Speaker 1: Peter Pan by J. M. Barry, Chapter one, Peter breaks through.
Speaker 1: All children except one grow up. They soon know that
Speaker 1: they will grow up. And the way Wendy knew was
Speaker 1: this One day, when she was two years old. She
Speaker 1: was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower
Speaker 1: and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she
Speaker 1: must have looked rather delightful, for missus Darling put her
Speaker 1: hand to her heart and cried, Oh, why can't you
Speaker 1: remain like this forever? This was all that passed between
Speaker 1: them on the subject. But henceforth Wendy knew that she
Speaker 1: must grow up. You always know after your two two
Speaker 1: is the beginning of the end. Of course, they lived
Speaker 1: at fourteen, and until Wendy came, her mother was the
Speaker 1: chief one. She was a lovely lady with a romantic
Speaker 1: mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic tick
Speaker 1: mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other,
Speaker 1: that come from the puzzling East. However many you discover,
Speaker 1: there's always one more. And her sweet mocking mouth had
Speaker 1: one kiss on it that Wendy could never get though
Speaker 1: there it was perfectly conspicuous in the right hand corner.
Speaker 1: The way mister Darling won her was this The many
Speaker 1: gentlemen who had been boys when she was a girl
Speaker 1: discovered simultaneously that they loved her, and they all ran
Speaker 1: to her house to propose to her, except mister Darling,
Speaker 1: who took a cab and nipped in first, and so
Speaker 1: he got her. He got all of her, except the
Speaker 1: innermost box and the kiss. He never knew about the box,
Speaker 1: and in time he gave up trying for the kiss.
Speaker 1: Wendy thought Napoleon could have got it, but I can
Speaker 1: picture him trying and then going off in a passion,
Speaker 1: slamming the door. Mister Darling used to boast to Wendy
Speaker 1: that her mother not only loved him, but respected him.
Speaker 1: He was one of those deep ones who know about
Speaker 1: stocks and shares. Of course, no one really knows, but
Speaker 1: he quite seemed to know, and he often said stocks
Speaker 1: were up and shares were down, in a way that
Speaker 1: would have made any woman respect him. Missus Darling was
Speaker 1: married and white, and at first she kept the books perfectly,
Speaker 1: almost gleefully, as if it were a game, not so
Speaker 1: much as a Brussels sprout was missing, but by and
Speaker 1: by whole cauliflowers dropped out, and instead of them there
Speaker 1: were pictures of babies without faces. She drew them when
Speaker 1: she should have been totting up. They were Missus Darling's guesses.
Speaker 1: Wendy came first, then John, then Michael. For a week
Speaker 1: or two after Wendy came it was doubtful whether they
Speaker 1: would be able to keep her, as she was another
Speaker 1: mouth to feed. Mister Darling was frightfully proud of her,
Speaker 1: but he was very honorable, and he sat on the
Speaker 1: edge of Missus Darling's bed, holding her hand and calculating expenses,
Speaker 1: while she looked at him imploringly. She wanted to risk it,
Speaker 1: come what might, but that was not his way. His
Speaker 1: way was with a pencil and a piece of paper,
Speaker 1: And if she confused him with suggestions, he had to
Speaker 1: begin at the beginning again. Now, ahem, don't interrupt. He
Speaker 1: would beg of her. I have one pound seventeen here
Speaker 1: and two and six at the office. I can cut
Speaker 1: off my coffee at the office, say ten shillings making
Speaker 1: two nine and six with your eighteen and three makes
Speaker 1: three nine seven with five knot not in my check book,
Speaker 1: makes eight nine seven.
Speaker 2: Who is that moving?
Speaker 1: Eight nine seven dot and carry seven. Don't speak my
Speaker 1: own and and the pound you lent to that man
Speaker 1: who came to the door. Quiet child, dot and carry child.
Speaker 1: There you've done it, did I say nine nine seven?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 1: I said nine nine seven. The question is can we
Speaker 1: try it for a year on nine nine seven? Of
Speaker 1: course we can, George, she cried, but she was prejudiced
Speaker 1: in Wendy's favor, and he was really the grander character
Speaker 1: of the two. Remember mumps, he warned her, almost threateningly,
Speaker 1: and off he went again. Mumps one pound, That is
Speaker 1: what I have put down, but I dare say it
Speaker 1: will be more like thirty shillings. Don't speak measles one
Speaker 1: five German measles. Half a guinea makes two fifteen six,
Speaker 1: don't waggle your finger whooping cough, say fifteen shillings. And
Speaker 1: so on it went, and it added up differently each time.
Speaker 1: But at last Wendy just got through with mumps reduced
Speaker 1: to twelve six, and the two kinds of measles treated
Speaker 1: as one. There was the same excitement over John and
Speaker 1: Michael had even a narrower squeak, but both were kept,
Speaker 1: and soon you might have seen the three of them
Speaker 1: going in a row to miss Fulson's kindergarten school, accompanied
Speaker 1: by their nurse. Missus Darling loved to have everything just so,
Speaker 1: and mister Darling had a passion for being exactly like
Speaker 1: his neighbors. So of course they had a nurse as
Speaker 1: they were poor owing to the amount of milk the
Speaker 1: children drank. This nurse was a prim Newfoundland dog called
Speaker 1: ne who had belonged to no one in particular until
Speaker 1: the Darlings engaged her. She had always thought children important, however,
Speaker 1: and the Darlings had become acquainted with her in Kensington gardens,
Speaker 1: where she spent most of her spare time peeping into perambulators,
Speaker 1: and was much hated by careless nursemaids, whom she followed
Speaker 1: to their homes and complained of to their mistresses. She
Speaker 1: proved to be quite a treasure of a nurse, how
Speaker 1: thorough she was at bathtime and up at any moment
Speaker 1: of the night if one of her charges made the
Speaker 1: slightest cry. Of course, her kennel was in the nursery.
Speaker 1: She had a genius for knowing when a cough is
Speaker 1: a thing to have no patience with and when it
Speaker 1: needs a stalking around your throat. She believed to her
Speaker 1: last day in old fashioned remedies like rhubarb leaf, and
Speaker 1: made sounds of contempt over all this newfangled talk about
Speaker 1: germs and so on. It was a lesson in propriety
Speaker 1: to see her escorting the children to school, walking sedately
Speaker 1: by their side when they were well behaved, and betting
Speaker 1: them back into line if they strayed. On John's soccer day,
Speaker 1: she never once forgot his sweater, and she usually carried
Speaker 1: an umbrella in her mouth in case of rain. There's
Speaker 1: a room in the basement of miss Fulsome's school where
Speaker 1: the nurses wait. They sat on forms while Nana lay
Speaker 1: on the floor, but that was the only difference. They
Speaker 1: affected to ignore her as of an inferior social status
Speaker 1: to themselves, and she despised their light talk. She resented
Speaker 1: visits to the nursery from Missus Darling's friends, but if
Speaker 1: they did come, she first whipped off Michael's pinafore and
Speaker 1: put him into the one with blue braiding, and smoothed
Speaker 1: out Wendy and made a dash at John's hair. No
Speaker 1: nursery could possibly have been conducted more correctly, and mister
Speaker 1: Darling knew it. Yet he sometimes wondered uneasily whether the
Speaker 1: neighbors talked. He had his position in the city to consider.
Speaker 1: Nana also troubled him in another way. He had sometimes
Speaker 1: a feeling that she did not admire him. I know
Speaker 1: she admires you tremendously, George. Missus da Arling would assure him,
Speaker 1: and then she would sign to the children to be
Speaker 1: specially nice to father. Lovely dances followed, in which the
Speaker 1: only other servant, Liza, was sometimes allowed to join such
Speaker 1: a midget she looked in her long skirt and maid's cap,
Speaker 1: though she had sworn when engaged that she would never
Speaker 1: see ten again. The gayety of these romps, the gayest
Speaker 1: of all was Missus Darling, who would pirouette so wildly
Speaker 1: that all you could see of her was the kiss,
Speaker 1: and then if you had dashed at her, you might
Speaker 1: have got it. There never was a simpler, happier family
Speaker 1: until the coming of Peter Pan. Missus Darling first heard
Speaker 1: of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds.
Speaker 1: Is the nightly custom of every good mother, after her
Speaker 1: children are asleep, to rummage in their minds and put
Speaker 1: things straight for the next morning, repacking into their proper places.
Speaker 1: The many articles that have wandered during the day if
Speaker 1: you could keep awake, but of course you can't. You
Speaker 1: would say, see your own mother doing this, and you
Speaker 1: would find it very interesting to watch her. It is
Speaker 1: quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on
Speaker 1: her knees. I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents,
Speaker 1: wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up,
Speaker 1: making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to
Speaker 1: her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten,
Speaker 1: and hurriedly stewing that out of sight. When you wake
Speaker 1: in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which
Speaker 1: you went to bed have been folded up small and
Speaker 1: placed at the bottom of your mind, and on the top,
Speaker 1: beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for
Speaker 1: you to put on. I don't know whether you have
Speaker 1: ever seen a map of a person's mind. Doctors sometimes
Speaker 1: draw maps of other parts of you, and your own
Speaker 1: map can become intensely interesting. But catch them trying to
Speaker 1: draw a map of a child's mind, which is not
Speaker 1: only confused, but keeps going round all the time. There's
Speaker 1: zigzag lines on it, just like your temperature on a card.
Speaker 1: And these are probably roads in the island, for the
Speaker 1: Neverland is always more or less an island with astonishing
Speaker 1: splashes of color here and there, and coral reefs and
Speaker 1: rakish looking craft in the offing, and savages and lonely
Speaker 1: lairs and gnomes who are mostly tailors, and caves through
Speaker 1: which a river runs, and princes with six elder brothers
Speaker 1: and a hut fast going to decay, and one very
Speaker 1: small old lady with a hooked nose. It would be
Speaker 1: an easy map if that were all, but there is
Speaker 1: also first day at school, religion, fathers, the round pond, needlework, murders, hangings,
Speaker 1: verbs that take the dative chocolate pudding day, getting into
Speaker 1: braces say ninety nine threepence for pulling out your tooth yourself,
Speaker 1: and so on. And either these are part of the
Speaker 1: island or they are another map showing through, and it
Speaker 1: is all rather confusing, especially as nothing will stand still.
Speaker 1: Of course, the Neverlands vary a good deal. Johns, for instance,
Speaker 1: had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it at which
Speaker 1: John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had
Speaker 1: a flamingo with lagoons flying over it. John lived in
Speaker 1: a boat turned upside down on the sands, Michael in
Speaker 1: a wigwam, Wendy in a house of leaves deftly sewn together.
Speaker 1: John had no friends. Michael had friends at night, Wendy
Speaker 1: had a pet wolf forsaken by its parents. But on
Speaker 1: the whole the Neverlands have a family resemblance. And if
Speaker 1: they stood in a row, you could say of them
Speaker 1: that they have each other's nose, and so forth. On
Speaker 1: these magic shores, children at play a forever beaching their coracles.
