- Chapter 3 bundles two short prose pieces on the same idea — flying — one about a bird, one about a human.
- Story I — "His First Flight" by Liam O'Flaherty (Irish writer). Protagonist: a young seagull too afraid to take his first flight; setting: a cliff ledge above the sea.
- Story II — "The Black Aeroplane" by Frederick Forsyth (English writer). Protagonist/narrator: a pilot flying a Dakota over France to England; setting: the night sky and a storm.
- Shared theme: overcoming fear, the courage to take a risk, and unexpected help/faith at the moment of crisis.
- Key contrast: the seagull is pushed by hunger and his family's coaxing; the pilot is driven by his own choice ("I'll take the risk") and saved by a mysterious black aeroplane.
- Board weightage: roughly 3–6 marks per year — usually one short-answer (2–3 marks) and one long/value-based answer (5–6 marks), plus extract-based and MCQ items.
1. Story I — "His First Flight": about the author
Liam O'Flaherty (1896–1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, famous for his vivid, sympathetic descriptions of animals and nature. In this story he watches a single moment in a seagull's life with such close detail that the bird's fear, hunger and final triumph feel completely human. The whole tale is told in the third person, but we stay inside the young seagull's head throughout — we feel his terror of the long drop and his joy when his wings finally hold him.
One-line gist: A young seagull, afraid that his wings will not support him, refuses to leave his ledge — until hunger and his mother's trick force him to dive, and he discovers he can fly.
2. Story I — Summary (a): the seagull's fear
The young seagull was alone on his ledge. His two brothers and his sister had already flown away the day before; he alone had been afraid to fly. Whenever he ran to the brink of the ledge and tried to flap his wings, he became afraid: the great expanse of sea stretched far below — "miles down" — and he felt certain his wings would never support him. So he would bend his head and run back to the little hole under the ledge where he slept.
Even though his younger sister, whose wings were shorter than his own, had managed to fly, he could not "muster up courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so desperate." His whole family — father, mother, brothers and sister — had spent the morning taunting him with his cowardice and even threatening to let him starve on the ledge unless he flew. But for the life of him, he could not move.
3. Story I — Summary (b): hunger and the family's coaxing
For twenty-four hours nobody had come near him. All the previous day he had watched his parents teaching his brothers and sister the art of flight — how to skim the waves and dive for fish. He had even seen his older brother catch his first herring and devour it on a rock while the rest of the family circled, raising a "proud cackle." The whole family then walked about on the big plateau on the opposite cliff, mocking his cowardice.
The sun was now rising and the seagull felt the heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. Hunger gnawed at him. He stepped to the brink and pretended to be falling asleep, but the family took no notice. He then saw his mother tearing at a piece of fish. The sight of the food maddened him — he wanted to tear at it the same way.
4. Story I — Summary (c): the trick and the first dive
He cried "Ga, ga, ga," begging his mother to bring him food. She screamed back derisively, but he kept calling plaintively. Then 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.
But when she was just opposite him, she halted — her wings motionless, the fish 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. A monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still.
5. Story I — Summary (d): the first flight and triumph
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 no longer falling headlong — he was soaring gradually. He was no longer afraid; he just felt "a bit dizzy." He flapped his wings once and soared upwards.
His mother swooped past, then his father flew over him, screaming, and his brothers and sister flew around him "curveting and banking and soaring and diving." He completely forgot that he had once been unable to fly. Now flying straight over the green sea, his parents and siblings landed on the green water ahead of him, beckoning him down. He dropped his legs to stand on the sea; his legs sank in and he screamed with fright, but he was too tired and weak with hunger to rise. His feet, then his belly, touched the water — and he was floating! His family swam around him, screaming and praising him, offering him scraps of dog-fish. "He had made his first flight."
6. Story II — "The Black Aeroplane": about the author
Frederick Forsyth (born 1938) is an English author and former RAF pilot, best known for fast-paced thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal. This story is told in the first person — the narrator is the pilot — which makes the fear and relief feel immediate and real. It ends not with a solution but with an unsolved mystery, leaving the reader to wonder who really helped the pilot.
One-line gist: A pilot flying home through the night risks flying into a storm, loses all his instruments, and is guided to a safe landing by a mysterious black aeroplane that, it turns out, never appeared on radar.
