Two Stories About Flying Summary: His First Flight
Written by Liam O’ Flaherty, ‘His First Flight’ is a story of a baby seagull who was scared to fly. He was afraid that his wings would not be able to support him up in the air. Despite having wings shorter than him, all of his siblings took their first flights fearlessly in the open air. The young bird, on the other hand, was unable to muster enough courage to fly for the first time. He got scared and returned every time he tried to come towards the edge of the ledge to try to fly. His parents kept scolding him, saying if he did not fly, he would have to starve on the ledge all alone, but all their efforts were futile. He'd just stand there and watch his parents teach his siblings how to skim the waves and dive for fish.
One day, the young seagull’s parents and siblings flew to a plateau and kept taunting him for being afraid to take his first flight. As the sun shone on the ledge, the young seagull felt the heat on his body and woke up. He had been starving since the previous night. He kept begging his mother to bring him something to eat. When he saw his mother picking up a piece of fish and throwing it up in the air towards him, he squealed with delight. He jumped at the food as he was too hungry. The moment he realized that he was in the open space, a terror of falling seized him. He was petrified of falling and the next moment he could feel his wings already spreading out in the air. He finally took his first flight. He soared higher up in the air, he skimmed through the cool waves and dived together with his siblings.
Two Stories About Flying Summary: Black Aeroplane Written by Fredrik Forsyth, the story of “Black Aeroplane” tells us about a pilot. This story is narrated by the pilot himself. He was on his flight to London from Paris. He was happy to fly over a sleeping city at night. He hoped to enjoy a scrumptious breakfast with his family and dreamed about spending time with them on a long holiday. After he crossed Paris, he encountered some huge dark clouds that indicated an impending storm. Though it would have been safe to return to Paris, he risked entering into the clouds, as he was engrossed in his thoughts and did not want to delay his plans. The next moment he was trapped in a dark storm and the clouds looked like high mountains. His compass and radio stopped working in the storm. The pilot was losing hope and was unable to see through the dark clouds.
However, he saw another aeroplane approaching and the pilot waved asking him to follow his lead. The narrator panicked as he had very little fuel left. The other pilot guided him and he could fly out of the dark storm. When he landed safely, he went to the control room to inquire about the other aeroplane. He was surprised to know that no aeroplane was spotted in the sky other than his.
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? Ans: Since it was the young seagull’s first flight, he was afraid to fly. Yes, I think all young birds are afraid before they take their first flight since they are doing it for the first time, and it must be challenging for them. Human babies would similarly find it difficult to start walking. The first steps are abrupt, and they fall multiple times but then they master the skill.
2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly? Ans: The young seagull was reluctant to overcome his fear of flying. His family was stubborn about giving him the flight lesson. So, after continuous rounds of motivation, when he did not take off, his mother used his hunger as bait. He was extremely hungry and when he saw his mother tearing a piece of fish, he cried and asked her to share it with him but instead of addressing the cries, she took a piece of food in her beak and stopped midway while flying towards the young seagull. Not able to resist the pangs of hunger further, he rushed at the food and plunged towards it, and took his first flight.
3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly? Ans: The young seagull was about to attempt his first flight and was filled with anticipation and anxiety. He saw his family flying in the sky and enjoying themselves. His parents were teaching the younger ones to fly and were motivating and mocking him for not being able to. They also threatened to leave him on the ledge and feed him no food if he does not try. They wanted him to get over his fear and learn to fly and enjoy this blessing as a bird. It’s also a survival skill and hence was important to learn.
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. Ans: While growing up everyone has multiple experiences where their parents encourage them to do something we are afraid to try as a child. I loved watching kids skating in the park. I was young at that time, around 6-7 years. Since I always begged about getting skates and learning them, my parents got them for me. I happily wore them but fell soon after I stood up. After that, I was a mess. I refused to try skating, no matter how hard my parents tried to convince me. After many years I came across them again. I was still sceptical about trying it but eventually gathered courage and put them on. I fell multiple times, but I still tried and then eventually learned how to skate. After that, I enjoyed skating a lot.
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 Ans: We are made to believe as individuals that we must exceed at everything we try. This toxic positivity does affect us in the long run, and it becomes difficult for us to accept failures. My success in skating was not guaranteed but seeing other kids skate so well did put pressure on me to ace in it. I believe it was the frustration of not being able to succeed on the first try that made me give it up so fast. But later when I tried, regardless of the possibility of failure, I succeeded and that feeling was fulfilling.
