CBSE Class 10 English First Flight - Two Stories About Flying Summary & Notes

Summary of Two Stories About Flying

Two Stories about Flying Summary in English. The story of His First Flight is based on a young seagull who is afraid to fly because of distrust on its wings. All his younger siblings can fly fearlessly despite their shorter wings. On the other hand, the young bird cannot gather the courage to trust his wings.

Two Stories about Flying

Part 1: His First Flight Summary

The story “His First Flight” is written by Liam O’Flaherty and is based on a young seagull who was afraid to take his first flight because he feared that his wings wouldn’t support him while flying. All his siblings took the plunge to fly fearlessly in the open air despite having shorter wings than him. On the contrary, the young bird could not muster up courage to take the plunge due to distrust on his wings. Whenever he tried to come forward towards the brink of the ledge while attempting to fly, he became afraid and went back. His parents constantly upbraided and threatened him that unless he flew away he would have to starve alone on the ledge, but all their efforts went in vain. He would just watch his parents teaching his siblings how to skim the waves and dive for fish.

One fine day, the whole family flew to a big plateau and taunted the young seagull for his cowardice. As the sun rays blazed on his ledge, he could feel the heat and was starving since the previous nightfall. The young bird begged his mother to bring him some food. He uttered a joyful scream when his mother quickly picked a piece of fish and flew across to him. He leaned out eagerly and jumped at the fish exasperated by hunger. Suddenly he fell outward in the open space and a monstrous terror seized him as he could feel that he was falling downward. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards and he was able to fly fearlessly. Finally, the young seagull took his first flight and soared higher and skimmed through the waves and dived along with his siblings.

Part 2: Black Aeroplane Summary

“Black Aeroplane” is a mysterious story written by Fredrik Forsyth that revolves around a pilot. The narrator of the story is a pilot who wanted to be with his family and enjoy a wholesome breakfast with them in England. He had to fly from France to England to spend time with his family. Once he crossed Paris, he came across the storm clouds that looked like black mountains. However, he flew through the clouds and soon realized that everything around him had turned completely black. Nothing was visible to him outside the aeroplane as he lost control of it.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was another aeroplane with no lights on its wings. The pilot of that airplane waved his hands and signalled him to follow. He blindly followed the other pilot since the radio signals of his plane were not reachable and even the fuel tank was low. Soon he passed through the dark clouds and landed safely on the runway with the help of the other pilot. Upon landing, he inquired at the reception about whom the other pilot was who helped him in such a critical situation as he wanted to thank him for saving his life. But the woman in the control centre told him that there was no other airplane in the night sky other than his aeroplane.

Conclusion of Two Stories About Flying

In the chapter – Two Stories About Flying, there are two stories that teach us that inner strength and determination is necessary to overcome fear. Having the courage to face tough situations helps us to overcome complex situations in our lives.

