The Eagle and the Frozen Talon
Story★★★★Professor Drummond used to tell the story of an eagle that was seen one spring morning hovering over Niagara. Its quick eye detected amid the blocks of ice the carcass of a sheep. It was but the work of a moment for the hungry bird to swoop down upon the tempting meal and press its talons into the fleece of the dead sheep.
On swept the river to the thundering tails, but the bird fed on, oblivious of the danger, till just above the awful brink it spread its wings to rise. Alas, however, it was not to be.
Its talon had become frozen to the fleece. It no longer held the carcass; the carcass held him and with a wild despairing shriek the bird passed over the falls into the doom. We also can be so shackled to our traditions, so self-satisfied with past achievements, so gripped by soul-destroying customs, that we can no longer rise to the opportunities and the challenge of the new world.
The point
An eagle, spotting a dead sheep among ice floes at Niagara, swooped down to feed. Its talon froze to the fleece and, unable to escape as the river swept toward the falls, the bird fell to its doom still clinging to its prey. The parable: we can become so shackled to traditions, past achievements, and soul-destroying customs that we cannot rise to new opportunities.