Written by Liam O’ Flaherty, ‘His First Flight’ is a story of a baby seagull who was scared to fly. He was afraid that his wings would not be able to support him up in the air. Despite having wings shorter than him, all of his siblings took their first flights fearlessly in the open air. The young bird, on the other hand, was unable to muster enough courage to fly for the first time. He got scared and returned every time he tried to come towards the edge of the ledge to try to fly. His parents kept scolding him, saying if he did not fly, he would have to starve on the ledge all alone, but all their efforts were futile. He'd just stand there and watch his parents teach his siblings how to skim the waves and dive for fish.
One day, the young seagull’s parents and siblings flew to a plateau and kept taunting him for being afraid to take his first flight. As the sun shone on the ledge, the young seagull felt the heat on his body and woke up. He had been starving since the previous night. He kept begging his mother to bring him something to eat. When he saw his mother picking up a piece of fish and throwing it up in the air towards him, he squealed with delight. He jumped at the food as he was too hungry. The moment he realized that he was in the open space, a terror of falling seized him. He was petrified of falling and the next moment he could feel his wings already spreading out in the air. He finally took his first flight. He soared higher up in the air, he skimmed through the cool waves and dived together with his siblings.
Two Stories About Flying Summary: Black Aeroplane Written by Fredrik Forsyth, the story of “Black Aeroplane” tells us about a pilot. This story is narrated by the pilot himself. He was on his flight to London from Paris. He was happy to fly over a sleeping city at night. He hoped to enjoy a scrumptious breakfast with his family and dreamed about spending time with them on a long holiday. After he crossed Paris, he encountered some huge dark clouds that indicated an impending storm. Though it would have been safe to return to Paris, he risked entering into the clouds, as he was engrossed in his thoughts and did not want to delay his plans. The next moment he was trapped in a dark storm and the clouds looked like high mountains. His compass and radio stopped working in the storm. The pilot was losing hope and was unable to see through the dark clouds.
However, he saw another aeroplane approaching and the pilot waved asking him to follow his lead. The narrator panicked as he had very little fuel left. The other pilot guided him and he could fly out of the dark storm. When he landed safely, he went to the control room to inquire about the other aeroplane. He was surprised to know that no aeroplane was spotted in the sky other than his.
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? Ans: Since it was the young seagull’s first flight, he was afraid to fly. Yes, I think all young birds are afraid before they take their first flight since they are doing it for the first time, and it must be challenging for them. Human babies would similarly find it difficult to start walking. The first steps are abrupt, and they fall multiple times but then they master the skill.
2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly? Ans: The young seagull was reluctant to overcome his fear of flying. His family was stubborn about giving him the flight lesson. So, after continuous rounds of motivation, when he did not take off, his mother used his hunger as bait. He was extremely hungry and when he saw his mother tearing a piece of fish, he cried and asked her to share it with him but instead of addressing the cries, she took a piece of food in her beak and stopped midway while flying towards the young seagull. Not able to resist the pangs of hunger further, he rushed at the food and plunged towards it, and took his first flight.
3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly? Ans: The young seagull was about to attempt his first flight and was filled with anticipation and anxiety. He saw his family flying in the sky and enjoying themselves. His parents were teaching the younger ones to fly and were motivating and mocking him for not being able to. They also threatened to leave him on the ledge and feed him no food if he does not try. They wanted him to get over his fear and learn to fly and enjoy this blessing as a bird. It’s also a survival skill and hence was important to learn.
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. Ans: While growing up everyone has multiple experiences where their parents encourage them to do something we are afraid to try as a child. I loved watching kids skating in the park. I was young at that time, around 6-7 years. Since I always begged about getting skates and learning them, my parents got them for me. I happily wore them but fell soon after I stood up. After that, I was a mess. I refused to try skating, no matter how hard my parents tried to convince me. After many years I came across them again. I was still sceptical about trying it but eventually gathered courage and put them on. I fell multiple times, but I still tried and then eventually learned how to skate. After that, I enjoyed skating a lot.
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 Ans: We are made to believe as individuals that we must exceed at everything we try. This toxic positivity does affect us in the long run, and it becomes difficult for us to accept failures. My success in skating was not guaranteed but seeing other kids skate so well did put pressure on me to ace in it. I believe it was the frustration of not being able to succeed on the first try that made me give it up so fast. But later when I tried, regardless of the possibility of failure, I succeeded and that feeling was fulfilling.
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