Shelley was a young gentleman and as grown-up as he need everexpect to be. He was a poet; and they are never exactlygrown-up. They are people who despise money except what you needfor to-day, and he had all that and five pounds over. So, whenhe was walking in the Kensington Gardens, he made a paper boat ofhis bank-note, and sent it sailing on the Serpentine.

It reached the island at night: and the look-out brought it toSolomon Caw, who thought at first that it was the usual thing, amessage from a lady, saying she would be obliged if he could lether have a good one. They always ask for the best one he has,and if he likes the letter he sends one from Class A; but if itruffles him he sends very funny ones indeed. Sometimes he sendsnone at all, and at another time he sends a nestful; it alldepends on the mood you catch him in. He likes you to leave itall to him, and if you mention particularly that you hope he willsee his way to making it a boy this time, he is almost sure tosend another girl. And whether you are a lady or only a littleboy who wants a baby-sister, always take pains to write youraddress clearly. You can't think what a lot of babies Solomonhas sent to the wrong house.

Shelley's boat, when opened, completely puzzled Solomon, and hetook counsel of his assistants, who having walked over it twice,first with their toes pointed out, and then with their toespointed in, decided that it came from some greedy person whowanted five. They thought this because there was a large fiveprinted on it. "Preposterous!" cried Solomon in a rage, and hepresented it to Peter; anything useless which drifted upon theisland was usually given to Peter as a play-thing.

But he did not play with his precious bank-note, for he knew whatit was at once, having been very observant during the week whenhe was an ordinary boy. With so much money, he reflected, hecould surely at last contrive to reach the Gardens, and heconsidered all the possible ways, and decided (wisely, I think)to choose the best way. But, first, he had to tell the birds ofthe value of Shelley's boat; and though they were too honest todemand it back, he saw that they were galled, and they cast suchblack looks at Solomon, who was rather vain of his cleverness,that he flew away to the end of the island, and sat there verydepressed with his head buried in his wings. Now Peter knew thatunless Solomon was on your side, you never got anything done foryou in the island, so he followed him and tried to hearten him.

Nor was this all that Peter did to gain the powerful old fellow'sgood will. You must know that Solomon had no intention ofremaining in office all his life. He looked forward to retiringby-and-by, and devoting his green old age to a life of pleasureon a certain yew-stump in the Figs which had taken his fancy, andfor years he had been quietly filling his stocking. It was astocking belonging to some bathing person which had been castupon the island, and at the time I speak of it contained ahundred and eighty crumbs, thirty-four nuts, sixteen crusts, apen-wiper and a boot-lace. When his stocking was full, Solomoncalculated that he would be able to retire on a competency. Peter now gave him a pound. He cut it off his bank-note with asharp stick.

This made Solomon his friend for ever, and after the two hadconsulted together they called a meeting of the thrushes. Youwill see presently why thrushes only were invited.

The scheme to be put before them was really Peter's, but Solomondid most of the talking, because he soon became irritable ifother people talked. He began by saying that he had been muchimpressed by the superior ingenuity shown by the thrushes innest-building, and this put them into good-humour at once, as itwas meant to do; for all the quarrels between birds are about thebest way of building nests. Other birds, said Solomon, omittedto line their nests with mud, and as a result they did not holdwater. Here he cocked his head as if he had used an unanswerableargument; but, unfortunately, a Mrs. Finch had come to themeeting uninvited, and she squeaked out, "We don't build nests tohold water, but to hold eggs," and then the thrushes stoppedcheering, and Solomon was so perplexed that he took several sipsof water.

"Consider," he said at last, "how warm the mud makes the nest."

"Consider," cried Mrs. Finch, "that when water gets into the nestit remains there and your little ones are drowned."

The thrushes begged Solomon with a look to say something crushingin reply to this, but again he was perplexed.

"Try another drink," suggested Mrs. Finch pertly. Kate was hername, and all Kates are saucy.

Solomon did try another drink, and it inspired him. "If," saidhe, "a finch's nest is placed on the Serpentine it fills andbreaks to pieces, but a thrush's nest is still as dry as the cupof a swan's back."

How the thrushes applauded! Now they knew why they lined theirnests with mud, and when Mrs. Finch called out, "We don't placeour nests on the Serpentine," they did what they should have doneat first: chased her from the meeting. After this it was mostorderly. What they had been brought together to hear, saidSolomon, was this: their young friend, Peter Pan, as they wellknew, wanted very much to be able to cross to the Gardens, and henow proposed, with their help, to build a boat.

At this the thrushes began to fidget, which made Peter tremblefor his scheme.

Solomon explained hastily that what he meant was not one of thecumbrous boats that humans use; the proposed boat was to besimply a thrush's nest large enough to hold Peter.

