3. Two Stories about Flying

The young seagull was afraid because the sea below looked very far down. He felt sure that his wings would never support him.

All young birds may feel some fear at first. But some birds are more timid than others. His brothers and sister flew easily, but he could not.

Yes, a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps. It falls many times before it learns to walk.

It suggests that the seagull was very hungry. He had not eaten anything since the previous night.

His hunger compelled him to fly. His mother held a piece of fish just out of his reach. He dived at the fish, fell off the ledge, and his wings spread out. He began to fly.

His parents knew that he could fly but was only afraid. They threatened to let him starve so that he would gather courage. They wanted him to become independent and find his own food.

No, success is not always guaranteed. But it is important to try, even if we might fail. If we never try, we can never succeed. Trying again and again helps us to overcome fear.

The risk was to fly his old Dakota straight into the huge black storm clouds. He could not fly over them, and he did not have enough fuel to fly around them.

He took the risk because he wanted to get home to his family and to have a good English breakfast.

Inside the clouds everything became black. The old aeroplane jumped and twisted in the air. The compass turned round and round and stopped working. The radio and other instruments also went dead. He could not see where he was. He was lost in the storm and felt frightened.

He had gone through a frightening experience in the old Dakota. He had almost lost his life in the storm. So he was happy to walk away from it after landing safely.

The narrator asked her about the pilot of the black aeroplane. She said that no other aeroplane was flying that night. His was the only one she could see on the radar. So she looked at him strangely.

It is a mystery. Perhaps it was a ghost pilot or some supernatural power. Or, the narrator may have imagined the black aeroplane in his fear. His own courage and presence of mind may have guided him to the airport.

1. Your hands and face are absolutely black. — very dirty
2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look… — an angry look
3. …one of the blackest crimes against humanity. — most evil and shameful
4. Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy. — comedy that makes fun of serious and unpleasant things
5. …and then sell these in black. — illegally, at a higher price (black market)
6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. — very badly, so that he was full of bruises

swoop flit flutter ascend float skim dart hover glide descend soar sail flap

No, ‘dyin’ does not really rhyme with ‘lion’. But if we say ‘lion’ as ‘lyin’ (lie-un), it rhymes with ‘dyin’.

The Asian Lion is a large tawny beast. He roars at you while you are dying. The Bengal Tiger is a noble wild beast with black stripes on a yellow background. He greets you and eats you.

According to the poet, you can identify them only when they attack you. This is the humour of the poem.

No, they are not spelt correctly. The correct words are ‘leapt’ and ‘leap’. The poet spells them like this to rhyme with ‘Leopard’ (pronounced ‘lepard’). This is called poetic licence.

Yes. Some examples are ‘as clever as a fox’, ‘as busy as a bee’, ‘as slow as a tortoise’, ‘as proud as a peacock’ and ‘to shed crocodile tears’.

The correct line is “A novice might be nonplussed.”

The poet’s line is better because it keeps the rhythm of the poem. It also rhymes with ‘thus’ in the next line.

Yes. In ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’, Ogden Nash uses ‘realio, trulio’ and ‘winda’ for ‘window’. Students can also collect humorous poems from their own languages.

The poet wants the boy to face his loss on his own. He does not want to disturb him at this moment.

He does not offer money because the boy must learn an important lesson. Money cannot buy back everything we lose. The boy must learn to bear the loss.

Yes, the boy seems to have had the ball for a long time. It is linked to the happy memories of his young days when he played with it. So losing the ball means losing those memories too.

It means the world of material things. People own things and also lose them. The boy learns that the things we possess can be lost.

No, this seems to be his first loss. The words “He senses first responsibility / In a world of possessions” suggest this.

The boy is learning the “epistemology of loss”. He is learning what it means to lose something. Losses are a part of life. Money cannot bring back what is lost. We must accept the loss and stand up again with courage.