There weren't anymore interesting incidents after the encounter with the crocodile. The path we eventually settled on wound through an ancient forest. The trees were huge and streamers of moss hung from them. A slight breeze rustles the leaves and gently moved the tree branches. A deer grazing next to the path looked up at us and then continued eating as we passed by. "Are we almost there?" I asked Tig.

"We're just on the outskirts, it'll take us a little while longer to get to where they hang out unless we run across any rangers. If we do, you have to be ready to show them the palm of your hand where I painted those runes on so that they'll know you're one of us."

"You seriously think they wouldn't get that I'm a Lost Boy even though I'm wearing a pelt?"

"You can't be too careful. They might mistake you for a real bear or something like that, and then where would you be? Stuck as some elven prince's performing bear until you could persuade him that you weren't a bear and then you'd be his performing Lost Boy. That wouldn't work either cuz you probably can't juggle."

I was certain my leg was being pulled now and I took another look at the runes on my palm trying to figure out what they meant and once again failing miserably. I tried changing the subject instead. "How come none of the books or movies mention elves? I didn't even know there were elves or stuff like that 'til Peter told me on the trip from the 'real' world."

Red shrugged as we continued through the peaceful twilight of the forest. The sun was probably overhead by now, but the canopy of the trees was so thick that its light barely made it to where we were. Rather than being stifling or worrisome, it was pretty nice. "There's lots of stuff that's not mentioned in the books that's here." Red pointed to a tree we were passing by. "I ain't ever seen that tree mentioned, but I bet if you walked into it, it'd hurt."

"Don't give him any suggestions," Tig advised. I stuck my tongue out at him since I wasn't going to waste an apple to throw at him.

"You gotta remember that part of this place is what it's dreamed to be. The paths and stuff I mentioned earlier? Same thing. I dunno how, and I don't know that anyone does, but that's the way it is. Why else would there be pirates and Indians and elves and dwarfs? There ain't no point in trying to figure that stuff out anyway. It'd only drive you crazy. There's a lot of stuff that didn't come from someone's wishes I guess but who knows what's what and who cares? I wouldn't trade it for anything."

I had to agree with Red on that point. There's no other placed I'd rather be that I could think of. The thought of stuff just suddenly existing bothered me a little bit at first, but it seemed like things didn't happen quite that quick. And it was obvious every wish thought about what the Island should be like didn't happen cuz there wouldn't be any room. My head started to hurt and I figured that Red was right. There wasn't any real need to question stuff as long as you could play in the middle of it.

Up ahead the woods looked like they started to thin out a little and the light was brighter. Before I could ask about it, Tig led us off the path and behind a hedge that looked too straight and uniform to have just grown like that. "We're almost there," Tig whispered, "so we gotta be careful."

"How come? They evil or something?"

Tig shook his head. "Keep your voice down in case they hear us," he whispered. "It's not that they're evil, they think we are."

"Us? How can we be? We fight pirates and stuff like that."

"Shhhhhh. It's not that they really think we're evil, it's just that elves can be pretty formal and have rules for everything and we kinda don't so they figure we're different from them and they kind of look down at us cuz of it."

"They just don't want us around cuz they're afraid we'll ruin their gardens or break something or be a bad influence. They're really snotty and whenever one of us is around act like they smell something bad," Red explained.

"Silly pointy eared…" Tig's voice trailed off into a mumble.

"Peter has pointed ears," I pointed out carefully, remembering his reaction to my asking if he was an elf on the trip over.

"Oh man, don't ever let him catch you saying you think he might be an elf," Red said loudly enough that Tigger shushed him. "He once forced someone to walk the plank when they said that."

"Peter Pan made a Lost Boy walk the plank?" I couldn't believe such a thing, no matter how angry he'd been.

"Well, not really. It was a pirate and it was during a raid. If he hears a Lost Boy call him an elf than Pan'll call him horrible and awful names and banish him for a long time. Almost a whole week."

"So why are we crouched behind this bush just waiting here? Are we banished from elves too?"

"Yeah, Tig. Why are we just waiting here? Huh? Is there a reason we're just hanging out here instead of going down the path like millions of Lost Boys before us have probably done?"

I looked at Tigger who surprisingly looked embarrassed. "It wasn't my fault." Red just stared at Tig until he finally sighed. "Okay, okay. A couple weeks ago I came down here. You know, there wasn't anything else happening and Leo was busy doing something and I just felt like wandering. Anyway, there was some big celebration or party or something they were planning for later in the day and they had this big table set up with stuff."

"Yeah, go on," Red prodded as Tig stopped. There was another sigh.