7. Story II — Summary (a): the easy flight and the storm
The narrator was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England at half past one in the morning. The moon was rising, stars were shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He was happy, dreaming of his holiday and his family and looking forward to a "good big English breakfast." He contacted Paris Control, was told to turn twelve degrees west, switched to his second and last fuel tank, and turned towards England — "it was an easy flight."
About 150 kilometres from Paris, he suddenly saw storm clouds ahead — huge, like "black mountains" standing across the sky. He couldn't fly over them and did not have enough fuel to go around them. He thought of going back to Paris, but he wanted to get home and have that breakfast. So he said, "I'll take the risk," and flew straight into the storm.
8. Story II — Summary (b): lost in the storm, the black plane appears
Inside the clouds everything was suddenly black; he could see nothing outside the plane, which "jumped and twisted in the air." When he looked at the compass, he could not believe his eyes — it was turning round and round. It was dead. The other instruments were dead too, and the radio gave no answer. He was lost in the storm with no compass, no radio, and no way to see where he was.
Then, in the black clouds quite near him, he saw another aeroplane — with no lights on its wings, but close enough that he could see the pilot's face turned towards him. He was very glad to see another person. The strange pilot lifted a hand and waved, and seemed to say, "Follow me." The narrator thought, "He knows that I am lost. He's trying to help me." The black plane turned to the north, and the narrator followed it "like an obedient child."
9. Story II — Summary (c): the safe landing and the mystery
After half an hour the black plane was still ahead. There was now only enough fuel in the Dakota's last tank for five or ten minutes of flying, and the narrator began to feel frightened again. But then the strange plane started to go down, and he followed it through the storm. Suddenly he came out of the clouds and saw two long straight lines of lights — a runway! An airport! He was safe. He turned to look for his friend in the black aeroplane, but the sky was empty — the black plane was gone; he could not see it anywhere.
He landed and went to the control centre to ask the woman where he was and who the other pilot had been — he wanted to say "Thank you." She looked at him very strangely and laughed, saying: "Another aeroplane? Up there in this storm? No other aeroplanes were flying tonight. Yours was the only one I could see on the radar." The story ends with the unanswered question: who helped the narrator to arrive safely without a compass, a radio, or enough fuel — who was the pilot of the black aeroplane?
10. Themes (both stories)
- Overcoming fear: in both stories the protagonist faces a paralysing fear (the long drop / the storm) and pushes through it.
- Courage and risk-taking: the seagull must "take the plunge"; the pilot decides "I'll take the risk." Real progress comes only after a leap of faith.
- The push that drives us: the seagull is forced by hunger and his mother's clever trick; the pilot is driven by his longing for home. Necessity overcomes hesitation.
- Help in a crisis / faith: both heroes receive help they didn't expect — the family's coaxing, and the mysterious black plane. The second story hints at a guardian or unseen helper.
- Self-discovery: both discover an ability/strength they did not know they had — the seagull that he can fly, the pilot that he can survive.
11. Character notes
The young seagull (Story I): begins as timid, fearful and self-doubting — he is sure his wings will not hold him. He is also a little self-pitying (pretends to fall asleep to win sympathy). But he is not lazy — he is simply afraid. Once hunger forces him to act, he proves capable, quick to adapt and joyful. His arc: cowardice → forced courage → confidence and triumph.
The narrator-pilot (Story II): a confident, even slightly over-confident man who loves comfort (dreaming of breakfast and holiday). He is brave but impulsive — he knowingly takes a dangerous risk to get home sooner. When his instruments fail he becomes frightened and dependent, following the black plane "like an obedient child." He is also grateful and humble at the end, wanting to thank his rescuer, and left puzzled and reflective by the mystery.
12. Message / values
- Fear is overcome by action, not waiting. The seagull flies only when he stops thinking and dives; courage often comes after the leap, not before.
- Take the risk, but weigh it. The pilot's bravery nearly costs him his life — the stories together teach that courage must be balanced with sense and caution.
- Encouragement and tough love help. The seagull's family neither pamper nor abandon him — their coaxing and the withheld fish push him to help himself.
- Be grateful for help. The pilot's wish to say "thank you" models humility and gratitude.
- We are often stronger than we believe. Both protagonists discover hidden ability once forced to try.
13. Literary devices
- Third-person narration (Story I) vs first-person narration (Story II) — a useful contrast question.
