Flitter-mouse
An entry for Penny Fuller's Part F: The A-Z of Unusual Words Challenge
My word: Flitter-mouse
Flitter-mouse is a Tudor period word for bat
I like this better than bat, maybe because it's more literal in its descriptiveness as bats do look a little like flying mice; although if you see one up close, you realise that they're not really like mice at all. It made me wonder where the word "bat" came from if "flitter-mouse" is what they called them in Tudor times.
Bats have become a thing of sinister intent due to Dracula, I think and his vampiric associations, although the actual vampire bat probably hasn't done much to disabuse humans of bats' blood-sucking tendencies neither. What I would say is don't tar all bats with the same brush.
I like them. I like seeing them flit about; I like the idea of them. That period at dusk where you spot the first one? Magical. I'm not scared by them although I will tell you that I have been a little unsettled by one. Only the once.
It was a sunny day. I was sat, reading. Something caught my eye, in my peripheral vision. Something was crawling across the slabs and the way that it moved was unnatural. It was black, small. It crept, jerking, ungainly and an instinct in me reacted to it: that instinct knew that what my eyes were seeing was wrong and it didn't like it.
It was a bat, on the floor, obviously disoriented and weak, hence its presence on a sunny day and its strange ground-based movement.
It is, to this day, one of the weirdest and most unsettling things I have ever seen; not because I am scared of bats but because of the rush that my body had to it once my eyes had seen it. My internal gauge did not like it. Once I realised what it was, I tried to find out how to help it. But in that instant, I can remember a very real, visceral reaction to it.
*
I've decided to write a microfiction for this letter and here it is! Henry VIII has to be the most famous Tudor king and I wanted to tie the word to the period. What better way than a story incorporating Henry?
*
The fire created shadows but Henry liked the dark. His ulcerated legs smarted, like his heart. He was not often alone. He was not alone now.
In the corner, a flitter-mouse hung. It launched itself from the high nook and flew swiftly down towards where the king contemplated.
Henry's mind was on death, the giving of it to someone else, someone once loved. He did not notice the flitter-mouse until it had scared him into a shriek. He flung out his hand like a bat, a reaction to its startling presence.
He'd wished for a sign, for guidance of what to do. He was King. He would take action.
When his heart settled, he decisively placed his seal in the wax on the death warrant.
125 words
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Comments (15)
I'm very late i saying so, but I think you did a marveluos job with the micro! You also taught me a new, and very fitting name for bats, creatures that I've always been fascinated with. Back "in the dinosaur days," I worked at a remote gas plant in Wyoming, and there were always bats flitting around the lights during the graveyard shifts. I had to move them out of the warm buildings quite often in the winter, so they didn't meet their demise in one of the pieces of machinery, or get stomped on because they spooked one of the other operators. They were very docile ater the initial fear of being grabbed by my heavily insulated gloves, and usually recovered well enough to fly away within a few minutes. Great job, Rachel!
Great micro! Really strong sense of character. I like bats too and your reaction to seeing one crawling in the day made a lot of sense, very unnatural
Not surprised this made the weekly leaderboard- this was fab. Well done.
Oooooo! Love the change of pace for this entry Rachel, very nicely done!! Congrats on honourable mention for most discussed story this week!!
Such a wonderful woven tale, Rachel. I love the historical blend.
So did you manage to help him? Poor thing 🥺🥺 I love the idea of bats being flying mice. It reminded me of when I saw a post that said crabs are ocean spiders, prawns are ocean caterpillars and fish being ocean birds. Lol As for your story, I loved it but a little confused. Does he wanna kill himself?
My goodness… most impressive, tying flittermouse into a tale set in Tudor times!🤩 Bats aren’t my favourites since they decimated a remnant of rainforest near my hometown in Far North Queensland 🥺.
I love the word flittermouse and I love the way you weaved that word into your story.
Flittermouse is a great name! Loved your little story, too!
I like it better than "bat," too. Hell, l liked your story better than "Cats."
Flitter-mouse is such a you-word to you, chum! Loved the tale of the ole King and the bat and your backstory about the word. poor thing. Can understand though. As I have had that feeling with things like that before. Great stuff, chumchumcharee!
Aww, that poor little flitter-mouse. Hope he made it.
And now I shall raise my children to call them flitter-mouses. Thank you for the info and story!
Love the word, love the critter! I have a theory about how it got it's modern name. Because when they flew into people's homes, people would shriek, "honey! Bat!" 😔 They meant 🏏 but it stuck and now it's 🦇
Well-wrought! Synchronicity: I'm working through a lecture series on famous historical trials, and Henry the VIII featured prominently in the trial of Sir Thomas More. I can never be a fan of More's rigid religiosity, but the descriptions of his wit and grace as he faced execution earned my respect. Old King Henry, though, is a hard one for me to respect in hindsight, and not just from his treatment of More. Few historical personages exemplify so well the concept of "thinking with the wrong head"...