Two Stories About Flying

Part 1

“The journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step”

His First Flight by Liam O’ Flaherty

Introduction
The story by “Liam O’ Flaherty” is an account of a young bird that is afraid to fly for the first time. He
believes that his wings would not support him. Despite his younger siblings flying fearlessly with
much shorter wings, he could not gather the courage to do the same. He was punished to stay
hungry if he did not try. Thus, it was his mother that compelled him to fly by using food as a trap. The
lesson reflects how one hesitates to take the first step and that fear is all in the mind. One should
trust one’s abilities because “the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself”.
Theme of the Lesson
The topic of “His First Flight” is bravery and self-assurance. It emphasises the value of tackling one’s
concerns head-on and emphasises the need to instil a never-give-up mentality in order to succeed.
The story gives an important lesson that fear exists only in one’s mind.
Summary
The story “His First Flight” by “Liam O’ Flaherty” is about a young seagull who is afraid to fly. All his
younger siblings despite their much shorter wings flew fearlessly while he could not gather the
courage to trust his own wings. The young seagull became sad when he saw his parents perfecting
his younger siblings in the art of flying. His parents scold and taunt him for not even trying. They
even call him a “coward”. They tell him a lot to at least try and also threaten him to leave him alone
and hungry if he does not. The following day, he is left in isolation and upon feeling hungry; he tries
to seek the attention of his family members. Only his mother, who is withering a fish in an attempt to
eat it, notices his son. The young seagull cries out of starvation hoping his mother would help. On
seeing his mother come to him with the fish, he gets excited. But on noticing that his mother
stopped mid-way, he gets maddened out of hunger and takes a dive at the fish, forgetting for a
moment that he is afraid to fly. Finally, he took his first flight. All the family members celebrate his
victory by cheering and dancing around him. He also attempts at floating in the sea that he was once
afraid of. Thus, he overcomes his fear and realizes that it is all in the mind.
His

First Flight Lesson Explanation

Passage: THE young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had already flown
away the day before. He had been afraid to fly with them. Somehow when he had taken a little run
forward to the brink of the ledge and attempted to flap his wings he became afraid. The great
expanse of sea stretched down beneath, and it was such a long way down — miles down. He felt
certain that his wings would never support him; so he bent his head and ran away back to the little
hole under the ledge where he slept at night.
Word Meaning
Seagull– a bird that lives near the sea and has short legs, long wings, and white and grey feathers
Ledge- a narrow horizontal shelf projecting from a wall (or here) a cliff
Brink– the extreme edge of land before a steep slope or a body or water
Expanse– a wide continuous area of something
Explanation of the above Passage: The story is about a young seagull who is at that stage of life
where he has to learn to fly. Unlike his younger brothers and sisters, he is too afraid to fly. When all of
them went for flying for the first time near the edge of the sea, all of them except him, succeeded. He
could not trust his wings. He got terrified by the vast sea and got convinced that he could never fly. As
a result, he was ashamed and disheartened and thus, went inside the ledge where usually he slept.

Passage: Even when each of his brothers and his little sister, whose wings were far shorter than his
own, ran to the brink, flapped their wings, and flew away, he failed to muster up courage to take that
plunge which appeared to him so desperate. 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.
Word Meaning
Flapped– (of a bird) move (its wings) up and down when flying or preparing to fly
Muster– gather
Plunge- jump or dive
Shrilly- with a high pitched and piercing voice or sound
Upbraiding- scold
Explanation of the above Passage: His younger siblings managed to take their first flight despite
their wings being shorter than his, but he could not summon the courage though he tried so
desperately. He was scolded by his parents for not trying again but he was so afraid, that he could
not even move.

Passage: That was twenty-four hours ago. Since then nobody had come near him. The day before, all
day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting them in the
art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his
older brother catch his first herring and devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled
around raising a proud cackle. And all the morning the whole family had walked about on the big
plateau midway down the opposite cliff taunting him with his cowardice.
Word Meaning
Herring– a soft-finned sea fish
Devour– eat quickly
Cackle- laugh in a loud, harsh way
Cowardice- lack of bravery
Explanation of the above Passage: Now, he had been alone for a day after he tried because his
parents were busy focussing on his siblings. They helped his siblings master the art of flying and
diving for food (fish). His older sibling even caught his first fish which he proudly ate at a rock while
his parents celebrated it. That morning, his parents taunted him all the way for being a coward.

