His First Flight

Class 9 & 10
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Why did the seagull dive towards his mother?
Answer
The seagull dove towards his mother because he wanted the fish in his mother’s beak.
Question 2. Why did the seagull not go with the rest of his family?
Answer
He did not go because he was afraid to fly.
Question 3. How did the family show their happiness for the young seagull?
Answer
They offered him scraps of dog fish through their beaks.
Question 4. For how long had the seagull been alone?
Answer
He had been alone for the last twenty-four hours.
Question 5. Why was he afraid to fly?
Answer
He was afraid to fly because his wings would never support him.
Question 6. What were the ways the seagull had thought of to join his family?
Answer
He thought of joining his family by jumping and by walking up to them.
Question 7. Where did young seagull live?
Answer
The young seagull lived alone on his ledge.
Question 8. Who included the seagull’s family except him?
Answer
There were five members in his family except for him-his father, mother. two brothers and a
sister.
Question 9. What did he see throughout the day?
Answer
He saw his parents perfecting his brothers and sister in the art of flying.
Question 10. What sight maddened the young seagull?
Answer
The sight of food maddened him.
Question 11. Who had already landed on the green flooring?
Answer
His parents, brothers and sister had already landed on the green flooring.
Question 12. Where did he sleep that night?
Answer
He slept in a little hole under the ledge.
Question 13. Why was the seagull afraid to fly?
Answer
He was afraid to fly because he felt that his wings could not support him.
Question 14. Why was the young seagull alone?
Answer
The young seagull was alone because his two brothers and sister had already flown.
Question 15. He stood at the edge of the ledge on one leg and closed his eyes. Why?
Answer
He wanted to get the attention of his family.
Question 16. Why did he not fly with his brothers and sister?
Answer
He did not fly because he was afraid.
Question 17. Who took pity on the young seagull?
Answer
His mother pitied on the young seagull.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. How does author describe the young seagull’s fear of flying?
Answer
The young seagull was afraid of flying. He wanted it to fly. But he was greatly afraid to fly-
ing. When he flapped his wings he became afraid. He would die if he tried to fly. The sea
stretched down beneath. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. So he bent
on his head and ran away back to the little hole. He could not fly.
Question 2. How did the mother ‘trick’ the young seagull into flying?
Answer
The young seagull cried for some food as he was greatly hungry. He felt the fear of flying.
His mother screamed back. He kept calling her. She picked up a piece of fish. She then flew
across to him but not to him. He leaned out trying to get nearer her to get food from her. She
halted with the fish in her beak but did not go to him. This way she ‘tricked’ the seagull into
flying.
Question 3. Why didn’t the young seagull take the plunge? What stopped him from do-
ing so?
Answer
The young seagull was the only one in the family who couldn’t fly in the air. His brothers
and sister had far shorter wings than his wings but they had already learned the art of flying.
He felt certain that his wings would never support him. So he was hesitant and afraid of flap-
ping his wings and go deep in the air.
Question 4. How did the hungry seagull try to pretend to attract his mother’s attrac-
tion?
Answer
The whole family had flown away. Only the young seagull sat alone on the ledge. He had
not eaten anything since the previous nightfall. He stepped slowly out to the brink of the
ledge. He stood on one leg. He closed his eyes pretending to be falling asleep. But all his tac-
tics failed. Only his mother took notice of him. All others ignored him.
Question 5. What did the young seagull do when he was maddened by hunger? Did
hunger motivate him to dive at the fish in the air?
Answer
The young seagull saw his mother flying around him with a piece of fish in her beak. Mad-
dened by hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud scream, he fell outwards and downwards
into space. Then he was seized with fear and his heart stood still. But the fear lasted only for
a minute. The very next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. Truly, hunger motivated
him to dive at the fish and flap his wings into space.
Question 6. How were Seagull’s parents helping his brothers and sister for “perfecting
them in the art of flight”?
Answer
The young seagull was afraid of flying, but his two brothers and a sister had started flying.
But his parents were teaching them to be perfect in the art of flying. They were teaching
them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish.
Question 7. How did his parents, two brothers, and sisters celebrate the first flight of
the young seagull?
Answer
The family saw the young seagull making his first flight. When they saw him floating on the
ocean, they flew and landed on the water just ahead of him. They were beckoning to him
calling shrilly. They were praising and rewarding him by offering scraps of fish to him.
Question 8. How did the seagull express his excitement when he saw his mother bring-
ing food to him?
Answer
The seagull saw his mother bringing food to him. He screamed with joy. He leaned out ea-
gerly. He tapped rock with his feet and tried to get nearer to her as she flew towards him.
