Two Stories About Flying-His First Flight

Summary

This story is about a young seagull that is learning to fly. Unlike his siblings, he is afraid to fly because he thinks that his wings would not support him. His parents try many tricks to teach him to fly. But he is so afraid that he refuses to fly. He had not eaten for twenty-four hours so his mother cleverly tempts him by flying towards him with food in her beak. In order to get the food, he comes to the edge of the rock and falls downwards. At first, he is terrified but then he opens his wings and starts flying. His family then praises him for his first flight. The story conveys the message that in order to learn something new, one must have faith in oneself and try without any fear.

Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly?
The young seagull felt certain that his wings were too weak to support him. He had
no courage to flap his wings. Even when each one of his brothers and sisters whose
wings was much shorter than his, ran to the brink of the ledge, flapped their wings
and flew away, he failed to muster up the courage to take that plunge.

2. Flying is action which comes naturally to most birds. Then why was the young seagull ‘exhausted by the strange exercise’?
The seagull didn’t have the courage to fly. Hence, he used to make excuses to avoid
flying. He felt certain that his wings were too weak to support him. When he finally
flew, he was tired and weak because he had not eaten for a long time. That is why
he was ‘exhausted by the strange exercise’.

3. How did the young seagull try to draw the attention of his family?
The young seagull came slowly up to the brink of the ledge and stood on one leg.
He hid the other leg under his wing. He closed one eye and then the other and
pretended to be falling asleep. Thus he tried to attract the attention of his family.

4. What was the young seagull’s experience during his first flight?
Falling from the ledge, the seagull was terrified, but soon he started soaring, and
then, flying. He felt a bit dizzy. He forgot that he didn’t always know how to fly. His
fear soon turned into confidence, and then into amusement. As he was landing, he
was again afraid, but, soon became at ease. He was praised by his family on his first
flight.

5. How did the young seagull’s parents teach him the art of flying?
The seagull’s parents encouraged him to fly. But he was too afraid to fly. Then they
went about fishing and eating while he remained hungry for twenty-four hours.
Even then the seagull did not fly. He called out to his mother to bring him some
food. She flew towards him a piece of fish but halted just within reach of his beak.
He dived at the fish, and fell downwards. He felt his wings spread outwards ahae
flapped his wings and soared.

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1. Compare and contrast the young seagull in the beginning and at the end of the lesson.
In the beginning, the seagull is a coward. When it is time for him to fly, his parents
try to teach him to fly. But he is too afraid and refuses to fly. His parents leave him
alone on the ledge and go about diving and fishing. He is left alone and hungry.
Then, in an attempt to get the fish from his mother, he falls off the ledge. The next
moment he flaps his wings and starts flying. This increases his confidence and he
cries out with joy. He also overcomes his fear of the sea.

2. Describe the techniques used by the young seagull’s family to help him overcome his fear and fly.
The family left him alone on his ledge and threatened him that he would starve.
Even then he was too afraid to fly. His siblings made fun of him. They laughed at his
cowardice. At last, his mother thought of a plan. She took a piece of fish in her beak
and flew towards him. She came near him but did not land on the ledge. The young
seagull was very hungry. He came to the brink of the ledge. In order to get food, he
dived at the fish. But he fell from the rock. He was terrified. But it was only for a
moment. The next moment, he flapped his wings and started flying. In this way, his
family enabled him to fly.

Questions from the text book.

Thinking about the Text

1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a
human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?
The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight. It is a well-
known fact that doing something for the first time is challenging because one
tends to have various fears in their minds. Therefore, all young birds must be
afraid to make their first flights. Similarly, a human baby would also find it
challenging to take its first steps.

2. ‚The sight of the food maddened him.‛ What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger which ultimately
compelled him to fly. His hunger only intensified when he saw his mother tearing
at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. He cried to her, begging her to get some
food. When his mother came towards him with food in her beak, he screamed
with joy and anticipation. However, she stopped close to him. He wondered why
she did not come nearer. Not being able to resist or control its hunger any
longer, he dived at the food in his mother’s beak. At that moment, his hunger
overpowered his fear of the great expanse of sea beneath the cliff. Finally, this
plunge was followed by the natural reaction of the body, i.e.to fly.

3. ‚They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly. Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
The young seagull was afraid to fly. Even when he saw his siblings flying, and his
parents helping and teaching them, it could not gather enough courage to make
that first flight. That is why his parents were calling to him shrilly and scolding
him. They threatened to let him starve on its ledge if he did not fly. They did so
because they wanted him to leave his fear behind and learn to fly.

4. Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents encouraged you to do
something that you were too scared to try? Discuss this in pairs or groups.
Yes, I had a similar experience while leaning to ride a bicycle.
In my initial attempts, I fell down every time and developed a fear of cycling
which was difficult to overcome. No amount of provoking and cajoling could let
me try it again, but my father encouraged me to overcome the fear and helped
me as he was adamant on me learning cycling. He took me an empty ground and
asked me to put my hands on the cycle’s handle and feet on the paddle. It sped
down and I enjoyed cycling without fear which developed my confidence. Thus, I
overcame my fear of cycling and started riding a cycle after practice.