Passage: The sun was now ascending the sky, blazing on his ledge that faced the south. He felt the
heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. He stepped slowly out to the brink of the
ledge, and standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing, he closed one eye, then the
other, and pretended to be falling asleep. Still they took no notice of him. He saw his two brothers
and his sister lying on the plateau dozing with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was
preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him. She was standing on a
little high hump on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward. Now and again, she tore at a piece
of fish that lay at her feet and then scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the food
maddened him. How he loved to tear food that way, scrapping his beak now and again to whet it.
Word Meaning
Ascending the sky- the act of rising up through the air
Preening- to tidy and clean its feathers
Hump- a rounded raised mass of earth or land
Scrapped- discard
Explanation of the above Passage: The sun had now risen and he was feeling the heat more than
ever because he was empty-stomach since the night before. He stepped out of his ledge and
pretended to sleep on one leg to gain the attention of his family. Still, no one noticed him. His siblings
were sleeping, his father was cleaning his feathers with his beak and his mother was standing on
another plateau eating fish while she noticed him. The seagull got mad on seeing the fish because he
was very hungry. He loved to tear away fish and scrape his beak now and then.

Passage: “Ga, ga, ga,” he cried begging her to bring him some food. “Gaw-col-ah,” she screamed back
derisively. But he kept calling plaintively, and after a minute or so he uttered a joyful scream. His
mother had picked up a piece of the fish and was flying across to him with it. He leaned out eagerly,
tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across. But when she was just
opposite to him, she halted, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach
of his beak. He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and then,
maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish.
Word Meaning
Derisively- in a manner expressing contempt or ridicule.
Plaintively– sad
Uttered- make a sound with one’s voice
Halted- stopped
Explanation of the above Passage: He cried in hunger to his mom while his mother screamed back
angrily but he kept crying which soon turned into a joyful scream at the sight of his mother flying
towards him with the piece of fish. He got excited as she came nearer and thus, leaned forward.
Suddenly, she stopped not too far from him. Out of excitement and hunger, he dived at the fish
without realising for a moment, that he was afraid to fly.

Passage: With a loud scream he fell outwards and downwards into space. Then a monstrous terror
seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a minute. The next
moment he felt his wings spread outwards. The wind rushed against his breast feathers, then under
his stomach, and against his wings. He could feel the tips of his wings cutting through the air. He was
not falling headlong now. He was soaring gradually downwards and outwards. He was no longer
afraid. He just felt a bit dizzy. Then he flapped his wings once and he soared upwards. “Ga, ga, ga, Ga,
ga, ga, Gaw-col-ah,” his mother swooped past him, her wings making a loud noise. He answered her
with another scream. Then his father flew over him screaming. He saw his two brothers and his sister
flying around him curveting and banking and soaring and diving.
Word Meaning
Monstrous- horrible
Seized- grab
Headlong- with the head foremost
Soaring- flying or rising high in the air
Swooped- (especially of a bird) move rapidly downwards through the air
Curvetting- perform a series of jumps on the hind legs
Explanation of the above Passage: He got so excited that he fell as soon as he tried. For a moment,
he was in shock and stood still out of terror. All this lasted only for a moment and soon, his feathers
opened as he flied. He could feel the wind against his breast feathers, stomach and his wings. He
could feel himself cutting through the air. He was not afraid anymore. He was just a bit nervous but
then his mother accompanied him. The whole family screamed out of excitement, thus, celebrating
his victory over fear.

Passage: Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commended himself
to dive and soar and curve, shrieking shrilly. He was near the sea now, flying straight over it, facing
straight out over the ocean. He saw a vast green sea beneath him, with little ridges moving over it
and he turned his beak sideways and cawed amusedly.
Word Meaning
Shrieking– making a high-pitched piercing cry or sound
Shrilly– loudly and forcefully
Ridges– a long, narrow hilltop, mountain range, or watershed
Cawed– utter a caw
Explanation of the above Passage: Once he overcame his fear, he forgot that he was once afraid of
it. He did all those things he once feared. He flied straight over the sea and could see the greenery
and the mountains beneath him. He screamed out of joy as he enjoyed the victory.

