His First Flight
by Liam O’ Flaherly
Explanation/Summary
The timid baby seagull suffered because he failed to muster enough courage to be on his own.
The young seagull was left to its fate. His two brothers and his sister had taken to their wings the previous day, leaving him behind in the ledge. The young one was afraid to accompany his elder ones.
He did try to fly but couldn’t muster enough strength or courage to do so. The vast deep blue sea stretched miles ahead. It was so frightening.
He tried to fly, but the fear of failure held him back.
He made some efforts to take off by lurching forward and flapping his wings, but his courage failed him. He feared his wings couldn’t sustain him for so long a distance. He retraced his steps to spend the night in the safety of his hole.
His parents vainly tried to prop him up.
Aborting their flights, the father and mother had come back to coax him fly, but he stayed put in the ledge. Flying was too risky for his tender wings, he thought. His parents chided him for his timidity. They made it clear to him that no one would be there to feed him, and he would starve to death on the ledge, but all these stern warnings fell in his deaf years. He remained on the ledge.
He looked on sadly as his parents flew away.
Just a day before he had seen his parents giving flying lessons to his siblings. They flew, dived to catch fishes, and again soared to the sky displaying their flying prowess with ease. The timid young seagull even saw his older brother swallow a herring that he caught after a successful dive. It was his life’s first gainful dive. His parents, overjoyed to see the feat, circled the sky crackling joyfully. There was a plateau standing at a short distance from the ledge. The whole family flew there and strolled over it. The timid young seagull had to swallow the taunts they threw at him.
The day was progressing, making the sun brighter and hotter. The heat sapped his energy faster because he hadn’t eaten since the night before.
He begged for sympathy, but was ignored.
He wanted to evoke the pity of his family members. He came to the edge and raised one leg, and his two eyes one after another. He pretended to fall asleep, out of exhaustion, but none in the family bothered. His brother and sister were enjoying a break, while their father was preening his feathers. Only his mother was looking at him. She was poking her beaks into a fish pinned onto the ground by her feet. The young seagull wished he could do the same. The food appeared so mouth-watering.
With no food, he had to endure hunger.
The duck was hungry. He wanted food. He pleaded with his mother to get her some food. She made a lot of noise to catch the attention of his mother, but she was not responsive. After a while, he found his mother swimming towards him with a chunk of food held tightly in her beaks. The mother had other plans.
The mother threw a bait, held a fish close to him.
She swum very near to the duck, but didn’t quite reach him. He was clueless, but he was desperate. He paused a while, and lurched forward to snatch the fish piece from his mother. The piece of fish was tantalizingly close to him, but still beyond his reach.
He jumped at the fish to grab it, but fell.
Hunger was biting him. Finding no hope of getting the fish, he lurched forward but fell down towards the deep blue water below. For about a minute, he felt it was the end of his world. He would perish in water of the sea, but something strange happened. Involuntarily, his wings had spread apart, and he could feel wind rushing past their edges and his stomach.
He was in his wings, finally.
He flapped his wings nervously and felt he was gaining height. Moments later, he began to soar higher into the sky. Making joyful sounds, his mother flew past him. He screamed joyfully to greet his mother. Soon his father joined the celebration of the maiden flight. His brothers and sister joined the party in the sky. They did some acrobatics in the air.
The duck felt confident now. The sulking had ceded place to self-assurance. Quite elatedly, he too did some acrobatics.
He came down to the water to float, as the whole family applauded him.
He began to flow towards the ocean now, away from the ridge. He looked sideways and cawed exuberantly. His family members had swooped down to float on the green sea water. They beckoned him to come down and join them. He lowered his legs and landed on the water effortlessly. He was nervous to find himself in this strange situation. In fear, he wanted to fly up and escape, but he was too tired to muster enough strength to flap his wings. He remained afloat on the water. His family members were at his side to applaud him on his first flight!
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?
Answer – The young seagull was timid and nervous. This made him frightened to fly. Most birds begin flying naturally. Very few among them might sulk at the idea initially, but they get over it soon. Human babies also hesitate to stand on their feet, but such hesitation goes away soon.
2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Answer – The seagull was left to starve on the ridge for one or two days. This made the hunger pangs unbearable. He was compelled to fly, so that he could snatch the fish from his mother’s beak. It was an act of desperation.
3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Answer – Flying is so natural for a seagull. It helps him to gather food and survive. His father and mother prodded him to fly, because it was time for the young seagull to be on her own and fend for itself.
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.
Answer –
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 answer to the previous question, was your success guaranteed, or was it important for you to try, regardless of a possibility of failure?
Answer –
Writing
Write a short composition on your initial attempts at learning a skill. You could describe the challenges of learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim. Make it as humorous as possible.
Answer –
Click here for the explanation and answers for the second lesson in this chapter ‘The Black Aeroplane’.
Can u provide notes for class 11 &12 English CBSE(Flamingo &Vistas)
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