Collection 1: "The Flight of Icarus" by Sally Benson

When Theseus escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos flew into a rage with its builder, Daedalus, and ordered him shut up in a high tower that faced the lonely sea.

Daedalus was an ingenious artist and was not discouraged by his failures.

When they were finished, Daedalus fastened them to his shoulders and found himself lifted upwards, where he hung poised in the air.

Daedalus watched him proudly but with misgivings.

He called Icarus to his side and, putting his arm round the boy’s shoulders, said, “Icarus, my son, we are about to make our flight. No human being has ever traveled through the air before, and I want you to listen carefully to my instructions. Keep at a moderate height, for if you fly too low, the fog and spray will clog your wings, and if you fly too high, the heat will melt the wax that holds them together. Keep near me and you will be safe.”

As they flew across the land to test their prowess before setting out across the dark wild sea, plowmen below stopped their work and shepherds gazed in wonder, thinking Daedalus and Icarus were gods.

He was bewitched by a sense of freedom and beat his wings frantically so that they would carry him higher and higher to heaven itself.

He was bewitched by a sense of freedom and beat his wings frantically so that they would carry him higher and higher to heaven itself.

Daedalus, crazed by anxiety, called back to him, “Icarus! Icarus, my son, where are you?”

And he mourned for the birdlike son who had thrown caution to the winds in the exaltation of his freedom from the earth.