Peter Pan was alone on the rock. He heard the mermaids go to their rooms under the sea. Every door in the sea had a small bell. The bells rang when the doors opened or closed. Peter heard the bells ringing.
The water rose higher and higher. Soon it touched Peter’s feet. He looked at the water and saw something moving. It looked like a piece of paper or part of a kite. It moved across the lagoon toward the rock.
It fought hard against the water, and Peter admired how brave it was. He started to clap his hands. Then he saw that it was not a piece of paper. It was the Never bird.
The Never bird was sitting on her nest. She used her wings to push her nest through the water. She was very tired, but she wanted to reach Peter. She wanted to save him. She wanted to give him her nest.
The bird had two eggs in the nest, but she wanted to help Peter anyway. She liked Peter because he was a young boy. She called out to him, but Peter did not understand her. They did not speak the same language.
"Get into the nest!" the bird shouted slowly. "You can float to the land. I am too tired to bring the nest to you. You must swim to it."
"Why are you making that noise?" Peter asked. He spoke slowly too. "Why don't you let the nest float?"
The bird became very angry. She had a short temper. She called Peter a silly name. Peter felt that she was being mean. He shouted "Be quiet!" and the bird shouted "Be quiet!" back at him.
But the bird still wanted to save Peter. She used all her strength and pushed the nest against the rock. Then she flew into the sky. She left her eggs so Peter could use the nest.
Finally, Peter understood the plan. He thanked the bird and looked at the eggs in the nest. The bird stayed in the sky to watch him. She wanted to see what happened to her eggs.
There was a stave on the rock. Long ago, pirates put it there to mark hidden treasure. Starkey had left his hat on the pole. The hat was made of tarpaulin.
Peter put the two white eggs into the hat. He put the hat on the water, and it floated very well. The Never bird was very happy. She flew down and sat on her eggs in the hat.
Peter got into the nest. He used the wooden pole as a mast and his shirt as a sail. He sailed in one direction, and the bird in the hat sailed in another direction. They both felt very happy.
Peter reached the land safely. The bird liked the hat very much, so she stayed in it. She did not go back to her old nest. Starkey often went to the shore and saw the bird sitting in his hat. Now, all Never birds build nests that look like hats with wide brims.
Everyone was very happy when Peter reached the house under the ground. Wendy was already there. All the boys had stories to tell about their adventures. They were very happy because they were late for bed.
The boys tried to stay awake longer. They asked for bandages. Wendy was happy that they were safe, but she was also strict. "Go to bed now!" she cried. The boys obeyed her and went to sleep.
The next day, Wendy was very kind to everyone. She gave bandages to all the boys. They played a game for the rest of the day. They pretended to have hurt arms and legs. It was a very good day.