Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Flight

Chapter 4 Flight "The second road on the right, keep going until dawn." This is how Peter told Wendy to go to Neverland.But even if the bird took a map and looked for it at every wind corner, he couldn't find it according to the route he indicated.You know, Peter just said whatever came to his mind. At first his companions were so convinced of him, and the flying was so much fun, that they spent a good deal of time flying round church steeples, or other interesting tall things along the way. John and Michael competed to see who could fly faster, and Michael took the lead. Recalling that not long ago, they thought they were heroes because they could fly around the room, and now I find it ridiculous.

Not long ago, but how long?This question troubled Wendy after they had just flown across a sea.John thought it was the second sea and third night they had flown. Sometimes it's dark and sometimes it's bright; sometimes it's cold and sometimes it's too hot.I don't know whether they are really hungry sometimes or pretend to be hungry.Because Peter had such a fresh and interesting way to find food for them, and his way was to chase the birds with something that could be eaten in their beaks, and snatch the food from their mouths.So the bird chased after it and snatched it back.In this way, they chased each other happily for several miles; finally, they broke up after expressing their goodwill to each other.But, Wendy noted with mild concern, Peter didn't seem to know how eccentric this method of foraging was, or even that there were other ways of foraging.

Of course, they want to sleep, this is not pretending, they are really sleepy.That was dangerous, because as soon as they dozed off, they fell straight down.Too bad Peter thinks it's funny. As Michael fell like a rock, Peter exclaimed joyfully, "Look, he's falling again!" "Help him, save him!" cried Wendy, terrified, looking down at the rough sea.Finally, just as Michael was about to fall into the sea, Peter swooped down from mid-air and caught Michael.His hand is really beautiful.But he always waited until the last moment to do it, and you felt he was more interested in showing off than in saving a life.And he likes to change his tricks. He likes to play a game for a while, but he gets tired of it after a while.Chances are the next time you fall down again, he'll let you go.

Peter can sleep in the air without falling, he just needs to lie on his back to float.This is at least partly because he is so light that if you blow behind him he floats faster. While they were playing "Keep up with the boss," Wendy whispered to John, "Be nice to him." "Then tell him not to show off," said John. It turned out that when they played "Follow the Head," Peter flew close to the water, and as he flew, he ran his hand over each shark's tail, the way you run your fingers over an iron railing in the street.That's a trick they can't learn, so it's like he's showing off, especially since he keeps looking back to see how many shark tails they've missed.

"You must be good to him," Wendy warned the brothers. "What will we do if he leaves us?" "We can go back," Michael said. "Without him, how would we know the way back?" "Then we can fly forward," John said. "That's bad, John. We just keep flying, because we don't know how to stop." It was true, Peter forgot to tell them how to stop. John said that if the bad luck came to an end, they'd just keep flying, because the earth was round, and they'd always be able to fly to their window then. "But who's going to get us something to eat, John?"

"We snatched a morsel out of that eagle's beak deftly, Wendy." "It took you twenty snatches to get it," Wendy reminded him. "Suppose we got food, if he wasn't there to watch us, we'd run into a cloud or something." Really, they keep running into these things.They flew strong now, though they kicked a little too much; but if they saw a cloud ahead, the more they tried to avoid it, the more they had to run into it.If Nana had been around, she would have put a bandage on Michael's forehead at this moment. Peter was not flying with them at the moment, and they felt very lonely in the air.He was flying much faster than them, so he could pop off and disappear for some fun that they hadn't had.He'd fly down laughing, laughing at a fucking joke he'd told a star.But he had forgotten what it was.Sometimes he flew up again, with mermaid scales still on his body, but he couldn't tell what happened.The children who had never seen a mermaid were really annoyed.

"If he forgets it so quickly," reasoned Wendy, "how can we expect him to remember us all the time?" Indeed, sometimes he came back without knowing them, at least not clearly.Wendy knew it must be so, for he had been flying past them during the day, and just as he was about to fly away, Wendy saw him with a look of recognition in his eyes.At one point, she even had to tell him her own name. "I'm Wendy," she cried anxiously. Peter is sorry. "I say, Wendy," he whispered to her, "if you see me forgetting you, just keep saying, 'I'm Wendy, and I'll remember.'"