Question 9. Where did the seagull’s flight end?
Answer
The seagull was very happy as he had learned how to fly. He kept flying for some time. His
parents, brothers and sister flew around him. Then they landed on the sea surface. The sea-
gull also came down. When he tried to land, his legs sank into the sea. He cried with fear
again. But then his belly touched the water. He did not drown. He started floating on the sur-
face of the sea. Thus his first flight ended.
Question 10. When did the seagull’s flight begin? And where did it end?
Answer
The young seagull’s flight started when he dove trying to snatch the piece of fish from his
mother’s beak. He fell down but instinctively his wings spread out, he flapped them and star-
ted flying. His flight ended after half an hour when he landed on the green sea with his fa-
mily.
Question 11. How did the young seagull’s parents treat him initially when he did not
fly?
Answer
First, his parents encouraged him, coaxed him then scolded and taunted him for his cowar-
dice. They even threatened to let him starve if he did not fly. But the young seagull could not
muster up the courage to fly.
Question 12. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly?
Answer
Whenever the young seagull took a little run forward to the extreme edge of the ledge and at-
tempted, to flap his wings, he became afraid. Seeing the vast area of the sea, he thought his
wings would never support him.

Question 13. Flying is a natural act in birds. Then why was the young seagull ‘exhaus-
ted by the strange exercise’?
Answer
The seagull didn’t have the courage to fly. Hence, he used to make excuses for not flying. He
felt certain that his wings were too weak to support him. He had no courage to flap his wings
and failed to muster up the courage to take the plunge.
Question 14. How did the young seagull’s family celebrate his first flight?
Answer
The young seagull was afraid to fly. Even the encouragement and coaxing didn’t work. But
when the seagull had his first flight, he as well as his family was happy, relieved and proud
of him to have completed his first flight.
Question 15. What was the young seagull’s experience during his first flight?
Answer
Falling from the ledge, the seagull was terrified, but soon he started soaring and then flying.
He forgot that he didn’t always know how to fly. His fear soon turned into confidence, and
then into amusement. As he was landing, he was again afraid, but, soon became at ease. It
was a memorable first flight.
Question 16. Why could the young seagull not reach his parents without flying?
Answer
He could not reach his parents without flying because on each side of him the edge ended in
a sheer fall in a verticle cliff, with the sea below. Then, between him and his parents there
was a deep and wide crack in the land.
Question 17. When did the seagull’s flight begin?
Answer
The seagull was very hungry. When he saw his mother bringing food in her beak, he dived
towards her. But he fell from the brink of the ledge. He screamed with fear. But his fear las-
ted only for a moment. The next moment he felt that his wings spread outwards. He was fly-
ing now. Now he screamed with joy.
Question 18. Do you sympathise with the seagull? Give reasons.
Answer
Yes, we sympathise with the seagull. He is a very young bird. He has not yet learned how to
fly. His parents want that he should fly. They encourage him. But he is afraid of falling. His
parents starve him for twenty-four hours. In the end, however, the seagull learns how to fly.
Question 19. Where did the young seagull sit alone? What did he watch from there?
Answer
The young seagull was alone on his ledge. In the whole family, he was the only one who
didn’t know how to fly. Only the day before, his two brothers and his sister had flown away
with their parents. When he tried to flap his wings, he was seized with fear. Hence, he sat
alone on the ledge watching his family flying over the sea.
Question 20. How were his two brothers and sister different from the young seagull?
Answer
His two brothers and his sister had far shorter wings than he had. But still, they had flown
away only the day before. He would watch his parents perfecting them in the art of flying.
They were taught how to skim the waves and dive for the fish. The young seagull had seen
his older brother catches his first herring and devour it.
Question 21. Why did the young seagull cry “Ga, ga, ga”? Did her mother oblige him?
Answer
When he saw his mother holding a piece of a fish in her beak, the young seagull became al-
most mad with hunger. He cried “Ga, ga, ga”. He begged her mother to bring him some
food. When he saw his mother flying across to him with a piece of fish, he uttered a joyful
scream. He started tapping the rock with his feet impatiently. He was almost within the reach
of the fish but failed to get at it.
Question 22. Describe the seagull’s first flight.
Answer
The young seagull was very hungry. So he dived at the fish that was in his mother’s beak.
But he fell into space and became terribly afraid. His heart stood still. He could hear nothing.
But it only lasted for a minute. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. He be-
gan to fly and was no longer afraid.
Question 23. Did the seagull think the sea was like land? Pick out the words that sug-
gest this.