"So anyway there's all this stuff on this table and no one around, least that I could see, so I kinda borrowed a couple of lemon cakes."

"Lemon cakes?" I exclaimed. "You mean the type that has the sort of crust on it and the filling?"

"Exactly. It also has that custard…" Tig was interrupted by a loud throat clearing from Red. "Anyway, I borrowed a couple of lemon cakes and then I saw this huge bowl of punch looking stuff and I had some pixie dust and I kinda dropped it in the punch bowl."

"So?" I finally said when Tig didn't continue. The way he'd been talking, I'd figured he did something horrible like 'borrowing' a whole platter of lemon cakes or turning the table over or flinging mud everywhere. Putting pixie dust in a bowl of punch didn't really sound like that big a deal. "What'd it do, float away or something?"

Red chuckled. "Pixie dust only makes ya fly if you're thinking happy thoughts and about flying. The punch just stayed there and then the elves drank it." I looked at him in confusion. I'd never heard that pixie dust was poison. Red rolled his eyes. "Elves have delicate… constitutions. When they eat pixie dust it kind of backs up on them and can be sort of explosive."

Tig snorted. "Just come out and say it. It gives 'em gas."

"You mean…?" They both nodded. "And they…?" They both nodded again. "And they know it was you?"

"I don't know. A couple of elves saw me but that was when I was away from the banquet place. I didn't know they were having a music thing in the upper meadow and didn't get away before I was spotted."

"Maybe they just figured it was bad peaches," Red said.

"A theory which has now been disproven and the real cause of the malady known," an upper-class voice said as I felt a pinprick on the back of my neck. "I had occasion to sample some of that beverage and was most unhappy at the outcome."

"Really?" Tig asked with a groan.

"Hardly," another cultured voice chimed in. "Few and far between are the youngers invited to an upper function celebration and certainly not this delinquent. Let us simply say we were witness to the aftereffects which were both loud and prolonged. It has been a long time since I've had such merriment." The pinprick on my neck disappeared. "I do not believe we have had the pleasure of meeting the rotund bear between you and thus introductions in order."

The three of us rose from where we'd been crouched behind the shrub and turned to see what could only be two elves standing in front of us. They were both about the same height, a little taller than Red, and were even thinner than he was. Their both had blonde hair and pointed ears as well as blue eyes that slanted up a little towards the corners. They were dressed in green that shimmered as they move and reflected the green of the hedge. One of them was sheathing a rapier which is what I supposed had been the pinprick on the back of my neck. They looked just like I thought they would except younger than I'd imagined. "Master Alfrontino and Master Reynardionio at your service," the elf on the left said. "Or, Alf," he said pointing to himself, "and "Rey," pointing at his companion.

I started to tell them my name when Tig elbowed me. I looked over and he gestured with his hand. "Oh, yeah." I held up my palm. Both the elves eyes widened as they read what it said. Rey glanced at Tigger who looked as though he could barely contain himself trying not to laugh, and then looked back at me. "I am afraid that I do not understand the phrase on your hand," the elf said. "It says, 'purple fish muskrat go moon.'"

"Huh?" Tig said, looking surprised. "But…"

I tried again. "I'm Cubby. I just got to the Island and became a Lost Boy."

"You managed to fly using the magic dust?" Alf said, in surprise. "It is truly astounding that so much of it existed at one time." His laugh wasn't very friendly and it was pretty obvious that the kidding I could expect from him wasn't the same type I got from the Lost Boys. I sighed having hoped that I'd left that sort of thing behind in the 'real' world.

"Enough," Rey said to the other elf. "Such a statement is neither called for nor is it true, I am sure."

"I am sure it is but am not going to waste the time or energy to argue the point with underlings or their deluded patron. It is not as though we did not already have enough misfits here, why must we suffer from more?" Alf spun a perfect half-circle and started to walk away.

"I'll…" Tig said and started after Alf but was restrained by both Red and Rey. "It is not worth the effort to change the mind of someone who is both ignorant and close-minded. As things turn he will get the reward that he has earned," Rey said.

"Maybe,' Tig said, "but I'd sure like to help him get that reward now instead of later." There were spots of red on his cheeks and a look of anger I'd never seen before. "Why do you hang out with him, anyway?"

"Sometimes things must be done that are satisfying to neither party," Rey said in a tone that said the discussion was over. "Would you like me to guide you through the steading so you might observe?" I wasn't sure I wanted that at all now. Things seemed to be sort of ruined from what I'd expected. "There is one thing that I needs must do before hand," he said taking me aside and stepping away from Red and Tigger. "Your hand," the elf whispered to me when we were out of earshot. "I told an untruth about that which is written there. In actuality it states that you are a type of large furball. You should probably eradicate the runes from your palm before displaying it again." I burst out laughing which surprised him a little. "This does not bother you?" he asked.

