The document summarizes a short story about a young seagull who is afraid to fly. His family tries to encourage him to fly by threatening to stop feeding him, but he remains too scared. Eventually, his mother flies over with a piece of fish. Rather than give it to him, she stops midair, hoping his hunger will drive him to fly. Pretending to fall asleep, he instead dives towards the fish. To his surprise, he finds he is able to fly. His family celebrates and feeds him as he has finally taken his first flight.

1. By Liam O'Flaherty

2. INTRODUCTION.......
Once there was a young seagull. He spent his
days in a ledge away from his family as he
couldn't gather courage to make his first flight
along with his siblings. He felt that his wings
won't support him and the great expanse of the
sea discouraged him. 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
do so.

3. HIS FAMILY SUPPORTED HIM.........
In order to encourage their son his father and
mother had come around the ledge calling to him
shrilly. They upbraided him, and even
threatened him to let him starve on the ledge
unless he flew and caught the fish himself. But
the poor seagull was so afraid that he couldn’t
move. But this didn't continue for a long time.
His parent's attempts to persuade him to fly,
failed and after that, nobody had come near him.

4. 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
taunting him with his cowardice.
The sun was now ascending the sky,
blazing on his ledge that faced the
south. He felt the heat because he had
not eaten since the previous nightfall.
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.

5. However his attempts to grab their attention was unsuccessful as they took no notice of
him. His two brothers and his sister were 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. Now and again, she tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet
and then scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the food maddened
him. He admired the way she tore the food ,the way she scrapped her beak he wished he
was able to do so.
As he was hungry for a while he begged his mother to bring him some food. But she
screamed back derisively. However he kept calling her plaintively. Finally his mother had
picked up a piece of the fish and was flying across to him with it. He uttered a joyful
scream.

6. HIS FIRST FLIGHT............
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, she
paused, her wings motionless, the piece of fish in
her beak. It was almost within the reach of his
beak. He was startled as he waited. He was
wondering the reason behind the halt. But then his
hunger for food was much more dominant than
his fear of flying. He dived at the fish. With a loud
scream he fell outwards and downwards into
space. He was horrified, for a minute he could not
hear anything. The next moment he felt his wings
spread outwards. He was not falling
headlong now. He was soaring gradually
downwards and outwards. He was no longer
afraid. Then he flapped his wings once and he
soared upwards. His mother swooped past him.

7. He saw his two brothers and his sister
flying around him curveting
and banking and soaring and diving.
Then he completely forgot that he
had not always been able to fly, and
directed himself to dive and soar
and make different moves.
Then he was nearing the sea, facing
straight out over the ocean. He saw a
vast green sea beneath him. It had little
ridges moving over it and he turned his
beak sideways and cawed delightfully.

8. HIS FAMILY CELEEBRATES......
His parents and siblings had landed on this green flooring ahead of him. They were beckoning to
him. 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 too weak with hunger and exhausted by
his flight. So he allowed himself to sink and finally his belly touched the green sea and he sank no farther. He
was floating on it, and around him his family was screaming, appreciating him and offering him
scraps of dog-fish.
He had made his first flight.

9. Liam O’ Flaherty born on August 28th, 1896 and
died on September 7th, 1984.
He was an Irish novelist and short story writer and
a major figure in the Irish literary renaissance.
Born to a large, poor family on Inishmore, one of
the Ireland’s rocky Aran Islands. He took
inspiration from the peasant life of the Aran
Islands in his writing.
Some of his books include The snipper,
Insurrection, Famine, The Informer, Short
Stories.

10. Who gave Young Seagull a
piece of fish?
(a) Brother Seagull
(b) Mother Seagull
(c) Father Seagull
(d) None of the Above
Why did his mother stop midway
while giving him the fish?
(a) she was mad at him
(b) to push him to fly out of hunger
(c) she didn’t want to give him the fish
(d) she got tired
Who is the author of “His
First Flight”?
(a) Liam O’ Flaherty
(b) Frederick Forsyth
(c) Roal Dahl
(d) Paulo Coehlo
What did the seagull pretend was happening to him so
that he could take his first flight?
A) he was unconscious
B) he was falling down the cliff
C) he was falling asleep
D) He lost his balance
Ans: (b) to push him to fly
out of hunger
Ans: (b) Mother Seagull
Ans: (a) Liam O’ Flaherty
Ans: C) he was falling asleep
Ans: D) both 1 and 2
What urged him to make his first
flight?
A) hunger
B) sight of fish
C) courage
D) both 1 and 2