His First Flight
This story is written by Liam O’ Flaherty who is well known for his novels and short stories. This story is about a family of seagulls. In which the psychology and intelligence of these birds have been described. The writer talks about a young seagull that was afraid of flying. After going through the whole story one can easily conclude that the writer has deeply observed and analyzed the behavior of these birds. This story is in a very simple and convincing manner.
There
was family of seagulls that was consisted of six members. Among them there were
parents three brother and one sister. All the youngster of the family had
started flying except one seagull. He was afraid of flying because he thought
that his wings would never support him. His parents tried their best to persuade
him to fly but all in vain. Even there threats were not more than useless
attempt. At last he was left alone, hungry and unattended. His parents thought,
that, one day by the hands of hunger he will definitely join them.
The
young seagull was alone on his ledge. He found some pieces of fish to eat but
after that he was left with nothing. He became impatient with hunger and search
every inch of his ledge for food. He ran to the brink of the ledge and attempted
to fly but sue to lack of courage he could not succeed. He had been all-alone
for the last twenty-four hours and none of his family members came to see him.
He had been watching his parents teaching his brother and sister the art of
flying the day before. They were taught to skim the waves and dive for the fish.
The next morning the whole family gathered on a plateau jut opposite to him and
taunted him for his cowardice. He wanted to join his family but there was a deep
breach between his family and the place where he was sitting.
The
young seagull was experiencing a dismal situation as he had nothing to eat and
he could not seek food for himself. Meanwhile, he saw his mother tearing and
eating a fish. He begged his mother to bring some food while calling her
mournfully. At this she took pity on him and started flying towards him. She was
carrying a piece of fish in her beak. As she came near to his ledge, she became
motionless in the air. The young seagull was surprised because of that
unexpected situation. He was maddened with hunger. The piece offish within the
reach of the seagull and without even thinking he dived at the fish. He made his
way in space without opening his wing. He heard the swish of his mother’s
wings as she swooped upwards. This situation lasted for a while but t soon his
wings opened and he started flying easily. He flapped his wings and started
curveting, soaring, banking and diving without any fear.
His
family members were very happy and they were all crying to express their joy on
his successful flight. They were offering him the pieces of fish as a token of
their pleasure. After flying for sometime he became tired. He wanted to come
down on the surface of green sea. As he touched the surface of the sea, his legs
sank into the water. He cried with fear but when his belly touched the water, he
felt that he was floating. He was no longer afraid. He maid his maiden flight
successfully.
There
is nothing to say that through birds, the writer wants to convey the moral of
self-confidence along with self-reliance to all of us. The parents can endure
the burden of their descendant to some extent and not forever. So everyone
should undertake the effort to become independent while availing the available
guidance.