The Lost Boys were walking through the woods.
They were hoping to greet their captain, Peter Pan, after his trip to the nursery.
But while the Lost Boys were looking for Peter, the pirates were looking for the Lost Boys.
Meanwhile, the Indians were looking for the pirates.
And the wild animals were looking for the Indians.
It was like a grand march.
Everyone was going round and round the island, ready to fight if they met.
But they did not meet because they were all walking at the same speed!
The Lost Boys were dressed in bear skins and had their daggers ready.
There were six of them, and they were all very sweet.
But they could be wild at times. Of course, they were all very young.
Whenever one of them began to grow up, Peter quickly sent that boy away.
It was against the rules to grow up in Neverland.
As the march continued, each boy was firmly on the lookout.
Tootles was brave.
But he always seemed to miss the fighting when a battle broke out.
Adventures would always happen just when he stepped around a corner to gather a few sticks of firewood.
When he'd return, the other boys would be covered in blood and the enemy would be gone.
He was the easiest boy to trick. Everyone knew this—including Tinker Bell.
Handsome Nibs was followed by Slightly, the boldest boy of the group.
"I am the only one not afraid of pirates," Slightly boasted.
But no one ever believed him.
Curly, who always got into trouble for something—even when he hadn't done it, was the fourth in line.
And last were the twins.
They looked so much alike that even Peter couldn't tell one from the other.
The twins didn't talk much.
The pirates followed right behind the Lost Boys—right in their footsteps!
As the pirates walked through the trees, they bragged about their latest adventures.
The men were laughing and singing loud pirate songs.
Huge and handsome Cecco wore coins in his ears.
Bill Jukes had tattoos all over his body.
Cookson was said to be the son of a famous pirate.
Bloodthirsty Gentleman Starkey once worked in a public school.
The bandits Skylights, Robert Mullins, and Alf Mason also belonged to the pirate crew.
All three of them were famous on the high seas.
Pirate Noodler had hands that looked as if they were on backwards.
Finally, there was friendly Smee.
His job was to look after the pirate ship and Captain Hook.
In front of the line, sitting in a chariot pulled by his men, was Captain James Hook.
He yelled orders at his men as if they were dogs.
Hook was handsome, with long black curls and deep blue eyes.
In fact, the man was very fashionable.
He wore a starched lace collar under his splendid red jacket.
His tall black boots shone because Smee polished them every day.
The captain always had a cigar hanging from his lip.
The Indians followed the boot marks of the pirates.
They moved silently down the path carrying their tomahawks.
Their bodies were shiny with paint and oil.
Braided around their necks was the hair of pirates they had killed.
The Indians didn't say one word.
Great Big Little Panther crept quietly on his hands and knees.
Princess Tiger Lily walked proudly upright.
Next in the line of characters came the wild animals—lions, tigers, bears, and other beasts.
Their tongues were hanging out with hunger. The animals were ready.
They might catch a boy, a pirate, an Indian, or even one of their own.
The last in line was a giant crocodile.
He was looking for one victim only—Captain Hook.
The march might have gone on forever, but one of the groups stopped.
It was the Lost Boys. They heard pirate laughter in the distance.
And they heard a scary pirate song.
"Yo ho! Yo ho! The pirate life! The skull and bones! Hey, hey, they'll go down to Davy Jones!"
"Davy Jones!" thought the boys. That meant the bottom of the ocean!
The boys ran swiftly through the woods.
They were quick as bunnies, returning to their home under the ground.