Extract Based Questions [3 Marks each] Story I His First Flight Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow. Question 1. 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. (a) Why was the young seagull afraid? (b) What did the young seagull feel about his wings? (c) Pick out the word from the passage that means the same as ‘the verge’. (d) Pick out the word from the passage which means ‘a narrow flat piece of rock that sticks out from a cliff’. Answer: (a) The young seagull was afraid of flying over the sea. (b) The young seagull felt that his wings would never support him. (c) The word is ‘brink’. (d) The word is ‘ledge’. Question 2. 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 elder 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 for his cowardice. (a) The young seagull had been alone for how much time? (b) Why was the whole family taunting the young seagull? (c) Find the word which can be replaced by ‘consume’ in the passage? (d) The word ‘bravery’ is an antonym of ………. Answer: (a) For twenty four years, the young seagull was alone. (b) The whole family was taunting the young seagull for his cowardice. (c) The word is ‘devour’. (d) The word is ‘cowardice’. Question 3. 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 scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. (a) What did the young seagull do out of his ledge? (b) What was seagull’s father doing? (c) Find out the word in the passage which mean the same as ‘to sharpen’. (d) What does plateau mean? Answer: (a) The young seagull pretended to be falling asleep and watched his brothers and sister lying on the plateau. (b) The seagull’s father was preening the feathers on his white back. (c) The word is ‘preening’. (d) A plateau is an area of land that is higher than the land around it. Question 4. Then a monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a minute. 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 arid outwards, He was no longer afraid. He just felt a bit dizzy. Then he flapped his wings once and he soared upwards. “Ga, ga, ga, Ga, ga, ga, Gaw-col-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. He saw his two brothers and his sister flying around him curving and banking and soaring and diving. (a) What did the young seagull feel the next moment? (b) What did the young seagull’s mother do? (c) Find out the word from the passage that means the same as ‘fly high in the air’. (d) Find out from the passage a word that means ‘to grab’. Answer: (a) The next moment young seagull felt his wings spread outwards. (b) The young seagull’s mother swooped past him and made a loud noise with her wings. (c) The word is ‘soaring’. (d) The word in ‘seized’. Question 5. His parents and his brothers and sister had landed on this green flooring ahead 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. (a) What does the phrase, ‘this green flooring’ refer to? (b) What made the young seagull tired? (c) Find out the word that means the same as ‘inviting’. (d) The word ……… means a small piece/amount of something. Answer: (a) ‘The green flooring’ refers to the green surface of the sea. (b) The young seagull was tired because he was weak with hunger and he made a successful attempt for his first flight. (c) Beckoning. (d) Scrap. Story II The Black Aeroplane Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow. Question 1. The moon was coming up in the east, behind me, and stars were shining in the clear sky above me. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping countryside. I was flying my old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England. I was dreaming of my holiday and looking forward to being with my family. I looked at my watch at one thirty in the morning. I should call Paris Control soon. I thought. As 1 looked down past the nose of the aeroplane, I saw the lights of a big city in front of me. (a) How was the weather when the pilot started flying his aeroplane? (b) Why was the pilot flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England? (c) Find out the word similar in the meaning to ‘hoping with pleasure’. (d) Choose from the passage the word which means ‘land outside towns or cities’. Answer: (a) When the pilot started flying his aeroplane, it was a clear weather as the moon was up in the east, stars were shining and there wasn’t any cloud in the sky. (b) The pilot was flying his old Dakota aeroplane over France back to England because he wanted to enjoy his holiday and morning breakfast with his family. (c) Looking forward to. (d) The word is countryside. Question 2. Paris was about 150 kilometres behind me when I saw the clouds. Storm clouds. They were huge. They looked like black mountains ‘standing in front of me across the sky-1 knew I could not fly up and over them, and I did not have enough fuel to fly around them to the north or south. CBSE 2016 (a) What happened when the pilot was about 150 kilometres away from Paris? (b) What does the author compare the clouds to? (c) Find out the word similar in meaning as sufficient. (d) The word ‘elephantine’ is similar in meaning to the word ……… Answer: (a) The pilot saw storm clouds when he was about 150 kilometres away from Paris. (b) The author compares the clouds to black mountain. (c) The word is ‘enough’. (d) The word is ‘huge’. Question 3. “He knows that I am lost”, I thought ‘He’s trying to help me. He turned his aeroplane slowly to the north, in front of my Dakota, so that it would be easier for me to follow him. I was very happy to go behind the strange aeroplane like an obedient child. After half an hour the strange black aeroplane was still there in front of me in the clouds. Now, there was only enough fuel in the old Dakota’s last tank to fly for five or ten minutes more. I was starting to feel frightened again. But then he started to go down and I followed through the storm. (a) Why was the pilot happy to find his aeroplane behind another aeroplane in the black clouds? (b) Why was the pilot frightened again? (c) Find the opposite of ‘insufficient’ from the passage. (d) What does a ‘storm’ mean? Answer: (a) The pilot was happy to find his aeroplane behind another aeroplane in the black clouds