Monday with a Mad Genius (6 page)

Leonardo nodded. “Yes, I think I agree with you,” he said. He cleared his throat. Then he read another idea: “
A spider hatches its eggs by staring at them.
”

“Nooo,” said Jack and Annie together.

“No?” said Leonardo.

“Trust us,” said Jack, smiling.
This is really fun
, he thought,
knowing more than a great genius. Scientists have discovered a lot since Leonardo’s time.

“All right. I don’t know why, but I shall trust you,” said Leonardo. He turned some pages and read: “
The moon may be bright because it is made out of rippling water.
”

Jack shook his head. “Actually it’s made out of rocks,” he said. “It’s bright because it reflects the light of the sun.” Jack knew lots of facts about the moon.

“And did you know there’s no wind on the moon?” said Annie. “So someday when people walk there, their footprints will last forever!”

Leonardo grinned. “Wonderful,” he said. “I fear you are both speaking nonsense. But I like your original thinking!”

He turned the page and read another entry:

“
There must be a way to use a natural force, such as steam or wind, to help people do their tasks in less time, with less work—
”

“That’s a great idea,” said Jack. “Maybe someday
steam
engines could run ships. Or maybe steam could help run a train.”

“A train?” said Leonardo.

“Yes, a train!” said Annie. “A train is this thing we’ve imagined. It’s like—um—”

“Like wagons connected to each other!” said Jack. “And they run over tracks that go across the land.”

“Interesting,” said Leonardo. He closed his eyes as if trying to imagine it.

“And then there are
planes,
” said Annie. “We’ve imagined these things called planes.”

“Yeah,” said Jack, “they have wings, and they fly you through the air.”

“Like birds!” said Annie.

Leonardo sat up very straight. “You imagine such a flying thing is possible?” he asked.

“We’re positive,” said Jack.

Leonardo leapt to his feet. “You have been sent to me as a sign!” he said.

“A sign of what?” said Annie.

Leonardo’s eyes were gleaming. “I, too, believe humans can fly like birds. And today I shall prove it!”

“You will?” said Jack.

“Yes! Until now, I have been fearful of testing my idea,” said Leonardo. “But the two of you have given me courage!”

What is Leonardo talking about?
Jack wondered.

“I am sure my plan will work now!” said Leonardo. “And it will bring me everlasting fame!”

“We don’t really know
that
much about flying,” Jack said.

“Yeah, we were just
imagining
,” said Annie.

But Leonardo had grabbed his cap and cloak. “Come with me, friends!” He headed out to the courtyard.

Jack grabbed his bag, and he and Annie followed. Leonardo jumped into the horse cart and picked up the reins. “Climb in! Climb in!” he said.

Jack and Annie climbed into the cart and sat beside Leonardo.

“Today the Great Bird shall rise aloft high into the sky!” said Leonardo. “And the universe shall be filled with wonder!”

L
eonardo shook the reins. The white horse clopped out of the courtyard and into the street.

“So where are we going?” Annie asked.

“To a steep hill just outside the city walls,” said Leonardo. “One day you will tell people that you were with me on this historic Monday. You saw the mad genius, Leonardo da Vinci, and his Great Bird!”

“Cool, but can you tell us exactly what you’re planning to do?” said Jack.

“For twenty-five years, I have sketched birds
and bats,” said Leonardo. “I have studied all their movements, their gliding, their flapping, their landing, and their rising into the air. I have asked myself over and over,
Why can a person not fly as birds do?
So, years ago I began building my Great Bird.”

“Your Great Bird?” asked Annie.

“Ha-ha!” laughed Leonardo. “Wait and see! Wait and see!”

The horse pulled the cart through the city gates, heading into the countryside. The chilly air was warmed by bright sunlight.

Leonardo tugged on the reins and his horse turned off the main road and started up a narrow, rocky path. The cart bumped past pale green olive trees and yellow fields of wildflowers. Soon it came to the bottom of a steep hill.

Leonardo pulled the reins and his horse halted. “There! Can you see it?” he said. “My Great Bird.” He pointed to a strange-looking structure on the top of the hill.

“What is it?” asked Jack.

“The wings are like those of a bat, only much, much larger—large enough for a man!” said Leonardo. “About a month ago on a moonlit night, my apprentices and I brought it to the top of this hill. I did not have the confidence to try it then, but now I do.”

Jack was confused. He knew people didn’t fly airplanes until the beginning of the 1900s. “Um—maybe you should work on this one a little longer,” he said. “I mean, maybe—”

“No, no, today is the day! I feel it!” said Leonardo. “Stay here and watch.”

Leonardo leapt down from the cart and took long strides up the steep slope.

“Quick, look up
Great Bird
in the Leonardo book,” Annie said to Jack.

Jack pulled out their research book and looked up
Great Bird
in the index. “It’s here!” he said. He found the right page and read aloud:

“Oh, no!” said Annie. “His machine won’t work! If Leonardo tries to fly off that hilltop, he’ll crash. We have to stop him before he hurts himself!”

