"Second to the right, and straight on until morning."
Peter Pan told Wendy that this was the way to Neverland. Peter often said anything that came into his head. Even birds with maps could not find the island with those directions.
At first, Wendy, John, and Michael trusted Peter. Flying was very exciting. They flew around tall church spires and anything else tall that they saw on the way.
John and Michael had a race. John let Michael start a little ahead of him. Not long ago, they were proud because they could fly around a room. Now they felt like very strong flyers.
They flew for a long time, and at last they were flying over the sea. Wendy began to worry. John thought it was their second sea. He thought it was their third night.
Sometimes it was dark and sometimes it was light. Sometimes they were very cold and sometimes they were too warm. They felt very hungry. Peter had a strange way to find food.
Peter chased birds that had food in their mouths. He took the food from the birds. Then the birds chased the children to take the food back. In the end, they were all friendly again. Wendy thought this was a very strange way to get a meal.
The children were very sleepy. This was a great danger. Whenever they fell asleep, they dropped toward the sea. Peter thought this was funny.
"There he goes again!" Peter shouted happily. Michael was falling like a stone.
"Save him, save him!" Wendy cried. She looked at the scary sea below them.
Peter dived through the air. He caught Michael just before Michael hit the water. Peter always waited until the last moment. He wanted to show how clever he was.
Sometimes they simply lay on their backs and floated in the air. Peter was the lightest of them all. If someone blew on him, he went faster.
They were playing a game called "Follow the Leader." Peter flew close to the water and touched the tails of sharks. John and Michael could not do this, and Peter looked back proudly to see how they were doing.
"Please be more polite to Peter," Wendy whispered to John.
"Then tell him to stop showing off," John said.
"You must be nice to Peter," Wendy told her brothers. "What can we do if he leaves us?"
"We can go back home," Michael said.
"We cannot find the way without him," Wendy said.
"Then we can keep going," John said.
"That is the terrible thing, John," Wendy said. "We would have to keep going, because we do not know how to stop." This was true. Peter had forgotten to show them how to stop.
John said the world was round. He thought they would reach their own window again.
"Who will find food for us, John?" Wendy asked.
"I took food from an eagle," John said.
"You tried twenty times before you got any," Wendy said. "And we keep hitting clouds when Peter is not near us."
They often hit clouds. They could fly well now, but they still kicked their legs too much. If they saw a cloud, they usually hit it. Michael needed a bandage for his head.
Peter was not with them now. The children felt very lonely. Peter was much faster than the children. He often flew away to have an adventure alone.
When Peter came back from the stars, he was often laughing because he had shared a joke with a star, but he could never remember what the joke was. Sometimes he had mermaid scales on his clothes. But he could not remember what happened.
"If he forgets his adventures so easily, he might forget us too," Wendy said.
Sometimes Peter really did seem to forget who they were. Wendy saw this in his eyes. Once, she even had to tell him her name again.
"I am Wendy," she said.
Peter was very sorry. "If I forget you, just keep saying 'I am Wendy,'" he said. "Then I will remember."
This did not make Wendy feel much better. Still, Peter took care of them and showed them how to lie on the wind. This was a safe way to sleep while flying, and they liked it very much.
At last, after flying for a long time, they were near Neverland. People can only see those magic shores when the island is ready for them.
"There it is," Peter said quietly.
"Where? Where?" the children asked.
"Look where the arrows are pointing," Peter said.
The sun sent many golden arrows of light to the island. The sun wanted the children to see the way. Wendy, John, and Michael looked down at the island.
They all knew the island immediately. It was not a dream now. It was a place they knew well. It felt like home.
"John, look at the lagoon," Wendy said.
"Look at the turtles in the sand," John said.
"I see the flamingo with the broken leg!" Michael shouted.
"Look, Michael, there is your cave!" Wendy said.
"John, what is that in the grass?" Wendy asked.
"It is a wolf and her babies," John said. "And I see the smoke from the camp of the Native Americans." John looked closely at the smoke to see if they were ready for war.