Speaker 1: We too have been there. We can still hear the
Speaker 1: sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.
Speaker 1: Of all delectable islands, the Neverland is the snuggest and
Speaker 1: most compact, not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious
Speaker 1: distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed. When
Speaker 1: you play at it by day, with the chairs in
Speaker 1: the tablecloth, it is not in the least alarming, But
Speaker 1: in the two minutes before you go to sleep, it
Speaker 1: becomes very nearly real. That is why there are night lights. Occasionally,
Speaker 1: in her travels through her children's minds, missus Darling found
Speaker 1: things she could not understand, and of these, quite the
Speaker 1: most perplexing was the word Peter. She knew of no Peter,
Speaker 1: and yet he was here and there in John and
Speaker 1: Michael's minds, while Wendy's began to be scrawled all over
Speaker 1: with him. The name stood out in bolder letters than
Speaker 1: any of the other words, and as missus Darling gazed,
Speaker 1: she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance. Yes,
Speaker 1: he is rather cocky, Wendy admitted, with regret. Her mother
Speaker 1: had been questioning her.
Speaker 3: But who is he?
Speaker 4: My pet?
Speaker 1: He is Peter Pan, you know, mother. At first Missus
Speaker 1: Darling did not know, But after thinking back into her childhood,
Speaker 1: she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to
Speaker 1: live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him,
Speaker 1: as that when children died, he was part of the
Speaker 1: way with them, so that they should not be frightened.
Speaker 1: She had believed in him at the time, but now
Speaker 1: that she was married and full of sense, she quite
Speaker 1: doubted whether there was any such person. Besides, she said
Speaker 1: to Wendy, he would be grown up by this time.
Speaker 1: Oh no, he hasn't grown up, Wendy assured her confidently.
Speaker 1: And he is just my size. She meant that he
Speaker 1: was her size in both mind and body. She didn't
Speaker 1: know how she knew it. She just knew it. Missus
Speaker 1: Darling consulted mister Darling, but he smiled, pooh, pooh, mark
Speaker 1: my words. He said, it is just some nonsense Nana
Speaker 1: has been putting into their heads, just the sort of
Speaker 1: idea a dog would have. Leave it alone and it
Speaker 1: will blow over. But it would not blow over, and
Speaker 1: soon the troublesome boy gave Missus Darling quite a shock.
Speaker 1: Children have the strangest adventures without being troubled by them.
Speaker 1: For instance, they may remember to mention a week after
Speaker 1: the event that when they were in the wood they
Speaker 1: met their dead father and had a game with him.
Speaker 1: It was in this casual way that Wendy one morning
Speaker 1: made a disquieting revelation. Some leaves of a tree had
Speaker 1: been found on the nursery floor, which certainly were not
Speaker 1: there when the children went to bed, and Missus Darling
Speaker 1: was puzzling over them, when Wendy said, with a tolerant smile,
Speaker 1: I do believe it is that Peter again. Whatever do
Speaker 1: you mean, Wendy. It is so naughty of him not
Speaker 1: to wipe Wendy said, sighing, she was a tidy child.
Speaker 1: She explained, in quite a matter of fact way, that
Speaker 1: she thought Peter sometimes came to the nursery in the
Speaker 1: night and sat on the foot of her bed and
Speaker 1: played on his pipes to her. Unfortunately, she never woke,
Speaker 1: so she didn't know how she knew.
Speaker 5: She just knew.
Speaker 1: What nonsense you talk, precious. No one can get into
Speaker 1: the house without knocking. I think he comes by the window,
Speaker 1: she said, my love, it is three floors up. Were
Speaker 1: not the leaves at the foot of the window?
Speaker 6: Mother?
Speaker 1: It was quite true.
Speaker 7: The leaves had.
Speaker 1: Been found very near the window. Missus Darling did not
Speaker 1: know what to think, for it all seemed so natural
Speaker 1: to Wendy that you could not dismiss it by saying
Speaker 1: that she had been dreaming. My child, the mother cried,
Speaker 1: why did you not tell me of this before I forgot,
Speaker 1: said Wendy lightly. She was in a hurry to get
Speaker 1: her breakfast. Oh, surely she must have been dreaming. But
Speaker 1: on the other hand, there were the leaves. Missus Darling
Speaker 1: examined them carefully. They were skeleton leaves, but she was
Speaker 1: sure they did not come from any tree that grew
Speaker 1: in England. She crawled about the floor peering at it.
Speaker 1: With a candle for marks of a strange foot. She
Speaker 1: rattled the poker up the chimney and tapped the walls.
Speaker 1: She let a tape down from the window to the pavement,
Speaker 1: and it was a sheer drop of thirty feet, without
Speaker 1: so much as a spout to climb up by. Certainly
Speaker 1: Wendy had been dreaming. But Wendy had not been dreaming,
Speaker 1: as the very next night showed the night on which
Speaker 1: the extraordinary adventures of these children may be said to
Speaker 1: have begun. On the night we speak of, all the
Speaker 1: children were once more in bed. It happened to be
Speaker 1: Nana's evening off, and Missus Darling had bathed them and
Speaker 1: sung to them till one by one they had let
Speaker 1: go her hand and slid away into the land of sleep.
Speaker 1: All were looking so safe and cozy that she smiled
Speaker 1: at her fears now and sat down tranquility by the
Speaker 1: fire to sew. It was something for Michael, who on
Speaker 1: his birthday was getting into shirts. The fire was warm, however,
Speaker 1: and the nursery dimly lit by three night lights, and
Speaker 1: presently the sewing lay on Missus Darling's lap. Then her
Speaker 1: head nodded, oh so gracefully she was asleep. Look at
Speaker 1: the four of them, Wendy and Michael over there, John here,
Speaker 1: and Missus Darling by the fire. There should have been
Speaker 1: a fourth night light. While she slept, she had a dream.
Speaker 1: She dreamt that the Neverland had come too near, and
Speaker 1: that a strange boy had broken through from it. He
Speaker 1: did not alarm her, for she thought she had seen
Speaker 1: him before in the faces of many women who have
Speaker 1: no children. Perhaps he is to be found in the
Speaker 1: faces of some mothers also. But in her dream he
Speaker 1: had rent the film that obscures the Neverland, and she
Speaker 1: saw Wendy and John and Michael peeping through the gap.
Speaker 1: The dream by itself would have been a trifle, But
Speaker 1: while she was dreaming, the window of the nursery blew open,
Speaker 1: and a boy did drop on the floor. He was
Speaker 1: accompanied by a strange light, no bigger than your fist,
Speaker 1: which darted about the room like a living thing. And
Speaker 1: I think it must have been this light that wakened
Speaker 1: Missus Darling. She started up with a cry and saw
Speaker 1: the boy, and somehow she knew at once that he
Speaker 1: was Peter Pan. If you or I or Wendy had
Speaker 1: been there, we should have seen that he was very
Speaker 1: like missus Darling's kiss. He was a lovely boy clad
Speaker 1: in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees.
Speaker 1: But the most entrancing thing about him was that he
Speaker 1: had all his first teeth. When he saw she was
Speaker 1: a grown up, he gnashed the little pearls at her.
Speaker 8: End of chapter one, Chapter two, the shadow Missus Darling screamed,
Speaker 8: and as if in answer to a bell, the door
Speaker 8: opened and Nana entered. Returned from her evening out, she
Speaker 8: growled and sprang at the boy, who leaped lightly through
Speaker 8: the window.
Speaker 6: Again.
Speaker 8: Missus Darling screamed, this time in distress for him, for
Speaker 8: she thought he was killed, and she ran down into
Speaker 8: the street to look for his little body, but it
Speaker 8: was not there, and she looked up, and in the
Speaker 8: black night she could see nothing but what she thought
Speaker 8: was a shooting star. She returned to the nursery and
Speaker 8: found Nana with something in her mouth, which proved to
Speaker 8: be the boy's shadow. As he leapt at the window,
Speaker 8: Nana had closed it quickly, too late to catch him,
Speaker 8: but his shadow had not had time to get out.
Speaker 8: Slam went the window and snapped it off. You may
Speaker 8: be sure Missus Darling examined the shadow carefully, but it
Speaker 8: was quite the ordinary kind. Nana had no doubt of
Speaker 8: what was the best thing to do with this shadow.
Speaker 8: She hung it out at the window, meaning he is
Speaker 8: sure to come back for it. Let us put it
Speaker 8: where he can get it easily without disturbing the children.
Speaker 8: But unfortunately Missus Darling could not leave it hanging out
Speaker 8: at the window. It looked so like the washing and
Speaker 8: lowered the whole tone of the house. She thought of
Speaker 8: showing it to mister Darling, but he was totting up
Speaker 8: winter greatcoats for John and Michael, with a wet towel
Speaker 8: around his head to keep his brain clear, and it
Speaker 8: seemed a shame to trouble him. Besides, she knew exactly
Speaker 8: what he would say. It all comes of having a
Speaker 8: dog for a nurse. She decided to roll the shadow
Speaker 8: up and put it away carefully in a drawer until
Speaker 8: a fitting opportunity came for telling her husband, ah Me.
Speaker 8: The opportunity came a week later on that never to
Speaker 8: be forgotten Friday. Of course, it was a Friday. I
Speaker 8: ought to have been specially careful on a Friday, she
Speaker 8: used to say. Afterwards, to her husband, while perhaps Nana
Speaker 8: was on the other side of her holding her hand. No, no,
Speaker 8: mister Darling always said, I am responsible for it all I,
Speaker 8: George Darling, did it. Mayaculpa, Mayaculpa. He had had a
Speaker 8: classical education. They sat thus night after night, recalling that
Speaker 8: fatal Friday till every detail of it was stamped on
Speaker 8: their brains and came through on the other side, like
Speaker 8: the faces on a bad coinage. If only I had
Speaker 8: not accepted that invitation to dine at twenty seven, Missus
Speaker 8: Darling said, if only I had not poured my medicine
Speaker 8: into Nana's bowl, said mister Darling.
Speaker 4: If only I had pretended to like the medicine, was
Speaker 4: what Nana's wet eyes said.
Speaker 8: My liking for parties, George, my fatal gift for humor, Dearest,
Speaker 8: my touchiness about trifles, dear Master and Mistress. Then one
Speaker 8: or more of them would break down altogether. Nana at
Speaker 8: the thought It's true, it's true, ought not to have
Speaker 8: had a dog.
Speaker 4: For a nurse.
Speaker 8: Many a time it was mister Darling who put the
Speaker 8: handkerchief to Nana's eyes.
Speaker 4: That fiend.
