“As most of you know, Peter Pan is a magical boy,” Wendy began. “He never grows up and has been a boy for as long as the stars have existed. With help from his fairy friends, Peter uses pixie dust to fly to Earth and finds Lost Ones—boys and girls who join him in Neverland, where they get to stay and go on adventures with him. You can reach Neverland by following—”
“The second star to the right!” the group cheered.
Wendy smiled. The familiarity of the story was a comfort. “That’s right. The second star to the right, and straight on till morning.” The line was well rehearsed—the same one her mother had told her, the same one she told her brothers, and now told the children at the hospital. “Peter and the Lost Ones go on treasure hunts, build tree houses, fly with fairies, fight pirates—”
“And meet mermaids!” Rachel added.
Wendy nodded. “Yes, and meet mermaids! One day, Peter Pan was exploring rocks in the mermaid lagoon and collecting shells from tide pools when he heard someone calling for help.” Wendy lowered her voice to an ominous tone. “The voice was coming from the mouth of a deep, dark cave surrounded by jagged rocks. But, since Peter Pan is very brave, he went into the cave to help whoever was in danger. Inside, he saw a mermaid trapped on a rock, held captive by a—”
“A pirate!”
“No, a bear!”
“Bears can’t swim, dummy. How could it—”
“Yes they can. I saw one swim on TV once—”
“A shark!” Wendy continued. The kids all gasped. “The mermaid was crying, and she told Peter the shark wouldn’t let her go until she gave him her pearl necklace. But the mermaid had spent years finding all the perfect pearls on the shores of Neverland to make the necklace, and it would break her heart to give it up.
“So Peter chucked a seashell at the shark and hit him square in the nose!” The kids laughed. “Peter yelled at the shark, ‘Hey, leave that mermaid alone! Just because you’re big and scary doesn’t mean you can boss other people around!’ But the shark swished his big pointy tail and splashed Peter with seawater.
“‘I want those pearls to give my wife!’ the shark said. ‘I forgot it was her birthday, so I need to get her an extra special gift so she won’t be mad at me anymore, and I want those pearls!’ Peter could tell the shark wouldn’t listen, and while Peter was an excellent fighter, he knew he couldn’t take on a shark. And even though he knew how to fly, the mermaid would be too heavy to carry. But Peter Pan was a very clever boy.
“‘Hey, shark!’ Peter said. ‘If I can find you a pearl necklace, will you leave her alone?’ The shark thought about it and swam back and forth for a moment. ‘If you can find me another pearl necklace, I’ll take it and let her go. But you need to get me one soon! It’s almost dinnertime and I need to get back to my wife!’ So Peter promised the mermaid that he would be right back and took off to the beach.
“He found the whitest sand and used his spit to roll it into teeny tiny balls the size of pearls and strung them together with a thin piece of seaweed. Peter quickly flew back to the cave and waved the fake pearls in the air. ‘Hey, Mr. Shark! I found you a necklace of pearls!’
“The shark swished his tail in excitement. ‘Good! Give it to me now!’ Peter Pan knew that sharks have terrible eyesight, so before he gave the shark the fake pearl necklace, Peter said, ‘First let her go, then I’ll give you the necklace and you can take it to your wife!’
“The shark was irritated but agreed. The mermaid leapt into the water and escaped the cave. ‘Now give me those pearls!’ the shark said.
“Peter tossed the necklace into the air and it splashed into the water. The shark grabbed it in his teeth, but the fake pearls made of sand dissolved as soon as they hit the water. When he brought them to his wife, there was nothing left but a string of seaweed. Mrs. Shark, now only having a piece of seaweed for a birthday present instead of a beautiful pearl necklace, was so mad at Mr. Shark that she chased him around the ocean, nipping at his tail!
“Peter and the mermaid watched from the shore and laughed at how silly the shark looked. Even now, there’s still a shark that wades through the waters of Neverland with a big bite missing from his tail fin.”
The end of the story threw the kids into fits of laughter.
“Stupid shark!” said Tristan.
“Don’t say ‘stupid,’ it’s a bad word!” Lucy said. “’Sides, you’re the one who wanted to be a shark!”