The Eagle who did not Fly in the Sky

Once upon a time, a king received two baby eagles as a gift from a passing traveller. 

The eagles were tiny and fluffy and the king adored them. He hired a caretaker to look into their every need so that they would grow up to be strong. The eagles, under the supervision of the caretaker, grew up to be strong and healthy. They lived free in the palace garden because the king disliked keeping birds and animals in captivity. 

One day, the king came out for a stroll in his garden and saw the two young eagles seated on the branch of a tree. He said to the caretaker,

“Bring them down and let them fly. Let’s see how high they can go.”

The caretaker did as he was ordered.

One of the eagles raised its wings and soared up in the sky till it was merely a tiny dot in the blue distance.

The other eagle fluttered its wings and flew up to sit on the same branch where it was sitting earlier.

“Why doesn’t this eagle fly high like the other one?” asked the king.

“Your majesty” replied the caretaker “This bird has been like this from the beginning. It likes to sit on the branch of that tree and doesn’t show any inclination to fly higher.”

The king called in several bird experts and offered them a handsome reward if any of them could make the eagle fly higher. However, none of the experts succeeded. 

Finally, a simple farmer came to the palace. He had heard the story of the eagle and wanted to try his method to make the eagle fly higher. When he was granted permission by the king, he took a saw and cut off the branch on which the eagle used to sit. 

When the caretaker set the eagle free, it circled the tree on which the branch used to be, and finding no branch there, took off to the skies, and rose higher and higher.

The king and all his men were amazed. They praised the farmer and asked him how he could think of such a brilliant idea.

“Your majesty” said the farmer “This eagle was a slave of habit. It found safety on the branch of the tree, and therefore, did not attempt to fly any higher. But when the branch was cut off, it rose up to explore the skies.”

(Retold)