Speaker 8: Mister Darling would cry and Nana's bark was the echo
Speaker 8: of it. But Missus Darling never upbraided Peter. There was
Speaker 8: something in the right hand corner of her mouth that
Speaker 8: wanted her not to call Peter names. They would sit
Speaker 8: there in the empty nursery, recalling fondly every smallest detail
Speaker 8: of that dreadful evening. It had begun so uneventfully, so precisely,
Speaker 8: like a hundred other evenings, with Nana putting on the
Speaker 8: water for Michael's bath and carrying him to it on
Speaker 8: her back. I won't go to bed, he had shouted,
Speaker 8: like one who still believed that he had the last
Speaker 8: word on the subject.
Speaker 4: I won't. I won't, Nana.
Speaker 8: It isn't six o'clock yet. Oh dear, oh dear, I
Speaker 8: shan't love you anymore, Nana, I tell you I won't
Speaker 8: be won't. I won't. Then missus Darling had come in
Speaker 8: wearing her white evening gown. She had dressed early because
Speaker 8: Wendy so loved to see her in her evening gown
Speaker 8: with the necklace George had given her. She was wearing
Speaker 8: Wendy's bracelet on her arm. She had asked for the
Speaker 8: loan of it. Wendy loved to lend her bracelet to
Speaker 8: her mother. She had found her two older children playing
Speaker 8: at being herself and father on the occasion of Wendy's birth,
Speaker 8: and John was saying, I am happy to inform you,
Speaker 8: missus Darling, that you are now a mother, in just
Speaker 8: such a tone as mister Darling himself may have used
Speaker 8: on the real occasion. Wendy had danced with joy, just
Speaker 8: as the real Missus Darling must have done. Then John
Speaker 8: was born with the extra pomp that he conceived due
Speaker 8: to the birth of a male, and Michael came from
Speaker 8: his bath to ask to be born also, but John's
Speaker 8: and brutally that they did not want any more. Michael
Speaker 8: had nearly cried, nobody wants me, he said, And of
Speaker 8: course the lady in the evening dress could not stand
Speaker 8: that I do. She said, I so want a third child,
Speaker 8: boy or girl, asked Michael, not too hopefully.
Speaker 4: Boy.
Speaker 8: Then he had leapt into her arms. Such a little
Speaker 8: thing for mister and Missus Darling and Nana to recall now,
Speaker 8: but not so little if that was to be Michael's
Speaker 8: last night in the nursery.
Speaker 4: They go on with their recollections.
Speaker 8: It was then that I rushed in like a tornado,
Speaker 8: wasn't it, mister Darling would say, scorning himself. And indeed
Speaker 8: he had been like a tornado. Perhaps there was some
Speaker 8: excuse for him. He too had been dressing for the party,
Speaker 8: and all had gone well with him until he came
Speaker 8: to his tie. It is an astounding thing to have
Speaker 8: to tell, but this man, though he knew about stocks
Speaker 8: and chairs, had no real mastery of his tie. Sometimes
Speaker 8: the thing yielded to him without a contest. But there
Speaker 8: were occasions when it would have been better for the
Speaker 8: house if he had swallowed his pride and used a
Speaker 8: made up tie. This was such an occasion. He came
Speaker 8: rushing into the nursery with the crumpled little brute of
Speaker 8: a tie in his hand. Why what is the matter, father,
Speaker 8: dear matter? He yelled, He really yelled, this tie. It
Speaker 8: will not tie. He became dangerously sarcastic. Not round my
Speaker 8: neck round the bed post, oh, yes, twenty times have
Speaker 8: I made it up round the bedpost? But round my neck, no, oh, dear,
Speaker 8: no begs to be excused, he thought. Missus Darling was
Speaker 8: not sufficiently impressed, and he went on sternly, I warn
Speaker 8: you of this mother, that unless this tie is round
Speaker 8: my neck, we don't go out to dinner to night.
Speaker 8: And if I don't go out to dinner tonight, I
Speaker 8: never go to the office again. And if I don't
Speaker 8: go to the office again, you and I starve, and
Speaker 8: our children will be flung into the streets. Even then,
Speaker 8: Missus Darling was placid. Let me try, dear, she said,
Speaker 8: And indeed that was what he had come to ask
Speaker 8: her to do. And with her nice, cool hands, she
Speaker 8: tied his tie for him, while the children stood around
Speaker 8: to see their fate decided. Some men would have resented
Speaker 8: her being able to do it so easily, but mister
Speaker 8: Darling had far too fine a nature for that. He
Speaker 8: thanked her carelessly, at once forgot his rage, and in
Speaker 8: another moment was dancing round the room with Michael on
Speaker 8: his back. How wildly we romped, says missus Darling, now
Speaker 8: recalling it, our last romp. Mister Darling groaned, Oh, George,
Speaker 8: do you remember? Michael suddenly said to me, how did
Speaker 8: you get.
Speaker 1: To know me?
Speaker 8: Mother?
Speaker 6: I remember?
Speaker 8: They were rather sweet, don't you think, George? And they
Speaker 8: were ours ours, and now they are gone. The romp
Speaker 8: had ended with the appearance of Nana, and most unluckily,
Speaker 8: mister Darling collided against her, covering his trousers with hairs.
Speaker 8: They were not only new trousers, but they were the
Speaker 8: first he had ever had with braid on them, and
Speaker 8: he had had to bite his lip to prevent the
Speaker 8: tears coming. Of course, Missus Darling brushed him, but he
Speaker 8: began to talk again about its being a mistake to
Speaker 8: have a dog for a nurse.
Speaker 4: George.
Speaker 8: Nana is a treasure, no doubt, but I have an
Speaker 8: uneasy feeling at times that she looks upon the children
Speaker 8: as puppies. Oh no, dear one, I feel sure she
Speaker 8: knows they have souls. I wonder, mister Darling said thoughtfully,
Speaker 8: I wonder it was an opportunity his wife felt for
Speaker 8: telling him about the boy. At first he poop pooed
Speaker 8: the story, but he became thoughtful when she showed him
Speaker 8: the shadow. It is nobody, I know, he said, examining
Speaker 8: it carefully, but it does look a scoundrel. We were
Speaker 8: still discussing it. You remember, says mister Darling, when Nana
Speaker 8: came in with Michael's medicine. You will never carry the
Speaker 8: bottle in your mouth again, Nana, And it is all
Speaker 8: my fault. Strong man though he was, there is no
Speaker 8: doubt that he had behaved rather foolishly over the medicine.
Speaker 8: If he had a weakness, it was for thinking that
Speaker 8: all his life he had taken medicine boldly. And so
Speaker 8: now when Michael dodged the spoon in Nana's mouth, he
Speaker 8: had said, reprovingly, be a man, Michael, won't, won't? Michael
Speaker 8: cried naughtily. Missus Darling left the room to get a
Speaker 8: chocolate for him, and mister Darling thought this showed want
Speaker 8: of firmness. Mother, don't pamper him, he called after her. Michael,
Speaker 8: when I was your age, I took medicine without a murmur.
Speaker 8: I said, thank you kind parents for giving me bottles
Speaker 8: to make me well. He really thought this was true,
Speaker 8: and Wendy, who was now in her nightgown, believed it also,
Speaker 8: and she said to encourage Michael, that medicine you sometimes take,
Speaker 8: father is much nastier. Isn't it so much nastier? Mister
Speaker 8: Darling said bravely, And I would take it now as
Speaker 8: an example to you, Michael. If I hadn't lost the bottle,
Speaker 8: he had not exactly lost it. He had climbed in
Speaker 8: the dead of night to the top of the wardrobe
Speaker 8: and hidden it there. What he did not know was
Speaker 8: that the faithful Liza had found it and put it
Speaker 8: back on his washstand. I know where it is, father,
Speaker 8: Wendy cried, always glad to be of service. I'll bring it,
Speaker 8: and she was off before he could stop her. Immediately
Speaker 8: his spirit sank in the strangest way. John, he said, shuddering,
Speaker 8: it's most beastly stuff. It's that nasty, sticky, sweet kind.
Speaker 8: It will soon be over, father, John said cheerily, and
Speaker 8: then in rushed Wendy with the medicine in a glass.
Speaker 8: I have been as quick as I could, she panted.
Speaker 8: You have been wonderfully quick. Her father retorted with a
Speaker 8: vindictive politeness that was quite thrown away upon her. Michael first,
Speaker 8: he said doggedly. Father first, said Michael, who was of
Speaker 8: a suspicious nature. I shall be sick, you know, mister
Speaker 8: Darling said threateningly. Come on, Father said John, hold your tongue. John,
Speaker 8: his father rapped out. Wendy was quite puzzled. I thought
Speaker 8: you took it quite easily, father. That is not the point,
Speaker 8: he retorted. The point is that there is more in
Speaker 8: my glass than in Michael's spoon. His proud heart was
Speaker 8: nearly bursting. And it isn't fair. I would say it
Speaker 8: though it were with my last breath. It isn't fair, father.
Speaker 8: I'm waiting, said Michael coldly. It's all very well to
Speaker 8: say you are waiting. So am I waiting? Father's a
Speaker 8: cowardly custard. So are you a cowardly custard? I'm not frightened.
Speaker 8: Neither am I frightened. Well, then take it? Well, then
Speaker 8: you take it. Wendy had a splendid idea. Why not
Speaker 8: both take it at the same time? Certainly, said mister Darling.
Speaker 8: Are you ready Michael. Wendy gave the words one, two, three,
Speaker 8: and Michael took his medicine, but mister Darling slipped his
Speaker 8: behind his back. There was a yell of rage from Michael,
Speaker 8: and oh father, Wendy exclaimed, what you mean by oh, father?
Speaker 8: Mister Darling demanded, stop that row, Michael. I meant to
Speaker 8: take mine, but I I missed it. It was dreadful
Speaker 8: the way all the three were looking at him, just
Speaker 8: as if they did not admire him. Look here, all
Speaker 8: of you, he said entreatingly. As soon as Nana had
Speaker 8: gone into the bathroom. I have just thought of a
Speaker 8: splendid joke. I shall pour my medicine into Nana's bowl
Speaker 8: and she will drink it, thinking it is milk. It
Speaker 8: was the color of milk. But the children did not
Speaker 8: have their father's sense of humor, and they looked at
Speaker 8: him reproachfully as he poured the medicine into Nana's bowl.
Speaker 8: What fun, he said doubtfully, and they did not dare
Speaker 8: expose him. When Missus Darling and Nana returned, Nana, good dog,
Speaker 8: he said, patting her, I have put a little milk
Speaker 8: into your bowl, Nana. Nana wagged her tail, ran to
Speaker 8: the medicine and began lapping it. Then she gave mister
Speaker 8: Darling such a look, not an angry look. She showed
Speaker 8: him the great red tear that makes us so sorry
Speaker 8: for noble day, and crept into her kennel. Mister Darling
Speaker 8: was frightfully ashamed of himself, but he would not give in.
