The last sound Peter heard before he was quite alone were the mermaids1 retiring one by one to their bedchambers under the sea. He was too far away to hear their doors shut; but every door in the coral caves where they live rings a tiny bell when it opens or closes (as in all the nicest houses on the mainland), and he heard the bells.
Steadily2 the waters rose till they were nibbling3 at his feet; and to pass the time until they made their final gulp4, he watched the only thing on the lagoon5. He thought it was a piece of floating paper, perhaps part of the kite, and wondered idly how long it would take to drift ashore6.
Presently he noticed as an odd thing that it was undoubtedly7 out upon the lagoon with some definite purpose, for it was fighting the tide, and sometimes winning; and when it won, Peter, always sympathetic to the weaker side, could not help clapping; it was such a gallant8 piece of paper.
It was not really a piece of paper; it was the Never bird, making desperate efforts to reach Peter on the nest. By working her wings, in a way she had learned since the nest fell into the water, she was able to some extent to guide her strange craft, but by the time Peter recognised her she was very exhausted9. She had come to save him, to give him her nest, though there were eggs in it. I rather wonder at the bird, for though he had been nice to her, he had also sometimes tormented10 her. I can suppose only that, like Mrs. Darling and the rest of them, she was melted because he had all his first teeth.
She called out to him what she had come for, and he called out to her what she was doing there; but of course neither of them understood the other's language. In fanciful stories people can talk to the birds freely, and I wish for the moment I could pretend that this were such a story, and say that Peter replied intelligently to the Never bird; but truth is best, and I want to tell you only what really happened. Well, not only could they not understand each other, but they forgot their manners.
“I—want—you—to—get—into—the—nest,” the bird called, speaking as slowly and distinctly as possible, “and—then—you—can—drift—ashore, but—I—am—too—tired—to—bring—it—any—nearer—so—you—must—try to—swim—to—it.”
“I—want—you—” the bird said, and repeated it all over.
Then Peter tried slow and distinct.
“What—are—you—quacking—about?” and so on.
The Never bird became irritated; they have very short tempers.
“You dunderheaded little jay!” she screamed, “Why don't you do as I tell you?”
Peter felt that she was calling him names, and at a venture he retorted hotly:
“So are you!”
“Shut up!”
“Shut up!”
Nevertheless the bird was determined13 to save him if she could, and by one last mighty14 effort she propelled the nest against the rock. Then up she flew; deserting her eggs, so as to make her meaning clear.
Then at last he understood, and clutched the nest and waved his thanks to the bird as she fluttered overhead. It was not to receive his thanks, however, that she hung there in the sky; it was not even to watch him get into the nest; it was to see what he did with her eggs.
There were two large white eggs, and Peter lifted them up and reflected. The bird covered her face with her wings, so as not to see the last of them; but she could not help peeping between the feathers.
I forget whether I have told you that there was a stave on the rock, driven into it by some buccaneers of long ago to mark the site of buried treasure. The children had discovered the glittering hoard15, and when in a mischievous16 mood used to fling showers of moidores, diamonds, pearls and pieces of eight to the gulls17, who pounced18 upon them for food, and then flew away, raging at the scurvy19 trick that had been played upon them. The stave was still there, and on it Starkey had hung his hat, a deep tarpaulin20, watertight, with a broad brim. Peter put the eggs into this hat and set it on the lagoon. It floated beautifully.
The Never bird saw at once what he was up to, and screamed her admiration21 of him; and, alas22, Peter crowed his agreement with her. Then he got into the nest, reared the stave in it as a mast, and hung up his shirt for a sail. At the same moment the bird fluttered down upon the hat and once more sat snugly23 on her eggs. She drifted in one direction, and he was borne off in another, both cheering.
Of course when Peter landed he beached his barque [small ship, actually the Never Bird's nest in this particular case in point] in a place where the bird would easily find it; but the hat was such a great success that she abandoned the nest. It drifted about till it went to pieces, and often Starkey came to the shore of the lagoon, and with many bitter feelings watched the bird sitting on his hat. As we shall not see her again, it may be worth mentioning here that all Never birds now build in that shape of nest, with a broad brim on which the youngsters take an airing.
Great were the rejoicings when Peter reached the home under the ground almost as soon as Wendy, who had been carried hither and thither24 by the kite. Every boy had adventures to tell; but perhaps the biggest adventure of all was that they were several hours late for bed. This so inflated25 them that they did various dodgy things to get staying up still longer, such as demanding bandages; but Wendy, though glorying in having them all home again safe and sound, was scandalised by the lateness of the hour, and cried, “To bed, to bed,” in a voice that had to be obeyed. Next day, however, she was awfully26 tender, and gave out bandages to every one, and they played till bed-time at limping about and carrying their arms in slings27.
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1
mermaids
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| n.（传说中的）美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 ) | |
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2
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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3
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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5
lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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7
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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10
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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11
quacking
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| v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的现在分词 ) | |
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12
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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14
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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15
hoard
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| n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积 | |
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16
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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17
gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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18
pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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19
scurvy
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| adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病 | |
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20
tarpaulin
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| n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽 | |
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21
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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22
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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23
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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24
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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25
inflated
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| adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
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26
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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27
slings
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| 抛( sling的第三人称单数 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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