Mrs. Darling screamed. Nana came into the nursery because she was back from her walk. Nana growled and jumped at the boy. Peter Pan jumped out of the window very quickly. Mrs. Darling screamed again. She was afraid the boy was hurt. She ran down to the street to find him. She did not see a body. She looked at the black sky. She only saw a shooting star (a bright light that moves fast across the sky).
Mrs. Darling went back to the nursery. Nana had something in her mouth. It was the boy’s shadow (the dark shape made by a person in the light). Peter Pan jumped, but Nana closed the window too fast. The window caught the shadow and pulled it off him. Mrs. Darling looked at the shadow. It was a normal shadow.
Nana wanted to hang the shadow outside the window. Nana thought, "The boy will come back for it. He can take it without waking the children." But Mrs. Darling did not like this idea. She thought the shadow looked like dirty clothes hanging outside. She rolled it up. She put the shadow in a drawer. She wanted to tell Mr. Darling later.
One week later, a terrible Friday came. Mr. Darling and Mrs. Darling often talked about that night. They felt very guilty. Mr. Darling always said it was his fault. They sat in the empty nursery and remembered everything. They remembered the bath and the games.
The evening began like many other evenings. Nana prepared a bath for Michael. Michael did not want a bath. He shouted, "I will not go to bed! I am not a baby!" Mrs. Darling came in. she wore a beautiful white dress for a party. She wore a necklace (jewelry around the neck) and a bracelet. Wendy lent her the bracelet.
Wendy and John were playing a game. They pretended to be a mother and a father. They were pretending Wendy was born. Wendy danced with joy. Then they pretended John was born. Michael came from his bath. He wanted to be part of the game. He asked to be born too.
John said, "No, we do not want any more children." Michael almost cried. He said, "Nobody wants me." Mrs. Darling hugged him. She said, "I want you. I want a third child very much." Michael was happy. He jumped into her arms. This was Michael’s last night in the nursery.
Then Mr. Darling ran into the room. He was very angry. He was getting ready for the party. He had a problem with his necktie (a long piece of cloth worn around the neck of a shirt). Mr. Darling knew about business, but he did not know how to tie his necktie. He shouted, "This tie will not work! It is a bad tie!"
Mr. Darling was very dramatic. He said, "If I cannot tie this, we will not go to the party! If we do not go, I will lose my job! Then our children will be hungry!" Mrs. Darling was very calm. She said, "Let me try, dear." She tied the necktie easily. Mr. Darling was happy again. He danced around the room with Michael.
This was their last dance together. Then Nana came in and bumped into Mr. Darling. Nana got white hairs on his new trousers. Mr. Darling was very upset. He said, "I told you! A dog is not a good nurse for children!" Mrs. Darling said Nana was a treasure. Then she told Mr. Darling about Peter Pan. She showed him the shadow.
Mr. Darling looked at the shadow. He said, "I do not know this boy. But he looks like a bad person." Then Nana brought Michael’s medicine. Michael did not want to take it. Mr. Darling said, "Be a man, Michael. I always take my medicine." Wendy said, "Your medicine is much worse, father."
Mr. Darling said, "Yes, it is very bad. I would take it now to show you, but I lost the bottle." But Wendy found the bottle on a high shelf. She brought it to him in a glass. Mr. Darling was very afraid. He did not want to drink it. He said, "It is not fair! There is more in my glass than in Michael’s spoon!"
Wendy said, "You should both take it at the same time." She counted, "One, two, three!" Michael took his medicine, but Mr. Darling hid his glass behind his back. Michael was very angry. Wendy was surprised. She said, "Oh, father!" Mr. Darling felt ashamed, so he became angry.
Mr. Darling saw Nana’s water bowl. He had an idea for a joke. He poured his medicine into Nana’s bowl. He told Nana it was milk. Nana was a good dog. She wagged her tail and drank it. Then she looked at Mr. Darling with a big tear in her eye. She knew it was a trick. Nana went slowly to her bed.
Mrs. Darling smelled the bowl. She said, "George, that was your medicine!" Mr. Darling shouted, "It was a joke! Everyone loves the dog, but nobody loves me!" He was very angry now. He said, "That dog cannot stay in the nursery! She must go to the yard!"
The children cried. Nana asked him to stop. But Mr. Darling took Nana’s collar (a band around a dog’s neck) and pulled her outside. He tied Nana to a chain in the yard. Mr. Darling felt like a strong man, but he was very sad. He sat in the hall and cried into his hands.
Mrs. Darling put the children to bed. The room was very quiet. They heard Nana barking outside. John said, "She is sad because she is tied up." But Wendy was wise. Wendy said, "No, she is barking because she smells danger." Mrs. Darling was very afraid. She looked out the window.
The night was full of stars. Mrs. Darling said, "I wish we were not going to the party." Michael asked, "Can anything hurt us when the night-lights are on?" Mrs. Darling said, "No, dear. The lights are like a mother’s eyes. They watch you while you sleep." She kissed them and sang to them.
Mr. and Mrs. Darling walked to house number 27. It was a snowy night. They were the only people in the street. All the stars were watching them. Stars are beautiful, but they only watch. They cannot help. This is their punishment for something they did long ago.
The stars did not like Peter Pan. Peter often tried to blow them out like candles. But the stars liked fun. They wanted the adults to leave the house. When the door of house number 27 closed, the stars were happy. The smallest star in the sky shouted, "Now, Peter!"