Story: The Little Eagle Flies
1
Little Eagle Feifei stood on top of a high mountain, watching his parents fly in the sky, sometimes to the east, sometimes to the west. But their wings were not flapping.
Feifei thought: This flying thing looks too easy. So, he imitated his parents, spread his wings, and jumped off the mountain peak.
Who knew, the moment Feifei jumped, his body started falling straight down. Terrified, he flapped his wings frantically, shouting, “Help! Help!”
Eagle Dad heard the cries and quickly swooped down, letting Feifei land on his back.
2
Dad said to Feifei, “Child, your feathers on your wings are not fully grown yet, how can you think about flying?”
Feifei said aggrievedly, “I saw you flying in the sky without moving your wings, and I thought I could do the same.”
Dad laughed and said, “Silly child, that’s called gliding. There’s a lot to learn about it! First, your feathers need to be very full. Only when your wings are full enough can they form a tight seal when spread.”
Feifei sat on his dad’s back and used his sparsely feathered wings to sweep against his dad’s smooth and dense wings. He immediately understood what his dad meant and asked, “What comes next?”
Dad shook his head and said, “That’s a secret. When you grow up, you’ll naturally understand.”
A few months later, the feathers on Feifei’s wings finally grew as full as his dad’s.
3
Every day, Dad led him in the air to learn to fly. They flew from one mountain to another, then over mountain peaks, beyond the white clouds, and sometimes even airplanes flew past them.
One day, Feifei was following behind his dad. Suddenly, he noticed his dad’s wings were no longer flapping, so he instinctively imitated him.
Amazingly, Feifei felt a warm current of air supporting him, like a small boat floating on the water, making his body rise and fall gently.
So that’s how it works! Feifei finally understood the secret his dad hadn’t revealed—when air heats up, it forms rising currents. They could glide in the sky by using these rising warm air currents.
4
Feifei closed his eyes, spread his wings without moving, and fully enjoyed the gentle lift of the warm air current, just like when his dad used to lift him into the air. How happy he was!
■ When air heats up, its density decreases, forming rising warm air currents. Eagles glide in the sky by using these warm air currents.
On windward slopes, the higher and steeper the mountain, the stronger the wind, and the stronger the rising air currents. This is why we often see eagles soaring over high mountains.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