Speaker 8: In a horrid silence, Missus Darling smelt the bowl. Oh George,
Speaker 8: she said, it's your medicine. It was only a joke,
Speaker 8: he roared. While she comforted her boys and Wendy hugged Nana.
Speaker 8: Much good, he said, bitterly, my wearing myself to the bone,
Speaker 8: trying to be funny in this house. And still Wendy
Speaker 8: hugged Nana. That's right, he shouted, Coddle her. Nobody coddles me, Oh, dear, No,
Speaker 8: I am only the breadwinner. Why should I be coddled?
Speaker 4: Why? Why?
Speaker 9: Why?
Speaker 8: George, missus Darling, entreated him.
Speaker 4: Not so loud.
Speaker 8: The servants will hear you. Somehow they had got into
Speaker 8: the way of calling Liza.
Speaker 10: The sir.
Speaker 8: Let them, he answered, recklessly, Bring in the whole world.
Speaker 8: But I refuse to allow that dog to lord it
Speaker 8: in my nursery. For an hour longer. The children wept,
Speaker 8: and Nana ran to him beseechingly, but he waved her back.
Speaker 8: He felt he was a strong man again. In vain,
Speaker 8: In vain, he cried. The proper place for you is
Speaker 8: the yard, and there you go to be tied up.
Speaker 8: This instant George, George, missus Darling whispered, remember what I
Speaker 8: told you about that boy Alas he would not listen.
Speaker 8: He was determined to show who.
Speaker 4: Was master in that house.
Speaker 8: And when commands would not draw Nana from the kennel,
Speaker 8: he lured her out of it with honeyed words, and
Speaker 8: seizing her roughly dragged her from the nursery. He was
Speaker 8: ashamed of himself, and yet he did it. It was
Speaker 8: all owing to his too affectionate nature, which craved for admiration.
Speaker 8: When he had tied her up in the backyard, the
Speaker 8: wretched father went and sat in the passage with.
Speaker 4: His knuckles to his eyes.
Speaker 8: In the meantime, Missus Darling had put the children to
Speaker 8: bed in unwonted silence and lit their night lights. They
Speaker 8: could hear Nana barking, and John whimpered, it is because
Speaker 8: he is chaining her up in the yard. But Wendy
Speaker 8: was wiser. That is not Nana's unhappy bark, she said, little,
Speaker 8: guessing what was about to happen. That is her bark
Speaker 8: when she smells danger.
Speaker 4: Danger.
Speaker 8: Are you sure, Wendy? Oh yes, missus Darling quivered and
Speaker 8: went to the window. It was securely fastened. She looked out,
Speaker 8: and the night was peppered with stars. They were crowding
Speaker 8: round the house, as if curious to see what was
Speaker 8: to take place there. But she did not notice this,
Speaker 8: nor that one or two of the smaller ones winked
Speaker 8: at her, Yet a nameless fear clutched at her heart
Speaker 8: and made her cry, Oh, how I wish that I
Speaker 8: wasn't going to a.
Speaker 4: Party to night.
Speaker 8: Even Michael, already half asleep, knew that she was perturbed,
Speaker 8: and he asked, can anything harmless?
Speaker 4: Mother?
Speaker 8: After the night lights are lit? Nothing precious? She said,
Speaker 8: They are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to
Speaker 8: guard her children. She went from bed to bed, singing
Speaker 8: enchantments over them, and little Michael flung his arms round
Speaker 8: her mother. He cried, I'm glad of you. They were
Speaker 8: the last words she was to hear from him for
Speaker 8: a long time. Number twenty seven was only a few
Speaker 8: yards distant, but there had been a slight fall of snow,
Speaker 8: and father and Mother Darling picked their way over it deftly,
Speaker 8: not to soil their shoes. They were already the only
Speaker 8: persons in the street, and all the stars were watching them.
Speaker 8: Stars are beautiful, but they may not take an active
Speaker 8: part in anything. They must just look on forever. It
Speaker 8: is a punishment put on them for something they did
Speaker 8: so long ago that no star now knows what it was.
Speaker 8: So the older ones have become glassy eyed and seldom speak,
Speaker 8: winking is the star language. But the little ones still wonder.
Speaker 8: They are not really friendly to Peter, who had a
Speaker 8: mischievous way of stealing up behind them and trying to
Speaker 8: blow them out. But they are so fond of fun
Speaker 8: that they were on his side tonight and anxious to
Speaker 8: get the grown ups out of the way. So as
Speaker 8: soon as the door of twenty seven closed on mister
Speaker 8: and missus Darling, there was a commotion in the firmament,
Speaker 8: and the smallest of all the stars in the milky
Speaker 8: way screamed out, now, Peter. End of chapter two.
Speaker 11: Chapter three, come away, come away. For a moment. After
Speaker 11: mister and Missus Darling left the house, the night lights
Speaker 11: by the beds of the three children continued to burn. Clearly.
Speaker 11: They were awfully nice little night lights, and one cannot
Speaker 11: help wishing that they could have kept awake to see Peter.
Speaker 11: But Wendy's light blinked and gave such a yawn that
Speaker 11: the other two yawned also, and before they could close
Speaker 11: their mouths, all the three went out. There was another
Speaker 11: light in the room, now a thousand times brighter than
Speaker 11: the night lights, And in the time we have taken
Speaker 11: to say this, it had been in all the drawers
Speaker 11: in the nursery. Looking for Peter's shadow, rummaged the wardrobe
Speaker 11: and turned every pocket inside out. It was not really
Speaker 11: a light. It made this light by flashing about so quickly.
Speaker 11: But when it came to rest for a second, you
Speaker 11: saw it was a fairy, no longer than your hand,
Speaker 11: but still growing. It was a girl called tinker Bell,
Speaker 11: exquisitely gowned in a skeleton, leaf cut low and square,
Speaker 11: through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage.
Speaker 11: She was slightly inclined to umboonpoin. A moment after the
Speaker 11: fairy's entrance, the window was blown open by the breathing
Speaker 11: of the little stars, and Peter dropped in. He had
Speaker 11: carried tinker Bell part of the way, and his hand
Speaker 11: was still messy with the fairy dust. Tinker Bell, he
Speaker 11: called softly, after making sure that the children were asleep,
Speaker 11: tink where are you? She was in a jug for
Speaker 11: the moment, and liking it extremely. She had never been
Speaker 11: in a jug before. Oh, do come out of that
Speaker 11: jug and tell me. Do you know where they put
Speaker 11: my shadow? The loveliest tinkle as of golden bells answered him.
Speaker 11: It is the fairy language. You ordinary children can never
Speaker 11: hear it, but if you were to hear it, you
Speaker 11: would know that you had heard it once before. Ting
Speaker 11: said that the shadow was in the big box. She
Speaker 11: meant the chest of drawers, and Peter jumped at the drawers,
Speaker 11: scattering their contents to the floor with both hands, as
Speaker 11: King's toss happens to the crowd. In a moment, he
Speaker 11: had recovered his shadow, and in his delight he forgot
Speaker 11: that he had shut tinker Bell up in the drawer.
Speaker 11: If he thought it all but I don't believe he
Speaker 11: ever thought it was that he and his shadow, when
Speaker 11: brought near each other, would join like drops of water,
Speaker 11: and when they did not, he was appalled. He tried
Speaker 11: to stick it on with soap from the bathroom, but
Speaker 11: that also failed. Shudder passed through Peter, and he sat
Speaker 11: on the floor and cried. His sobs woke Wendy, and
Speaker 11: she sat up in bed. She was not alarmed to
Speaker 11: see a stranger crying on the nursery floor. She was
Speaker 11: only pleasantly interested. Boy, she said, courteously, why are you crying?
Speaker 11: Peter could be exceeding polite, also, having learned the grand
Speaker 11: manner at fairy ceremonies and he rose and bowed to
Speaker 11: her beautifully. She was much pleased and bowed beautifully to
Speaker 11: him from the bed. What's your name, he asked, Wendy
Speaker 11: Moira Angela darling. She replied, with some satisfaction, What is
Speaker 11: your name? Peter Pan She was already sure that he
Speaker 11: must be Peter, but it did seem a comparatively short name.
Speaker 11: Is that all? Yes, he said, rather sharply. He felt
Speaker 11: for the first time that it was a shortish name.
Speaker 11: I'm so sorry, said Wendy Mora Angela. It doesn't matter,
Speaker 11: Peter gulped. She asked where he lived. Second to the right,
Speaker 11: said Peter, and then straight on till morning. What a
Speaker 11: funny address? Peter had a sinking. For the first time,
Speaker 11: he felt that perhaps it was a funny address. No
Speaker 11: it isn't, he said, I mean, Wendy said, nicely, remembering
Speaker 11: that she was hostess. Is that what they put on
Speaker 11: the letters? He wished she had not mentioned the letters.
Speaker 11: Don't get any letters, he said, contemptuously. But your mother
Speaker 11: gets letters. Don't have a mother, he said. Not only
Speaker 11: had he no mother, but he had not the slightest
Speaker 11: desire to have one. He thought them very overrated persons. Wendy, however,
Speaker 11: felt at once that she was in the presence of
Speaker 11: a tragedy. Oh, Peter, no wonder you were crying, she said,
Speaker 11: and got out of bed and ran to him. I
Speaker 11: wasn't crying about mothers, he said, rather indignantly. I was
Speaker 11: crying because I can't get my shadow to stick on. Besides,
Speaker 11: I wasn't crying. It has come off. Yes. Then Wendy
Speaker 11: saw the shadow on the floor, looking so draggled, and
Speaker 11: she was frightfully sorry for Peter. How awful, she said,
Speaker 11: But she could not help smiling when she saw that
Speaker 11: he'd been trying to stick it on with soap. How
Speaker 11: exactly like a boy. Fortunately she knew at once what
Speaker 11: to do. It must be sewn on, she said, just
Speaker 11: a little patronizingly. What's sewn? He asked, You're dreadfully ignorant.
Speaker 11: No I'm not, but she was exulting in his ignorance.
Speaker 11: I shall sew it on for you, my little man,
Speaker 11: she said, though he was tall as herself, and she
Speaker 11: got out her housewife and sewed the shadow on to
Speaker 11: Peter's foot. I dare say it will hurt a little,
Speaker 11: she warned him. Oh, I shan't cry said Peter, who
Speaker 11: was already of the opinion that he had never cried
Speaker 11: in his life. And he clenched his teeth and did
Speaker 11: not cry. And soon his shadow was behaving properly, though
Speaker 11: still a little creased. Perhaps I should have ironed it,
Speaker 11: Wendy said thoughtfully. But Peter, boylike, was indifferent to appearances,
Speaker 11: and he was now jumping about in the wildest glee.
Speaker 11: Alas he had already forgotten that he owed his bliss
Speaker 11: to Wendy. He thought he detached the shadow himself. How
Speaker 11: clever I am, he crowed rapturously. Oh, the cleverness of me.