Answer
Yes, the seagull thought that the sea was like land. He called it the green (looting. When he
had learned how to fly, he flew for some time. Then he came down and stood on the sea sur-
face thinking it to be like land. But his legs sank into the sea. ‘Dropped his legs to stand on’,
‘sank into’ and ‘screamed with fright’ are the words that suggest this.
Question 24. Do you sympathise with the seagull? Why?
Answer
We sympathise with the seagull because, due to his fear of flying, he had to remain lonely
and hungry, after his family had left him to suffer. He could not muster courage to fly like
his brothers and sister.
Question 25. When did the seagull get over his fear of the water?
Answer
After flying for some time, the seagull saw that his parents and brothers and sister were sit-
ting on the surface of the sea. He came down and landed on it. But his legs sank into it. He
cried with fear. However, his belly touched the surface and he did not drown. Now the sea-
gull got over his fear of the water.
Question 26. How did the young seagull’s parents teach him the art of flying
Answer
The seagull’s parents encouraged him to fly. But he was too afraid to fly. Then they kept him
hungry for twenty-four hours. Even then the seagull did not fly. Then they thought that ex-
perience would teach him. So they made him fall from the ledge. Now when he fell, he felt
his wings spread and started flying.
Question 27. How did the young seagull’s parents teach their children the art of flying?
Answer
The seagull’s parents had taught their children how to skim the waves and how to dive for
the fish. They encouraged them raising of loud shrill sound when their older son caught his
first herring and ate it greedily.
Question 28. Did upbraiding and threatening of his parents help him in flying?
Answer
The parents of the young seagull did try to teach his young one the art of flying. He wouldn’t
simply move from his ledge. They would fly around him encouraging and challenging him
to follow them. When he wouldn’t budge, his parents would fly around calling him shrilly.
They would upbraid and threaten to let him starve unless he flew away.
Question 29. What was the mother doing standing on a little high hump on the plateau?
Answer
All others ignored the hungry young seagull. Only his mother was looking at him. She was
standing on a little high hump. Now and again, she tore a piece of fish. The fish lay at her
feet. Then she scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the food maddened
the young seagull. He loved to tear the food that way.
Question 30. What was his family doing on the plateau when seagull failed to draw
their attention?
Answer
The two brothers and the sister of the young seagull were half asleep with their heads sunk
into their necks. His father was preening the feathers with his beak on his white back. Only
his mother, standing on a little mound on the plateau, was looking at him.
Question 31. How did the young seagull overcome his fear and soared gradually to-
wards the sea during his first flight?
Answer
The young seagull had taken the final plunge. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish
which his mother was carrying in her beak. With a loud scream, he fell outwards and down-
wards. He was seized with fear and his heart stood still. But the fear lasted only for a minute.
He overcame it. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. Now he was soaring
downwards over the blue sea.
Question 32. What is the message that Liam O′ Flaherty wants to give to the readers
through the lesson ‘His first Flight’?
Answer
Success can’t be taken for granted. One has to struggle and finally to win it. The story of the
young seagull is the story of overcoming hesitations, doubts, and fears that stand between us
and our success. Hunger makes him take the final plunge. This leads him to make his first
flight and soar into space.
Question 33. How did the young seagull start flying?
Answer
The young seagull was ‘maddened by hunger” when he dived at the piece of fish in his mo-
ther’s beak. But he fell outwards and downwards with a loud scream. When his mother
swooped upwards, he followed her and thus he started flying.
Long Answer Type Questions
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 feared of falling and
hurting himself. He thought that his wings would not support him while flying. Yes, it is nat-
ural that doing something for the first time is 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 find it challenging when he learns to crawl or stand up without support.’
Question 2. What happened after the seagull had learnt how to fly?
Answer
The seagull came to the brink of the ledge in order to get the fish from his mother. But his
mother remained in the air. a little away from the ledge. The seagull dived at the fish. But he
fell from the rock into space. He cried with fear. But this fear lasted only a moment. The
next moment, he flapped his wings. He was surprised to find that he was flying. He
screamed with joy. He soared higher and higher. His parents flew around him. They praised
him for learning how to fly.
Then his parents, brothers and sister landed on the sea. They beckoned the young seagull to
come to them. The seagull dropped his legs and came down on the surface of the sea. He had
thought that the surface of the sea was green flooring. But his legs started sinking into the
water. He again screamed with fear. However, his belly touched the water and he did not
drown. He started floating on the water. His family members were also happy. They gave
him pieces of a fish to eat.
Question 3. Why was the young seagull left alone in the ledge by his family?
