NCERT · Class 10 · English · First Flight: Two Stories about FlyingDescribe how the young seagull's mother compelled him to take his first flight.

The young seagull's mother used a clever strategy of temptation and hunger to compel him to fly. Knowing that he had been starving for almost twenty-four hours, she picked up a piece of fish and flew across to him, stopping just out of his reach. Maddened by extreme hunger, the young seagull could not resist the sight of food. He leaned forward and dived at the fish, forgetting his deep-seated fear of flying. As he fell outwards and downwards into space, a monstrous terror seized him for a moment, but then his wings spread outwards instinctively. He felt the wind rushing against his breast feathers, stomach, and wings, realizing that he was finally flying.