Or we might tell how Peter saved Tiger Lily 's life in the Mermaids ' Lagoon , and so made her his ally . Or we could tell of that cake the pirates cooked so that the boys might eat it and perish ; and how they placed it in one cunning spot after another ; but always Wendy snatched it from the hands of her children , so that in time it lost its succulence , and became as hard as a stone , and was used as a missile , and Hook fell over it in the dark . Or suppose we tell of the birds that were Peter 's friends , particularly of the Never bird that built in a tree overhanging the lagoon , and how the nest fell into the water , and still the bird sat on her eggs , and Peter gave orders that she was not to be disturbed . That is a pretty story , and the end shows how grateful a bird can be ; but if we tell it we must also tell the whole adventure of the lagoon , which would of course be telling two adventures rather than just one . A shorter adventure , and quite as exciting , was Tinker Bell 's attempt , with the help of some street fairies , to have the sleeping Wendy conveyed on a great floating leaf to the mainland . Fortunately the leaf gave way and Wendy woke , thinking it was bath-time , and swam back . Or again , we might choose Peter 's defiance of the lions , when he drew a circle round him on the ground with an arrow and dared them to cross it ; and though he waited for hours , with the other boys and Wendy looking on breathlessly from trees , not one of them dared to accept his challenge . Which of these adventures shall we choose ? The best way will be to toss for it . I have tossed , and the lagoon has won . This almost makes one wish that the gulch or the cake or Tink 's leaf had won . Of course I could do it again , and make it best out of three ; however , perhaps fairest to stick to the lagoon . Chapter 8 THE MERMAIDS ' LAGOON If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one , you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness ; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter , the pool begins to take shape , and the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire . But just before they go on fire you see the lagoon . This is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland , just one heavenly moment ; if there could be two moments you might see the surf and hear the mermaids singing . The children often spent long summer days on this lagoon , swimming or floating most of the time , playing the mermaid games in the water , and so forth . You must not think from this that the mermaids were on friendly terms with them : on the contrary , it was among Wendy 's lasting regrets that all the time she was on the island she never had a civil word from one of them . When she stole softly to the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score , especially on Marooners ' Rock , where they loved to bask , combing out their hair in a lazy way that quite irritated her ; or she might even swim , on tiptoe as it were , to within a yard of them , but then they saw her and dived , probably splashing her with their tails , not by accident , but intentionally . They treated all the boys in the same way , except of course Peter , who chatted with them on Marooners ' Rock by the hour , and sat on their tails when they got cheeky . He gave Wendy one of their combs .
The most haunting time at which to see them is at the turn of the moon , when they utter strange wailing cries ; but the lagoon is dangerous for mortals then , and until the evening of which we have now to tell , Wendy had never seen the lagoon by moonlight , less from fear , for of course XXXXX would have accompanied her , than because she had strict rules about every one being in bed by seven .
Bell Lagoon Lily MERMAIDS Marooners Peter Tink colours fire succulence