Peter Pan was coming back to the island. Because he was coming back, Neverland was full of life again. Usually, the island is very quiet when Peter Pan is away.
When Peter Pan is away, the wild animals look after their babies. The redskins (an old word for Native American people) eat a lot of food for six days. The pirates and the Lost Boys do not fight. But when Peter Pan returns, everyone starts to move. If you put your ear to the ground, you can hear the island moving.
On this evening, everyone was moving in a circle. The Lost Boys were looking for Peter Pan. The pirates were looking for the Lost Boys. The redskins (Native American people) were looking for the pirates. The wild animals were looking for the redskins. They all moved at the same speed, so they did not meet.
There were six Lost Boys on the island. They wore the skins of bears that they killed themselves. The skins were very thick and round. If a boy fell down, he rolled like a ball. Because of this, the boys were very good at standing up.
Tootles was the first boy in the line. He was very brave, but he was very unlucky. He always missed the big adventures. Usually, he went to find wood for a fire, and the adventure happened while he was away. This made Tootles a bit sad, but he was very kind.
Tonight, Tinker Bell wanted to trick Tootles. She was a very naughty fairy tonight. She thought Tootles was the easiest boy to trick.
Next was Nibs. He was a very happy boy. After him came Slightly. Slightly made whistles (small wooden instruments that make a high sound) from trees. He liked to dance to his own music. Slightly was very proud and thought he was very clever.
The fourth boy was Curly. He was often in trouble. When Peter Pan asked, "Who did this?" Curly always said it was him. Last were the Twins. They always stayed very close together.
The boys disappeared into the dark woods. Then the pirates came. They were very scary men. They sang a song about being a pirate (a person who robs ships at sea).
The pirate Cecco was at the front. He was very strong and handsome. Behind him was a very large man. Then came Bill Jukes. He had many tattoos (permanent pictures on his skin).
There was also a man called Gentleman Starkey. He was once a teacher, but now he was a killer. Smee was also there. Smee was the bo'sun (an officer on a ship). He was a strange, friendly man, but he still used his sword to hurt people.
In the middle of the pirates was Captain James Hook. He was a very famous and scary man. He sat in a small chariot (a seat with wheels pulled by people). His men pulled him along the ground.
Captain James Hook did not have a right hand. He had an iron hook instead. He used the hook to hit his men if they were slow. He was a very thin man with long, black hair. His hair looked like black candles.
Captain James Hook had blue eyes. They were usually sad, but they turned red when he was angry. He was very polite, even when he was being mean. He was a very brave man, but he was afraid of his own blood. He smoked two cigars at the same time with a special tool.
Captain James Hook was a very dangerous enemy for Peter Pan. One pirate, Skylights, bumped into Captain James Hook by accident. Captain James Hook used his hook to kill the man immediately. Then the pirates moved on.
Next came the redskins (Native American people). They moved very quietly on the path. They carried tomahawks (small axes used as weapons) and knives. Their bodies had paint and oil on them.
The leader of the tribe was Tiger Lily. She was a very beautiful princess. She was very brave and strong. All the men wanted to marry her, but she did not want a husband. The tribe moved through the trees without making any noise.
Then the wild animals followed. There were lions, tigers, and bears. They were all very hungry tonight. At the very end of the line was a giant crocodile (a large animal with a long tail and big teeth).
The procession went around and around. The Lost Boys stopped first. They sat down on the grass near their home.
"I want Peter Pan to come back," the boys said. They were a little bit afraid.
"I am not afraid of pirates," Slightly said. But then he heard a noise. "I want Peter Pan to come back and tell us a story."
They talked about a story called Cinderella. They only talked about mothers when Peter Pan was away. Peter Pan thought that talking about mothers was silly.
Suddenly, the boys heard a scary song. It was the pirates! The Lost Boys disappeared very quickly. They went into their secret home under the ground.
There were seven large trees near the grass. Each tree had a hole in the trunk. The holes were the secret doors to the house. Captain James Hook wanted to find this house for a long time.
The pirates arrived. Starkey saw Nibs for a second and tried to shoot him. But Captain James Hook stopped him.
"Do not shoot!" Captain James Hook said. "The sound will bring the redskins (Native American people) to us."
"Should I chase him with my sword?" Smee asked. Smee called his sword "Johnny Corkscrew."
"No," Captain James Hook said. "I want to catch all seven boys. We must look for them."
The pirates went into the woods. Captain James Hook and Smee stayed alone. Captain James Hook was very sad. He wanted to tell Smee a secret.
"I want to catch Peter Pan," Captain James Hook said. "He cut off my arm and gave it to a crocodile."
"But you have a very good hook now," Smee said.
"That crocodile liked my arm very much," Captain James Hook said. "Now it follows me everywhere. It wants to eat the rest of me."
"That is a compliment," Smee said.
"I do not want compliments!" Captain James Hook shouted. "I want Peter Pan!"
Captain James Hook sat down on a large mushroom (a type of plant that looks like a small umbrella). "Smee, this seat is very hot!" he cried.
They looked at the mushroom. It was very big and strong. They pulled it out of the ground. Smoke came out of the hole.
"It is a chimney (a pipe that lets smoke out of a house)!" they said.
They found the home of the Lost Boys. The boys used the mushroom to hide the smoke. The pirates heard the boys talking under the ground. The boys said that Peter Pan was not at home.
Captain James Hook smiled a very evil smile. He had a plan.
"We will go back to the ship," Captain James Hook said. "We will bake a very big, rich cake. It will have green sugar on top. We will leave the cake near the water."
"Why?" Smee asked.
"The boys will find the cake," Captain James Hook said. "They have no mother, so they do not know that rich cake is dangerous. They will eat it and they will die!"
Captain James Hook and Smee were very happy. They began to dance. But then they heard a sound.
Tick, tick, tick, tick!
Captain James Hook began to shake. "The crocodile!" he cried. He ran away very fast, and Smee followed him.
The crocodile was following Captain James Hook. It moved past the redskins (Native American people).
The Lost Boys came out of their house again. But then many wolves chased Nibs. The wolves were very scary and hungry.
"What would Peter Pan do?" the boys asked.
"Peter Pan would look at them through his legs!" they cried.
The boys bent down. They looked at the wolves from between their legs. This was a special trick. The wolves were very afraid of this and they ran away.
Then Nibs saw something strange in the sky. "I see a great white bird!" Nibs shouted.
"What kind of bird?" the boys asked.
"It looks very tired," Nibs said. "It says 'Poor Wendy' as it flies."
"I know that bird," Slightly said. "It is a Wendy bird."
They looked up and saw Wendy Darling. Tinker Bell was flying around her. Tinker Bell was very jealous (feeling angry because you want what someone else has). She pinched Wendy Darling many times.
"Hello, Tink!" the boys shouted.
"Peter Pan wants you to shoot the Wendy bird!" Tinker Bell lied.
The boys wanted to make Peter Pan happy. They did not ask questions. Tootles had a bow (a wooden tool used to shoot arrows) and an arrow.
"Quick, Tootles!" Tinker Bell shouted. "Peter Pan will be very happy!"
Tootles shot his arrow into the sky. The arrow hit Wendy Darling in the chest. She fell down to the ground.