I looked back at Tig and Red who'd heard my laugh and looked as though they were trying to figure out exactly what was going on. "Naw. When Tig does it, it's like he's doing it because he knows it's funny and he knows I'll laugh about it. I make fun of my cravenness and size and the fact I'm clumsy all the time." He still looked confused and I struggled to try and explain. "I know they'd never be mean to me about stuff like that and I laugh about some of those things as much as they do. But then there are people who say stuff or laugh at stuff because they're mean and they know that I'll know they're doing it cuz it's mean. Umm… I think." I tried tracking what I'd just said on my fingers and managed to get two of them crossed so tightly I had to use my other hand to get them uncrossed.

Rey nodded. "I believe I understand the point you are trying to explain and the logic in which you arrived at it." We rejoined the others. All I said to Tigger was, "Furball?" which caused him to look a little sheepish but not for very long. His earlier anger seemed to have been forgotten.

The next couple of turnings of the glass was from some sort of fairy tale. The things that Rey showed me were awesome. Trees that had been around so long that you could almost tell how old they were simply by brushing against them. Water that had been enchanted to become bridges that looked so fragile they should have broken of their own weight yet didn't even tremble under my weight. Clouds of butterflies that were colours I'd never even imagined, must less seen, that flew from place-to-place. Their were gardens filled with everything imaginable and dwellings perched in the trees and pools that begged to be splashed and played in and paths that wandered by impossible sculptures of earth, glass, rock and plants. The steading was surrounded on all sides by the ancient forest which gave it the impression of a large island in the middle of a vast ocean of trees. Even in the middle of the huge place, I was aware of the forest surrounding it. It was the most amazing and beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

Along with all that, there was something else. Perfection. A creepy perfection. Absolutely nothing was out of place. Small elves, children I figured, walked along the paths. There was no yelling or screaming or playing on the grass that looked as thick as a carpet. Grass didn't grow beyond the boundaries of yards or fields and not a single butterfly strayed from the pack. Things were so perfect that my stomach hurt a little and I kept looking up, expecting a giant hand to reach down from the sky, pick up the steading, and shake it to cause snow to fall. Then there were the elves. They weren't mean, although I heard some of the smaller ones snickering after they'd passed by us. The elves didn't say anything to us. In fact they acted like we weren't even there. A couple of them nodded to Rey, although a lot more looked at him as though he was nuts for hanging out with us. They didn't make any attempt to stop us or prevent us from going anywhere, but I always got the feeling that they were watching to catch us doing something wrong. There had been a lot of times in my life in the 'real' world where I felt like I didn't belong, but none of them came close to this. During the entire time he was showing us around he reeled off rule after rule. Behaviour, where to go, where not to go, how to do things, how not to do thing. My head started to hurt from all of it.

As we were getting ready to leave, Rey told me he was pleased to meet such a stout-hearted lad as myself in a way that made it clear he was teasing in a good way. I wondered why all elves couldn't be like him. He told Tig that he'd meet him in the usual place and then gracefully glided away in the walk that all elves seemed to have. It didn't seem like elves ever ran. None of us said a word until we reached the border where the ancient forest became our messy, 'well-lived in' woods. I felt like I could breathe again.

"I tried to warn you," Tig said, a bit wistfully. I'd figured he was going to start giving me a hard time about what I'd imagined elves to be, but he'd apparently gone through the same thing. "Yeah, I was ready for something completely different too. It took a little bit of getting used to. But wait 'til the solstice. Elves act like they're supposed to then." He just grinned and wouldn't say anything except that I'd have to wait and see for myself. Red seemed to know what he meant, but wouldn't say anything else either.

I asked about Rey and was told he was part of a group of elves that were considered very 'radical' because they sometimes hung out with us. Alf wasn't part of the group. "I dunno why he was with Rey," Tig said as he worried at it. "I've seen him before, but never with Rey. We accidentally got in a fight because he thought I'd borrowed his hat." Red asked if he had and got a disgusted look from Tig for the question.

We continued walking towards Hangman's Tree in a somber mood, the sky above us beginning to get dark and a crescent moon beginning to make itself known. Red and Tig got in an argument about a pine cone they were kicking and I passed right by a blueberry patch without even giving it a second glance.

