Name: ________________________________

Icarus’ Wings
King Minos was the ruler of Crete when Daedalus became
known for his creative and genius innovations. So, King Minos
hired Daedalus to build a Labyrinth that would hold Crete’s
Minotaur, half-human, half-bull.
Daedalus worked for King Minos for many years and King
Minos treasured the inventions that Daedalus would create for
him. However, after betraying the king, Daedalus was sent to be
imprisoned in a tower with his young son, Icarus.
The tower was on an island and guarded by many soldiers.
So, an escape seemed impossible to Icarus. His father, on the
other hand, had a different idea. He was determined to get his
son out of this prison. “I do not want you to grow old in this
tower, son”, Daedalus commanded. Daedalus thought and thought,
plotting every possible way out of the tower. If they climbed
out of the windows or fled to the sea, the guards would
certainly capture them. The island was surrounded by boats, all
owned by King Minos.
“King Minos may control the
land and he may control the sea,
but he doesn’t control the sky!”
exclaimed Daedalus. Icarus was quite
confused. He didn’t know what his father
meant by this. How would they escape to the sky?
©Tobin, Mar. 2017
 Daedalus began to gather all of the eagle feathers that had
blown into the tower windows. “Help, me, son.” Icarus did not dare
question his father when he was in the midst of an idea, so he
helped his father gather the remaining quills.
Daedalus worked furiously over the next few weeks, perfecting
his invention. He was building wings out of the collected feathers
and using beeswax as a binder, or glue. With two harnesses
strapped to each of the pairs of wings, Daedalus had finally found
their way out!
The day came for the two to make their escape. Daedalus
strapped the wings onto Icarus’ shoulders and then did the same
with his own. Daedalus was careful to show Icarus how to move his
arms in order to get flight with his wings and once they had
practiced, the two headed for the tallest point in the tower.
Right before they exited the window, Daedalus took Icarus by
the shoulders. “Listen, son. You must be cautious in your flight.
Follow me. If you fly too low, the sea will spray and dampen your
wings. If you fly too high, the sun will melt the wax that binds your
feathers. You must stay close or you will fall from the sky.”
Unfortunately, Icarus was so excited about their potential
freedom, that he did not listen carefully to his father’s instructions.
He carelessly leapt from the tower and Icarus began soaring
through the sky. He was so overjoyed to be out of the prison that
he flew too close to the sun. The wax on his wings began to drip and
the feathers fell from the sky, along with Icarus. Icarus should
have listened to his father.
©Tobin, Mar. 2017
Name: _______________________________

Icarus’ Wings Questions

1. Why did King Minos love Daedalus so much? Underline details from the
passage in *red.
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_____________________________________
2. What made Daedalus so determined to create an escape? Underline details
from the passage in *blue.
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
3. Why did Icarus fall from the sky?
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
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4. What is the theme of the story?
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
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5. Go back and underline two supporting details from the passage in green.
Describe how they support your theme.
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
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©Tobin, Mar. 2017