About the Characters

Story I-His First Flight

Family of Seagulls

6 members in the family of seagulls

Young Seagull

One who is unable to fly due to fear.

Story II-The Black Aeroplane

The Narrator

A pilot who was flying his Dakota aeroplane over France back to England lost his way due to storm.

The Unknown Friend

A pilot who was flying the black aeroplane helped the narrator to find the way in the storm.

The Woman

The working woman in the control centre whom the narrator asked about the unknown friend of the black aeroplane.

STORY I His First Flight

Summary of the Chapter

This story is about a family of seagulls. There was a young child in the family who u-as unable to fly even after several tries. The story highlights the importance of family and friends in one’s life. It also gives the message that one needs to believe in herself to overcome hurdles of own life.

The Seagull Family

The seagull family consists of six seagulls—mother, father, three sons and one daughter. All of them except the youngest son are expert in flying high. His parents have tried several times to teach him how to fly but he is scared to do that and does not want to try anymore. He relies on the food that his parents bring back from their flights.

Young Seagull’s Fear of Flying

The youngest son is afraid of flying as he thinks that if he flies, his wings would not support him and he would fall down in the sea below and drown. Even his parents have rebuked him. They even threatened him if he doesn’t fly, he would die of hunger, but he does not try.

Parents Leave Young Seagull Alone

After so many failed attempts, his parents leave him alone on the rock without food. They even taunt him for his cowardice. The young seagull looks at his brothers and sister enjoying swimming, diving in the sea water for fish to feed themselves, but no one comes near him to offer food.

Hunger and Heat Increase

As the time passes, the young seagull could not tolerate the hunger and the heat. He moves closer to the ledge and pretends to fall asleep but nobody takes notice of him.

His brothers and sister have already had hearty breakfast and father seems busy in admiring and cleaning the feathers on his back. The mother looks at him and tries to tempt him with pieces of fish. His begging and crying does not affect her.

Young Seagull Dives for Food

The young seagull was very hungry. He was surprised enough at his mother’s ignorance of his pitiful condition. Thus, he dives for food. He begins to fall down with a scream as soon as he dives.

Flight Begins

The young seagull begins to fall in the sea. He is afraid of drowning, so he tries to spread his wings outwards and begins flying. He feels a little dizzy but all his fear vanished (disappeared). He soars slowly downwards and upwards. He could finally fly on his own.

Joy of Flight and Reunion of Family

The seagull becomes so happy and soars higher calling (ga, ga, ga’. It was really a joyous moment for the whole family; his brothers and sister alongwith his parents come near to encourage and cheer, him. The young seagull successfully made his first flight.