Answer
The young seagull was afraid to fly. His father and mother wanted him to go and fly with
them. But whenever he had taken a little run forward to the extreme edge of the ledge and
tried to move his wings he became afraid. He failed to muster up courage to thrust himself
forcibly in the space, and started flying.
His two brothers and his sister had the wings shorter than him but they started flying. But the
young seagull somehow thought that his wings would notsupport him for it. For this, he was
scolded by his parents, who gave a threat to him and he was left alone in the ledge.
Question 4. Was the young seagull same at the beginning and at the end of the lesson?
Compare and contrast the two kinds of the same seagull in the lesson.
Answer
No, the young seagull was not the same bird at the beginning and at the end of the lesson. In
the beginning, the young seagull used to be all alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his
sister had flown away the day before. He had been afraid of flying with them. Whenever he
tried to flap his wings, he was seized with fear. He felt certain that his wings would never
support him. His father and mother flew around calling him shrilly. They were constantly
scolding and taunting him. They were threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he
flew away.
However, the young seagull was more confident and sure of his success in the end. Mad-
dened by hunger, he dived at the fish. After trials and errors, his wings spread outwards. He
was soaring gradually downwards forgetting all his hesitations and fears. He could float on
the ocean now. His success was welcomed by his family. They were praising him now and
their beaks were offering him their scraps of dog-fish.
Question 5. Describe the humiliation and taunting that the young seagull faced from his
family when he used to sit alone on his ledge without mustering his courage to fly in the
air.
Answer
The young seagull used to sit on .the ledge all alone. He used to see his two brothers and sis-
ter flying around him. They had learnt flying only the day before. Not that he didn’t try be-
fore. He had come to the edge of the ledge and tried to flap his wings. But he became afraid
soon. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. So he bent his head and ran
away to the little hole under the ledge. His brothers and sister had far shorter wings than his
own. But they succeeded flapping their wings and flew away.
He failed to muster his courage to take the plunge. His father and mother flew around him
scolding and taunting him. They also threatened to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew
away. The thing that compounded his agony was that his elder brother had caught his first
herring and devoured it. His parents circled around his brother raising a proud cackle. On the
other hand, the family had walked down the opposite chiff taunting him with his cowardice.
Question 6. How do you find the seagulls in the beginning and at the end of the lesson?
Answer
In the beginning we find the young seagull too frightened and terrified to fly. He had bigger
wings as compared to his two brothers and sister. But still he was afraid even to attempt fly-
ing. When they flew away, he could gather courage to thrust himself forcibly in space, which
made him scared and desperate.
When he was starving for a day, his mother came across to him with a piece of fish in her
beak. When she reached near him, she stopped and ‘maddened by hunger,’ he dived at the
fish. But his mother had swooped upward. He found his wings spread and was more confi-
dent now. In the end we see him flying till he was tired and dropped himself on the surface
of the sea.
Question 7. What message does the story ‘His First Flight’ convey?
Answer
This is an imaginary story. The story conveys the message that we learn by taking courage
and not by sitting idle. A young seagull is fed lovingly by his parents. But when the time
comes for him to fly, he feels afraid. His parents try many tricks to teach him to fly. But he is
so afraid that he refuses to fly.
At last, his mother hits upon a plan. She tempts him with food in her beak. But she only flies
near his ledge and does not land there. In order to get food, the hungry seagull comes to the
edge of the rock and falls from it. At first, he is terrified but then he opens his wings and
starts flying. He is happy to note that he did not fall in the sea. In this way, the young seagull
makes the first flight of his life when he takes courage.
Question 8. Do you think hunger was a good motivation for the young seagull in his
first flight? Comment.
Answer
Yes, I do think that hunger played a vital role in the young seagull’s attempt to start flying.
He was left
alone on the ledge by his family because he would not try to fly with them. His parents scol-
ded him in a shrill voice and threatened him of starvation, but he still was afraid to fly. Then
they left him alone.
He was so hungry that he had to live on whatever he could find there. When he saw his mo-
ther with a piece of fish in her beak, he begged her for food. Then he uttered a joyful scream
when he saw his mother flying across to him with a piece of fish in her beak. But she stop-
ped when she came opposite to him.
When the young seagull realised that she won’t come nearer, and “maddened by hunger,” he
dived at the fish. This was his first attempt to fly. Gradually when his hesitation and fear
were removed, he started flying which he enjoyed very much.
8. Was the young seagull same at the beginning and at the end of the lesson?
Compare and contrast the two kinds of the same seagull in the lesson.
