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Daedalus and Icarus
Long, long ago in ancient Greece, there lived a famous inventor named Daedalus. Daedalus had invented many machines with many uses. Some of his machines were so amazing that many people felt they were magical.
Since he was famous throughout the country, many kings and rich men would invite him to come to their lands and invent wonderful things to help them with many tasks. On a visit to the island of Crete, the king of the island, King Minos, asked Daedalus to build a war machine that would help him to kill his hated enemies- Daedalus was not interested in war and refused to help the king. This angered King Minos greatly, and he ordered that Daedalus be locked up in a high tower that faced the sea until he agreed to do what the king had asked.
Daedalus spent a month in the tower before he was able to escape. His son, named Icarus, stole a key from a guard and opened the heavy door to the tower- Daedalus and Icarus ran quickly to the beach and tried to find a ship that would take them back to Greece, but they failed because King Minos had ordered that all ships be carefully searched before leaving the island of Crete. Both Daedalus and Icarus were caught and put in the tower together.
Though he was caught, Daedalus had a strong spirit and fell sure that he could find a way to escape. He thought of inventing something to help them escape, but, unfortunately, there were not many materials in the tower for him to use- After thinking for a long time, he said to his son:
“The King may control the land and the sea, yet he does not control the sky. Therefore, my son, we must escape from the sky!”
Daedalus then told his son to collect all the birds' feathers he could find. Each day the two men would take some of their food and leave it on the opening of the window. When birds came to eat it, they would pull some of their feathers off. Daedalus also began saving all the candles that they were given each night.
After many months, Daedalus and Icarus had saved up a lot of feathers and candles, and the inventor began to work. Daedalus melted the candle wax and made it into the shape of wings. He then added the bird feathers until he had built two pairs of wings big enough for him and his son, One pair was large and heavy, big enough for Daedalus; the other pair was small and fast, perfect for Icarus.
When Daedalus had finished the wings, he put them on his back. He began moving his arms up and down and, to Icarus' surprise, began flying around the room. Icarus looked up at his father in amazement. "I want to fly, too" he cried,
Daedalus stopped flying and put the smaller wings on his son. His son's wings, though smaller, were built far better and were more beautiful than his own, Daedalus was proud to give these wings to the son that he loved so much.
The next day was lovely and clear. Daedalus decided it was a good time to teach his son how to fly, so that they could make their escape. He told Icarus to watch the birds and to fly just like they did. ‘ You must not move your wings too slowly or too quickly, and you must follow the wind."
Icarus put on his wings and jumped out the window of the tower. He then flew up high into the air and dove down low above the sea; he was like a child with a new toy. Daedalus was worried as he watched his son; he knew that the wings were not a toy that one could play with. He called out to his son, and Icarus returned to him.
"Son" he said seriously, "it is time for us to escape this island and return to Greece- As we fly, you must stay close to me always; never fly far away- If you fly too low your wings will become wet from the fog; if you fly too high the wax on the wings will melt from the sun." Icarus smiled and promised his father that he would stay close and be careful.
So Daedalus and Icarus jumped out of the tower window and flew high above the land. The people of Crete looked up in amazement; many people thought they were watching gods flying in the sky. Occasionally Daedalus would turn around to see if his son was still following him closely. For the first hour, Icarus was always just behind his father.
However, a little while later Daedalus looked back and saw that Icarus was not there. Daedalus looked around with great worry in his heart and saw Icarus flying high in the sky. A moment earlier, Icarus had seen two eagles flying above him and became so excited that he decided to follow them. When Icarus felt the cool wind. move through his hair, he became even more excited and began to fly faster and faster which made him go higher and higher. Daedalus yelled at his son, “ Stop, you are going too high; your wings will melt! ”But Icarus was too far away to hear his father. He continued to fly faster and faster, higher and higher, and became more and more excited. Daedalus tried to follow Icarus, but his wings were much heavier. As hard as he tried, he could not reach his son.
The sun began to melt Icarus’s wings, and the feathers slowly began to fall off. Daedalus noticed the wings falling into pieces and tried to scream at his son again, but his son was still too far to hear. Icarus kept flying quickly toward the sun, and his heart became more and more excited. Soon all the feathers had fallen from Icarus' wings and the boy fell down toward the deep sea.
When Daedalus saw his son falling, he flew as fast as he could to catch him. Unfortunately, Daedalus was not fast enough and arrived just a moment too late to save his son. The boy hit the water with a loud, terrible noise. Before Icarus could sink, Daedalus reached into the water and grabbed his leg. He then pulled his son out of the sea and held him closely in his arms- Sadly, it was too late. Icarus had died when he hit the water. Daedalus looked down at the sea and saw the feathers of his son's wings floating on the top of the water. He carried his son's body to a small island and buried it and named the island Icarua in his son’s memory.
Daedalus then put on his wings for one last time and flew back to Greece- In Greece he built a temple to the flying god Apollo and hung up the wings as a promise never to fly again.