As the pirates had discovered, there was no visible entrance to the boys' underground home.
Instead, there were seven separate doors.
Seven hollow trees acted as tunnels. The tunnels fit each Lost Boy exactly.
Each tree was the exact size of each boy, so they could easily slide in and out.
Peter measured Wendy, John, and Michael, so that they too could have their own hollow tree entrances.
Unless the fit was perfect, it was difficult to slide up and down.
Peter taught them to draw in their breath, and then wriggle down the hollow at just the right speed.
Coming back up was much the same.
After a few days' practice, they were going up and down easily.
Rough and simple, the underground home was little more than a cave.
It was mostly one large room with a dirt floor.
A huge fireplace stood in the middle of the room.
The fire could be seen from anywhere in the room.
Big fat mushrooms served as stools. A tree grew in one corner of the room.
The boys sawed it down to floor level every morning.
But every afternoon it grew about two feet high.
They covered it with a door, and this served as their table.
After supper, they would clear the table, take down the door, and saw off the trunk again.
This way, they had more room to play and dance in the evenings.
A great big bed was tilted against the wall by day and set down at night.
It filled nearly half the room.
All the boys, except Michael, slept together and squished like sardines in a can.
When one rolled over, they all rolled over.
Michael was the youngest, so Wendy decided to hang a basket up for his bed.
It was hard taking care of nine active boys.
Every day Wendy cooked for them.
Sometimes it was real food collected by the boys during the day.
Other times it was make-believe food, which they enjoyed almost as much.
She cleaned the house and washed their clothes.
At night, she tucked the boys in and told them a story.
Wendy was very strict about bedtime.
All the boys had to be in bed by seven in the evening.
After the boys had gone to sleep, she sewed new things for them.
She patched the knees in their pants and darned their socks.
It was a very busy life for Wendy.
She loved to be needed, and she loved her underground life with the boys.
The only thing that bothered her was that Tinker Bell did not approve of her.
Tinker Bell lived in the underground house too.
She had her own special spot in a nook in the wall.
No larger than a birdcage, this was Tinker Bell's own private place.
Unlike the messy boys, Tink was very neat and clean.
She didn't need a mother to take care of her.
No girl, large or small, had a lovelier bedroom than Tinker Bell.
Each season, she changed her bedspread to match the colors of the trees and flowers.
Her curtains were made of the finest butterfly wings.
She always drew her tiny curtains when she was dressing or undressing.
Everyone was very happy to have Wendy around, but not Tinker Bell.
Sometimes the fairy kept her anger to herself.
Other times Tinker Bell plotted against Wendy.
One night Tinker Bell tried, with the help of some fairy friends, to float the sleeping Wendy on a great big leaf back to the mainland.
Fortunately, the leaf gave way and Wendy woke up just in time.
She fell into the water and swam back.