7.31 His First Flight

His First Flight

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.

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, scolding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge, unless he flew away. But for the life of him, he could not move.

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, laughing at his cowardice.

The sun was now ascending the sky, blazing warmly on his ledge that faced the south. He felt the heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. Then, he had found a dried piece of mackerel’s tail at the far end of his ledge. Now, there was not a single scrap of food left. He had searched every inch, rooting among the rough, dirt-caked straw nest where he and his brothers and sister had been hatched. He even gnawed at the dried pieces of eggshell. It was like eating a part of himself.

He then trotted back and forth from one end of the ledge to the other, his long gray legs stepping daintily, trying to find some means of reaching his parents without having to fly. But on each side of him, the ledge ended in a sheer fall of precipice, with the sea beneath. And between him and his parents, there was a deep, wide crack.

Surely he could reach them without flying if he could only move northwards along the cliff face? But then, on what could he walk? There was no ledge, and he was not a fly. And above him, he could see nothing. The precipice was sheer, and the top of it was, perhaps, farther away than the sea beneath him.

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 scraped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the food maddened him. How he loved to tear food that way, scraping his beak now and again to whet it! He uttered a low cackle. His mother cackled too, and looked at him.

‘Ga, ga, ga,’ he cried, begging her to bring him over some food. ‘Gawl-ool-ah,’ she screamed back mockingly. But he kept calling plaintively, and after a minute or so, he uttered a joyful scream. His mother had picked up a piece of 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, abreast of the ledge, she halted, her legs hanging limp, 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. With a loud scream, he fell outwards and downwards into space. His mother had swooped upwards. As he passed beneath her, he heard the swish of her wings.

Then a monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a moment. 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.

He uttered a joyous scream and flapped them again. He soared higher. He raised his breast and banked against the wind. ‘Ga, ga, ga. Ga, ga, ga.’ ‘Gawlool- 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. Then, he saw his two brothers and sister flying around him, soaring and diving.

Then, he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking shrilly. He was near the sea now, flying straight over it, facing out over the ocean. He saw a vast green sea beneath him, with little ridges moving over it; he turned his beak sideways and crowed amusedly. His parents and his brothers and sister had landed on this green floor in front 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.

Prose Questions:

a. Why did the seagull fail to fly?

Ans: The young seagull feared to fly. He thought that his wings would not support him. Hence the sea gull failed to fly.

b. What did the parents do, when the young seagull failed to fly?

Ans: His parents, brothers and sister encouraged and also scolded him. They threatened that, he may starve without food.

c. What was the first catch of the young seagull’s older brother?

Ans: The first catch of the young seagull’s older brother was herring, a type of fish.

d. What did the young seagull manage to find in his search for food on the ledge?

Ans: The young seagull managed to find dried pieces of mackerel’s tail and eggshell.

e. What did the young bird do to seek the attention of his parents?

Ans: The young bird 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. He would trot back and forth from one end of the ledge to the other, his long gray legs stepping daintily to seek the attention of his parents.

f. What made the young seagull go mad?

Ans: The sight of food made the young seagull go mad.

g. Why did the young bird utter a joyful scream?

Ans: The seagull was hungry and saw a piece of food in the beak of his mother. He cried to her to bring the food and after a minute he uttered a joyful scream thinking that, his mother would give him that piece of food.

h. Did the mother bird offer any food to the young bird?

Ans: No, the mother bird did not offer any food to the young bird.

i. How did the bird feel when it started flying for the first time?

Ans: The bird was seized with fear for a moment and could feel the tips of his wings cut through the air. The next moment he was fearless, though felt a bit dizzy, flapped his wings to soar up and down with a joyous scream.

j. What did the young bird’s family do when he started flying?

Ans: They were flying around him, praising, soaring, and diving together with him.

About the author: Liam O’Flaherty(1896–1984) was an Irish novelist and short story writer and a major figure in the Irish literary renaissance. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Ireland. A native Irish-speaker from the Gaeltacht, O’Flaherty wrote almost exclusively in English, except for a small number of short stories in the Irish language. He spent most of his time in travelling and lived comfortably and quietly outside the spotlight.

