Hook: The Flight of Tootles
By Jerry Schuller
Peter and his family watched as the sun rose and Tootles flew off headed for the 2nd star on the right and off to Neverland just as the stars disappeared ushering in the new day. Peter felty rejuvinated because he just discovered that he once was and now is Peter Pan.
Jack and Maggie had the best time they've ebver had that day with their father as his inner child was resurrected.
Tootles Arrived in Neverland and visited the lost boys. They all stood in front of him looking confused. "How could he be Tootles?" one of them asked.
"He's old and fat!" said another.
Thud, whom Peter left in charge prior to leaving, stepped forward and said, "Well Peter Pan got old and fat and he was still Peter. So if Tootles got old and fat, he's still Tootles!" The boys looked at each other nodding in possible agreement.
Tootles pulled out his bag of marbles and showed it to Thud. He examined it and cried, "You really are Tootles!" The rest of the boys got excited, ran up to him and embraced him.
Meanwhile, as the dead crocodile lay stiff in the market square, a hand and a hook reached out of the mouth. Grasping the teeth, he pulled himself out of the crocodile's body. Captain Hook lives again!
As tootles and the lost boys were at play, Captain Hook, Smee and two other pirates watched from a distance in the woods. As Tootles say resting on the edge of the clearing, the four pirates snuck up on him, tossed a blanket over him and dragged him off. The boys were so busy with their own activities that they did not notice.
Later, the lost boys realized that Tootles was missing. Tinkerbell went to the other world to find Peter.
That night as Wendy brought Maggie and Jack upstairs to get them ready for bed, she noticed another note bearing dagger had been flung at the door to the bedroom. Her eyes widened as she read the note:
Peter Pan,
Return to Neverland now
or you'll never see your
senile old friend Tootles again!
Jas. Hook
"Peter!" cried the aged Wendy. "Peter! Come quick!" Peter charged up the stairs and read the note. Just then, Tinkerbell flew in through the window.
"Peter, we need you back in Neverland!" Hook's alive! He's got Tootles!" she said.
"Kids", said Peter, "we need to return to Neverland!" Both kids grinned widely in excitement.
Tinkerbell sprinkled her pixie dust on all three of them. Peter, Maggie and Jack all began to rise off the floor and following Tink, soared out the window. Over the city of London they flew. The sky was overcast so they shot up through the clouds. When they got above them, the sky was lit up brilliantly with stars. Spotting the familiar second star on the right, they headed toward it and arrived in Neverland.
Chapter 2Peter, his kids and the lost boys set out in search of Tootles. Everyone was dressed in their armor of wood and bamboo and carried various makeshift weapons folllowing trails of footprints, flattened grass and broken branches.
They eventually came to a pond. Leading across the pond was a fallen moss-covered tree trunk, which formed a bridge to the other side. The moss had fresh footprints that were sloppy as if a scuffle had taken place while crossing.
They cautiously headed across the natural bridge and at the other end was the mouth of a cave. The kids were scared but Peter's courage enabled them to follow him in. The walls had torches hanging on them placed about every 50 feet.
The long corridor ended in a small naturally formed room. The left wall had a large, narrow vertical crack in it. At the far end of the room was a wooden table on which was a jar filled with strange wafers, a bottle of water and a goblet.
Peter pulled out one of the waffers. It had the words "Drink Me" written on it. "Hmm…" said Peter, who filled the goblet with the water and dropped in the waffer. It began to fizzle. "Oh! I kind of need an Alka-Seltzer right now." Peter smiled and drank the mixture. A few seconds later, he saw that the whole room began to grow larger. He turned to face the kids and they were growing too right before his eyes! Finally, they stopped growing when they were almost as large as him. Then he realized that the room and his friends hadn't actually grown, but that he had shrunk!
"Peter!" exclaimed Thud, "you're…. 'Peter' again!"
Peter touched his face and it felt smoother than ever! He picked up the goblet to look at his reflection on the side and he could see that he was a kid again. Maggie and Jack didn't know whether to be happy or not.
The lost boys gathered around for a closer look. The room was dimly lit so Thud tried to pull the room's only torch from its holder. It wouldn't come loose so he pulled it harder until he heard a loud click. Just then, the crack in the far wall began to grow larger and larger until it formed a doorway to another corridor.