Annie jumped out of the cart. Jack put the book away. He left his bag in the cart and ran after her. They started up the steep hill.

“Leonardo, stop!” shouted Annie.

But Leonardo kept climbing.

“Human flight isn’t possible yet!” Jack cried.

“Don’t try it, Leonardo!” yelled Annie.

Jack and Annie were only halfway up the hill when Leonardo reached the top. He began strapping himself into a harness on the Great Bird.

Large handles were attached to the harness. On each side were huge cloth wings stretched over a wooden frame.

“Don’t!” shouted Jack.

But Leonardo was already staggering toward the edge of the steep hill with the flying machine on his back. It was so heavy that he could hardly stand up.

“Leonardo, stop!” cried Annie. “You need a motor!”

But Leonardo bent his legs and lowered his body close to the ground. He grabbed the two large handles and pulled them toward his chest. The huge wings rose into the air.

“The Great Bird raises its wings and is pushed by the wind!” shouted Leonardo.

“Noooo!” yelled Jack and Annie.

Leonardo leapt off the side of the hill into the air. A gust of wind lifted him. As the wind held his wings aloft, he pushed and pulled on the handles. The wings moved up and down.

But Leonardo couldn’t make the wings flap fast enough. Though he pushed and pulled wildly on the handles, he soon began falling through the air—until wings and wood and Leonardo all crashed to the ground.

“Leonardo!” yelled Annie.

Jack and Annie charged down the hill. At the bottom, Leonardo da Vinci lay in a silent heap. His twisted wings spread over the grass. Jack and Annie rushed to him.

“Are you all right?” cried Annie.

There was no answer.

Oh, no! We’ve killed him!
thought Jack.

But then Leonardo stirred. He moved his hand.

“Are you all right?” Annie asked again.

Leonardo moved his other hand. He rolled over on his side and unbuckled the straps of the harness. He crawled away from the flying machine and hauled himself to a sitting position. His face was scraped and red.

“Are you all right?” Annie asked once more.

Leonardo looked at her. The light had gone out of his eyes. “No,” he said in a quiet voice. “I am
not
all right.”

“Did you break something?” asked Annie.

Leonardo stood up. He stared at the twisted and torn wings of the Great Bird. He sighed deeply. “Only my heart,” he said. “Only my heart.”

Leonardo turned and limped across the grass back toward his horse and cart. Jack and Annie followed. When Leonardo got to the cart, his white horse snorted, as if trying to comfort him. Leonardo pressed his head against the horse’s neck.

Annie stepped toward him. “Why is your heart broken, Leonardo?” she asked quietly.

Leonardo looked back at the hill. “All my life, I have started projects that have come to nothing,” he said. “My towers and bridges have never been built. My scientific ideas have never been proven.”

“But—” said Annie.

Leonardo went on: “For years, I made drawings of an enormous horse I planned to sculpt for the Duke of Milan. But in the end, that work came to nothing, too. I have finished only a few paintings. I cannot even finish my favorite one, a portrait of a lovely lady of Florence. Today my fresco in the hall of the great council was ruined. But always, in spite of all my failures, one thing brought me comfort.”

“What?” asked Jack.

“I knew someday I would be the first person in the world to fly,” said Leonardo. His voice quavered. “Talking with the two of you, I knew the time had finally come to test my machine.”

“We’re sorry,” said Annie.

“No, no, I had to test it sooner or later,” said Leonardo. “But now that dream, too, has come to nothing. I will never achieve fame by flying. I will never fly.” He hung his head and stared at the ground. “I shall go home now. I shall burn all my
notebooks and my unfinished paintings and inventions. I shall leave Florence and never return.”

“Oh, no!” said Jack.

“Wait a minute,” said Annie. “You
will
fly.”

“
Annie,
” Jack warned. Since the machine would never work, he didn’t want her to give Leonardo false hope.

“You
are
going to fly, Leonardo,” said Annie. “And you’re going to love it.”

“Annie, human flight isn’t possible at this time in history!” Jack whispered to Annie. “A person needs a motor. We don’t have a motor.”

But Annie paid no attention. “Hold on, everyone,” she said. “I have to get something.” She climbed into the cart and reached into Jack’s bag.

When Annie turned back around, Jack gasped. He had forgotten all about the Wand of Dianthus.

A
nnie held up the wand. “Close your eyes, Leonardo,” she said.

Leonardo just shook his head.

“Please?” said Annie. “Just for a second?”

Leonardo put his head in his hands.

“Listen,” said Annie. “This morning you said that a great artist has to combine observation with imagination.”

Leonardo barely nodded.

“Well, watch out—because
this
is the imagination part!” said Annie. She waved the wand at
Leonardo, then at herself and Jack. Counting her words on her fingers, she said in a loud, clear voice: “Make. Us. Fly. Like. Birds.”