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)

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.