TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

PART 1: HIS FIRST FLIGHT

Summary

 The story “His First Flight” is written by Liam O’Flaherty and is based on a
young seagull that was afraid to take his first flight because he feared that his
wings wouldn’t support him while flying.
 His two brothers and little sister had learnt how to fly by emulating their parents.
They had simply run to the brink of the ledge, flapped their wings and flown away.
On the contrary, the young bird could not muster up courage to take the plunge
due to distrust on his wings. Whenever he tried to come forward towards the brink
of the ledge while attempting to fly, he became afraid and went back.
 His parents constantly upbraided and threatened him that unless he flew away he
would have to starve alone on the ledge, but all their efforts went in vain.
 He would just watch his parents teaching his siblings how to skim the waves and
dive for fish.
 The whole family flew to a big plateau and taunted the young seagull for his
cowardice.
 Starving since the previous nightfall, he could feel the heat as the sun rays blazed
on his ledge.
 Twenty four hours had passed since the seagull had eaten anything. He began
to feel very hungry
 He saw his mother sitting on a plateau and eating a fish. This sight only increased
his hunger. The young bird begged his mother to bring him some food. He uttered
a joyful scream when he saw his mother fly across to him with a piece of fish. He
leaned out eagerly, jumping at the fish, exasperated by hunger. But the mother did
not come to him. She halted her wings and became motionless. The seagull
wondered why she was not coming near him. He could not bear it any longer. He
was maddened by hunger and dived at fish. He could not reach his mother.
 Suddenly he fell outward in the open space and a monstrous terror seized him as
he could feel that he was falling downward. He was filled with fear and cried. But
this fear lasted only a minute. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards
and he was able to fly fearlessly. Finally, the young seagull took his first flight
and soared higher and skimmed through the waves and dived along with his
siblings.
.

PART 2:THE BLACK AEROPLANE

Summary

 “Black Aeroplane” is a mysterious story written by Fredrik Forsyth that revolves

around a pilot.
 One night he was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France. He was going to
England. He hoped to spend his holiday with his family.
 It was an easy journey and he was in a joyful mood. He looked at his watch. It was
one thirty in the morning. Through his wireless, he contacted the Paris control. ∙
They told him to turn twelve degrees west. He did as he was advised to do. He was
150 kilometres from Paris.
 Suddenly the writer saw huge black clouds before him.
 It was not possible to fly up and over the clouds.
 He had not much fuel with him. So it was not possible to fly around the big
mountains of clouds to the right or left.
 He decided to take the risk and flew his aeroplane straight into the Clouds. ∙ As he
entered the clouds, everything suddenly went black. He found that his compass
had ceased to work.
 He tried to contact the Paris Control for directions. But he was shocked to find that
his radio had also stopped working.
 Suddenly, the writer saw a black aeroplane near him. He could also see the pilot in
it. The pilot waved the writer to follow him. He followed the black aeroplane like
an obedient child.
 He was worried because the fuel in his plane could last only five or ten minutes. ∙
But just then the black aeroplane started to go down and the writer followed it. ∙
Suddenly, the writer was out of the clouds. He could see the lights of the runway
of the airport.
 He turned to look at the black aeroplane. But he could not find it
anywhere. ∙ The sky was empty.
 The writer landed his Dakota aeroplane.
 He went to the control centre and asked a woman there who that other pilot
was? The woman looked at the writer strangely.
 Then she laughed and said that no other planes were flying in such a stormy
night. She told him and his plane was the only one that she could see on the
radar.

Question 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 step?

Answer: The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight and he was
afraid of falling and hurting himself. He thought that his wings would not support him
while flying. Yes, it is natural that while doing something for the first time, one may find
it a bit challenging and fearful. All birds must be afraid to make their first flight.

Similarly, a human baby is also afraid of taking the first step and finds it challenging
when he learns to crawl or stand up without support.

Question 2.“The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What
compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Answer: The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger that ultimately
compelled it to fly. Its hunger intensified when it saw its mother tearing at a piece of fish
that lay at her feet. It cried to her, begging her to get some food. When its mother came
towards it with food in her beak, it screamed with joy and anticipation. However, she
stopped when just a little away from him.. It wondered why she did not come nearer. Not
being able to resist or control its hunger any longer, it dived at the food in its 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 its body, i.e.
to fly.

Question 3.They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s
father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Answer: The seagull’s parents had tried everything but he was reluctant to fly due to fear
of falling down as he believed his wings would not support him. He looked at his
brothers and sister but wouldn’t make any efforts. That’s why the whole family had left
him alone and threatened and cajoled him to come but every effort went in vain.

Question 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- to be attempted by students, based on their personal experience

Question 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: 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 take up new challenges. In case of the
seagull, his parents cajoled him to fly.

In the example given above, in the answer of previous question, I was cajoled by
………………….
Yes, success is guaranteed because when focus, perseverance and determination guide
our efforts. Moreover as said, practice, makes a man perfect.

II. The Black Aeroplane

Question 1.“I’ll take the risk”. What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?

Answer:A huge storm was brewing up and the author was keen to reach his home to
spend his holiday with his family. So, he decided to fly through the storm as he did not
want to miss the chance to meet his family at breakfast. Thus he took the risk even when
the visibility was almost zero in the storm.

Question 2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the
storm.
Answer: As the pilot (author) entered the storm, his plane started jumping and twisting.
He could not see anything outside the plane as it was black. When he looked at compass
and other instruments, they had stopped to function due to storm. It was a terrible and
fearsome experience for him. The fuel tank was almost empty and he could not fly long.
Then he saw another black aeroplane by his side and the pilot of the plane signalled him
to follow. It was a surprise for the narrator as the other black plane was having no light.
He followed him without any choice and landed safely on the runway.

Question 3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away
from the old Dakota…”?
Answer: He was delighted to land safely out of dark stormy clouds, therefore, he was not
sorry to walk away for his plane. He felt bad, when he was no able to thank his guide,
his mentor who saved him from frightening situations, but he was so happy after landing
as he was relieved to have landed safely.

Question 4.What made the woman in the Control Centre look at the narrator
strangely?

The woman in the Control Centre looked at the narrator strangely because the narrator
asked him about the black aeroplane and she saw no one except the narrator’s in the sky
during the storm. Even the radar showed only the narrator’s plane that night in the sky.
Question 5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this
among yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Answer: It is very difficult to say about the unknown pilot who helped the narrator.
But probably it was the narrator himself that helped him to overcome the fear in the storm
as no other plane was seen in the radar except the narrator’s Dakota plane. In that
fearsome situation, he might have been hallucinating. He himself was a good pilot and
brave enough who helped himself land safely.