Of course, this is not very satisfactory.However, to make up for it, he taught them how to lie on their backs against a gust of wind that was blowing in their direction.It was a delightful change, and after a few tries, they were able to sleep like this in a stable manner.They wanted to sleep a little longer, but Peter soon got tired of sleeping, and he immediately called out in the tone of a captain: "We are going to come down here." To their delight, they were at last near Neverland.For, after many months, they did come; and they had been flying straight toward it, not so much because Peter and Tinker Bell were leading the way, but because the islands were looking over them.Only then can one see those magical shores.

"There it is," said Peter quietly. "Where, where?" "Where all the arrows point." Indeed, a million golden arrows pointed out to the children where the island was.Those arrows were shot by their friend, the sun.Before the night comes, the sun will show them the way. Wendy, John and Michael tiptoe through the air to see the island for the first time.Strange to say, they recognized it at once, and before they were afraid they cheered loudly at it.They felt that the island was not like something they had dreamed of for a long time and finally saw, but rather like an old acquaintance that they could see when they returned home from vacation.

"John, that's the lagoon." "Wendy, look at those turtles laying their eggs in the sand." "I said, John, I saw your flamingo with a broken leg." "Look, Michael, that's your cave." "John, what's in the grove?" "That's a wolf, with its pup. Wendy, I believe that's your pup." "There's my boat, John, with the sides all torn." "No, that's not. We burned your ship." "It's the boat, anyway. John, I see the smoke coming from the Indian camp." "Where? Tell me, see how the smoke bends and I'll tell you if they're going to fight."