Glossary

ledge (n)- a narrow shelf that juts out from a vertical surface

shrilly (adv.)- producing a high-pitched and piercing voice or sound

herring (n)- a long silver fish that swims in large groups in the sea

devour (v)- to eat something eagerly and in large amounts, so that nothing is left

cackle (n)- a sharp, broken noise or cry of a hen, goose or seagull

mackerel (n)- a sea fish with a strong taste, often used as food

gnaw (v)- to bite or chew something repeatedly

trot (v)- to run at a moderate pace with short steps

precipice (n)- a very steep side of a cliff or a mountain

whet (v)- to sharpen

preening (v)- cleaning feathers with beak

plaintively (adv.)- sadly, calling in a sad way

swoop (v)- to move very quickly and easily through the air

beckoning (v)- making a gesture with the hand or head to encourage someone to approach or follow.

Characters:

Seagull – Young Seagull who was trying his first flight.

Others – Seagull’s Father, Mother, two brothers and his sister

Additional Questions

1. How many brother(s) and sister(s) does the young seagull has?

Ans: Two brother and one sister.

2. Does the seagull’s two brothers and sister was afraid like him to fly?

Ans: No. They have flown away the day before itself.

3. The seagull was unable to fly because?

Ans: He was afraid.

4. Where was the seagull residing?

Ans: In a little hole under the ledge.

5. Does the seagull trusted its wings at first?

Ans: No. He felt that his wings would not support him.

6. How was the wings of seagull’s brothers and sisters when compared to him?

Ans: Far shorter.

7. What was his father and mother doing when is not flying?

Ans: Came around him, calling to him shrilly, scolding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge, unless he flew away.

8. Since how may hours was the seagull waiting without flying?

Ans: 24 hours.

9. How was seagull’s parents helping his brother and sister?

Ans: They were teaching them in perfecting the art of flight, to skim the waves and to dive for fish.

10. Young seagull was watching: “First catch of herring and devour it, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around raising a proud crackle”. Who is he?

Ans: Seagull’s older brother.

11. Where were the seagull’s family walking?

Ans: On the big plateau midway down the opposite cliff.

12. Since when was the seagull had not had any food?

Ans: Since the previous nightfall.

13. What did the young seagull found at the far end of his ledge?

Ans: Dried piece of mackerel’s tail.

14. Is there any food left in the ledge for seagull?

Ans: No.

15. The seagull gnawed at?

Ans: Dried piece of eggshell.

16. What it was like to eat the eggshell?

Ans: It was like eating a part of himself.

17. Why was the seagull unable to walk towards his parents, without flying?

Ans: Between him and his parents there was a deep, wide crack and sea beneath.

18. How was the seagull pretended to fall asleep?

Ans: Standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wings, he close one eye, then the other and pretended to falling asleep.

19. Who was looking at the seagull, when was starving?

Ans: His mother.

20. What maddened the seagull?

Ans: The sight of food in his mother’s beak.

21. How did the seagull cried?

Ans: Ga, ga, ga

22. How did the seagull’s mother screamed at him when he cried?

Ans: Gawl-ool-ah

23. Who was flying with a piece of fish towards the seagull?

Ans: His mother.

24. Did his mother came near him to give the fish?

Ans: No. She halted opposite to him in the air.

25. Why did the seagull dive at the fish which his mother was having?

Ans: He was maddened in hunger, so he dived at the fish.

26. What was the colour of the sea when the seagull saw it beneath him?

Ans: Green

27. Does the seagull’s feet sank in the sea?

Ans: Yes.

28. What made him not to sank further in the sea?

Ans: Seagull’s belly touched the sea and he sank no farther.

29. Does the seagull sank fully in the sea, finally?

Ans: No. He was floating on it.

30. Who made his first flight atlast?

Ans: Young seagull.