Passage: His parents and his brothers and sister had landed on this green flooring ahead of him. 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. His feet sank into the
green sea, and then his belly touched it and he sank no farther. He was floating on it, and around him
his family was screaming, praising him and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish. He had
made his first flight.
Word Meaning
Beckoning– gesture
Explanation of the above Passage: When he landed, his family landed along with him as a gesture
that they were proud. They were screaming and shouting in excitement in their high pitched voices.
He then went into the sea where at first, he got scared and thus, panicked. He tried escaping but got
tired and weak because of hunger. Thus, when he calmed down, he started floating in the sea he was
once afraid of. His family was celebrating in excitement and offered him food as praise. Finally, he
had overcome his fear and had made his first flight.

NCERT Q/A
Q1. 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?
A. The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight. He doubted that his wings would
not be able to support him. We are well aware that “Journey to a thousand miles begins with a single
step” and it is very difficult to take that first step. Thus, I think all birds must be hesitating before
taking their first flight, some more than others. Yes, just like young birds, human babies also hesitate
while taking their first step.
Q2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young
seagull to finally fly?
A. On not being able to gather courage to fly and acting like a coward, the young seagull’s family left
him alone. As a result, he was starving since he could not fly to get his own food. When he saw his
mother coming near him with fish, he got excited and dived straight at the fish, forgetting for a
moment that he was afraid of flying. Thus, he got so maddened by the sight of food because he was
starving, which compelled him to take his first flight.
Q3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten
him and cajole him to fly?
A. Unlike his younger siblings, the poor seagull could not gather enough courage to take his first
flight. Thus, his parents taunted him for being a coward. They even threatened it to let it starve if he
did not try. They thought hunger would make him fly looking for his food. They did all of this because
they wanted him to fly.

Two Stories about Flying Part 2

Black Aeroplane by Frederick Forsyth

Introduction
The lesson “Black Aeroplane” by Frederick Forsyth reflects on how one’s judgement gets distorted
due to fantasizing and how it creates problems. In this chapter, the narrator is a pilot who is so eager
to meet his family and have a good breakfast that he takes the wrong decision of facing the storm
instead of doing the right thing. Miraculously, he somehow manages to escape with the help of a
mysterious aeroplane.
Theme of the Lesson
Sometimes, it get tough for us to take decisions and doubt creates a lot of fear. We consider some
helpful incidents to be miracles and mysteries. These incidents take us out of trouble and are nothing
else but our mind’s courage and strength which takes the form of an external factor and takes us out
of the doubtful situation. Such incident happens with the narrator, the pilot of the old Dakota plane
who is flown out of the storm by a mysterious “Black Aeroplane”.
Summary
The story “Black Aeroplane” is about a pilot who feels happy and contended to fly over a city that is
sleeping (at night time). He is flying from Paris to London. While taking his flight, he dreams about
the long holiday with his family. He also fantasizes about the scrumptious breakfast he would have
upon landing. As soon as he crosses Paris, he gets a look of the dark clouds that were a sign of the
upcoming storm. The right decision would have been to turn back to Paris for the sake of safety. But
he is overshadowed by his dreams and not wanting to delay them, risks the life of his passengers and
heads straight into the storm. Everything gets dark, he is unable to see, all his direction instruments
stopped functioning and he lost control of the plane. When all hope was lost, he saw another plane
whose pilot was more than willing to rescue them. The author was panicking as there was very less
amount of fuel left. The anonymous pilot guided them out of the storm and disappeared as soon as
they saw light. Upon landing, when he asks the lady in the control room about the other pilot, he is
left in shock when she says that his was the only plane in the sky.

