It is a beautiful story of a young seagull who was all alone on the ledge as his brothers and sister had flown away the previous day. He tried to run a little forward, but he was so afraid of the sea under him. He was skeptical about his wings. So he ran away and slept in the hole.

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He saw his brothers and sisters with their short wings soaring high into the sky. But he could not do the same as he was afraid and always remained doubtful. His parents scolded him by threatening that he would starve.

Now nobody came to him, all day he was looking for his parents who were busy training his siblings. They were teaching him how to skim and dive in the sea for food. His parents were happy to see the siblings doing their best and having fun.

They circled around and cackled altogether. All morning the family of seagulls was merry-making and poking at the young seagull as he was not able to take his first flight.

Now the young seagull was feeling hot, and he had not eaten anything since the previous day. He was searching for food in the rough, dirt-caked straw nest.

Now he ran back and forth to reach his parents on the other side. But again, the fear haunted him. He was not able to take a single step.

He took a step, stood on one leg, hiding his other leg under his wings. He then pretended not to see beneath the cliff. His parents and siblings took no notice of him. His father was preening his feathers and his mother was looking at him.

His mother took a piece of flesh and just hung it as little forward as the young seagull wanted to tear it apart, and the food made him mad.

He screamed to give him a little piece but his mother and father kept mocking her. Soon, the young seagull knew that if he wanted that piece of flesh, he would have to make his first step to reach that.

He leaned out, tapping the rock, and with a loud scream he swooped and now he was in space, clearly diving into the sea.

But he was not falling, he was feeling the wind under his stomach and was able to fly. He was no longer afraid to fall into the sea.

He made a joyful sound and was continuously flapping his wings. He saw his brothers and sisters also soaring high and making the sound of ga, ga. Soon he forgot that he could not fly and was flying like he had been flying for a long time.

Now he dropped his legs to stand at the green sea. He was tired and weak after this exercise but was happy and content at the same time.

He was able to see his family screaming from the other side and praising him a lot. They all were offering him pieces of scrapped dogfish. He was happy he made the first flight.

NCERT Solutions Of Two Stories Of Flying: His First Flight

Q1. Why was the Young Seagull Afraid to Fly? Are all young birds afraid to make their first flight or are some birds timider than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first step?

The young seagull was afraid of flying as he thought his wings could not support him. Yes, it is natural that all young birds are afraid to make their first flight. Yes, even a human baby is also confronted with the fear of taking its first steps.

Q2. “ The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

“The sight of the food maddened him,” suggests that the seagull was so hungry that when he saw the food, he excitedly wanted to have it. The young seagull had been hungry for the past 24 hours and desperately wanted to eat something but he couldn/t not get it which made him furious. The sight of a fish in his mother’s beak who flew upwards was eventually successful in making the seagull spread his wings for the first time. Thus, it was the food that forced the seagull to take the risk of his life.

Q3. “They were beckoning to him. Calling shrilly. “Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and make him and cajole him to fly?

The young seagull was afraid to fly as he thought that his wings would not support him. His two brothers and his sister had already flown away the day before and so, he was left alone and hungry on the ledge. His father and mother threatened to starve him on the ledge and cajoled him to fly because learning the art of flight was very necessary for a bird. But the young seagull was too timid to fly.

Two Stories About Flying: The Black Aeroplane Summary

This story is about a pilot who is very elated and satisfied to fly over a city that is sleeping. He is flying from Paris to London and on the way he is dreaming about the holiday with his family. He also imagined the breakfast he is about to have after his landing.

As soon as he crossed Paris, he saw a dark cloud which was a sign of upcoming danger. The right decision was to turn back but he was overshadowed by his dreams of enjoying a tasty dinner with his family. Everything was getting dark, he was not able to see anything but took a hard step. He moved into the danger and took the risk of his life.

The instruments went off and he could not judge where to move. He lost his control. The amount of fuel was also very less. The anonymous pilot was guiding him to move out of the storm safely. But after the safe landing, when he asked about the other pilot, the woman said there was only one airplane on the radar. This statement by the woman shocked him.

NCERT Solutions of The Black Aeroplane

Q1. I will take the risk. What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?

The risk was to fly through the black storm clouds. The narrator took the risk as he wanted to reach Paris to celebrate Christmas with his family.

Q2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the airplane into the storm.

As he flew into the storm, everything went black. It was possible to see anything outside the plane. It jumped and twisted in the air. When he looked at his compass, he saw it turning round and round. It was dead. Along with it the other instruments, including the radio, were also dead. Suddenly, he saw another airplane. Its pilot waved at him, asking him to follow. He was glad to find a helper. He was using his last fuel tank and there was only enough fuel to fly for five or ten minutes. Then the other pilot started going down and he followed. He suddenly came out of the clouds, saw the runway, on which he landed his plane safely.

Q3. Why Does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?

He was delighted to land safely out of dark stormy clouds, therefore, he was not sorry to walk away from his plane. He felt bad when he was not able to thank his guide=, his mentor, who saved him from frightening situations, but he was so happy after landing that he didn’t feel sorry for not being able to thank the guide pilot.

Q4. What made the woman in the control center look at the narrator strangely?

The woman in the control room was surprised when the narrator asked about the other airplane and its pilot. She said that there was no airplane seen on the radar.

Q5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among yourselves and give reasons for your answers.

Probably, it was the narrator’s own self that helped him through the storm. There was no other plane in the storm as the woman in the control room could see only his plane on the radar. Also, no other plane was flying that night. In his fear, he might have been hallucinating. He was a good pilot, and it might have been his own self that came to his help.

Additional Questions: Two Stories Of Flying

Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black. It was impossible to see anything outside the aeroplane. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. I looked at the compass. I couldn’t believe my eyes; the compass was turning round and round and round. It was dead. It would not work.

Q1. Why did it become impossible for the writer to see?

It became impossible to see because the writer’s plane entered inside the storm clouds where everything was dark.

Q2. Why was the airplane twisting in the air?

All the instruments of the plane were not working due to darkness, the plane could not be kept under control, so it was twisting in the air.

Q3. What could have happened as a result of compass failure?

The narrator could have lost his path.

Q4. Where could the pilot not establish contact?

He could not establish contact with Paris control.

There was no answer. The radio was dead too. I had no radio, no compass, and I could not see where I was. I got lost in the storm. Then, in the blank clouds quite near me, I saw another aeroplane. It had no lights on its wings, but I could see it flying next to me through the storm. I could see the pilot/s face- turned towards me. I was very glad to see another person. He lifted one hand and waved.

Q1. From where did the narrator expect an answer?

The narrator expected an answer from the radio i.e. the control station.

Q2. Why did he not receive any answer?

He did not receive any answer because the radio was not working.

Q3. Where was he lost?

He was lost in the storm clouds.

Q4. What problem did he face in the storm?

He could not see where he was and was lost in the storm.

Conclusion

We have covered almost everything of both the parts of Two Stories Of Flying i.e His first flight and the black aeroplane along with the Ncert solutions, summary, and extract-based questions. This will help you get the lesson’s gist, and attempting questions after this will be a pushover for you.

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