His First Flight

Afraid to fly. A young seagull (a sea bird that lives on cliffs by the sea) is alone on his ledge, a narrow shelf on the cliff. His two brothers and his sister, whose wings were shorter than his, flew away the day before. He could not. The sea looked 'miles down', and he felt sure his wings would never hold him.

It is fear, not weakness. He can fly. His wings are big enough. What stops him is fear. His parents scold him and threaten to let him starve on his ledge. Still he cannot move.

Hungry and alone. For twenty-four hours nobody comes near him. His family is on the big plateau on the opposite cliff, in full view. He watches them fly, dive for fish, and praise his brother's first catch. They taunt him for being a coward. He has eaten nothing since the night before.

The mother's trick. He pretends to sleep. Only his mother is watching. She tears at a piece of fish, and 'the sight of the food maddened him'. He cries, and she flies towards him with the fish in her beak, then stops just out of reach. He waits, then, 'maddened by hunger', dives at the fish.

Flying. He falls, with 'a monstrous terror', and then his wings spread and the wind carries him. He soars, dives and calls. He lands on the 'green flooring' of the sea, his legs sink, and he panics. Then he floats, and his family praises him and feeds him scraps of dog-fish. He has made his first flight.