- Imagery: "the great expanse of sea stretched down beneath"; the storm clouds "like black mountains standing in front of me." Vivid visual detail builds tension.
- Simile: clouds "like black mountains"; the pilot followed the plane "like an obedient child."
- Personification / metaphor of nature: the wind, the sea and the storm are described as active, almost living forces.
- Onomatopoeia: the seagull's cries — "Ga, ga, ga," "Gaw-col-ah."
- Symbolism: the black aeroplane as a guardian/unseen helper; flight as growing up and gaining independence.
- Suspense & open ending (Story II): the mystery is deliberately left unsolved.
- Suspense (Story I): the slow build-up to the single dive keeps the reader waiting.
14. Word meanings
- ledge — a narrow horizontal shelf projecting from a wall or cliff.
- brink — the very edge of a steep place.
- plunge — to jump or dive suddenly downwards.
- muster up (courage) — to gather or summon up.
- upbraiding — scolding.
- taunting — mocking; teasing cruelly.
- cowardice — lack of courage.
- (to) skim — to move lightly just above a surface (here, the sea).
- herring — a soft-finned sea fish.
- preening — (of a bird) making an effort to clean and maintain its feathers.
- (to) whet — to sharpen.
- derisively — in a manner showing someone is foolish; mockingly.
- plaintively — in a sad, pleading way.
- monstrous — huge and terrible.
- dizzy — an uncomfortable feeling of spinning round and losing one's balance.
- curveting — leaping (like a horse).
- banking — (of an aircraft/bird) flying with one wing higher than the other while turning.
- ascending — rising; going up.
- obedient — doing what one is told; dutiful.
- (to) twist — to turn or jerk sharply (here, the aeroplane in the storm).
The young seagull was afraid to fly because he felt the sea stretched far below — "miles down" — and he was certain his wings would never support him over such a great drop. The plunge looked desperate and dangerous, so terror held him back. Not all young birds are equally afraid; like humans, some are bolder and some more timid. His own brothers and sister, even his smaller sister with shorter wings, flew the day before, while he alone could not muster courage — showing that fear differs from individual to individual. A human baby, too, finds it a challenge to take its first steps.
It suggests that the seagull was desperately hungry — he had not eaten since the previous nightfall, and seeing his mother tear at the fish drove him almost wild with craving. What finally compelled him to fly was this hunger combined with his mother's clever trick: she flew close with the fish but halted just out of reach. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish, fell into space, and his wings spread out on their own — and so he flew. Hunger overcame his fear.
His parents threatened to let him starve and mocked his cowardice, and later cajoled and beckoned him, because they knew that he had to learn to fly to survive — to catch his own food and live independently. A seagull that cannot fly cannot feed itself. Their tough love and encouragement were meant to push him to overcome his fear and discover his own ability, not to be cruel. Their behaviour shows a parent's wish to make a child self-reliant.
Although flying is natural for a seagull, success was not automatic for this young bird — his fear had stopped him for a full day while his siblings flew. The point of the story is that he had to actually try: until he took the dive, his wings were useless to him. His success came only when, regardless of the possibility of failure, he made the attempt. The lesson is that potential means nothing unless we are willing to act and risk failure.
The risk is flying his old Dakota straight into the huge storm clouds. He could not climb over them and did not have enough fuel to fly around them to the north or south. The safe choice was to turn back to Paris. He takes the risk because he wanted to get home — he was looking forward to his holiday, his family, and a "good big English breakfast." His longing for home made him choose the dangerous path rather than turning back.
Inside the storm everything turned suddenly black; he could see nothing outside, and the old plane jumped and twisted in the air. His compass began turning round and round and went dead; the other instruments and the radio also failed. He was completely lost, with no way to navigate. Then he saw a strange black aeroplane with no lights beside him, whose pilot waved and signalled "Follow me." He followed it like an obedient child, and just as his fuel was nearly gone, it led him down out of the clouds to a runway, where he landed safely.
He says this because the flight had been terrifying and exhausting. In that "old Dakota" he had nearly died — lost in the storm, with dead instruments, no radio, and almost no fuel. Walking away from it, he felt enormous relief at being alive and safe on the ground. The plane was now linked in his mind with fear and near-disaster, so he was glad to leave it behind.
