All children grow up, but one child does not. Wendy Darling knew that she must grow up when she was two years old. She was playing in a garden. She picked a flower and ran to her mother. Mrs. Darling looked at Wendy. Mrs. Darling put her hand on her heart. Mrs. Darling said, "I wish you could stay like this forever!" Wendy knew then that she would not stay a child.
The Darling family lived at house number 14. Mrs. Darling was a very lovely lady. She had a very creative mind. Her mind was like a set of small boxes. You open one box and you find another box inside. Mrs. Darling also had a sweet kiss on her mouth. Wendy could never get this kiss. It was in the corner of her mouth. Everyone could see it, but no one could touch it.
Many men loved Mrs. Darling when she was young. They all ran to her house to ask her to marry them. Mr. Darling arrived first. He took a cab (a carriage pulled by a horse). He won her heart. He got all of her, but he did not get the secret box in her mind. He did not get the kiss on her mouth. Mr. Darling soon stopped trying to get the kiss.
Mr. Darling told Wendy that Mrs. Darling loved him. He also wanted people to respect him. He was a businessman. He knew about stocks (parts of a company that people buy). He often said the prices were up or down. This made Mrs. Darling respect him very much.
Mrs. Darling wore a white dress when she married Mr. Darling. At first, she was very good at counting the family money. She treated it like a game. But later, she stopped counting. She began to draw pictures of babies on the paper. These were Mrs. Darling’s dreams.
The Darlings had three children. First came Wendy. Then came John. Then came Michael. After Wendy was born, Mr. Darling was worried. He was a very honest man. He did not have much money. He sat on the bed and counted the money. Mrs. Darling looked at him. She wanted to keep the baby.
Mr. Darling took a pencil and paper. He said, "Do not talk to me." He counted the cost of coffee. He counted the cost of the house. Then he thought about the cost of sickness. He thought about mumps (a sickness that makes your neck swell). He thought about measles (a sickness that gives you red spots on your skin). Finally, he decided they had enough money.
The children grew up and went to school. They had a nurse to look after them. The family was poor because the children drank a lot of milk. So, their nurse was a large dog. Her name was Nana. Nana was a Newfoundland (a very large, strong dog with long hair). Nana did not have a home before she met the Darlings.
Nana was a wonderful nurse. She was very careful at bath-time. She woke up if the children cried at night. Her bed was in the children’s room. Nana knew when a child had a cold. She walked with the children to school. She walked next to them and kept them in a line.
On school days, Nana carried John’s clothes. She usually carried an umbrella in her mouth if it rained. The other nurses at the school did not like Nana. They thought a dog was not as good as a person. But Nana did not care about them. She only cared about the children. She kept the children very clean and tidy.
The Darlings were a very happy family. They often danced together in the evening. Even Liza, the servant, joined the dance. Liza was a very small girl in a long skirt. They were all very gay and happy. This happiness lasted until Peter Pan arrived.
Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter Pan when she was tidying her children’s minds. Every night, good mothers look into their children’s minds. They put thoughts in the right places. They hide the bad thoughts at the bottom. They put the beautiful thoughts on top.
A child’s mind is like a map. It has many colors and zigzag lines. This map is the Neverland (a magic island for children). It is a strange and beautiful place. It has coral reefs and wild people. It has caves and a river. It has a very small old lady with a big nose.
Every child has a different Neverland. John’s island had a lake with large birds. John lived in a boat on the sand. Michael lived in a wigwam (a small house made of animal skins). Wendy lived in a house made of leaves. All children play on these magic shores. We were all there once, too.
Mrs. Darling found the word "Peter" in the children’s minds. Wendy said Peter Pan was a boy. Wendy said he was her size. Mrs. Darling remembered a Peter Pan from her own childhood. People said he lived with the fairies. Mrs. Darling did not believe the stories now. She thought Peter Pan must be an adult now.
Wendy said, "Oh no, he is not an adult. He is my size." Mr. Darling laughed. He said it was just a silly story. He thought the dog, Nana, told them the story. He told Mrs. Darling not to worry. But soon, Mrs. Darling had a big surprise.
One morning, Wendy found some leaves on the floor. These leaves were not there when the children went to bed. Wendy smiled. She said, "I think it is that Peter Pan again." Wendy was a tidy child. She was sad because Peter did not clean his feet.
Wendy told her mother about Peter. She said Peter often came to the room at night. She said he sat on her bed. He played music on his pipes (a musical instrument made of tubes). Wendy did not wake up, but she knew he was there. Mrs. Darling said, "That is impossible. We are on the third floor."
Mrs. Darling looked at the leaves. They were very strange leaves. They did not come from any tree in England. Mrs. Darling looked at the floor with a candle. She looked for footprints. She looked at the window. It was a very long way down to the street. She thought Wendy was dreaming. But Wendy was not dreaming.
The next night, the children went to bed. Nana was not at home that evening. Mrs. Darling bathed the children. She sang to them. Soon, Wendy, John, and Michael were asleep. Mrs. Darling sat by the fire. She began to sew some clothes for Michael.
The room was warm and quiet. Soon, Mrs. Darling felt tired. Her head moved down. She fell asleep. She had a dream about the Neverland. In her dream, a boy broke through from the magic island. She saw her children looking at the boy.
Suddenly, the window opened. A boy dropped onto the floor. A strange light was with him. The light was small and bright. It moved around the room very fast. This light woke Mrs. Darling. She saw the boy. She knew immediately that he was Peter Pan.
Peter Pan was a lovely boy. He wore clothes made of leaves. But the most amazing thing was his teeth. He still had all his first teeth. When Peter saw that Mrs. Darling was an adult, he looked angry. He showed his small teeth at her.