Speaker 11: It is humiliating to have to confess that this conceit
Speaker 11: of Peter was one of his most fascinating qualities. To
Speaker 11: put it with brutal frankness, there never was a cockier boy.
Speaker 11: But for the moment Wendy was shocked. You conceit, she exclaimed,
Speaker 11: with frightful sarcasm. Of course I did nothing, you did
Speaker 11: a little, Peter said, carelessly, and continued to dance a little.
Speaker 11: She replied with hauteur. If I am no use, I
Speaker 11: can at least withdraw, And she sprang in the most
Speaker 11: dignified way into bed and covered her face with the
Speaker 11: blankets to induce her to look up. He pretended to
Speaker 11: be going away, and when this failed, he sat on
Speaker 11: the end of the bed and tapped her gently with
Speaker 11: his foot. Wendy, he said, don't withdraw. I can't help crowing,
Speaker 11: Wendy when I'm pleased with myself. Still, she would not
Speaker 11: look up, though she was listening eagerly. Wendy, he continued
Speaker 11: in a voice, that no woman has ever yet been
Speaker 11: able to resist Wendy. One girl is more use than
Speaker 11: twenty boys. Now, Wendy was every inch a woman, though
Speaker 11: there were not very many inches, and she peeped out
Speaker 11: of the bedclothes. Do you really think so, Peter, Yes,
Speaker 11: I do. I think it's perfectly sweet of you, she declared,
Speaker 11: and I'll get up again, and she sat with him
Speaker 11: on the side of the bed. She also said she
Speaker 11: would give him a kiss if he liked, but Peter
Speaker 11: did not know what she meant, and he held out
Speaker 11: his hand expectantly. Surely you know what a kiss is,
Speaker 11: she asked, aghast I shall know when you give it
Speaker 11: to me. He replied, stiffly, and not to hurt his feeling,
Speaker 11: she gave him a thimble now said he shall I
Speaker 11: give you a kiss? And she replied with a slight primness,
Speaker 11: if you please. She made herself rather cheap by inclining
Speaker 11: her face toward him, but he merely dropped an acorn
Speaker 11: button into her hand. So she slowly returned her face
Speaker 11: to where it had been before, and said nicely that
Speaker 11: she would wear his kiss on the chain around her neck.
Speaker 11: He was lucky that she did put it on that chain,
Speaker 11: for it was afterwards to save her life. When people
Speaker 11: in our set are introduced, it is customary for them
Speaker 11: to ask each other's age, and so Wendy, who always
Speaker 11: liked to do the correct thing, asked Peter how old
Speaker 11: he was. It was not really a happy question to
Speaker 11: ask him. It was like an examination paper that asks grammar,
Speaker 11: when what you want to be asked is kings of England.
Speaker 11: I don't know, he replied uneasily. But I am quite young.
Speaker 11: He really knew nothing about it. He had merely suspicions,
Speaker 11: but he said, at a venture, Wendy, I ran away
Speaker 11: the day I was born. Wendy was quite surprised, but interested,
Speaker 11: and she indicated in the charming drawing room manner by
Speaker 11: a touch on her night gown that he could sit
Speaker 11: nearer her. It was because I heard father and mother,
Speaker 11: he explained in a low voice, Talking about what I
Speaker 11: was to be when I became a man, He was
Speaker 11: extraordinarily agitated. Now I don't want ever to be a man,
Speaker 11: he said, with passion. I want always to be a
Speaker 11: little boy and to have fun. So I ran away
Speaker 11: to Kensington Gardens and lived a long long time among
Speaker 11: the fairies. She gave him a look of the most
Speaker 11: intense admiration, and he thought it was because he had
Speaker 11: run away, but it was really because he knew fairies.
Speaker 11: Wendy had lived such a home life that to know
Speaker 11: fairies struck her as quite delightful. She poured out questions
Speaker 11: about them, to his surprise, for they were rather a
Speaker 11: nuisance to him, getting in his way and so on,
Speaker 11: and indeed he sometimes had to give them a hiding. Still,
Speaker 11: he liked them on the whole, and he told her
Speaker 11: about the beginning of fairies. You see, Wendy, when the
Speaker 11: first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke
Speaker 11: into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about,
Speaker 11: and that was the beginning of fairies. Tedious talk this,
Speaker 11: but being a stay at home. She liked it, and
Speaker 11: so he went on good naturedly. There ought to be
Speaker 11: one fairy for every boy and girl ought to be,
Speaker 11: isn't there no? You see, children know such a lot
Speaker 11: now they soon don't believe in fairies. And every time
Speaker 11: a child says I don't believe in fairies, there is
Speaker 11: a fairy somewhere, that falls down dead. Really, he thought
Speaker 11: they had now talked enough about fairies, and it struck
Speaker 11: him that tinker Bell was keeping very quiet. I can't
Speaker 11: think where she's gone to, he said, rising, and he
Speaker 11: called Tink by. Wendy's heart went flutter with a sudden thrill. Peter,
Speaker 11: she cried, clutching him. You don't mean to tell me
Speaker 11: that there's a fairy in this room. She was here
Speaker 11: just now, he said, a little impatiently. You don't hear her,
Speaker 11: do you? And they both listened. The only sound I hear,
Speaker 11: said Wendy, is like a tinkle of bells. Well, that's
Speaker 11: tink that's the fairy language. I think I hear her too.
Speaker 11: The sound came from the chest of drawers, and Peter
Speaker 11: made a merry face. No one could ever look quite
Speaker 11: so merry as Peter and the loveliest of gurgles was
Speaker 11: his laugh. He had his first laugh. Still, Wendy, he whispered, gleefully,
Speaker 11: I do believe I shut her up in the drawer.
Speaker 11: He let poor Tink out of the drawer, and she
Speaker 11: flew about the nursery, screaming with fury. You shouldn't say
Speaker 11: such things, Peter retorted, of course, I'm very sorry, But
Speaker 11: how could I know you were in the drawer. Wendy
Speaker 11: was not listening to him. Oh, Peter, she cried, if
Speaker 11: she would only stand still and let me see her.
Speaker 11: They hardly ever stand still, he said, But for one moment,
Speaker 11: Wendy saw the romantic figure come to rest on the
Speaker 11: cuckoo clock. Oh the lovely, she cried, though Tink's face
Speaker 11: was still distorted with passion. Tink said, Peter amiably, this
Speaker 11: lady says she wishes you were her fairy. Tinker Bell
Speaker 11: answered insolently, what does she say, Peter? He had to translate.
Speaker 11: She is not very polite. She says you are a
Speaker 11: great ugly girl, and that she is my fairy. He
Speaker 11: tried to argue with Tink, you know you can't be
Speaker 11: my fairy, Tink, because I am a gentleman, and you
Speaker 11: are a lady. To this, Tink replied in these words,
Speaker 11: you silly ass, and disappeared into the bathroom. She is
Speaker 11: quite a common fairy, Peter explained apologetically. She is called
Speaker 11: tinker Bell because she mends the pots and kettles. They
Speaker 11: were together in the arm chair by this time, and
Speaker 11: Wendy plied him with more questions. If you don't live
Speaker 11: in Kensington Gardens now? Sometimes I do still, But where
Speaker 11: do you live? Mostly now with the lost boys? Who
Speaker 11: are they? They are the children who fall out of
Speaker 11: their perambulators when the nurse is looking the other way.
Speaker 11: If they are not claimed in seven days, they are
Speaker 11: sent far away to the Neverland to defray expenses. I'm captain,
Speaker 11: what fun it must be, yes, said cunning Peter. But
Speaker 11: we are rather lonely, you see, we have no female companionship.
Speaker 11: Are none of the others girls?
Speaker 12: Oh?
Speaker 11: No, girls, you know are much too clever to fall
Speaker 11: out of their prams. This flattered Wendy immensely. I think,
Speaker 11: she said, it is perfectly lovely the way you talk
Speaker 11: about girls. John there just despises us for reply. Peter
Speaker 11: rose and kicked John out of bed blankets and all
Speaker 11: one kick. This seemed to Wendy rather forward for a
Speaker 11: first meeting, and she told him with spirit that he
Speaker 11: was not captain in her house. However, John continued to
Speaker 11: sleep so placidly on the floor that she allowed him
Speaker 11: to remain there. And I know you meant to be kind,
Speaker 11: she said, relenting, so you may give me a kiss
Speaker 11: for the moment. She had forgotten his ignorance about kisses.
Speaker 11: I thought you would want it back, he said, a
Speaker 11: little bitterly, and offered to return her the thimble. Oh dear,
Speaker 11: said the nice Wendy. I don't mean a kiss, I
Speaker 11: mean a thimble. What's that? It's like this, she kissed
Speaker 11: him funny, said Peter gravely. Now shall I give you
Speaker 11: a thimble if you wish to, said Wendy, keeping her
Speaker 11: head erect. This time, Peter thimbled her, and almost immediately
Speaker 11: she screeched, what is it, Wendy? It was exactly as
Speaker 11: if some one were pulling my hair. That must have
Speaker 11: been Tink. I never knew her so naughty before, And
Speaker 11: indeed Tink was darting about again using offensive language. She says,
Speaker 11: she will do that to you, Wendy, every time I
Speaker 11: give you a thimble. But why why tink again? Tink replied,
Speaker 11: you silly ass. Peter could not understand why, but Wendy understood,
Speaker 11: and she was just slightly disappointed when he admitted that
Speaker 11: he came to the nursery window not to see her,
Speaker 11: but to listen to stories. You see, I don't know
Speaker 11: any stories. None of the lost boys knows any stories.
Speaker 11: How perfectly awful, Wendy said, do you know, Peter asked,
Speaker 11: why swallows build in the eaves of houses. It is
Speaker 11: to listen to the stories. Oh, Wendy, your mother was
Speaker 11: telling you such a lovely story. Which story was it
Speaker 11: about the prince who couldn't find the lady who wore
Speaker 11: the glass slipper, Peter said, Wendy excitedly, That was Cinderella,
Speaker 11: and he found her and they lived happily ever after.
Speaker 11: Peter was so glad that he rose from the floor
Speaker 11: where they had been seen and hurried to the window.
