yeah," Stellaluna sighed flatly.
"Stellaluna, is there something you need to tell me?" Mama Bird asked.
"I don't belong here," Stellaluna replied somberly.
"Why not, dear?"
"I just happened to land here unexpectedly."
"But I welcomed you, didn't I? And sometimes things like this happen."
"Yes," Stellaluna said as she wiped a tear from her eye, "But this isn't my family. Thank you for taking care of me. I have to go now. Bye." She knew she had to leave the nest for good, so out of the nest she dodged and dived into the darkness. She could see very well in the dark for she was "not tired".
…
Flying hard, thoughts of Stellaluna's encounter with the owl rushed through her mind. It was night, it was cold, and she found herself lost in the nest, surrounded by birds. Now, it was time she had found her own kind.
…
"I miss Stellaluna," Flap said, feeling guilty for accusing Stellaluna earlier, "This is our fault."
"We didn't know," said Flitter.
"Yes, we did," Flap corrected, "But we disobeyed Mother and I blamed it on Stellaluna."
"We're not just going to sit here, right?" Pip chimed in, "Let's get Mama."
"Mama!" Flitter shouted, "Flap misses Stellaluna and is ready to apologize!"
A smile quirked up her mother's beak.
…
When Stellaluna finally located her bat family was in the cave, they were shaking, terrified of the approaching creature. "Hello," she said and told them everything about her experience with the birds.
This chilled them to the bone by the fact that Stellaluna was raised by birds.
A female bat pushed through the crowd of bats just so she'd get a better look at the young bat, who was nurtured by a family of birds. "Stellaluna, are you alright?" It was Stellaluna's mother.
"Mother?" Stellaluna asked.
"Stellaluna!"
"Mother!"
"You found us!" Relieved to see her daughter again, the mother bat scooped up her baby.
Suddenly, a family of birds who had taken care of Stellaluna arrived.
The group of bats gasped.
"Stellaluna, is this your family?" Mama Bird asked the young bat.
"Yes," Stellaluna answered.
"I'm really sorry, Stellaluna, for yelling at you earlier," Flap apologized.
"That's okay," Stellaluna replied, "And if that owl catches us, we'll stick together."
Stellaluna's mother was terribly shocked. "An owl?! You mean, you found the nest?"
"Yes, but it was an accident," Pip said, "She didn't mean it. Honest."
Flap nodded in agreement and the owl approached.
"Stay calm," Stellaluna soothed the others, "We can do this together." Off they went to chase away the owl.
Overwhelmed by the number of bold heroes, the owl disappeared and never returned. Everyone was safe at last and Stellaluna and her mother were reunited.
The End
Author's note: Well, that was a relief to have it finished.