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      Then, he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking shrilly.
 
     He was near the sea now, flying straight over it, facing out over the ocean. He saw a vast green sea beneath him, with little ridges moving over it; he turned his beak sideways and crowed amusedly.
 
     His parents and his brothers and sister had landed on this green floor in front of him. They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly. He dropped his legs to stand on the green sea. His legs sank into it. He screamed with fright and attempted to rise again, flapping his wings. But he was tired and weak with hunger and he could not rise exhausted by the strange exercise. His feet sank into the green sea, and then his belly touched it and he sank no farther. He was floating on it. And around him, his family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering him scraps of dog-fish.
 
     He had made his first flight.
Explanation:
 
Once it had experienced the feeling of being in the air, courage picked up, and it uttered a joyous scream and started flapping its wings. Most of the time, it is only the fear of beginning something, and once we get to delve into the experience, we may realise how trivial our fears were and start enjoying the moment. The mother bird just gave a push and motivation to the seagull, and it overcame its fear. He raised his body up in the force of the wind and flew happily. Its brothers and sisters started flying around screaming ga ga ga to each other. They started flying and screaming as a family. Flying is the seagull's natural trait, and it soon becomes inherent that it almost forgets that it was initially reluctant to fly.
 
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Little seagull in flight
 
The little bird being a newbie to flying, had become tired due to the exercise. One cannot overdo any exercise as it can drain energy. Being a seagull, it landed on the green sea and immersed its feet in it to rest. Its parents and siblings landed on the green sea and called out from either side. When it entered the surface to rest, it was not able to even float properly as it was tired and hungry since it had not eaten anything from morning. It had become the hero in one day as it rested its belly on the surface, and the family fed scraps of dogfish to it, cheering and screaming. The little seagull had finally made its first flight.
 
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The seagull flew with the family
 
Meaning of difficult words:
 
S.No
Words
Meaning
1
NewbieSomeone who is new in doing something
2
SwoopedTo fly downwards rapidly
3
MonstrousEvil or wrong
4
HeadlongIn a rush
5
DizzyFeeling like losing balance
6
ShriekTo scream highly
7
Dog-fishA small shark
8
ShrillHigh pitched noise
9
ReluctantHaving doubts about do something
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006). Beehive. The First Flight - Liam O'Flaherty (pp. 32-36). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.