Speaker 11: Where are you going? She cried with misgiving to tell
Speaker 11: the other boys, don't go, Peter, She entreated, I know
Speaker 11: such lots of stories. Those were her precise words. So
Speaker 11: there can be no denying that it was she who
Speaker 11: first tempted him. He came back, and there was a
Speaker 11: greedy look in his eyes now, which ought to have
Speaker 11: alarmed her, but did not. Oh, the stories I could
Speaker 11: tell to the boys, she cried. And then Peter gripped
Speaker 11: her and began to draw her toward the window. Let
Speaker 11: me go, she ordered him. Wendy, do come with me
Speaker 11: and tell the other boys. Of course, she was very
Speaker 11: pleased to be asked, but she said, oh, dear, I
Speaker 11: can't think of mummy. Besides, I can't fly. I'll teach you, Oh,
Speaker 11: how lovely to fly. I'll teach you how to jump
Speaker 11: on the wind's back, and then away we go. Oh,
Speaker 11: she exclaimed rapturously, Wendy, Wendy, when you are sleeping in
Speaker 11: your silly bed, you might be flying about with me
Speaker 11: saying funny things to the stars. Oh and Wendy, there
Speaker 11: are mermaids, mermaids with tails, such long tails, oh, cried Wendy,
Speaker 11: to see a mermaid. He had become frightfully cunning, Wendy,
Speaker 11: He said, how we should all respect you. She was
Speaker 11: wriggling her body in distress. It was quite as if
Speaker 11: she were trying to remain on the nursery floor. But
Speaker 11: he had no pity for her Wendy, he said, the
Speaker 11: sly one. You could tuck us in at night. Ooh,
Speaker 11: none of us has ever been tucked in at night.
Speaker 13: Oh.
Speaker 11: And her arms went out to him. And you could
Speaker 11: darn our clothes and make pockets for us. None of
Speaker 11: us has any pockets. How could she resist? Of course,
Speaker 11: it's awfully fascinating, she cried, Peter, would you teach John
Speaker 11: and Michael to fly too, if you like? He said indifferently,
Speaker 11: and she ran to John and Michael and shook them.
Speaker 11: Wake up, she cried, Peter, Pan has come and he
Speaker 11: is to teach us to fly. John rubbed his eyes.
Speaker 11: Then I shall get up, he said, Of course, he
Speaker 11: was on the floor already. Hello, he said, I am up.
Speaker 11: Michael was up by this time, also looking as sharp
Speaker 11: as a knife with six blades and a saw. But
Speaker 11: Peter suddenly signed silence. Their faces assumed the awful craftiness
Speaker 11: of children listening for sounds from the grown up world.
Speaker 11: Paul was as still as salt. Then everything was right. No, stop,
Speaker 11: everything was wrong. Nana, who'd been barking distressfully all the evening,
Speaker 11: was quiet. Now it was her silence. They had heard
Speaker 11: out with the light hide quick cried John, taking command
Speaker 11: for the only time throughout the whole adventure. And thus,
Speaker 11: when Liza entered holding Nana, the nursery seemed quite its
Speaker 11: old self, very dark, and you would have sworn you
Speaker 11: heard its three wicked inmates breathing angelically as they slept.
Speaker 11: They were really doing it artfully from behind the window curtains.
Speaker 11: Liza was in a bad temper, for she was mixing
Speaker 11: the Christmas puddings in the kitchen and had been drawn
Speaker 11: from them with a raisin still on her cheek by
Speaker 11: Nana's absurd suspicions. She thought the best way of getting
Speaker 11: a little quiet was to take Nana to the nursery
Speaker 11: for a moment. But in custody, of course, there, you
Speaker 11: suspicious brute, she said, not sorry that Nana was in disgrace.
Speaker 11: They are perfectly safe, aren't they. Every one of the
Speaker 11: little angels sound asleep in bed, listened to their gentle breathing. Here, Michael,
Speaker 11: encouraged by his success, breathe so loudly that they were
Speaker 11: nearly detected. Nana knew that kind of breathing, and she
Speaker 11: tried to drag herself out of Liza's clutches, but Liza
Speaker 11: was dense. No more of it, Nana, she said, sternly,
Speaker 11: pulling her out of the room. I warn you, if
Speaker 11: bark again, I shall go straight from Master and Missus
Speaker 11: and bring them home from the party. And then, oh,
Speaker 11: won't Master whip you? Just she tied the unhappy dog
Speaker 11: up again. But do you think Nana ceased to bark
Speaker 11: bring Master and Missus home from the party? Why? That
Speaker 11: was just what she wanted. Do you think she cared
Speaker 11: whether she was whipped, so long as her charges were safe. Unfortunately,
Speaker 11: Liza returned to her puddings, and Nana, seeing that no
Speaker 11: help would come from her, strained and strained the chain
Speaker 11: until at last she broke it. In another moment, she
Speaker 11: burst into the dining room of twenty seven and flung
Speaker 11: up her paws to heaven, her most expressive way of
Speaker 11: making a communication. Mister and Missus Darling knew at once
Speaker 11: that something terrible was happening in their nursery, and without
Speaker 11: a good bye to their hostess, they rushed into the street.
Speaker 11: But it was now ten minutes since three scoundrels had
Speaker 11: been breathing behind the curtains, and Peter Pan can do
Speaker 11: a great deal in ten minutes we now returned to
Speaker 11: the nursery. It's all right, John announced, emerging from his
Speaker 11: hiding place. I say, Peter, can you really fly? Instead
Speaker 11: of troubling to answer him, Peter flew around the room,
Speaker 11: taking the mantelpiece on the way. How topping, said John
Speaker 11: and Michael. How sweet, cried Wendy. Yes I'm sweet, Oh
Speaker 11: I am sweet, said Peter, forgetting his manners again. It
Speaker 11: looked delightfully easy, and they tried it first from the
Speaker 11: floor and then from the beds, but they always went
Speaker 11: down instead of up. I say, how do you do it?
Speaker 11: Asked John, rubbing his knee. He was quite a practical boy.
Speaker 11: You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts, Peter explained, And they
Speaker 11: lift you up in the air. He showed them again.
Speaker 11: You're so nippy at it, John said, couldn't you do
Speaker 11: it very slowly? Once Peter did it both slowly and quickly.
Speaker 11: I've got it now, Wendy, cried John. But soon he
Speaker 11: found he had not Not one of them could fly
Speaker 11: an inch, though even Michael was in words of two syllables,
Speaker 11: and Peter did not know a from Z. Of course,
Speaker 11: Peter had been trifling with them for no one can
Speaker 11: fly unless the fairy dust has been blown on him. Fortunately,
Speaker 11: as we have mentioned, one of his hands was messy
Speaker 11: with it, and he blew some one each of them
Speaker 11: with the most superb results. Now just wiggle your shoulders
Speaker 11: this way, he said, and let go. They were all
Speaker 11: on their beds, and gallant Michael let go first. He
Speaker 11: did not quite mean to let go, but he did it,
Speaker 11: and immediately he was born. Across the room. I flewed,
Speaker 11: he screamed, while still in mid air. John let go
Speaker 11: and met Wendy near the bathroom. Oh lovely, oh ripping,
Speaker 11: Look at me, Look at me, look at me. They
Speaker 11: were not nearly so elegant as Peter. They could not
Speaker 11: help kicking a little, but their heads were bobbing against
Speaker 11: the ceiling. And there is almost nothing so delicious as that.
Speaker 11: Peter gave Wendy a hand at first, but had to desist.
Speaker 11: Tink was so indignant. Up and down they went, the
Speaker 11: round and round. Heavenly was Wendy's word, I say, cried John,
Speaker 11: Why shouldn't we all go out? Of course it was
Speaker 11: to this that Peter had been luring them. Michael was ready.
Speaker 11: He wanted to see how long it took him to
Speaker 11: do a billion miles, but Wendy hesitated. Mermaids, said Peter again. Ooh,
Speaker 11: and there are pirates. Pirates, cried John, seizing his Sunday hat,
Speaker 11: let us go at once. It was just at this
Speaker 11: moment that mister and Missus Darling hurried with Nana out
Speaker 11: of twenty seven. They ran into the middle of the
Speaker 11: street to look up at the nursery window. And yes,
Speaker 11: it was still shut, but the room was ablaze with
Speaker 11: light and most heart gripping sight of all they could
Speaker 11: see in shadow on the curtain three little figures in
Speaker 11: night attire, circling round and round, not on the floor,
Speaker 11: but in the air, not three figures.
Speaker 14: Four.
Speaker 11: In a tremble, they opened the street door. Mister Darling
Speaker 11: would have rushed upstairs, but Missus Darling signaled him to
Speaker 11: go softly. She even tried to make her heart go softly.
Speaker 11: Will they reach the nursery in time? If so, how
Speaker 11: delightful for them, and we shall all breathe a sigh
Speaker 11: of relief. But there will be no story. On the
Speaker 11: other hand, if they are not in time, I solemnly
Speaker 11: promise that it will all come right. In the end.
Speaker 11: They would have reached the nursery in time, had it
Speaker 11: not been that the little stars were watching them? Once again,
Speaker 11: the stars blew the window open, and that smallest star
Speaker 11: of all called out Cave Peter. Then Peter knew that
Speaker 11: there was not a moment to lose. Come. He cried
Speaker 11: imperiously and stared out at once into the night, followed
Speaker 11: by John and Michael and Wendy. Mister and Missus, Darling
Speaker 11: and Nana rushed into the nursery too late. The birds
Speaker 11: were flown end of chapter three, Chapter four, the flight.
Speaker 14: Second to the right and straight on till morning. That
Speaker 14: Peter had told Wendy was the way to the Neverland.
Speaker 14: But even birds carrying maps and consulting them at Wendy
Speaker 14: Corners couldnt have sighted it with these instructions. Peter, you see,
Speaker 14: just said anything that came into his head. At first.
Speaker 14: His companions trusted him implicitly, and so great were the
Speaker 14: delights of flying that they wasted time circling round church
Speaker 14: spires or any of their tall objects on the way
Speaker 14: that took their fancy. John and Michael raced Michael getting
Speaker 14: a start. They recalled with contempt that not so long
Speaker 14: ago they had thought themselves fine fellows for being able
Speaker 14: to fly round a room not long ago, but how
Speaker 14: long ago? They were flying over the sea before this
Speaker 14: thought began to disturb Wendy seriously, John thought it was
Speaker 14: their second sea, and their third night. Sometimes it was
Speaker 14: dark and sometimes light, And now they were very cold
Speaker 14: and again too warm. Did they really feel hungry at times?
Speaker 14: Or were they merely pretending because Peter had such a
Speaker 14: jolly new way of feeding them. His way was to
Speaker 14: pursue birds who had food in their mouths suitable for
Speaker 14: humans and snatch it from them. Then the birds would
Speaker 14: follow and snatch it back, and they would all go
Speaker 14: chasing each other gaily for miles, parting at last with
Speaker 14: mutual expressions of good will. But Wendy noticed with gentle
Speaker 14: concern that Peter did not seem to know that this
Speaker 14: was rather an odd way of getting your bread and butter,
Speaker 14: nor even that there were other ways. Certainly they did
Speaker 14: not pretend to be sleepy. They were sleepy, and that
Speaker 14: was a danger. For the moment they popped off down
Speaker 14: they fell. The awful thing was that Peter thought this funny.
