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Two Stories about Flying
I. His First Flight
By Liam O’ Flaherty
- • Fear of Flying: A young seagull is stranded alone on a ledge. While his two brothers and sister have already flown away, he is paralyzed by fear, believing his wings will not support him over the vast sea beneath.
- • Parental Pressure: His parents try various tactics to make him fly, including shrill calling, scolding, and threatening to let him starve on the ledge. Despite this, he lacks the courage to move.
- • Isolation and Hunger: Twenty-four hours pass without anyone coming near him. He watches his family perfecting their flight and catching fish, which intensifies his hunger and isolation.
- • The Mother's Trick: Maddened by the sight of his mother tearing a piece of fish, he begs her for food. She flies toward him with the fish but halts just out of reach, hovering in the air.
- • The Plunge: Overcome by hunger and frustration, the young seagull dives at the fish. He falls outward and downward into space, seized initially by a monstrous terror that stops his heart.
- • Taking Flight: Suddenly, his fear vanishes. He feels his wings spread outwards, cutting through the air. He realizes he is soaring, not falling, and begins to flap his wings to fly upwards.
- • Celebration and Landing: His family joins him, flying around and screaming with joy. He eventually lands on the green sea, initially frightened of sinking, but soon finds himself floating comfortably, having successfully completed his first flight.
II. Black Aeroplane
By Frederick Forsyth
- • The Journey Begins: A pilot is flying his old Dakota aeroplane from France to England at 1:30 in the morning. The sky is clear, and he is happy, dreaming of his holiday and an English breakfast with his family.
- • The Storm: About 150 kilometers from Paris, he encounters massive storm clouds that look like black mountains. He does not have enough fuel to fly around them and decides to take the risk and fly straight into the storm.
- • Crisis in the Clouds: Inside the clouds, everything turns black. The plane jumps and twists, and his essential instruments—the compass and the radio—suddenly fail, leaving him lost and cut off from Paris Control.
- • The Mysterious Rescuer: He sees another aeroplane flying next to him in the storm. It is a black plane with no lights on its wings. The pilot of this strange plane waves at him and signals him to "Follow me."
- • A Safe Landing: The narrator follows the black aeroplane like an obedient child. Even as his fuel tank runs dangerously low (only enough for 5-10 minutes), the guide plane leads him down through the clouds until he suddenly spots a runway.
- • The Disappearance: Upon landing safely, he looks for his friend in the black aeroplane, but the sky is empty. The mysterious plane is gone.
- • The Unsolved Mystery: He rushes to the control tower to ask about the other pilot so he can thank him. The woman in charge laughs and informs him that no other aeroplanes were flying that night; his Dakota was the only one seen on the radar. The identity of the rescuer remains a mystery.
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