Few weeks ago on a raining night, I noticed a strange shadow hiding behind the light pole at the end of the street. In the rain and the darkness of the night, it was hard to tell what it was. However, it seemed to be a dog with four short legs, dragging something long and slim behind him.

Peter Pan was like the wind, came out of nowhere, and scared the hell out of those pirates!

It's raining again tonight. I stood behind a big pile of trash bags to get a better look at him and that " thing " he seems to be dragging along. It turned out to be a plastic raincoat, the ones that you get from 7-11 for two bucks, tied around his short little body. Just as I was taking a step closer, he ran away as quickly as possible, making loud noises as the raincoat splashed the water on the floor everywhere. The sight of him running away looked like Peter Pan had mistaken Superman's cape for his own.

I went home to ask Mom to see if she has ever seen the little " Peter Pan " around the neighborhood.

" Yap! It seems to be a puppy. He hides in the bushes next door during the day, gets scared every time anyone gets closer " says my Mom.
" I think the neighborhood kids were playing a bad joke on him, tied the raincoat around his body. I tried to help him, but he's got a real bad temper, won't let me get any closer! "

All I can picture at this point was a man's best friend, tortured and sacred by those whom it once trusted. When I thought about how that raincoat must be killing him right now, I had to ask Mom to help me to capture him, regardless how hard it would be in a middle of a raining night!

Captain Hook captured Tinkerbell, locked her up in a cage, and then came Peter Pan to the rescue...

I ran around the block three times, and yet little " Peter Pan " is still ahead of me! First I thought it must the shoes, then I blamed my jeans for slowing me down, and finally I just decided that I was getting old!

" Ma, Ma! No...no! You can't... you have to be on the other side! Stop him... Shit! Try to step on the raincoat, that should slow him down... no, no... grab him with your hands... "
The rain pretty much eliminated most of my eyesight by now.

Little " Peter Pan " was fast! I begin to regret chasing after him because the cold water splashed all over his little body from running around the block must be freezing! Suddenly he took a sharp turn and ran into a dead-end street. " Aha! Finally! " I thought to myself. I ran right after him. He turned around after realizing that there was nowhere to go. I held the flashlight right to his face and grabbed him with my left hand as quickly as possible.

...A while ago, my mom really liked the " Peter Pan " peanut butter...

As I held on to him by his short little legs, other than being wet and scared, the fear of not knowing what going to happen next was a clear evident in his eyes. Mom quickly came over with a towel to dry him off as I try to untie the yellow raincoat. The tight knot had left a deep red mark around his skin. As soon as I put him down on the floor, he ran towards the bushes, but before disappearing into the night, he turned around and gave me a sweet look, as if he was saying

" Thanks man! I feel much better now! "

As a child, I too, thought that it was a great deal of fun to torture little animals. But now I realized that even a child's practical joke and ignorance is still considered as a crime in the eyes of God. If we don't love other creatures, then we cannot feel their pain. If we don't respect life of all kinds, then even an innocent prank is considered to be a bloody crime! The education in our society today must teach children how to respect Mother Nature and to love the life of all beings. How can we show our next generation that the true meaning behind every Peter Pan's heroic act was his love and respect for others?

In the fairytale, Peter Pan once said, "I wan to forever remain on this magical island because, this way, I will never have to grow up and I can live happily ever after! "

I wish one day I can watch this beautiful island, known as Formosa, filled with happy little " Peter Pans " running around without wearing the yellow raincoat as a cape.

- translated by Claire on 11/27/2000 - edited by Daniel on 12/04/2000