Imagine an island, a big, tall tower, and a father and son stuck inside! The father was named Daedalus, and he was a super smart inventor. He could build almost anything! His son was Icarus, a young boy who loved adventures.

Now, the king of that island, King Minos, wasn't always very kind. He had asked Daedalus to build a giant, tricky maze, and Daedalus did such a good job that the king decided to keep him and Icarus on the island forever, so Daedalus couldn't share his secrets. They were stuck!

Daedalus, being super smart, thought and thought. "How can we escape?" he wondered. He looked up at the sky and saw birds flying freely. "Aha!" he said. "Birds can fly away... maybe we can too!"

So, Daedalus started collecting feathers. Every time a bird dropped a feather near their tower, he would gather it. He also found some beeswax. Carefully, he stuck the feathers together with wax, shaping them into two big pairs of wings – one for him, and one for Icarus.

When the wings were ready, Daedalus helped Icarus put his on. "Now, Icarus," Daedalus said, his voice serious, "listen very carefully. These wings will let us fly, but you must be careful. Don't fly too low, or the mist from the sea will make your wings wet and heavy. And please, please, don't fly too high, or the hot sun will melt the wax, and your feathers will fall off. Just follow me, right in the middle."

Icarus nodded, his eyes wide with excitement. "I understand, Father!"

Together, they stood at the top of the tower, took a deep breath, and jumped! Flap, flap, flap went their new wings. And they were flying! It was amazing! Icarus had never felt anything like it. He could see the whole island below, the blue sea sparkling, and tiny boats looking like toys. He laughed with joy.

Daedalus flew steadily, keeping a safe path between the sea and the sun. But Icarus, oh, Icarus was having too much fun. He felt so free, so powerful, like a real bird! He forgot his father's words. "Higher!" he thought. "I want to go higher!"

Higher and higher he soared, laughing as he went, closer and closer to the bright, warm sun. His father called out, "Icarus! Not so high! Come back!" But Icarus was too far away, or perhaps too caught up in the thrill to hear.

The sun felt very warm on his wings. Too warm. Drip, drip. A little bit of wax started to melt. Then another drip. A feather floated down. Then another. And another! "Oh no!" cried Icarus, suddenly scared. The wax was melting fast! His wings were falling apart! He flapped harder and harder, but it was no use.

Down, down, down he tumbled, out of the bright sky, into the sparkling blue sea below.

Daedalus looked back and saw his son was gone. He called, "Icarus! Icarus!" He flew down, searching, his heart heavy with fear. He only saw feathers floating on the water. His heart was very, very sad. He had lost his adventurous boy.

Daedalus flew on, all alone, and landed safely on another shore. But he never forgot his son, Icarus, who loved to fly, but flew a little too close to the sun.

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