Black Aeroplane Lesson Explanation

Passage – The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky
above me. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping
countryside. I was flying my old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England. I was dreaming of my
holiday and looking forward to being with my family. I looked at my watch: one thirty in the morning.
Explanation of the Above Passage – It was nighttime when the sky was clear and the stars could be
seen twinkling. The pilot felt peace in being above a country that had fallen asleep while he was
flying over France to England. It was half-past one in the morning and he was fantasizing about
holidaying with his family.
 Passage – ‘I should call Paris Control soon,’ I thought. As I looked down past the nose of the
aeroplane, I saw the lights of a big city in front of me. I switched on the radio and said, “Paris Control,
Dakota DS 088 here. Can you hear me? I’m on my way to England. Over.” The voice from the radio
answered me immediately: “DS 088, I can hear you. You ought to turn twelve degrees west now, DS
088. Over.”
Explanation of the Above Passage – When the aeroplane was in France, the pilot thought of
informing the Paris Control personnel about its presence and for instructions. At that time, lights from
the Paris city were blaring at him. He informed the Control Agency to which they replied with further
instruction on directions. The control room at Paris instructed him to turn 12 degrees towards the
west.

Passage – I checked the map and the compass, switched over to my second and last fuel tank, and
turned the Dakota twelve degrees west towards England. ‘I’ll be in time for breakfast,’ I thought. A
good big English breakfast! Everything was going well — it was an easy flight.
Word Meaning:
Compass- instrument for telling direction
Explanation of the Above Passage – After receiving the instructions, the pilot geared up and followed
them while putting the last fuel tank into operation. All this time, he was dreaming about his time
with his family and then, he started thinking about having a satisfactory breakfast at the destination
point. He was calm as everything was going as planned.

Passage – Paris was about 150 kilometres behind me when I saw the clouds. Storm clouds. They
were huge. They looked like black mountains standing in front of me across the sky. I knew I could
not fly up and over them, and I did not have enough fuel to fly around them to the north or south. “I
ought to go back to Paris,” I thought, but I wanted to get home. I wanted that breakfast. ‘I’ll take the
risk,’ I thought, and flew that old Dakota straight into the storm.
Explanation of the Above Passage – Now, the plane had crossed Paris when he started seeing clouds
in the sky. The presence of clouds made it unsafe to travel by air because there were chances of a
storm. They were so huge and dark that the pilot compared them with “black mountains”. He knew
he couldn’t pass them as it was impossible to go above them or escape them with the amount of fuel
that was left in the last tank. The right decision would have been to fly back to Paris safely. But the
pilot’s decision making was clouded by his wish to meet his family. He so desperately wanted to be
with his family and have that English breakfast he had been dreaming of all day, that he took the risk
of not going back. Thus, he headed the plane right into the storm.

Passage – Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black. It was impossible to see anything
outside the aeroplane. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. I looked at the compass. I
couldn’t believe my eyes: the compass was turning round and round and round. It was dead. It would
not work! The other instruments were suddenly dead, too. I tried the radio.
Explanation of the Above Passage – It was so dark because of the storm that nothing was visible
outside the plane. He started losing control of the aeroplane. The compass and other instruments had
also stopped working because of the bad weather. He became helpless.

Passage – “Paris Control? Paris Control? Can you hear me?” There was no answer. The radio was
dead too. I had no radio, no compass, and I could not see where I was. I was lost in the storm. Then,
in the black clouds quite near me, I saw another aeroplane. It had no lights on its wings, but I could
see it flying next to me through the storm. I could see the pilot’s face — turned towards me. I was
 very glad to see another person. He lifted one hand and waved. “Follow me,” he was saying. “Follow
me.” ‘He knows that I am lost,’ I thought. ‘He’s trying to help me.’
Explanation of the Above Passage – He tried calling the Paris Control Agency who had helped him
earlier but couldn’t connect because of the weather. In the midst of nowhere, when everything failed,
he saw a ray of hope when he saw another aeroplane. He felt relieved when he saw another pilot’s
face and willingness to help him escape the storm. He thought to himself that the other pilot is very
kind as he knew that they were lost and was trying to help him.

Passage – He turned his aeroplane slowly to the north, in front of my Dakota, so that it would be
easier for me to follow him. I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an obedient
child. After half an hour the strange black aeroplane was still there in front of me in the clouds. Now
there was only enough fuel in the old Dakota’s last tank to fly for five or ten minutes more. I was
starting to feel frightened again. But then he started to go down and I followed through the storm.
Suddenly I came out of the clouds and saw two long straight lines of lights in front of me. It was a
runway! An airport! I was safe! I turned to look for my friend in the black aeroplane, but the sky was
empty. There was nothing there. The black aeroplane was gone. I could not see it anywhere.
Word Meaning:
Runway– a strip of hard ground along which aircraft take off and land
Frightened- terrified
Followed– chased
Obedient– one who obeys
Glad- happy
Explanation of the Above Passage – The other pilot took his plane ahead of the lost aeroplane to
make it easier for them to follow while the author followed him like an “obedient child”. He was also
panicking because there was very less amount of fuel left. It was only then that he started coming out
of the storm and could see the runway to land his plane safely. When he turned to thank the other
pilot, he realised that the plane that helped him, had disappeared as soon as he came out of the
storm.

Passage – I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota near the control tower. I
went and asked a woman in the control centre where I was and who the other pilot was. I wanted to
say ‘Thank you’. She looked at me very strangely, and then laughed. “Another aeroplane? Up there in
this storm? No other aeroplanes were flying tonight. Yours was the only one I could see on the
radar.” So who helped me to arrive there safely without a compass or a radio, and without any more
fuel in my tanks? Who was the pilot on the strange black aeroplane, flying in the storm, without
lights?
Word Meaning:
Radar– a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and
other objects, by sending out pulses of radio waves which are reflected off the object back to the
source
Strangely- in a strange manner
Explanation of the Above Passage – The author did not know where he had landed but was not
afraid of leaving his plane unattended. He headed straight into the control room to ask about the
other pilot. To his utmost surprise, the lady informed him that there was no other plane in the sky
except his because of the bad weather. He is left astonished with a lot of questions unanswered in his
mind.
 The Black Aeroplane NCERT Solutions
Q1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
A. The “risk” here refers to not doing the right thing, which is flying back to Paris when he came to
know about the storm. Despite being aware of the bad weather, the pilot headed straight into the
storm and risked the lives of his fellow passengers. The pilot’s decision making was clouded by his
wish to meet his family. He so desperately wanted to be with his family and have that English
breakfast he had been dreaming of all day, that he took the risk of not going back.
Q2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
A. The narrator was frightened as he lost control of the plane. He felt helpless as the compass and
other instruments had stopped working. Nothing outside the aeroplane was visible when suddenly in
the midst of nowhere, an unknown plane was visible and the pilot was eager to help him. The
narrator was panicking because there was very less fuel left but somehow, he managed to escape the
storm with the help of the strange pilot who he could not thank.
Q3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
A. The narrator had landed at an unknown place as his compass and radar had stopped functioning
in the storm. He was not scared to leave the plane unattended and go to the control centre to inquire
about the mysterious plane which had helped him out of the storm.
Q4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?
A. The woman in the control centre looked at the narrator strangely when he asked about the other
pilot that helped him escape the storm. This is because there was no other plane in the sky during
such bad weather.
Q5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give
reasons for your answer.
A. It was the pilot’s own conscience which helped him out of the storm. There was no other plane
out on that stormy night. So, probably, he was hallucinating. It was his own capability as a pilot which
led him out of that black cloud.

The Black Aeroplane Grammar Exercise

Now, try to guess the meanings of the word ‘black’ in the sentences given below. Check the
meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.
1. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black. ________
2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green.
___________
3. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity. __________
4. Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy. ____________
5. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black.
___________
6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. _______________
Answers-
1. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black.
The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the face and hands are dark with dust and heat.
2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green.
Here, ‘black’ refers to an angry look.
3. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity.
Here, ‘blackest’ refers to the darkest and cruellest crime against humanity.
4. Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy
Here, ‘black’ refers to dark and gloomy comedy.
5. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black.
The meaning of ‘black’ in this sentence is that the shopkeepers sell the described goods ‘at a higher
price’.
6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue.
Here, ‘black’ means that the criminal suffered excessive beating at the hands of the villagers.
Match the phrases given under Column A with their meanings given under Column B:
A B

1. Fly a flag • Move quickly/suddenly

2. Fly into rage • Be successful
3. Fly along • Display a flag on a long pole
4. Fly high • Escape from a place
5. Fly the coop • Become suddenly very angry
Answers-
A B

1. Fly a flag 1. Display a flag on a long pole

2. Fly into rage 2. Become suddenly very angry
3. Fly along 3. Move quickly/suddenly
4. Fly high 4. Be successful
5. Fly the coop 5. Escape from a place