But still, to Peter's agony, the thrushes were sulky. "We arevery busy people," they grumbled, "and this would be a big job."

"Quite so," said Solomon, "and, of course, Peter would not allowyou to work for nothing. You must remember that he is now incomfortable circumstances, and he will pay you such wages as youhave never been paid before. Peter Pan authorises me to say thatyou shall all be paid sixpence a day."

Then all the thrushes hopped for joy, and that very day was begunthe celebrated Building of the Boat. All their ordinary businessfell into arrears. It was the time of year when they should havebeen pairing, but not a thrush's nest was built except this bigone, and so Solomon soon ran short of thrushes with which tosupply the demand from the mainland. The stout, rather greedychildren, who look so well in perambulators but get puffed easilywhen they walk, were all young thrushes once, and ladies oftenask specially for them. What do you think Solomon did? He sentover to the house-tops for a lot of sparrows and ordered them tolay their eggs in old thrushes' nests and sent their young to theladies and swore they were all thrushes! It was known afterwardon the island as the Sparrows' Year, and so, when you meet, asyou doubtless sometimes do, grown-up people who puff and blow asif they thought themselves bigger than they are, very likely theybelong to that year. You ask them.

Peter was a just master, and paid his workpeople every evening.They stood in rows on the branches, waiting politely while he cutthe paper sixpences out of his bank-note, and presently he calledthe roll, and then each bird, as the names were mentioned, flewdown and got sixpence. It must have been a fine sight.

And at last, after months of labor, the boat was finished. Oh,the deportment of Peter as he saw it growing more and more like agreat thrush's nest! From the very beginning of the building ofit he slept by its side, and often woke up to say sweet things toit, and after it was lined with mud and the mud had dried healways slept in it. He sleeps in his nest still, and has afascinating way of curling round in it, for it is just largeenough to hold him comfortably when he curls round like a kitten.It is brown inside, of course, but outside it is mostly green,being woven of grass and twigs, and when these wither or snap thewalls are thatched afresh. There are also a few feathers hereand there, which came off the thrushes while they were building.

The other birds were extremely jealous and said that the boatwould not balance on the water, but it lay most beautifullysteady; they said the water would come into it, but no water cameinto it. Next they said that Peter had no oars, and this causedthe thrushes to look at each other in dismay, but Peter repliedthat he had no need of oars, for he had a sail, and with such aproud, happy face he produced a sail which he had fashioned outof his night-gown, and though it was still rather like anight-gown it made a lovely sail. And that night, the moon beingfull, and all the birds asleep, he did enter his coracle (asMaster Francis Pretty would have said) and depart out of theisland. And first, he knew not why, he looked upward, with hishands clasped, and from that moment his eyes were pinned to thewest.

He had promised the thrushes to begin by making short voyages,with them to his guides, but far away he saw the KensingtonGardens beckoning to him beneath the bridge, and he could notwait. His face was flushed, but he never looked back; there wasan exultation in his little breast that drove out fear. WasPeter the least gallant of the English mariners who have sailedwestward to meet the Unknown?

At first, his boat turned round and round, and he was driven backto the place of his starting, whereupon he shortened sail, byremoving one of the sleeves, and was forthwith carried backwardby a contrary breeze, to his no small peril. He now let go thesail, with the result that he was drifted toward the far shore,where are black shadows he knew not the dangers of, but suspectedthem, and so once more hoisted his night-gown and went roomer ofthe shadows until he caught a favouring wind, which bore himwestward, but at so great a speed that he was like to be brokeagainst the bridge. Which, having avoided, he passed under thebridge and came, to his great rejoicing, within full sight of thedelectable Gardens. But having tried to cast anchor, which was astone at the end of a piece of the kite-string, he found nobottom, and was fain to hold off, seeking for moorage, and,feeling his way, he buffeted against a sunken reef that cast himoverboard by the greatness of the shock, and he was near to beingdrowned, but clambered back into the vessel. There now arose amighty storm, accompanied by roaring of waters, such as he hadnever heard the like, and he was tossed this way and that, andhis hands so numbed with the cold that he could not close them.Having escaped the danger of which, he was mercifully carriedinto a small bay, where his boat rode at peace.

Nevertheless, he was not yet in safety; for, on pretending todisembark, he found a multitude of small people drawn up on theshore to contest his landing, and shouting shrilly to him to beoff, for it was long past Lock-out Time. This, with muchbrandishing of their holly-leaves, and also a company of themcarried an arrow which some boy had left in the Gardens, and thisthey were prepared to use as a battering-ram.