"This is dumb," Red finally said out loud. He pointed at me, "You're coming with me. Red, go get the others and meet me at the other tree and be sure to tell Leo to bring his bow." A grin lit up Tig's face and he took off running.

I asked where we were going but all I got in return was a promise that I'd see when we got there. The trip took us through a bunch of meadows and fields, fireflies guiding our way. We climbed over a couple of hedges, although Red had to wait a couple of minutes while I pulled the splinters out, and ended up next to a tree that looked normal except that I couldn't see where it ended. It was the perfect climbing tree with sturdy branches spaced just the right distance apart and was illuminated by the fireflies which had gorwn to a huge flock. "How tall is it?" I asked Red, trying in vain to see the top.

"It goes to the clouds."

"The clouds? C'mon."

"You need to believe in stuff more, Cubby," Surefoot said as he walked up and scrubbed the top of my head with his fist. "You know what happens when you don't believe in stuff, don't ya?" I shook my head. Surefoot looked around and whispered, "It could mean you're growing up."

"Aw, no way." There were a lot of things I figured I had to worry about, but growing up wasn't ever going to be one of them.

Surefoot suddenly got serious and then nodded. "Yeah, I have a feeling you're right, Cub." By this time the rest of the group that Surefoot had arrived with were ringed around the tree, the fireflies illuminating their excited faces. Leo had a bow over his shoulder and a quiver of arrows on his back.

"You ready?" Red asked me.

I looked at the tree and grinned. "Sure," I said, even though I had no clue as to what it was I was supposed to be ready for.

"'k, here's what happens. We gotta climb a long way up. I mean a real long way. And you can't fall out of this tree."

"You better not fall, cuz I'll be right below you," Roo grumbled.

"Then what?" I asked. "Then you'll see," Red said with a smirk. I thought about yelling but Leo, Tig and Surefoot had already started up the tree. Red followed and then I started up with Roo and Stumble bringing up the rear and the fireflies continuing to light up everything.

I ain't sure what it is about climbing trees. I hate hills and stairs for the obvious reasons, but I love climbing trees. It's one of the few things I do really well even though I also fall out of trees a lot. I wasn't sure what type of tree this was, but it wasn't a pine tree so I didn't end up with sap all over my pelt, hands, or face. Even though it was night by this time, it didn't bother us any. There were still fireflies all over the place and the moon provided a lot of light even just being a crescent moon. The trunk of the tree swayed a little as a breeze wandered by, but not enough to cause even me to have to worry about falling. The climb was long enough that I started daydreaming at some point, you can only see so many branches in front of your face before your mind starts to wander to other places, and didn't come back to the here-and-now 'til Red accidentally stepped on my hand.

"Sorry, Cub. This is as high as we go."

I looked around. The trunk continued upward and I still couldn't see the top. The ground was invisible below, but it could have been because it was dark as much as because of the distance. I watched in awe as a cloud passed by in front of us. "Not that one," I heard Tigger say. "We need a bigger one." A number of smaller clouds passed in front of the tree. I was ready to ask Red what we were waiting for when Tigger shouted, "That one."

In front of the tree was a huge cloud. "It's not a storm cloud, is it?" Leo said, taking the bow off his shoulder and notching an arrow to it.

"Nope. No lightning. Go for it."

Leo took aim and let the arrow fly. It landed unerringly in the center of the cloud. "Sweet," someone said. Leo returned the bow to his shoulder and then started hauling in on the line that was attached to the arrow. I hadn't seen it before, but in the moonlight it glowed silver. As Leo pulled, the cloud came closer until it was right next to the tree. Leo threw a large coil of the line on the cloud and tied the other end to the tree. I watched in wonder as Tigger jumped from the tree to the trunk and bounced across the surface of the cloud. In another instant Leo joined him along with Surefoot. Red climbed to where the others had been and stepped from the limb to the cloud's surface.

"Go on Cubby. You're next," Roo said from below me.

I slowly climbed up to where the cloud was. I moved my left foot from the tree limb to just above the surface of the cloud and froze. "I can't," I finally choked out after a minute like that. "What if it doesn't hold me and I fall?" Even if it would be like falling out of a tree, I'd never been this high up in a tree before.

"You won't, Cubby. All you gotta do is believe. We'll help you." The fireflies continued flying around as if to help encourage me.

"But what if I don't believe hard enough?"

"How can you not believe hard enough?" Tigger asked. "Look where you're at. Just the fact you made it here, that Peter brought you, means you believe a ton. C'mon. Grab my hand," he said, holding it out.

I looked at the other guys who were standing on the cloud and not falling through and then at the ones below me waiting for me so they could hop on it. "Can't we use pixie dust?" I asked in a final attempt.