Speaker 14: There he goes again. He would cry gleefully as Michael
Speaker 14: suddenly dropped like a stone, Save him, save him, cried Wendy,
Speaker 14: looking with horror at the cruel sea far below. Eventually
Speaker 14: Peter would dive through the air and catch Michael just
Speaker 14: before he could strike the sea. And it was lovely
Speaker 14: the way he did it. But he always waited till
Speaker 14: the last moment, and you felt it was his cleverness
Speaker 14: that interested him and not the saving of human life. Also,
Speaker 14: he was fond of her, and the sport then grossed
Speaker 14: in one moment would suddenly cease to engage him. So
Speaker 14: there was always the possibility that the next time you fell,
Speaker 14: he would let you go. He could sleep in the
Speaker 14: air without falling, by merely lying on his back and floating.
Speaker 14: But this was partly at least because he was so
Speaker 14: light that if he got behind him in blue, he
Speaker 14: went faster. Do be more polite to him, Wendy whispered
Speaker 14: to John when they were playing Follow My Leader. Then
Speaker 14: tell him to stop showing off, said John. When playing
Speaker 14: Follow My Leader, Peter would fly close to the water
Speaker 14: and touch each shark's tail in passing, just as in
Speaker 14: the street you may run your finger along an iron railing.
Speaker 14: They cannot follow him in this with much success, so
Speaker 14: perhaps it was rather like showing off, especially as he
Speaker 14: kept looking behind to see how many tails they missed.
Speaker 14: You must be nice to him, Wendy impressed upon her brothers.
Speaker 14: What could we do if he were to leave us?
Speaker 14: We could go back, Michael said, how could we ever
Speaker 14: find our way back without him? Well, then we could
Speaker 14: go on, said John. That is the awful thing. John,
Speaker 14: We should have to go on, for we don't know
Speaker 14: how to stop. This was true. Peter had forgotten to
Speaker 14: show them how to stop. John said that if the
Speaker 14: worst came to the worst, all they had to do
Speaker 14: was to go straight on, for the world was round,
Speaker 14: and so in time they must come back to their
Speaker 14: own window. And who is to get food for us? John?
Speaker 14: I nipped a bit out of that eagle's mouth pretty neatly, Wendy.
Speaker 14: After the twentieth try, Wendy reminded him, and even though
Speaker 14: we became good at picking up food, see how we
Speaker 14: bump against clouds and things. If he is not near
Speaker 14: to give us a hand. Indeed, they were constantly bumping.
Speaker 14: They could now fly strongly, though they still kicked far
Speaker 14: too much. But if they saw a cloud in front
Speaker 14: of them, the more they tried to avoid it, the
Speaker 14: more certainly did they bump into it. If Nana had
Speaker 14: been with them, she would have had a bandage round
Speaker 14: Michael's forehead. By this time. Peter was not with them
Speaker 14: for the moment, and they felt rather lonely up there
Speaker 14: by themselves. He could go so much faster than they
Speaker 14: that he would suddenly shoot out of sight to have
Speaker 14: some adventure in which they had no share. He would
Speaker 14: come down laughing over something fearfully funny he had been
Speaker 14: saying to a star, but he had already forgotten what
Speaker 14: it was, or he would come up with mermaid scales
Speaker 14: still sticking to him, and yet not be able to
Speaker 14: say for certain what had been happening. It was really
Speaker 14: rather irritating to children who had never seen a mermaid.
Speaker 14: And if he forgets them so quickly, Wendy argued, how
Speaker 14: can we expect he will go on remembering us. Indeed,
Speaker 14: sometimes when he returned he did not remember them, at
Speaker 14: least not well. Wendy was sure of it. She saw
Speaker 14: recognition come into his eyes as he was about to
Speaker 14: pass them the time of day and go on. Once
Speaker 14: even she had to call him by name. I'm Wendy,
Speaker 14: she said, agitatedly. He was very sorry. I say Wendy,
Speaker 14: he whispered to her. Always, if you see me forgetting
Speaker 14: you just keep on saying I'm Wendy, and then I'll remember.
Speaker 14: Of course, this was rather unsatisfactory. However, to make amends,
Speaker 14: he showed them how to lie out flat on a
Speaker 14: strong wind that was going their way. And this was
Speaker 14: such a pleasant change that they tried it several times
Speaker 14: and found that they could sleep thus with security. Indeed,
Speaker 14: they would have slept longer, but Peter tired quickly of sleeping,
Speaker 14: and soon he would cry in his captain's voice, we
Speaker 14: get off here. So with occasional tips, but on the
Speaker 14: whole rollicking they drew near the Neverland. For after many
Speaker 14: moons did they reach it. And what is more, they
Speaker 14: had been going pretty straight all the time, not perhaps
Speaker 14: so much owing to the guidance of Peter or Tink
Speaker 14: as because the island was looking for them. It was
Speaker 14: only thus that any one may sight those magic shores. There,
Speaker 14: it is, said Peter, calmly, where where where all the
Speaker 14: arrows are pointing? Indeed a million golden arrows were pointing
Speaker 14: it out to the children, all directed by their friend
Speaker 14: the Sun, who wanted them to be sure of their way.
Speaker 14: Before leaving them for the night, Wendy and John and
Speaker 14: Michael stood on tiptoe in the air to get their
Speaker 14: first sight of the island. Strange to say, they all
Speaker 14: recognized it at once, and until fear fell upon them,
Speaker 14: they hailed it not as something long dreamt of and
Speaker 14: seen at last, but as a familiar friend to whom
Speaker 14: they were returning home for the holidays. John, there is
Speaker 14: the lagoon, Wendy. Look the turtles burying their eggs in
Speaker 14: the sand, I say, John, I see your flamingo with
Speaker 14: the broken leg. Look, Michael, there's your cave. John. What's
Speaker 14: that in the brushwood? It's a wolf with her whelps, Wendy,
Speaker 14: I do believe that's your little whelp. There's my boat, John,
Speaker 14: WHI her sides stove in? No, it isn't why we
Speaker 14: burned your boat. That's her at any rate, I say, John,
Speaker 14: I see the smoke of the redskin camp. Where show
Speaker 14: me and I'll tell you by the way smoke curls
Speaker 14: whether there are on the war path there just to
Speaker 14: cross the mysterious river. I see now, Yes, they are
Speaker 14: on the war path right enough. Peter was a little
Speaker 14: annoyed with them for knowing so much. But if he
Speaker 14: wanted to lord it over them, his triumph was at hand.
Speaker 14: For Heaven not told you that anon fear fell upon them.
Speaker 14: It came as the arrows went leaving the island in gloom.
Speaker 14: In the old days at home, the Neverland had always
Speaker 14: begun to look a little dark and threatening by bedtime.
Speaker 14: Then unexplored patches arose in it, and spread black shadows
Speaker 14: moved about in them. The roar of the beasts of
Speaker 14: prey was quite different now, and above all, you lost
Speaker 14: the certainty that you would win. You were quite glad
Speaker 14: that the night lights were on. You even liked Nana
Speaker 14: to say that this was just the mantelpiece over here,
Speaker 14: and that the Neverland was all make believe. Of course,
Speaker 14: the Neverland had been make believe in those days. But
Speaker 14: it was real now, and there were no night lights,
Speaker 14: and it was getting darker every moment, And where was Nana?
Speaker 14: They had been flying apart, but they huddled close to Peter.
Speaker 14: Now his careless manner had gone at last. His eyes
Speaker 14: were sparkling, and a tingle went through them every time
Speaker 14: they touched his body. They were now over the fearsome island,
Speaker 14: flying so low that sometimes a tree he grazed their feet.
Speaker 14: Nothing horrid was visible in the air, Yet their progress
Speaker 14: had become slow and labored exactly as if they were
Speaker 14: pushing their way through hostile forces. Sometimes they hung in
Speaker 14: the air until Peter had beaten on it with his fists.
Speaker 14: They don't want us to land, he explained, Who are they?
Speaker 14: Wendy whispered, shuddering, But he could not or would not say.
Speaker 14: Tinker Bell had been asleep on his shoulder, but now
Speaker 14: he wakened her and sent her on in front. Sometimes
Speaker 14: he poised himself in the air, listening intently with his
Speaker 14: hand to his ear, and again he would stare down
Speaker 14: with eyes so bright that they seemed to bore two
Speaker 14: holes to earth. Having done these things, he went on again.
Speaker 14: His courage was almost appalling. Would she like an adventure now,
Speaker 14: he said casually to John, or would you like to
Speaker 14: have your tea first? Wendy said tea first quickly, and
Speaker 14: Michael pressed her hand in gratitude. But the braver John hesitated.
Speaker 14: What kind of adventure? He asked, cautiously, there's a pirate
Speaker 14: to sleep in the pumpas just beneath us. Peter told
Speaker 14: him if you like we'll go down and kill him.
Speaker 14: I don't see him, John said, after a long pause.
Speaker 4: I do.
Speaker 14: Suppose, John said a little huskily, he were to wake up.
Speaker 14: Peter spoke indignantly. You don't think I would kill him
Speaker 14: while he was sleeping. I would wake him first and
Speaker 14: then kill him. That's the way I always do. I say,
Speaker 14: do you kill many tons? John said, how ripping, but
Speaker 14: decided to have tea first. He asked if there were
Speaker 14: many pirates on the island just now, and Peter said
Speaker 14: he had never known so many. Who is captain now?
Speaker 14: Hook answered Peter, and his face became very stern as
Speaker 14: he said that hated word. Just Hook. I then, indeed,
Speaker 14: Michael began to cry, and even John could speak in gulps,
Speaker 14: only for they knew Hook's reputation. He was Blackbeard's bosin.
Speaker 14: John whispered huskily. He's the worst of them all. He's
Speaker 14: the only man of whom Barbecue was afraid. That's him,
Speaker 14: said Peter. What is he like? Is he big? He's
Speaker 14: not so big as he was. How do you mean
Speaker 14: I cut off a bit of him?
Speaker 2: You?
Speaker 14: Yes, me, said Peter sharply. I wasn't meaning to be disrespectful.
Speaker 14: Oh all right, but uh, as I say, which bit
Speaker 14: his right hand? Then he can't fight now? Oh? Can he?
Speaker 14: Just left hander? He has an iron hook instead of
Speaker 14: a right hand, and he claws with it. Claws, I say,
Speaker 14: John said Peter. Yes, say ay ay sir, ay ay sir.
Speaker 14: There is one thing, Peter continued, that every boy who
Speaker 14: serves under me has to promise, and so must you,
Speaker 14: John Paled.
Speaker 11: It is this.