Then Peter, who knew them for the fairies, called out that he wasnot an ordinary human and had no desire to do them displeasure,but to be their friend; nevertheless, having found a jollyharbour, he was in no temper to draw off therefrom, and he warnedthem if they sought to mischief him to stand to their harms.

So saying, he boldly leapt ashore, and they gathered around himwith intent to slay him, but there then arose a great cry amongthe women, and it was because they had now observed that his sailwas a baby's night-gown. Whereupon, they straightway loved him,and grieved that their laps were too small, the which I cannotexplain, except by saying that such is the way of women. Themen- fairies now sheathed their weapons on observing thebehaviour of their women, on whose intelligence they set greatstore, and they led him civilly to their queen, who conferredupon him the courtesy of the Gardens after Lock-out Time, andhenceforth Peter could go whither he chose, and the fairies hadorders to put him in comfort.

Such was his first voyage to the Gardens, and you may gather fromthe antiquity of the language that it took place a long time ago.But Peter never grows any older, and if we could be watching forhim under the bridge to-night (but, of course, we can't), Idaresay we should see him hoisting his night-gown and sailing orpaddling toward us in the Thrush's Nest. When he sails, he sitsdown, but he stands up to paddle. I shall tell you presently howhe got his paddle.

Long before the time for the opening of the gates comes he stealsback to the island, for people must not see him (he is not sohuman as all that), but this gives him hours for play, and heplays exactly as real children play. At least he thinks so, andit is one of the pathetic things about him that he often playsquite wrongly.

You see, he had no one to tell him how children really play, forthe fairies were all more or less in hiding until dusk, and soknow nothing, and though the birds pretended that they could tellhim a great deal, when the time for telling came, it waswonderful how little they really knew. They told him the truthabout hide- and-seek, and he often plays it by himself, but eventhe ducks on the Round Pond could not explain to him what it isthat makes the pond so fascinating to boys. Every night theducks have forgotten all the events of the day, except the numberof pieces of cake thrown to them. They are gloomy creatures, andsay that cake is not what it was in their young days.

So Peter had to find out many things for himself. He oftenplayed ships at the Round Pond, but his ship was only a hoopwhich he had found on the grass. Of course, he had never seen ahoop, and he wondered what you play at with them, and decidedthat you play at pretending they are boats. This hoop alwayssank at once, but he waded in for it, and sometimes he dragged itgleefully round the rim of the pond, and he was quite proud tothink that he had discovered what boys do with hoops.

Another time, when he found a child's pail, he thought it was forsitting in, and he sat so hard in it that he could scarcely getout of it. Also he found a balloon. It was bobbing about on theHump, quite as if it was having a game by itself, and he caughtit after an exciting chase. But he thought it was a ball, andJenny Wren had told him that boys kick balls, so he kicked it;and after that he could not find it anywhere.

Perhaps the most surprising thing he found was a perambulator. It was under a lime-tree, near the entrance to the Fairy Queen'sWinter Palace (which is within the circle of the seven Spanishchestnuts), and Peter approached it warily, for the birds hadnever mentioned such things to him. Lest it was alive, headdressed it politely, and then, as it gave no answer, he wentnearer and felt it cautiously. He gave it a little push, and itran from him, which made him think it must be alive after all;but, as it had run from him, he was not afraid. So he stretchedout his hand to pull it to him, but this time it ran at him, andhe was so alarmed that he leapt the railing and scudded away tohis boat. You must not think, however, that he was a coward, forhe came back next night with a crust in one hand and a stick inthe other, but the perambulator had gone, and he never sawanother one. I have promised to tell you also about his paddle. It was a child's spade which he had found near St. Govor's Well,and he thought it was a paddle.

Do you pity Peter Pan for making these mistakes? If so, I thinkit rather silly of you. What I mean is that, of course, one mustpity him now and then, but to pity him all the time would beimpertinence. He thought he had the most splendid time in theGardens, and to think you have it is almost quite as good asreally to have it. He played without ceasing, while you oftenwaste time by being mad-dog or Mary-Annish. He could be neitherof these things, for he had never heard of them, but do you thinkhe is to be pitied for that?

Oh, he was merry. He was as much merrier than you, for instance,as you are merrier than your father. Sometimes he fell, like aspinning-top, from sheer merriment. Have you seen a greyhoundleaping the fences of the Gardens? That is how Peter leaps them.

And think of the music of his pipe. Gentlemen who walk home atnight write to the papers to say they heard a nightingale in theGardens, but it is really Peter's pipe they hear. Of course, hehad no mother--at least, what use was she to him? You can besorry for him for that, but don't be too sorry, for the nextthing I mean to tell you is how he revisited her. It was thefairies who gave him the chance