because another pilot was helping him come out of the storm clouds. (b) The pilot felt frightened again because the fuel was not sufficient to reach the destination as it was only enough for next five or ten minutes. (c) Enough. (d) A storm is a very bad weather with strong winds and rain, thunder and lightning. Question 4. I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota near the control tower. I went and asked a woman in the control centre where I was and who the other pilot was. ‘I wanted to say ‘Thank you’. She looked at me very strangely, and then laughed. ‘Another aeroplane? Up there in this storm? No other aeroplanes were flying tonight. ‘Yours was the only one I could see on the radar.” So who helped me to arrive there safely without a compass or a radio, and without any more fuel in my tanks? Who was the pilot on the strange black aeroplane, flying in the storm, without lights? CBSE 2016 (a) Why did the writer go to the Control center immediately? (b) Why was the writer shocked after hearing the woman’s word? (c) Find out the word in the passage that means the same as ‘peculiar’. (d) Which part of speech does the word ‘tonight’ belong to? Answer: (a) The writer went to the Control center to ask about the black aeroplane so he could thank the pilot for saving his life. (b) The writer was shocked after hearing the woman’s word because she told him that there was no other aeroplane flying that night as she had seen on the radar. (c) Strange. (d) ‘Tonight’ is an adverb. Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each] Story I His First Flight Question 1. Why did the young seagull not go with the rest of his family? Answer: The young seagull did not go with the rest of his family because he was afraid to fly. Question 2. How did seagull’s parents try to make him fly? Answer: Seagull’s parents tried everything to make him fly. They screamed, scolded and threatened to let him starve on the ledge unless he flew away. Question 3. What had the young seagull watched his parents doing the day before? Answer: The day before the young seagull had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister, perfecting in the art of flying and teaching them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish. Question 4. What was the young seagull’s mother doing before him? Answer: The young seagull’s mother was standing on the plateau, her white breast thrust forward. She tore a piece of fish that lay at her feet, then she scrapped each side of her beak on the rock. Question 5. When did the seagull get over his fear of flying over the sea? Answer: The seagull was afraid of flying over the sea because he thought that he would drown. His family decided to teach him a lesson. They left him unattended. The mother tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet now and then in his front. Since the seagull was hungry too much, he was . compelled to attempt his first flight in order to get food. He was successful. This is when he got over his fear flying over the sea. Question 6. Describe the young seagull’s expression when he saw his mother with food. Answer: The young seagull uttered a joyful scream because he thought that his mother was bringing food for him. He tried to come nearer to her as she flew across. Question 7. Why did the young seagull feel very miserable on the ledge? Answer: The young seagull felt very miserable on the ledge as he was alone and his family had already flown away. He was feeling very hungry and had nothing to eat. His condition was worsening because he could not even dive for fish. Question 8. How did the young seagull and his family celebrate his first flight? Answer: When the young seagull started flying and got over his fear, his family screamed around him out of joy. They praised him and offered him scraps of dog-fish out of delight as he made a successful attempt Question 9. Describe the first flight of the young seagull. Answer: The young seagull dived at the fish due to hunger and fell outwards and downwards into space. He thought of getting drowned but his wings spread outwards automatically. He moved downwards and outwards and landed safely on the sea and floated on it without any fear. Story II The Black Aeroplane [2 Marks each] Question 1. Describe author’s feeling while he was flying his aeroplane back to England? Answer: The author was very excited while he was flying his aeroplane back to England because he wanted to spend his holiday with his family at home. Question 2. How much fuel was there in the aeroplane when the writer started flying? Answer: There was sufficient fuel in the tanks of the aeroplane to reach England safely when the writer started flying. Question 3. What risk did the writer take while flying? Why? Answer: The writer decided to risk to fly through the storm clouds because he wanted to enjoy his holiday with his family back in England. Question 4. What did the writer feel inside the clouds? Answer: When the writer entered the clouds, it became impossible to see outside the aeroplane. The aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air and all the instruments like compass etc stopped working due to the weather conditions. Question 5. What did the writer,see inside the black clouds? Answer: The writer saw a black aeroplane which had no lights on its wings. The writer could see the face of the pilot in the black clouds who was waving and signalling him to follow to get out of the storm. Question 6. Why did the writer follow the pilot of another aeroplane? Answer: The writer followed another aeroplane because he had lost the way in the storm and was unable to see anything. The pilot of another aeroplane was helping him to get out of the storm and land safely. Question 7. Why did the woman in control room get shocked when the writer asked about another aeroplane? Answer: The woman in the control room was shocked when the writer asked about another aeroplane because there was no such plane flying in the sky that night as she saw on the radar. Question 8. Why did the writer want to meet the pilot of another black aeroplane? Answer: The writer wanted to meet the pilot of another black aeroplane to thank him as he had saved the life of the writer by helping him come out from in the storm. Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each] Story I His First Flight Question 1. How did the mother make the young seagull come out of his fear and teach him the art of flying? (or) How did the seagull family help the young seagull overcome his fear and fly? (or) Why was the young seagull afraid of flying? What compelled the seagull to finally fly? (or) Describe the tricks used by the seagull family to help the young seagull overcome his fear and fly. Answer: The young seagull was afraid of flying because he thought that his wings won’t support him and he would drown. When his family left him alone of the ledge, he felt alone and was very hungry. They tried hard to make him fly but he never showed the courage to try. His mother knowingly tore a piece of fish near him and flew across to him with it. She came close to him but did not go nearer. Already mad by hunger, he dived at the fish but fell into space. After sometime his wings spread outwards and he began to fly. His family landed on the sea ahead of him.They beckoned him so he landed on the sea and began to sink into water but when his belly touched the water, he floated without any fear and difficulty. Question 2. Do you think that the seagull’s family loved him? Justify their attitude towards him? Answer: The young seagull had two brothers and a sister. His parents flew with them to leave him alone on the ledge as he could not muster up the courage to fly with them. His parents could have fed him. But, they refused to give him any food. They wanted him to fly and dive for his food. They threatened to let him starve. They did so because they loved him. The parents were right in what they did because they wanted to teach him the importance of confidence and self-reliance. One can’t depend on their parents all his life to be fed. Thus, it was important for him to learn to fly, dive and search his own food. So, the attitude the seagull family showed to him was actually their love, care and concern for him. Question 3. Why was the young seagull pretending to be asleep? What did he actually observe while doing so? Answer: The young seagull came to the brink of the ledge. He stood there on one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing. He closed his one eye, then the other, and pretended to be falling asleep. He did so because he wanted to know whether they were interested in him or not but he observed that his family was not noticing him. He saw his brothers and sister lying on the plateau. They were dozing. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother was looking at him. Now and then, she tore at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. Then she scrapped each side of the back on the rock. Question 4. How did the young seagull get over his fear of sea water and what was his family’s reaction on it? Answer: The young seagull had made his maiden flight successfully. When he was near the sea. he was flying straight over it. He observed a vast green sea all around him. He turned his beak sideways and cawed amusedly. His family was very happy and landed ahead of him. They beckoned to him. When he landed on the sea, he began to sink but he tried in despair and his belly touched the water and he sank no further. He was floating on water. This way he got over his fear of seawater and his family praised him a lot and offered him the dog-fish as a reward. Question 5. Fear and lack of confidence stop one from learning new things. Do you agree? How did these two traits of the young seagull make him coward? How did he overcome these short comings? Answer: Yes, It is true that fear and lack of confidence stop one from learning new things as in the story, the young seagull lacked the value of courage and confidence in his character. He was too scared of flying. His family tried hard to make him fly but he refused to do so because of his fear of sinking in the seawater. They even scolded him for his cowardice. They tried to tempt him with food but he was not willing to learn flying. Once he dived, his fear disappeared and he enjoyed his first flight. It is a fact that unless we try for something and overcome our fear, we can’t learn anything. Confidence and motivation are two most important traits that make any learning possible. Story II The Black Aeroplane [8 Marks each] Question 1. How did the writer get out of the storm in the night to land safely? Answer: The writer was flying his old Dakota aeroplane when he saw the black clouds. He was lost in the storm. Suddenly, he saw a black aeroplane by his side, which had no lights, on its wings. The pilot instructed the writer to follow as he had lost the way. He obeyed him like a child. He was very happy to follow him. After some time the pilot of another plane started to land. The writer followed him blindly through the storm and came out of the clouds. He saw the lights of the runway and landed safely. Question 2. Why was the writer happy when he decided to fly in the night? Answer: The writer was very happy when he decided to fly that night because he was going home to his family to enjoy his holiday. When he started, everything seemed to be perfect. The sky was clear, no clouds could be seen and the stars were shining. It all made it an easy task for the writer to fly that night over the sleeping countryside of Paris. His assumption of everything being in place made him happy. Question 3. The pilot wanted to thank another pilot after his safe landing. Why? What values of the writer are reflected from his action? Answer: The pilot (writer) of the old Dakota was caught in the storm. He lost his contact with the control room. In this troubling situation, his fuel tank was also empty. He lost all his hopes but suddenly a black strange plane appeared. The pilot of the black place asked writer to follow him. The writer landed safely. After his safe landing, he wanted to thank the pilot of the black plane. This shows his gratitude towards the pilot of the Black Plane. He was thankful to him for saving his life. It shows that the pilot of Dakota had a value of gratefulness in his character.