FEO 4 Prof.

Marina Cantarutti

Stories A Greek Myth: Dedalus and Icarus

Daedalus was a brilliant architect and inventor in fact, he was so brilliant that King Minos of Crete did not want to let him go back to his home in Athens. Instead, he kept him as a prisoner together with his son Icarus in a tower. Daedalus looked out over the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, and he realised that even if they could manage to slip out of the tower and find a little boat to escape and go back to Athens, they wouldnt be able to sail very far before they were caught. Finally, he came up with a plan: He told King Minos that he needed feathers and wax for a new invention he was working on. When these were brought to him, he arranged them in four lines, starting with the smallest feathers and finishing with the longer ones, so that they formed gentle curves, and stuck them together with wax. When Daedalus had finished, he showed Icarus his work. He had made the feathers into two pairs of wings. He fastened the larger pair to his arms, and began to flap them until his feet took off from the floor and he began to hover in mid air. Over the next few days father and son both practised with them until little Icaraus was almost as good at flying as his father. Then one morning Deadalus said to Icarus: Now Son, we are ready to leave this island for good. We shall fly home to Athens. But although you are now quite good at flying, you must not forget that it can be very dangerous. So listen to my instructions and be sure to follow them to the letter. Do not fly too low, or your wings will fill with moisture and they will become too heavy. Nor should you fly too high, or the sun will heat the wax and your wings will fall apart. Have you understood all that I have said? Daedalus led his son up onto the battlements of the tower and he jumped into mid air and flapped his wings, and Icarus followed soon after. Daedalus first felt frightened, but soon he found that he was really good at flying. In fact, it was the most tremendous fun you could ever have. He began to swoop up with the sea gulls. Amazing! His father turned round and called: Icarus, remember what I told you. Come down right now! But Icarus could not hear, and his father could not catch up with him. Icarus was way too close to the sun, and soon the wax that held the feathers together began to melt. Gradually his wings began to lose their shape, and some of the feathers even began to fall off. Icarus flapped his arms frantically, but it was too late. He had lost the power of flight and down he plunged into the sea.

FEO 4 Prof. Marina Cantarutti

A Fairy Tale: The Leap-Frog

A Flea, a Grasshopper, and a Leap-frog once wanted to see which could jump highest; and they invited the whole world to come to see the festival. Three famous jumpers were they, as everyone would say, when they all met together in the room. I will give my daughter to him who jumps highest, exclaimed the King; for a competition without a prize would not be so amusing. The Flea was the first to step forward. He had exquisite manners, and bowed to the company on all sides; for he had noble blood, and was, moreover, accustomed to live close to human beings; and that makes a great difference. Then came the Grasshopper. He was considerably heavier, but he was well-mannered, and wore a green uniform, which he had by right of birth; he said, moreover, that he belonged to a very ancient Egyptian family. And that is how the Flea and the Grasshopper introduced themselves, and thought they were quite good enough to marry a Princess. The Leap-frog said nothing; but because he said nothing, people thought he was all the cleverer ; and when the housedog snuffed at him with his nose, he decided the Leap-frog was of good family. The old councillor asserted that the Leap-frog was a prophet; for one could see on his back, if there would be a severe or mild winter. I say nothing, exclaimed the King; but I have my own opinion, nonetheless. Now the contest was to take place. The Flea jumped so high that nobody could see where he went to; so they all said he had not jumped at all; and that he had cheated. The Grasshopper jumped only half as high; but he leaped into the Kings face, and that was ill-mannered. The Leap-frog stood still for a long time lost in thought; People began to think that he would not jump at all.Suddenly, pop! he made a jump into the lap of the Princess, who was sitting on a little golden stool close by. At this, the King said, There is nothing above my daughter; therefore nobody should jump higher than her. But for this, one must possess understanding, and the Leap-frog has shown that he has understanding. He is brave and intellectual. And so he won the Princess.

FEO 4 Prof. Marina Cantarutti

A Fable: The Fox and the Crow

I bet you cant guess what I like to eat best of all? Yes, I knew that you would say that foxes like to eat hens best, and stolen ones at that. And I dont mind admitting that I wouldnt ever say no to a nice fat chicken wing once in a while. But not many people know that what foxes appreciate even more than chicken, is a nice piece of cheese every now and then. Well today I ate a wonderfully rich and creaming slice of cheddar for my breakfast. It was kindly given to me by a beautiful black-feathered bird whose voice is even more wonderful than her looks. No, I dont mean a sky-lark, or a fancy bird of paradise. Im talking about Miss Crow up in that tree. It was a fine bright morning, and I was following my sharp nose through the woods in search of a bite to eat, when I caught a cheesy smell on the breeze. I looked up into the tree and there on the branch I saw Miss Crow, looking terribly pleased with herself, for in her beak she held a large piece of cheese. It was stolen, no doubt, from the farmer over the hill, but Im not one to go around accusing people of this and that. And so I called up to my neighbour and said: Good Morning Miss Crow, You are looking very lovely today, If I may say so. And Miss Crow cocked her head on one side and looked at me with her beedy little eye, but she kept her beak firmly closed on the cheese. Such a charming creature, I mused to myself, making sure nevertheless that she could overhear. Such a fine sheen on those wonderous black feathers. What wings ! And the beak! Exquisite! I could see that Miss Crow was paying close attention to my words, even though she was pretending not to hear. So I gazed up at the tree with admiration and said, Ah, my heart is smitten by this wonderful bird. If only I could hear her voice. Im sure that such a charming creature must sing most sweetly! If I could but hear one line of her song, I would hail her as the Princess of The Forest ! And now I could see my words had hit home. Swelling with pride, Miss crow puffed up her feathers and began to sing the most lovely music I have ever heard. CAAWWWWWWWWW!! Well alright, I know that you are saying that Miss Crows voice is not exactly star quality, but to me that was just the sound that Id been waiting for. Because as soon as she opened her beak, the cheese fell to the ground and I snapped up my breakfast. Which only goes to show thatFlattery will get you everywhere.