From the very beginning of the building of it he slept by its side , and often woke up to say sweet things to it , and after it was lined with mud and the mud had dried he always slept in it . He sleeps in his nest still , and has a fascinating way of curling round in it , for it is just large enough 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 the walls are thatched afresh . There are also a few feathers here and there , which came off the thrushes while they were building . The other birds were extremely jealous , and said that the boat would not balance on the water , but it lay most beautifully steady ; they said the water would come into it , but no water came into it . Next they said that Peter had no oars , and this caused the thrushes to look at each other in dismay ; but Peter replied that he had no need of oars , for he had a sail , and with such a proud , happy face he produced a sail which he had fashioned out of his nightgown , and though it was still rather like a nightgown it made a lovely sail . And that night , the moon being full , and all the birds asleep , he did enter his coracle -LRB- as Master Francis Pretty would have said -RRB- and depart out of the island . And first , he knew not why , he looked upward , with his hands clasped , and from that moment his eyes were pinned to the west . He had promised the thrushes to begin by making short voyages , with them as his guides , but far away he saw the Kensington Gardens beckoning to him beneath the bridge , and he could not wait . His face was flushed , but he never looked back ; there was an exultation in his little breast that drove out fear . Was Peter the least gallant of the English mariners who have sailed westward to meet the Unknown ? At first , his boat turned round and round , and he was driven back to the place of his starting , whereupon he shortened sail , by removing one of the sleeves , and was forthwith carried backwards by a contrary breeze , to his no small peril . He now let go the sail , with the result that he was drifted towards the far shore , where are black shadows he knew not the dangers of , but suspected them , and so once more hoisted his nightgown and went roomer of the shadows until he caught a favouring wind , which bore him westward , but at so great a speed that he was like to be broke against the bridge . Which , having avoided , he passed under the bridge and came , to his great rejoicing , within full sight of the delectable Gardens . But having tried to cast anchor , which was a stone at the end of a piece of the kite-string , he found no bottom , and was fain to hold off , seeking for moorage ; and , feeling his way , he buffeted against a sunken reef that cast him overboard by the greatness of the shock , and he was near to being drowned , but clambered back into the vessel . There now arose a mighty storm , accompanied by roaring of waters , such as he had never heard the like , and he was tossed this way and that , and his hands so numbed with the cold that he could not close them . Having escaped the danger of which , he was mercifully carried into a small bay , where his boat rode at peace . Nevertheless , he was not yet in safety ; for , on pretending to disembark , he found a multitude of small people drawn up on the shore to contest his landing , and shouting shrilly to him to be off , for it was long past Lock-out Time . This , with much brandishing of their holly-leaves ; and also a company of them carried an arrow which some boy had left in the Gardens , and this they were prepared to use as a battering-ram . Then Peter , who knew them for the fairies , called out that he was not an ordinary human and had no desire to do them displeasure , but to be their friend ; nevertheless , having found a jolly harbour , he was in no temper to draw off therefrom , and he warned them if they sought to mischief him to stand to their harms .
So saying , he boldly leapt ashore , and they gathered around him with intent to slay him , but there then arose a great cry among the women , and it was because they had now observed that his sail was a baby 's XXXXX .
drowned first holly-leaves kite-string left mariners moorage night nightgown thrushes