Peter Pan

by J. M. Barrie

Chapter I. Peter Breaks Through

All children grow up someday. Except one. Wendy learned this when she was only two years old. She was playing in a garden. She picked a flower and ran to show her mother. She must have looked so sweet, because her mother put a hand on her heart and said, "Oh, why can't you stay this way forever!" That was all that was said. But from then on, Wendy knew she would grow up one day. Everyone knows this after they turn two. Two is when growing up really begins.

Wendy's family lived at house number 14. Before Wendy was born, her mother, Mrs. Darling, was the most important person in the house. She was lovely and had a dreamy mind, full of ideas like tiny boxes stacked inside each other — you always find one more surprise inside. She also had a sweet smile with a hidden kiss in the corner of her mouth. Wendy could see it, but she could never quite get it.

Mr. Darling won Mrs. Darling's heart in a funny way. Many men loved her and wanted to marry her. They all rushed to her house to ask. But Mr. Darling took a cab and got there first! So he won. He got almost all of her heart — except for that one hidden kiss. He never even knew about it, and after a while, he stopped trying to find it.

Mr. Darling liked to brag that his wife loved and respected him. He knew about stocks and shares (that means buying small parts of companies, hoping to make money). He talked about it in a way that sounded very smart, even if no one really understood him.

Mrs. Darling kept track of the family's money very carefully at first — like a fun game. But soon she started drawing pictures of babies instead of doing her sums. These were pictures of the children she guessed she might have one day.

First came Wendy. Then John. Then Michael.

When Wendy was born, Mr. and Mrs. Darling worried whether they could afford another mouth to feed. Mr. Darling sat on the edge of the bed with a pencil and paper, doing math out loud.

"Now don't interrupt," he told his wife, again and again, as he added up coins and cut costs — even his coffee money! Every time she spoke, he had to start over. Finally, he decided they could just barely afford it.

"Of course we can, George!" Mrs. Darling said happily.

Mr. Darling warned her to remember sicknesses too, like mumps and measles, which cost money for the doctor. But in the end, they decided they could keep Wendy. The same worry happened with John, and even more with Michael. But they kept all three children! Soon, you could see them walking in a row to Miss Fulsom's little school, with their nurse beside them.

Mrs. Darling liked everything neat and proper. Mr. Darling liked to be just like his neighbors. So, of course, they needed a nurse for the children. But since they didn't have much money, their nurse was actually a big dog! Her name was Nana, and she was a Newfoundland — a large, gentle breed of dog. The Darlings had met her in the park, where she loved watching over babies in their strollers.

Nana turned out to be a wonderful nurse. She gave good baths. She woke up at any sound in the night. She always knew when a cough was serious. She walked the children to school neatly in a row, and nudged them back into line if they wandered. She never forgot John's sweater on sports days, and she even carried an umbrella in her mouth in case it rained!

At the school, other human nurses waited in a room while Nana lay on the floor. They looked down on her because she was a dog. She thought their gossip was silly. When visitors came to see the children, Nana made sure everyone looked their best — clean clothes and neat hair.

No nursery was ever run more perfectly. Still, Mr. Darling sometimes worried that Nana secretly did not admire him.

"I'm sure she thinks the world of you, George," Mrs. Darling always told him.

The family loved to dance and play together in the evenings. Mrs. Darling danced so joyfully that all you could see spinning around was that hidden kiss on her lips. It was a simple, happy family — until the day Peter Pan came into their lives.

Mrs. Darling first learned about Peter while tidying her children's minds. Every night, after children fall asleep, a good mother quietly sorts through their thoughts and feelings, just like tidying a messy drawer. She puts the bad thoughts away at the bottom, and lays the nicer thoughts on top, ready for morning.

No one has ever really drawn a map of a child's mind — it's much too mixed up and always changing! A child's mind is like an island, full of colors, hidden caves, rivers, secret hideouts, and strange characters. But it also holds real things too, like school, family, and everyday worries. It's a jumbled, magical place.

Every child's imaginary island — called the Neverland — is a little different. John's had a lake full of pink birds called flamingos. Michael's, since he was so small, had it backwards — a flamingo with the lake flying over it! John slept in an upside-down boat. Michael lived in a tent. Wendy lived in a house made of leaves sewn together. Even though every child's Neverland was different, they all shared a certain feeling — like family members who look alike.

The Neverland feels harmless during the day, when children play pretend with chairs and blankets. But right before falling asleep at night, it can feel very real and a little scary. That's why children often need a night-light!

As Mrs. Darling explored her children's minds, she found something she didn't understand — the name "Peter." She had never met anyone named Peter. But the name appeared again and again in John and Michael's thoughts. And in Wendy's mind, the name was written everywhere, in big bold letters, as if it were especially important.