A Letter

How is the heading of a letter written? A pupil may write a proper heading on the board.

How is the salutation written? What mark is placed after the salutation? A pupil may write the correct

form on the board.

Where does the body of the letter begin?

Where is the complimentary close placed? Which words are capitalized?

Where is the signature placed? A pupil may write the complimentary close and the signature on the board.

Think out three, four, or five sentences about your school library. Discuss in class what would be interesting to a boy or a girl in another school. Write a letter to a boy or a girl in another school, telling about your school library or about a book that you have read and liked. Ask for a reply.

Address your envelope like this:

A Boy of the Fourth Grade
% Superintendent of Schools
St. Albans, W. Va.

You may often wish to tell others some of the stories that you read or hear, but perhaps you feel that you cannot tell a story well. In this chapter we shall work on learning to tell stories. The following is a story told by the Greeks long before they knew anything of airships or flying machines:

DAEDALUS AND ICARUS

Of all the wise men of Greece the most cunning was Daedalus. It was he who built the Labyrinth in Crete, with its queer twisting passages through which no one could find his way. Afterwards Daedalus displeased the king of Crete, and he, with his son Icarus, was thrown into prison. He managed to escape from prison, but he could find no way by which he could leave the island. He had no ship, and he could not communicate with his friends to ask them to send for him.

As he wandered through the lonely places of the island he noticed the sea gulls, which moved freely over land and sea. From watching them he thought of a plan by which he might free himself and his son Icarus.

He gathered a number of feathers dropped by the gulls. He fastened them together with thread and molded them in wax, so that he made two great wings like those of a bird. When they were finished Daedalus fitted them to his own shoulders, and after one or two efforts he found that by waving his arms he could sus

tain himself in the air. At first

his attempts at flying were as awkward as the efforts of a boy learning to swim; but after a while he learned to handle his wings so well that he could keep himself up in the air and fly wherever he wished.

Then he set to work to make a pair of wings for Icarus. He taught Icarus how to use them, and warned him to be careful.

"If you fly too near the earth, the fogs will weigh you down," said Daedalus; "and if you fly too high, the heat of the sun will melt the wax so that your wings will come off."

But Icarus was a careless boy, who paid little attention to what his father said. As soon as he could manage

his wings, he was so happy to be free that he forgot all the cautions of his father.

LEARNING TO TELL A STORY

45

On a bright day Daedalus and his son put on their wings and rose into the air. How good it was to leave the earth and rise higher and higher into the clouds! Daedalus flew ahead and directed their course toward Greece. Icarus followed, too joyful to notice where his father went. Higher and higher Icarus rose, till he could no longer see the earth. He was alone and free among the clouds! He stretched out his arms to the sky and made towards the sun itself.

But alas for him! His arms that had seemed to uphold him relaxed. He felt himself dropping down, down through the clouds till he was only a little way above the sea. Then he knew what had happened. As his father had told him, the heat of the sun had melted the wax of his wings. The feathers were falling, like leaves from a tree in autumn. In vain Icarus beat the air with his hands; loudly he called. There was no one to hear or to help. In another moment, the boy with a loud cry sank into the sea.

Daedalus, far away near the coast of Greece, heard that last cry of his son and hastened back. But the father could find no trace of the boy except some floating feathers that told where the ambitious youth had sunk. Overcome with grief, Daedalus went to the temple of Apollo, where he hung up his wings as an offering. Never again did he attempt to fly.

Answer each of the following questions with a complete sentence:

1. Who were Daedalus and Icarus?

2. Why were they imprisoned?

3. When they escaped from prison why did they not return to Greece?

4. What plan did the sea gulls suggest to Daedalus? 5. How did Daedalus make his wings?

6. How did he fly?

7. Why did he make another pair of wings?

8. What warning did he give Icarus?

9. How did the two start back to Greece?
10. Why did not Icarus follow his father?
II. What happened to the boy?

12. How did Daedalus know what had happened?
13. How did Daedalus show his grief for his son?

14. In what way does this story suggest modern airships?

15. How are airships unlike the wings of Daedalus?

Dividing the Story into Parts

By reading the story carefully, we find that it may be divided into six parts. We may express the central thought of each part in a sentence, as follows:

1. Daedalus and Icarus wished to leave the island of Crete, but they had no ship.

2. Daedalus planned to get away by making wings with which to fly. He first made a pair for himself and then a pair for Icarus.

3. Daedalus taught Icarus to use his wings and warned him not to fly too high.