Peter was a little annoyed that they already knew so much about his island. He wanted to be the one to show them everything. But soon, the children became afraid.
As the sun went down, the golden arrows of light faded. Neverland became dark and scary. At home, Neverland was make-believe. But now Neverland was real.
There were no night-lights here. It was getting darker every moment. The children missed their dog, Nana.
The children flew very close to Peter. Peter was not relaxed now. His eyes were very bright. They flew very low over the island. Sometimes the trees touched their feet.
"They do not want us to land," Peter explained.
"Who are they?" Wendy whispered. She was shaking with fear.
"The pirates," Peter said quietly. Tinker Bell was asleep on his shoulder. He woke her up and told her to fly ahead of them.
Peter stopped in the air and listened carefully. He looked down at the ground, and then he flew forward again.
"Do you want an adventure now?" Peter asked John. "Or do you want your tea first?"
"Tea first," Wendy said quickly.
"What kind of adventure?" John asked.
"There is a pirate asleep below us," Peter said. "We can go down and kill him."
"While he is sleeping?" John asked in surprise.
"No! I will wake him first," Peter said. "Then I will kill him. I always do that."
"Do you kill many pirates?" John asked.
"I kill many," Peter said.
John decided to have tea first. He asked about the pirates on the island. Peter said there were many pirates.
"Who is the captain now?" John asked.
"Hook," Peter answered. His face became very serious.
Michael began to cry. John and Michael knew that Captain Hook was a very bad man.
"Hook is a famous pirate," John whispered. "He is the worst pirate of all. Everyone is afraid of him."
"That is him," Peter said.
"Is he big?" John asked.
"He is not as big as he was," Peter said. "I cut off a piece of him."
"You did?" John asked.
"Yes, me," Peter said.
"What piece did you cut off?" John asked.
"His right hand," Peter said.
"Then he cannot fight now?" John asked.
"He can fight very well," Peter said. "He has an iron hook instead of a right hand. He uses it to hurt people."
Peter looked at John. "You must promise me one thing. If we fight Hook, you must let me fight him alone."
"I promise," John said.
Tinker Bell was flying with them. Her light helped them see each other. Suddenly, Tinker Bell began to fly in fast circles around the children.
"Tinker Bell says the pirates saw us," Peter said. "They have a big gun. Its name is Long Tom."
"The pirates can see Tinker Bell's light," Wendy said. "Tell her to go away, Peter."
"No," Peter said. "She is afraid. I will not send her away alone."
"Tell her to turn off her light," Wendy said.
"Fairies cannot turn off their light," Peter said. "The light only goes out when they fall asleep."
"Tell her to sleep now," John said.
"She can only sleep when she is sleepy," Peter said.
None of them had a pocket to hide Tinker Bell in. Then Peter had an idea. They could use John's hat.
Tinker Bell went into the hat. At first, John carried the hat in his hand. Later, Wendy carried it. Tinker Bell was angry because she did not like Wendy.
Now the light was hidden. They flew in silence. They heard wild animals drinking water, and then they heard a sharp scraping sound. Peter said the Native Americans were sharpening their knives.
Suddenly, there was a giant BOOM! The pirates fired the big gun at them.
The noise was very loud. The echoes shouted in the mountains. The children learned that this island was real and dangerous.
No one was hit by the shot, but the strong wind from the cannonball blew them in different directions. Peter was carried far away, and John and Michael were left alone in the darkness.
Wendy was also alone, high up in the air with Tinker Bell. She still had John's hat in her hand.
Tinker Bell came out of the hat. She wanted to hurt Wendy because she was very jealous of her. She wanted Peter to like only her.
Tinker Bell made a soft sound like a bell. Wendy did not understand the fairy language, but the sound seemed kind. Tinker Bell flew back and forth in front of her.
"Follow me," Tinker Bell seemed to say.
Wendy was lost and afraid. She called for Peter and her brothers. No one answered. She followed Tinker Bell into the dark.