References to bats often occur in Chinese conversation relating marriage ceremonies and other celebrations. In one of Aesop's fables, a weasel snares a bat and pauses to explain that it only feeds on birds. The wily bat informs the weasel that it is a mouse. Later on the bat is captured by another weasel who tells him that it only preys on mice so the bat swears to the weasel that he is a bird. A Hopi legend tells of a bat created out of dust and spirit who saves a maiden from being raped.
European cultures tend to link bats with evil.