# The Cage-Bird and the Bat explained — Aesop's Fables

> Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

## What happens

A singing-bird, confined to a cage, explains to a Bat that she now sings only at night because she was once caught by a fowler while singing during the day. The Bat points out that such caution is useless now that she is already a prisoner, emphasizing that precautions are meaningless after the event.

## Themes in this chapter

### Wisdom and Foolishness

The bird's belated caution highlights the folly of taking precautions only after harm has already occurred.

## Character check-ins

### The Bat

Clings to the bars of the cage and questions the bird's singing habits, offering a pointed moral lesson.

### The Nightingale

A singing-bird confined to a cage, who changed her singing time to night after being caught by a fowler.

## Key lines

> Precautions are useless after the event.

Taking preventive measures after the damage is done serves no purpose.

_The moral of the fable, emphasizing the futility of hindsight-driven caution._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-cage-bird-and-the-bat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters