His First Flight

 

His First Flight

Q. What happened when the young seagull dived at the fish picked up by his mother?  (2016-17)

Ans. When the young seagull dived at the fish, he fell outwards and downwards with a scream.  His monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. Soon his wings spread outwards and he could feel the tips of his wings cutting through the air

Q. The young seagull was afraid of flying.  Why? (2011)

Ans. The young seagull was afraid of flying as it was a steep fall to the sea, the sea expanse was vast and he thought that his wings would not support him and he would die.  So he avoided to fly and preferred staying back alone on his ledge.

Q. What did the young seagull do to attract his mother's attention?  (2012 &2011)

Ans. In order to attract his mother's attention, the young seagull stood on one leg and pretended to be falling sleep on the brink of the ledge.  He closed his eyes and he hid his other leg under his wing to attract his mother's attention.

Q. How did the seagull feel when his belly touched the green sea?  (2012)

Ans. When the seagull’s belly touched the green sea, he was scared that he would sink.  He tried to fly but and not.  He was exhausted and weak due to hunger.

Q. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly?

Ans. The seagull was present all alone on his ledge. A great expanse of sea was stretched beneath him. Therefore he was afraid to fly lest his wings should fail to support him.

Q.  “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

Ans. The young seagull was very hungry. He had not eaten anything for two days. His hunger intensified when he saw his mother tearing at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. When his mother came towards him with food in her beak, he screamed with joy and anticipation. However, she stopped midway. At that moment, his hunger overpowered his fear of the great expanse of sea beneath the cliff and he dived at the food in his mother’s beak.

Q. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?

Ans. The seagull’s father and mother wanted their young one to fly from this ledge and come to the plateau. All the members of the family had already settled there. So they threatened him and cajoled him to fly. But the young seagull was too timid to fly.

Long Answer Type Question

Q.  Describe how the young seagull made his maiden flight.

Or

Write a summary of the lesson His First Flight.

Or

How did the mother make the young seagull come out of his fear and teach him the art of flying.?

Or

Describe how the young seagull made his first flight as seen by his brothers and sister.

Or

Write a note on the title of the story ‘His First Flight’.

Ans. The story ‘His First Flight’ written by Liam O Flaherty depicts the journey of a young seagull as he learns to fly. The time had come when he must learn to fly.  His two brothers and his little sister had already learnt how to fly by imitating their parents. They had simply run to the brink of the ledge, flapped off their wings and flown away.  But when the young seagull came to the brink and tried to fly in the air, he became afraid. He felt sure that if he tried to fly, he would fall into the sea below.  He believed that his wings would not support him. So he ran back to his hole under the ledge.  His parents came to take him along with them. But he refused to fly.  They threatened that he would starve on the ledge.  But the young seagull was too afraid to move. 

The young seagull was very hungry. He saw his mother tearing at a piece of fish and requested her to give him some food. Soon he saw her flying towards him with a fish in her beak but she halted midway. As he was mad with hunger, he dived at the fish and fell downwards into space. Then his wings spread outwards. He flapped them and began to fly. All his fear was gone. He landed on the green sea. He could float on water. Thus he made his flight.