The woman looked at him strangely and laughed because, when he asked about the other aeroplane that had guided him, she said no other aeroplanes were flying that night — his was the only one she could see on the radar. This was puzzling, since he had clearly followed a black plane to safety. As for who helped him, the story leaves it an open mystery. It may have been a guardian angel or some unseen, supernatural helper, or perhaps the pilot's own skill and courage personified. Pupils may reason either way, giving reasons from the text.
For twenty-four hours nobody came near him. The whole family taunted him with his cowardice, walking about on the opposite plateau and mocking him. His parents had earlier threatened to let him starve unless he flew. They deliberately kept their distance to force him to fly out of hunger.
After the first terrifying fall, he felt his wings spread and the wind support him. He stopped falling and began to soar. He was no longer afraid, only "a bit dizzy," and then filled with joy and confidence — he flapped his wings and soared upwards, screaming happily, and completely forgot that he had ever been unable to fly.
He was happy because it was a clear, calm night — moon rising, stars shining, not a cloud in the sky — and he was flying alone, high above the sleeping countryside. He was dreaming of his holiday, looking forward to seeing his family, and to a good English breakfast. Everything seemed to be "going well — it was an easy flight."
The young seagull is a creature for whom flight is natural but who is held back by fear and self-doubt; he flies only when forced by hunger and a trick. The pilot is an experienced, confident man who chooses to fly into danger by his own will ("I'll take the risk") out of a desire for home. The seagull's flight is a coming-of-age, a discovery that he can survive; the pilot's flight is a brush with death from which a mysterious helper rescues him. Both, however, share the central truth: fear must be faced, and at the moment of crisis unexpected help (the family, the black plane) makes survival possible. Both also end in relief and gratitude.
In "His First Flight" the seagull's own courage to dive is what finally lifts him — but that courage was drawn out by his family, who withheld food, mocked him, and tempted him with the fish his mother carried just out of reach. His success is a partnership of his effort and their guidance. In "The Black Aeroplane" the pilot's courage to fly into the storm nearly destroys him, yet he survives because a mysterious black plane guides him safely down. Neither hero succeeds by courage alone or by help alone; in both, the brave step forward is met by timely, even mysterious, help. The stories together teach that we must dare to act, but we also depend on others — seen or unseen — in our hardest moments.
(a) "He" is the young seagull. (b) He was surprised because his mother, instead of bringing the fish right up to him, halted in the air just out of reach, her wings motionless. (c) As he dived he fell outwards and downwards into space; a monstrous terror seized him, but then his wings spread out, the wind supported him, and he found himself flying for the first time.
(a) The pilot of the mysterious black aeroplane "said" this to the narrator. (b) No words were actually spoken; the strange pilot lifted one hand and waved, gesturing for the narrator to follow — and turned his plane to the north in front of the Dakota. (c) The narrator followed because he was lost in the storm with dead instruments and believed, "He knows that I am lost. He's trying to help me." He followed "like an obedient child."
A student learns that fear is natural but must not stop us from trying; like the seagull, we often discover our abilities only after we take the plunge. We learn that encouragement and tough love from elders help us grow, and that hard work and risk are sometimes necessary to reach our goals. From the pilot we learn to be brave yet sensible, and to be grateful for the help we receive. Above all, both stories teach self-belief and perseverance in the face of difficulty.
- Frederick Forsyth
- Liam O'Flaherty
- Robert Frost
- John Berryman
- His family had abandoned him
- He was injured
- His brothers and sister had already flown away and he was afraid to fly
- He was the only chick
- A strong wind pushed him
- His father threw him off
- Hunger, when his mother brought fish near but out of reach
- He saw an enemy bird
- praising
- scolding
- feeding
- ignoring
- Liam O'Flaherty
- Carolyn Wells
- Frederick Forsyth
- R. K. Narayan
- A jet fighter
- An old Dakota
- A helicopter
- A glider
- He was ordered to by Paris Control
- He wanted to get home and have breakfast
- He was chasing another plane
- His radio told him to
- They worked perfectly
- Only the radio failed
- The compass, other instruments and the radio all went dead
- They caught fire
- It had crashed
- No other aeroplane was flying that night; only his showed on radar
- It belonged to the army
- It had landed at another airport
- The dangers of technology
- Overcoming fear and finding help/courage
- The beauty of nature
- Love between friends
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