Mr. and Mrs. Darling left the house. For a moment, the night-lights burned brightly. But then Wendy’s light went out, and the other two lights went out too. The room was dark, but a new light appeared. It was much brighter than the night-lights.
The light moved very fast around the nursery. It looked into every drawer. It looked for Peter Pan’s shadow. This light was a fairy. Her name was Tinker Bell. She wore a dress made of a leaf.
Then the window opened. Peter flew into the room. He called for Tinker Bell. She was hiding in a water jug. She liked the jug very much. Peter told her to come out. He asked her where his shadow was.
Tinker Bell spoke in the fairy language. It sounded like the music of golden bells. She told Peter the shadow was in the big chest of drawers. Peter pulled out the drawers. He found his shadow. He was very happy. Tinker Bell had flown inside to help him look, and he forgot about her and closed the drawer with her still inside.
Peter tried to stick the shadow to his feet. He thought it would join back onto him like two drops of water joining together. But it did not stick. He tried to use soap from the bathroom. That did not work either. Peter was very sad. He sat on the floor and cried.
Wendy woke up because she heard him. She saw the boy on the floor. She was not afraid. She was interested. She said, "Boy, why are you crying?" Peter stood up and bowed to her. Wendy bowed back to him from her bed.
"What is your name?" Peter asked. She told him her full name was Wendy Moira Angela Darling. Peter told her his name. Wendy thought his name was very short. She asked him where he lived.
Peter said his address was "second to the right and then straight on until morning." Wendy thought this was a very strange address. She asked him about his mother. Peter said he did not have a mother. He did not want one. Wendy felt very sorry for him.
Peter said he was not crying about mothers. He was crying because his shadow would not stick. Wendy saw the shadow on the floor. She saw the soap. She smiled because trying to use soap was just like a boy.
Wendy said the shadow needed to be sewn on. Peter did not know what that meant. She got her sewing tools and sewed the shadow onto Peter’s foot.
Peter said it did not hurt. Soon the shadow was on his foot. Peter was very happy. He danced around the room. He shouted, "Oh, I am very clever!" He forgot that Wendy had helped him.
Wendy was angry. She said, "You think you are so clever! I did all the work!" Peter said she had helped a little bit. Wendy got back into bed. She covered her face with the blankets. Peter sat on the bed. He told her she was more useful than twenty boys.
Wendy looked out from under the blankets. She was happy again. She asked Peter if he wanted a kiss. Peter did not know what a kiss was. He held out his hand to receive something. Wendy did not want to hurt his feelings. She gave him a thimble.
Peter thought the thimble was a kiss. Then he gave Wendy a "kiss." He gave her a button shaped like an acorn. Wendy put the acorn on a chain around her neck. This acorn later saved her life.
Wendy asked Peter how old he was. Peter did not know. He said he ran away the day he was born. He had heard his parents talking about his future. They wanted him to grow up to be a man. Peter did not want to be a man. He wanted to be a little boy forever.
After he ran away, Peter lived for a long time in Kensington Gardens with the fairies. He told Wendy about the first fairy. Long ago, a baby laughed for the first time. The laugh broke into a thousand pieces. Those pieces became fairies.
Peter said there should be a fairy for every child. But many children do not believe in fairies. Every time a child says "I do not believe in fairies," a fairy dies. Then Peter remembered Tinker Bell. He opened the drawer and let her out.
Tinker Bell flew out of the drawer. She was very angry. She flew around the room and shouted. Wendy wanted to see her. Tinker Bell stopped on the clock for a moment. Wendy thought she was beautiful.
But Tinker Bell was not polite. She was a tinker. That is why her name was Tinker Bell. She called Wendy an ugly girl and said that she was Peter’s fairy.
Peter told Wendy about the lost boys. Peter was their captain. They lived in Neverland. They were lonely because they had no mothers to tell them stories.
Peter often came to the nursery window to listen to stories. One night, he had heard Mrs. Darling tell the story of Cinderella, and he wanted to know the end of the story. Wendy told him that Cinderella lived happily ever after.
Peter was very happy. He wanted to tell the other boys. He asked Wendy to come with him to Neverland. He said she could tell stories to the boys. He said she could look after them and fix their clothes.
Wendy wanted to go. She wanted to see mermaids. She wanted to see pirates. But she did not know how to fly. Peter said he would teach her.
Wendy woke up John and Michael. Suddenly, Peter told them to be quiet. They heard footsteps on the stairs. The children quickly jumped back into their beds, and Peter hid behind the window curtains.
Liza the servant came in to check on them. She thought the children were asleep and left the room. Outside in the yard, Nana was tied up, and she was very worried. She broke her chain and ran to house number 27 to find Mr. and Mrs. Darling. The parents started running back to the house.
Peter told the children to fly. He blew fairy dust on them. He told them to think happy thoughts. Michael flew first. Then John and Wendy flew too.
They all flew around the room near the ceiling. They were very happy. It was a wonderful feeling. Then Peter said it was time to leave. John took his tall hat. They were ready for an adventure.
Mr. and Mrs. Darling arrived at the house. They looked up at the window. They saw the shadows of the children flying. They ran inside and up the stairs as fast as they could.
The stars were watching. They wanted Peter to be safe. The smallest star shouted, "Quick, Peter!" Peter called to the children. He flew out of the window into the night, and Wendy, John, and Michael followed him.
Mr. and Mrs. Darling and Nana ran into the nursery. But the room was empty. The children were gone.