W
hen he was traveling by ferryboat in hot
weather what Jalal liked to do best was to
sit outside on deck. That way he got a closer view
of the sea and could look around more easily.
One day Jalal boarded the ferryboat with his
mother. Right away he went and sat down on
deck. A group of seagulls were following the
ferryboat as though they were racing one an-
other. The seagulls put on a wonderful display,
swirling and turning in the air, and fought one
another over pieces of bread thrown to them by
the passengers.
One of the seagulls glided slowly down
and landed on the seat next to Jalal.
"How did you like our flying display?" it
asked. "I noticed that you were watching us
very carefully. What's your name?"
"My name's Jalal. Yes, I was really enjoy-
ing watching you flying. I see you can stay up
in the air without flapping your wings at all.
How do you do that?"
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