Answer: No, the young seagull was not the same bird at the beginning and at the
end of the lesson. In the beginning, the young seagull used to be all alone on his
ledge. His two brothers and his sister had flown away the day before. He had been
afraid of flying with them. Whenever he tried to flap his wings, he was seized with
fear. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. His father and mother
flew around calling him shrilly. They were constantly scolding and taunting him. They
were threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away.
However, the young seagull was more confident and sure of his success in the end.
Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. After trials and errors, his wings spread
outwards. He was soaring gradually downwards forgetting all his hesitations and
fears. He could float on the ocean now. His success was welcomed by his family.
They were praising him now and their beaks were offering him their scraps of dog-
fish.
9. ‘All parental acts are for the betterment of the children.’ It is true. However,
one has to make efforts through trials and errors shedding off one’s early hesi-
tations and fears to succeed in any enterprise. Justify this statement by taking
points from the lesson ‘His First Flight’.
Answer: There is no doubt about it ‘All parental acts are for the betterment of the
children’. It is the ardent wish of every parent that they may teach all skills to their
young ones so that they may succeed in life. First of all, they can learn all the things
which their parents have taught in life. If the young ones don’t act then they also in-
dulge in scolding, taunts and humiliating them to shed off their hesitations and
fears. This is exactly what the parents of the young seagull did. They were successful
in teaching the art of flying to his two brothers and sister. They also tried their best
to embolden him to take the plunge. Particularly, the mother-seagull went on flying
around him with a piece of fish in her beak. It was her attempt to tempt her starving
son to dive at the fish. And she succeeded in her aim. The young seagull did dive at
the fish and it led to his success in the end.
10. ‘Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish,’ says the narrator about the
young seagull. Do you feel hunger was the main motivating force that made
the young seagull take the plunge that taught him how to fly in the air?
Answer: Food is the most essential ingredient that sustains all life — of humans, ani-
mals as well as birds. Hunger motivates many of their actions. The young seagull
used to sit all alone on his ledge. Whenever he tried to flap his wings to fly, he was
seized with fear. He felt certain that his wings would never support him. He had seen
his older brother catch his first herring and devour it.
It compounded his helplessness even more. He uttered a joyful scream when he saw
his mother holding a piece of fish in her beak and flying quite near him. He won-
dered why she didn’t come to him and offer that piece of fish to him. Maddened by
hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud scream, he fell outwards and downwards
into space. Then a monstrous terror seized him but only for a minute. The next mo-
ment he felt his wings spread outwards. He began to soar downwards towards the
sea. The fear left him. He began to float on the sea. His admiring family offered him
pieces of fish flying around him.
11. Describe the humiliation and taunting that the young seagull faced from
his family when he used to sit alone on his ledge without mustering his cour-
age to fly in the air.
Answer: The young seagull used to sit on .the ledge all alone. He used to see his
two brothers and sister flying around him. They had learnt flying only the day be-
fore. Not that he didn’t try before. He had come to the edge of the ledge and tried
to flap his wings. But he became afraid soon. He felt certain that his wings would
never support him. So he bent his head and ran away to the little hole under the
ledge. His brothers and sister had far shorter wings than his own. But they succee-
ded flapping their wings and flew away.
He failed to muster his courage to take the plunge. His father and mother flew
around him scolding and taunting him. They also threatened to let him starve on his
ledge unless he flew away. The thing that compounded his agony was that his elder
brother had caught his first herring and devoured it. His parents circled around his
brother raising a proud cackle. On the other hand, the family had walked down the
opposite chiff taunting him with his cowardice.
12. Hesitations and fears play necessary parts in human life but we get success
in any enterprise only when we overcome our doubts, hesitations and fears.
Justify this statement in light of the young seagull’s efforts to muster the cour-
age to fly in the air.
Answer: Nothing in life can be taken for granted. Skills have to be learnt in life with
your own efforts. Parents can only help in teaching and encouraging us to learn
things. But we have to learn them through our own efforts of trials and errors. Who
doesn’t suffer from hesitations and fears in the beginning? It takes time to take the
final plunge. So it happened with the young seagull.
In spite of constant encouragements and motivations, he couldn’t muster the cour-
age to fly. He was certain that his wings would not support him. He faced regular
taunting and humiliations of his family. They even threatened to let him stare at the
ledge unless he flew away. But they say that necessity is the mother of invention.
Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish which his mother was carrying in her
beak. He felt his wings spreading outwards. Finally, he soared to come down over
the sea. When he floated on the sea, his family celebrated his success by offering
pieces of fish to him.