"It's right there, next to the Mystic River." "I see, yes, they are preparing for war." They know so much, and Peter is a little annoyed; and if he tries to get on with them, he does it quickly, because, didn't I tell you, they get scared after a while? Fear seized them when the golden arrow disappeared and the island became dark. When I was at home, when I was going to sleep, Neverland looked a little dark and scary.At this time, some undiscovered desolate areas appeared on the island, and they became more and more extensive; there were shadows moving there; and the roar of the man-eating beasts sounded very different.Especially, you lose the confidence to win.You feel happy when the night light is brought in.You'd even like to hear Nana say it's just a fireplace and that Neverland is just a figment of their imagination. Of course, Neverland is imagined while at home.But now, it is real, the night light is gone, and the sky is getting darker and darker, where is Nana? They used to fly apart, but now they are all compacted around Peter.Peter's indifference was gone at last, and his eyes sparkled.Every time they touched his body, they shook slightly.They were flying now over that dreadful island, so low that sometimes the tops of the trees brushed their feet.There was nothing eerie and frightening in the sky, but they were flying more and more slowly, with more and more effort, as if they had to push away some hostile things before they could move forward.Sometimes they stopped in mid-air until Peter beat him with his fist before they could fly. "They didn't want us to land," Peter explained. "Who are they?" Wendy asked, shuddering. But Peter could not speak, or was unwilling to speak.Tinkerbell had fallen asleep on his shoulder, but now he woke her up and told her to fly ahead. Sometimes he stopped in the air, put his hands to his ears, and listened carefully; then he looked down, his eyes were as bright as if he wanted to drill two holes in the ground.After doing these things, he flew forward again. Peter's audacity is astonishing. "Do you want to go on an adventure now," he said casually to John, "or do you want to have tea first?" Wendy said quickly, "Tea first," and Michael squeezed her hand gratefully, but the braver John hesitated. "What kind of adventure?" he asked cautiously. "Just below us in the meadow, there is a pirate sleeping," said Peter to him, "and we can go down and kill him if you like." "I didn't see him," said John after a long pause. "I saw it." "What if," said John hoarsely, "what if he wakes up?" Peter said angrily, "Do you think I killed him while he was asleep? I'm going to wake him up before I kill him. That's what I always do." "Have you killed many pirates?" "Tons of pirates." "That's great," said John, but decided he'd better have tea first.He asked Peter if there were still many pirates on the island now.Peter said, there are many, there have never been so many. "Who's the captain now?" "Hook," replied Peter; his face fell at the hateful name. "James Hook?" "Of course." Then Michael did cry, and even John died, for they had heard Hooker's notoriety so long. "He's the black-bearded bosun," whispered John hoarsely. "He's the most vicious of them all, and Barbick is afraid of him alone." "That's him," said Peter. "What does he look like? Is he big?" "He's not as big as he used to be." "how to say?" "I cut a piece off him." "you?" "Yes, I," snapped Peter. "I didn't mean to disrespect you." "Ah, it's okay." "Then... cut off which piece of him?" "His right hand." "Then he can't fight now?" "Can't he still fight!" "left handed?" "He used an iron hook instead of his right hand, and he grasped with an iron hook." "Grasp?" "I say, John," said Peter. "Ok." "To say 'Yes, yes, sir.'" "Yes, yes, sir." "One thing," Peter went on, "any child who works under me must agree to me, so you must agree." John's face paled. "The thing is, if we go to war with Hook, you'll hand him over to me." "I promise." John said obediently. They felt less spooky now, for Tinker Bell flew with them, and in her light they could see each other.Unfortunately, she couldn't fly as slowly as they did, so she had to fly round and round them.They advance in circles of light, like the halos on the heads of icons.Wendy liked it, but then Peter pointed out the shortcomings. "She told me," said Peter, "that the pirates saw us before dark and had dragged Long Tom out." "Is it a cannon?" "Yes. Of course they can see the light of the tinkling bells, and if they guess we're near the light they'll shoot at us." "Wendy!" "John!" "Michael!" "Tell Tinker to go away at once, Peter," cried the three at the same time, but Peter would not. "She thought we were lost," Peter answered stubbornly. "She was a little frightened. How do you think I could send her away by herself when she was frightened!" Instantly, the circle of light broke, and something gave Peter a loving twist. "Then tell her," pleaded Wendy, "to put out her light." "She can't be extinguished. That's about the only thing fairies can't do. To go out naturally when she's asleep, like a star." "Then put her to bed right away," John said almost commandingly. "Unless she's sleepy, she can't sleep. That's another thing fairies can't do." "The way I see it," growled John, "are only those two things worth doing." As he spoke, he was pinched, but it wasn't a kiss. "If only one of us had a sack," said Peter, "then we could put her in it." But they set off too hastily, and none of the four had a sack. Peter came up with a clever idea: John's hat. Tinker Bell agrees to travel in the hat, if the hat is held in hand.The hat is held by John, although Tinker Bell wants Peter to hold it.After a while Wendy took the hat from it, for John said it touched his knee as he flew.This could lead to trouble, as we shall see below.Because Tinkerbell doesn't want to accept Wendy's favor. The light was completely hidden in the black hat, and they flew on in silence.They had never experienced such a deep silence, except for the occasional sound of tongues licking something in the distance.Peter said that it was wild animals drinking water by the river; sometimes there was a rustling sound, which might be the rubbing of branches.But, said Peter, it was the Indians sharpening the knife. Even these voices died down.The silence, Michael thought, was terrible. "If only there was some noise!" he cried. As if answering his request, there was a loud noise in the air that he had never heard before.The pirates fired at them. The cannon echoed through the hills, and the echo seemed to scream wildly: "Where are they? Where are they? Where are they?" The three terrified children were acutely aware of the difference between an imaginary island and a real one. After the air calmed down, John and Michael found that they were alone in the darkness.John stepped on the air inadvertently, and Michael, who couldn't float, was floating. "Did you get hit by the cannon?" asked John in a trembling whisper. "I haven't tasted it yet," Michael replied in a low voice. We now know that no one was hit.But Peter was blown far out to sea by a blast from the cannon, and Wendy was blown up there, with no one but Tinker Bell with her.If only Wendy had dropped her hat at this point. I don't know if Tinker Bell thought of it suddenly, or she was thinking about it all the way, she got out of the hat immediately, and lured Wendy to a dead end. Tinker Bell isn't all that bad; or rather, she's just all that bad at this moment.But at other times she was wonderful.Fairies are either one or the other because they are so small.Unfortunately, they can only accommodate one emotion at a time.They can be changed; however, they have to be completely changed.For a while she was envious of Wendy.Of course Wendy couldn't understand the lovely jingle of her voice; she said some harsh things, I believe, but her voice was very kind; and she flew back and forth, obviously telling Wendy, "With I'll come and everything will be fine." Poor Wendy, what can she do?She called to Peter, John, and Michael, and was answered only by mocking echoes.She didn't know that Tinker Bell hated her as viciously as a real woman.So, confused, she flew unsteadily, following Ding Jingling to her doom.