Peter Pan

by J.M. Barrie

You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.

But she was prejudiced in Wendy’s favour, and he was really the grander character of the two.

There never was a simpler happier family until the coming of Peter Pan.

Villain pan??

tidying up her children’s minds.

rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles ...

When you wake in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.

but catch them trying to draw a map of a child’s mind, which is not only confused, but keeps going round all the time. There are zigzag lines on it, just like your temperature on a card, and these are probably roads in the island, for the Neverland

too have been there; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.

knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael’s minds, while Wendy’s began to be scrawled all over with him. The name stood out in bolder letters than any of the other words, and as Mrs. Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance.

There were odd stories about him, as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened. She had believed in him at the time, but now that she was married and full of sense she quite doubted whether there was any such person.

Neverland had come too near and that a strange boy had broken through from it.

“That is not Nana’s unhappy bark,” she said, little guessing what was about to happen; “that is her bark when she smells danger.”

Stars are beautiful, but they may not take an active part in anything, they must just look on for ever.

It is a punishment put on them for something they did so long ago that no star now knows what it was. So the older ones have become glassy-eyed and seldom speak (winking is the star language),

mischievous way of stealing up behind them and trying...

“Second to the right,” said Peter, “and then straight on till morning.”

“You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.”

The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out;

“Some day,” said Smee, “the clock will run down, and then he’ll get you.”

“that’s the fear that haunts me.”

“Oh, mournful day.”

“See,” he said, “the arrow struck against this. It is the kiss I gave her. It has saved her life.”

The nest must have fallen into the water, but would the mother desert her eggs? No.”

Peter was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A

face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, “To die will be an awfully big adventure.”

“Proud and insolent youth,” said Hook, “prepare to meet thy doom.” “Dark and sinister

“Pan, who and what art thou?” he cried huskily. “I’m youth, I’m joy,” Peter answered at a venture, “I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg.”

There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at the window. He had had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be for ever barred.

“Hullo, Wendy, good-bye,” he said. “Oh dear, are you going away?” “Yes.”

“because you see when a new baby laughs for the first time a new fairy is born, and as there are always new babies there are always new fairies.

“You won’t forget me, Peter, will you, before spring cleaning time comes?” Of course Peter promised;

I expect he was right, for fairies don’t live long, but they are so little that a short time seems a good while to them. Wendy was pained too to find that the past year was but as yesterday to Peter; it had seemed such a long year of waiting to her. But he was exactly as fascinating as ever, and they had a lovely spring cleaning in the little house on the tree tops. Next year he did not come for her.

But the years came and went without bringing the careless boy; and when they met again Wendy was a married woman,