The distant voice of Captain Hook echoed through the cave with evil laughter. "Come and get him, Peter Pan!" they heard him say.
The lost boys followed Peter down the newly discovered corridor. Before Thud left, he grabbed a handful of the wafers and put them into his carrying pouch.
The corridor ended and opened at a small beach. Across the water, they could see the village and docked at the port was Captain Hook's ship, the Jolly Roger. Peter Pan pulled out a telescope, peered through it and could see Hook and his goons dragging Tootles aboard the ship.
"Tink, if you'd please" Peter said as he gestured to the rest of his party. Tinkerbell then sprinkled everybody with her pixie dust. They rose off the ground as they began thinking their happy thoughts. They flew over the water toward the Jolly Roger.
Chapter 3The pirates took Tootles to the ship's cargo hold and bound him in shackles.
On the deck above, the pirates drew their swords as the Lost Boys descended from the air. A battle of swords and various projectiles took place.
Sword drawn, Peter landed on the forecastle deck in front of Captain Hook, who also drew his sword. "Ah! Peter! I see you've taken the bait and fallen into my trap! Now I will once again be have the advantage over you. I'm big and you're small!"
"Wonderful!" said Peter, "It'll be just like old times, old man!"
"Old man?" Hook pulled on his hair showing it was no longer a wig but now a full head of his own naturally growing hair. "As you can see, Peter, the magic potion works on me as well, only I just used enough to bring me back to my prime!" He raised his sword and took a swing at Peter, who leapt out of the way and somersaulted through the air over the captain landing behind him.
Peter swung his own blade at Captain Hook. Hook spun and parried the attack.
Meanwhile, Thud fought his way through the battle and made his way to the door that lead down to the hold. He crept down the stairs into the gloom and noticed a light at the end of a corridor. He stealthily made his way toward it and found Tootles chained to a wall. The light was coming from a lantern hung from the ceiling.
Suddenly, Tootles looked up and saw Thud get clubbed on the head by a pirate who appeared behind him in the darkness. Thud fell to the floor unconsious as a "Drink Me" wafer fell from his pocket and landed next to Tootles.
The pirate dragged off the unconscious Thud.
Tootles read the inscription on the wafer then grabbed a corked bottle of rum. He struggled to remove the cork but it wouldn't budge. So he hit the bottle on a wood beam breaking the bottle's neck. He then dropped in the waffer.
Chapter 4On the deck above, the battle continued to wage. Swords clashed, punches flew, guns fired. Peter dodged steel shot balls with amazing agility. He then met up with Hook face to face in the middle of the ship's deck. The duel between the two mortal enemies began.
Watching on a mast from above, a pirate grabbed a rope and began to swing down. The heel of his boot struck Peter in the back, knocking him to the floor. With a sadistic grin, Captain Hook took advantage of the situation and positioned the tip of his blade at Pan's throat. Suddenly, the captain was struck on the head from behind and collapsed to the deck. In his place, Peter saw Tootles, now a child his own age reaching down his hand to help him up.
Tootles grabbed the sword from the unconscious Hook. They both raised their swords and crowed loudly. Pan and the Lost Boys fought on until every last pirate fled and jumped overboard.
Chapter 5Back in London, Wendy laid on her bed. Moira walked in with a hot cup of tea. "Worry not, my dear", said Wendy, "they shall return sooner than you expect."
"Grandma, how could you not worry?" Moira asked. Just then, she was shocked as four children entered the room. Two were her own Jack and Maggie, but the others she vaguely recognized. Upon closer examination, she realized they were Peter and Tootles!
"Life always begins again," said Wendy. "Growing up is a choice, not a requirement. Dying however, is a requirement. To live is a great adventure, but dying is an adventure into the unknown from which no one can return to tell about." Wendy then breathed her last breath.
Chapter 6In the childrens' bedroom, Moira, Jack and Maggie stood facing Peter Pan and Tootles, who were standing in front of the open window that framed the starry night. Moira said, "Anyone who's ready to grow up, bring them to me and I'll be their mother." And so the tradition continued as Peter and Tootles turned around, took to the air and headed to the second star on the right and straight on till morning.