5. In the case of a bird flying, it seems a natural act, and a foregone conclusion that it
should succeed. In the examples you have given in the answer to the previous
question, was your success guaranteed, or was it important for you to try, regardless of a possibility of failure?
We face some problems in the initial stage while learning a
new skill. Due to the fear of failure, we hesitate to perform a task or to do
something new. In case of the seagull his parents cajoled him to fly. In the
previous example, I was cajoled by my father to learn cycling. So, at that stage, I
was to learn cycling as it was very important for me to overcome my fear.
Yes, my success was guaranteed because if someone is determined to do
something then success is assured. Moreover as said, practice, makes a man
perfect.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

(a) They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly. He dropped his legs to stand on the

green sea. His legs sank into it. He screamed with fright and attempted to rise

again flapping his wings. But he was tired and weak with hunger and he could not

rise, exhausted by the strange exercise.

i. Who are referred to as ‘they’? Where were they calling him?

The young seagull’s parents, brothers and sisters had landed on the sea. They

were calling him there.

ii. How was the young seagull’s first experience of the sea?

The young seagull thought that the sea was hard like land. He tried to stand

on it but his legs sunk into it.

iii. Why was the seagull exhausted?

The young seagull’s first flight had exhausted him because he was weak with

hunger.

iv. Give the synonym of the word’ beckoning’.

signaling and gesturing

(b) His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, upbraiding him,

threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of

him, he could not move. That was twenty four hours ago. Since then, nobody had

come near him.

i. Why were the young seagull’s parents scolding him?

The young seagull’s parents were scolding him because he refused to fly.

ii. Why couldn’t the young seagull move from the ledge?

The young seagull could not move from the ledge because he was afraid of

losing his life as he felt his wings would not support him The great expanse of

the sea also frightened him.

iii. What did the young seagull’s parents teach his siblings?

The young seagull’s parents helped his siblings perfect the art of flight,

taught them how to skim the waves and dive for fish.

iv. Find the antonym of the word ’praising’.

upbraiding

Q2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.

(a) How did the young seagull’s parents treat him initially when he did not fly?

Initially, the young seagull’s parents encouraged him, coaxed him and then

taunted him for his cowardice. They even threatened to let him starve if he

did not fly. But the young seagull could not muster up the courage to fly.

(b) When did the seagull overcome his fear of the sea?

The seagull’s mother picked up a piece of fish and flew towards the seagull.

She halted within reach of his beak but did not come nearer. Maddened by

hunger, the seagull dived to take the fish. He fell outwards and downwards.

His wings opened , he was flying and was no longer afraid.

(c) How did the seagull express his excitement when he saw his mother bringing food

to him?

When the young seagull saw his mother bringing food to him, he screamed

with joy. He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet and trying to

get nearer to her as she flew across.

(d) How did the young seagull’s family celebrate his first flight?

The young seagull was afraid to fly. Even the encouragement and coaxing

didn’t work. But when the seagull had his first flight, his family was

screaming, praising him and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.

Q3 Answer the following questions in in 100 -120 words.

(a) Describe how the young seagull made his first flight.

The seagull was very hungry. When he saw his mother bringing food in her

beak, he dived towards her. But he fell from the brink of the ledge. He

screamed with fear. But after a moment, he felt his wings spread outwards.

He was flying now. He screamed with joy. He was very happy as he had learnt

how to fly. He kept flying for some time. His family flew around him. Then

they landed on the sea surface. When he tried to land, his legs sank into the

sea. He cried with fear again. But then his belly touched the water. He did not

drown. He started floating on the surface of the sea. Thus, the seagull made

the first flight of his life.

(b) What message does the story ‘His First Flight’ convey?

In the story ‘His First Flight’, a young seagull is learning to fly. Unlike his

siblings, he is afraid to fly because he thinks that his wings would not support

him. His parents try many tricks to teach him to fly. But he is so afraid that he

refuses to fly. He had not eaten for twenty-four hours so his mother cleverly

tempts him by flying across to him with food in her beak. In order to get the

food, he comes to the edge of the rock and falls downwards. At first, he is

terrified but then he opens his wings and starts flying. The story conveys the

message that in order to learn something new, one must have faith in oneself

and try without any fear.

(c) The mother of young seagull picked up a piece of fish but still did not come nearer to give him. Why did she do so? Did she not love her son? What values does the

mother depict through her act?

The young seagull was terribly afraid to fly. His parents encouraged him to

make his first flight but he could not do so. Then, the mother picked up a

piece of fish but did not go near to give him. The seagull was extremely

hungry. He started crying so that his mother would give him some food. But

his mother stopped across him but within his reach. When he dived to get the

piece, she swooped upwards. Maddened by hunger, he spread his wings

upwards and started flying. This shows that the mother wanted her son to

become courageous. This shows that sometimes parents take such harsh

steps for their children which may appear wrong at that time but later prove

to be beneficial for their children.