Merlin:
Archimedes, have you seen that flying machine model?
Archimedes:
I have nothing to do with your futuristic fiddle-faddle, you know that.
Arthur:
[pointing to the airplane model right above Merlin] What's that thing up there?
Merlin:
Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Here we are. [takes it down]
Arthur:
Do you mean man will fly in one of those someday?
Archimedes:
[scoffs] If man were meant to fly, he'd have been born with wings.
Merlin:
[winding up the propeller of the model airplane, but not noticing his long beard getting caught in it] I am about to prove otherwise, Archimedes, if you care to watch. Here she goes! [He tosses it out the window] No, no, no - NO! [The plane unravels from his beard at the wrong angle, and starts to fall out of the sky.]
Archimedes:
[laughs] Man will fly, all right! Just like a rock! [The model plane lands in the moat with a crash, and is sunken out of sight. Archimedes then laughs harder.]
Merlin:
It would have worked if... if it weren't for this infernal beard! [Archimedes continues to laugh hysterically.] Man will fly someday, I tell you! I have been there! I have seen it!
Arthur:
Oh, I do hope so. I've always dreamed about flying; that I was a bird and that I could go sailing all over the sky, high above everything... [Merlin sneaks up behind him and quietly changes him into a sparrow] It's my favorite dream. [sighs] But then, I suppose everyone dreams about flying-- [notices his new form; happily] I'm a bird, I'm a bird, I'm a bird! [starts to flutter clumsily out the window]
Merlin:
[grabbing him in one hand] Hold it, boy! Not so fast, not so fast. First, I'd better explain the mechanics of a bird's wing. [grabs Archimedes' wing and runs his finger along the feathers] Now, these large feathers are called the primaries, and--
Archimedes:
And since when do you know all about birds' wings?
Merlin:
I have made an extensive study of birds in flight, and--
Archimedes:
[crossly] And if you don't mind, I happen to be a bird!
Merlin:
All right, Mr. Know-It-All! He's your pupil! [sets Arthur down firmly]
Arthur:
Ouch!
Archimedes:
Now boy, flying is not merely some crude mechanical process. [clears his throat offensively at Merlin, who clears his throat in return] It is a delicate art. Purely aesthetic! Poetry of motion! And the best way to learn it is to do it.