"Nope. It's not the same. You can do it. Trust us," Tigger said again, continuing to hold his hand out. I took Tig's hand, screwed my eyes shut, and stepped onto the surface of the cloud. For a minute it felt like what standing on gelatin must feel like or stepping on a huge feather bed. My foot sank a little, then there was kind of a tentative firmness. I put more weight on my foot and started forward. There was a ripping sound like someone tearing a sheet and my foot went straight through and I started to follow. Tig grabbed my other hand and started pulling. Someone else grabbed for me and ended up with my hair The ripping sound continued for another moment and then stopped along with my downward motion. Both my legs were through the cloud and flailing in the air. My torso had been sliding backwards to follow my legs, but Tigger still had my hands and Surefoot had his arms around Tigger's middle with his feet dug into the cloud's surface, both of them pulling with all their might. I watched as one of Surefoot's feet slid forward a little causing a small hill of cloud to form and then dissolve into mist. Leo had a death grip on my hair and was also pulling with all his might. I screwed my eyes shut again hoping that not being able to see anything might make it all go away.

"Cubby," Red said as matter-of-factly as one could through clenched teeth, "you're not believing hard enough."

"I don't know how to believe any harder," I yelled. I was sorta on edge. "What am I supposed to do? How do I do it?"

"You believe you're one of us," Red said in a voice that was way too calm. "You flew and you saw elves and you fought with pirates. You're almost one of us, but you gotta do one more thing."

"What?"

"You gotta believe in you. We do or we wouldn't have brought you up here."

If this was a fairy tale, this would be the point where a bunch of music started playing and there'd be some sort of magical creatures heralding a sudden transformation in me from craven to bravery and then I'd pull myself out of the hole in the cloud and laugh at my fears. It didn't happen that way. It took a few more minutes of talking and explaining until I believed enough to keep falling through anymore. Then there was another few minutes when the others pulled and pulled until I popped out of the hole in the cloud. I flew a foot up in the air and landed face first on the cloud. I held my breath but didn't go through. My laugh was a bit on the hysterical side, but in a few moments I was bouncing all over the cloud with the rest of them and tumbling down the hill of cloud in the middle. Surefoot grabbed the back of my pelt to keep me from falling over the side. "Just because you can walk on a cloud doesn't mean you can walk on air," he reminded me with a grin.

The cloud drifted around the island, tethered to it by the line tied to the tree. It was the most fantastic thing I'd ever done before. We played 'King of the Hill' and pointed out places on the island to each other, which was barely visible below us, and watched the stars that seemed just out of reach. Shooting stars colored the sky and I made wish-upon-wish. Not for myself but stuff for those in the 'real' world and things like wishing that there were more blueberries. Maybe that last one was kinda for me. Eventually we ran down and we pondered on things such as 'why' and 'what if' and other stuff we normally wouldn't have gone near if we weren't all in that place between being awake and dreaming. Eventually the sky far west of us started to lighten just a bit. I started awake, gave a huge yawn, and turned to look at Leo who looked almost as tired as I felt. It was hard to tell though. The fireflies had given up hours ago and the moon had long since set. Still there was a ton of stars out to provide a little light. "When do we start climbing down?" I figured at some point we'd haul ourselves back to the tree and climb down.

"That's one of the best parts. Look over the egde" he said sleepily. For a moment I wondered if he was dreaming but took a look over the edge. Below the ground was about a regular tree's height away and looked very familiar. I asked him if we were sinking. "Naw. We're on a cloud. A cloud turning to fog. In a little bit we'll just be able to step off into the branches of the tree."

As Leo predicted the cloud became a wide-spreading fog and we ended up right where Hangman's Tree was. When I asked about the arrow and the line connecting the cloud to the other tree, Red just shrugged and said no one was quite sure what happened to them but this is Neverland and all sorts of things happened that you really couldn't explain, "and why would you want to? It's just magic."

Everyone was in the common room getting ready to greet the morning by being fast asleep. I was on my pallet under the table when a question suddenly bubbled to the top of my brain. "Hey, Surefoot?"

"What? I was almost asleep," he said in a groggy voice

"Has anyone ever fallen like I did before?"

"Cour they ha…ve. Ev one does fir time. Bu harder t pu you out."

"What? Ouch!" I said, as I sat up and hit my head on the bottom of the table. The only response I got was someone snoring. I lay back down pondering Surefoot's answer that everyone fell through the cloud like me on their first attempt. I fell asleep trying to figure out if that made me feel better or worse.