A Flying Lesson (Aesop)

A tortoise by the marsh did play,
And to the birds around did say;

“Oh shearwaters, and gulls, and terns,
A great desire within me burns.

To fly, like you, would be a thrill.
Please teach to me this wond’rous skill!”

An eagle overheard the plea,
And asked, “what would you give to me,

To tutor you up in the sky,
To touch the clouds … the trees soar by?”

The tortoise offered fortune great:
“The treasures of the sea await.

A great reward I’ll surely pay,
If you’ll teach me to fly today.”

And so the eagle grasped her tight,
And flapped his wings with all his might.

And up into the skies they rose
Just as their deal did propose.

Above the trees, the two did soar,
And through the clouds they did explore.

The tortoise never felt so free,
And shouted out with joy and glee.

The eagle said “we’re nearly done.”
I think that you have had your fun.

And where’s that treasure of the sea?
It’s time to pay my salary.”

The tortoise then her thanks did give,
But said, “I ask you please forgive

The offer that I rashly made.
For ‘though I would have gladly paid,

I did my wealth misrepresent.
You see, I do not have a cent.

Then high above a mountain top,
The eagle did the tortoise drop.

And without any wings at all,
The tortoise from the height did fall.

The helpless tortoise then did cry;
“In foolishness I yearned to fly.

I struggled just to learn to walk.
And now will die upon a rock.”

So with her life, the price to pay,
In pieces on the ground she lay.

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Tomorrow often brings regrets,
When merriments are paid with debts.