Speaker 14: If we meet hook and open fight, you must leave
Speaker 14: him to me. I promise, John said loyally. For the moment,
Speaker 14: they were feeling less eerie because Tink was flying with them,
Speaker 14: and in her light they could distinguish each other. Unfortunately,
Speaker 14: she cannot fly so slowly as they, and so she
Speaker 14: had to go round and round them in a circle
Speaker 14: in which they moved as in a halo. Wendy quite
Speaker 14: liked it, until Peter pointed out the drawbacks. She tells me,
Speaker 14: He said that the pirates sighted us before the darkness came,
Speaker 14: and got long tom out the big gun. Yes, and
Speaker 14: of course they must see her light, and if they
Speaker 14: guess we are near it, they are sure to let
Speaker 14: fly Wendy. John Michael tell her to go away at
Speaker 14: once Peter. The three cried simultaneously, but he refused. She
Speaker 14: thinks we have lost the way, he replied stiffly, And
Speaker 14: she is rather frightened. You don't think I would send
Speaker 14: her away all by herself. When she's frightened for a moment,
Speaker 14: the circle of light was broken, and something gave Peter
Speaker 14: a loving little pinch. Then tell her Wendy begged to
Speaker 14: put out her light. She can't put it out. That
Speaker 14: is about the only thing fairies can't do. It just
Speaker 14: goes out of itself when she falls asleep, same as
Speaker 14: the stars. Then tell her to sleep at once. John
Speaker 14: almost ordered, she can't sleep except when she's sleepy. It
Speaker 14: is the only other thing fairies can't do, seems to me,
Speaker 14: growled John, These are the only two things worth doing.
Speaker 11: Here.
Speaker 14: He got a pinch, but not a loving one. If
Speaker 14: only one of us had a pocket, Peter said, we
Speaker 14: could carry her in it. However, they had set off
Speaker 14: in such a hurry that there was not a pocket
Speaker 14: between the four of em. He had a happy idea,
Speaker 14: John's hat. Tink agreed to travel by hat if it
Speaker 14: was carried in the hand. John carried it. Though she
Speaker 14: had hoped to be carried by Peter. Presently, Wendy took
Speaker 14: the hat because John said it struck against his knee
Speaker 14: as he flew, and this, as we shall see, led
Speaker 14: to mischief, for tinker Bell hated to be under an
Speaker 14: obligation to Wendy. In the black topper. The light was
Speaker 14: completely hidden, and they flew on in silence. It was
Speaker 14: the stillest silence they had ever known, broken once by
Speaker 14: a distant lapping, which Peter explained was the wild beasts
Speaker 14: drinking at the ford, and again by a rasping sound
Speaker 14: that might have been the branches of trees rubbing together,
Speaker 14: but he said it was the redskins sharpening their knives.
Speaker 14: Even these noises ceased. To Michael, the loneliness was dreadful.
Speaker 14: If only something would make a sound, he cried, as
Speaker 14: of In answer to his request, the air was rent
Speaker 14: by the most tremendous crash he had ever heard. The
Speaker 14: pirates had fired long tom at them. The roar of
Speaker 14: it echoed through the mountains, and the echo seemed to
Speaker 14: cry savagely, where are they? Where are they?
Speaker 11: Where are they?
Speaker 14: Thus sharply that the terrified three learned the difference between
Speaker 14: an island of make believe and the same island come true.
Speaker 14: When at last the heavens were steady again, John and
Speaker 14: Michael found themselves alone in the darkness. John was treading
Speaker 14: the air mechanically, and Michael, without knowing how to float,
Speaker 14: was floating. Are you shot, John whispered tremulously. I haven't
Speaker 14: tried myself out yet, Michael whispered back. We know now
Speaker 14: that no one had been hit. Peter, however, had been
Speaker 14: carried by the wind of the shot far out to sea,
Speaker 14: while Wendy was blown upwards with no companion but tinker Bell.
Speaker 14: It would have been well for Wendy if at that
Speaker 14: moment she had dropped the hat. I don't know whether
Speaker 14: the idea came suddenly to Tink or whether she had
Speaker 14: planned it on the way, but she at once popped
Speaker 14: out of the hat and began to lure Wendy to
Speaker 14: her destruction. Tink was not all bad, or rather, she
Speaker 14: was all bad just now. But on the other hand,
Speaker 14: sometimes she was all good. Fairies have to be one
Speaker 14: thing or the other, because being so small, they unfortunately
Speaker 14: have room for one feeling only at a time. They are, however,
Speaker 14: allowed to change, only it must be a complete change.
Speaker 14: At present, she was full of jealousy of Wendy. What
Speaker 14: she said in her lovely tinkle. Wendy could not, of
Speaker 14: course understand, but I believe some of it was bad words,
Speaker 14: but it sounded kind. And she flew back and forward, plainly,
Speaker 14: meaning follow me and all will be well. What else
Speaker 14: could poor Wendy do? She called to Peter and John
Speaker 14: and Michael, and got only mocking echoes in reply. She
Speaker 14: did not yet know that Tink hated her with the
Speaker 14: fierce hatred of a very woman, And so bewildered and
Speaker 14: now staggering in her flight, she followed Tink to her doom.
Speaker 14: End of chapter four.
Speaker 13: Chapter five, The Island come true, Feeling that Peter was
Speaker 13: on his way back. The Neverland had again woken to life.
Speaker 13: We ought to use the plue perfect and say wakened,
Speaker 13: but woke is better, and was always used by Peter
Speaker 13: in his absence. Things are usually quiet on the island.
Speaker 13: The fairies take an hour longer in the morning. The
Speaker 13: beasts attend to their young, The redskins feed heavily for
Speaker 13: six days and nights, and when pirates and lost boys
Speaker 13: meet they merely bite their thumbs at each other. But
Speaker 13: with the coming of Peter, who hates lethargy. They are
Speaker 13: under weigh again. If you put your ear to the
Speaker 13: ground now, you would hear the whole island seething with life.
Speaker 13: On this evening the chief forces of the island were
Speaker 13: disposed as follows. The lost Boys were out looking for Peter.
Speaker 13: The pirates were out looking for the lost boys. The
Speaker 13: Redskins were out looking for the pirates. And the beasts
Speaker 13: were out looking for the Redskins. They were going round
Speaker 13: and round the island, but they did not meet, because
Speaker 13: all were going at the same rate. All wanted blood,
Speaker 13: except the boys, who liked it as a rule. But
Speaker 13: tonight were out to greet their captain. The boys on
Speaker 13: the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they
Speaker 13: get killed and so on, And when they seemed to
Speaker 13: be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins
Speaker 13: them out. But at this time there were six of them,
Speaker 13: counting the twins as two. Let us pretend to lie
Speaker 13: here among the sugar cane and watch them as they
Speaker 13: steal by in single file, each with his hand on
Speaker 13: his dagger. They are forbidden by Peter to look in
Speaker 13: the least like him, and they wear the skins of
Speaker 13: the bears slain by themselves, in which they are so
Speaker 13: round and furry that when they fall they roll. They
Speaker 13: have therefore become very sure footed. The first to pass
Speaker 13: is Tootles, not the least brave, but the most unfortunate
Speaker 13: of all that gallant band. He had been in fewer
Speaker 13: adventures than any of them, because the big things constantly
Speaker 13: happened just when he had stepped round the corner, all
Speaker 13: would be quiet. He would take the opportunity of going
Speaker 13: off to gather a few sticks for firewood, and then
Speaker 13: when he returned, the others would be sweeping up the blood.
Speaker 13: This ill luck had given a gentle melancholy to his countenance,
Speaker 13: but instead of souring his nature, had sweetened it, so
Speaker 13: that he was quite the humblest of the boys. Poor kind, Tootles,
Speaker 13: there is danger in the air for you tonight. Take
Speaker 13: care less. An adventure is now offered you, which, if accepted,
Speaker 13: will plunge you in deepest woe, Toodles. The fairy tink
Speaker 13: who is bent on mischief this night, is looking for
Speaker 13: a tool, and she thinks you are the most easily
Speaker 13: tricked of the boys. But ware tinker Bell would that
Speaker 13: he could hear us, but we are not really on
Speaker 13: the island, and he passes by biting his knuckles. Next
Speaker 13: comes Nibs, the Gay and Debonair, followed by Slightly, who
Speaker 13: cuts whistles out of the trees and dances ecstatically to
Speaker 13: his own tunes. Slightly is the most conceited of the boys.
Speaker 13: He thinks he remembers the days before he was lost
Speaker 13: with their manners and customs, and this has given his
Speaker 13: nose an offensive tilt. Curly is fourth. He is a pickle,
Speaker 13: and so often has he had to deliver up his person.
Speaker 13: When Peter said, sternly, stand forth, the one who did
Speaker 13: this thing that now at the command, he stands forth automatically,
Speaker 13: whether he has done it or not. Last come the twins,
Speaker 13: who cannot be described, because we should be sure to
Speaker 13: be describing the wrong one. Peter never quite knew what
Speaker 13: twins were, and his band were not allowed to know
Speaker 13: anything he did not know. So these two were always
Speaker 13: vague about themselves and did their best to give satisfaction
Speaker 13: by keeping close together in an apologetic sort of way.
Speaker 13: The boys vanish in the gloom, and after a pause,
Speaker 13: but not a long pause, for things go briskly on
Speaker 13: the island. Come the pirates on their track. We hear
Speaker 13: them before they are seen, and it is always the
Speaker 13: same dreadful song, A vast belay yoho heftu a pirting
Speaker 13: we go, and if we're parted by a shot, we're
Speaker 13: sure to meet below. A more villainous looking lot never
Speaker 13: hung in a row on execution. Doc here a little
Speaker 13: in advance, ever and again, with his head to the ground,
Speaker 13: listening his great arms bare pieces of eight in his
Speaker 13: ears as ornaments. Is the handsome Italian Seco who cut
Speaker 13: his name in letters of blood on the back of
Speaker 13: the governor of the prison at Gao. That gigantic black
Speaker 13: behind him has had many names since he dropped, the
Speaker 13: one with which dusky mothers still terrify their children on
Speaker 13: the banks of the Guadjomeo. Here is Bill Jukes, every
Speaker 13: inch of him tattooed, the same Bill Jukes who got
Speaker 13: six dozen on the walrus from Flint before he would
Speaker 13: drop the bag of Mordores and Cookson said to be
Speaker 13: Black Murphy's brother, but this was never proved. And gentlemen,
Speaker 13: Starkey wants an usher in a public school, and still
Speaker 13: dainty in his ways of killing, and skylights Morgan's skylights,
Speaker 13: and the Irish Bosun Smee, an oddly genial man who stabbed,
Speaker 13: so to speak, without offense, and was the only nonconformist
Speaker 13: in Hook's crew, and Noodler whose hands were fixed on backwards,
Speaker 13: and Robert Mullins and Alf Mason, and many another ruffian
Speaker 13: long known and feared on the Spanish main. In the
Speaker 13: midst of them, the blackest and largest in that dark
Speaker 13: setting reclined James Hook, or as he wrote himself j A. S. Hook,
Speaker 13: of whom it is said he was the only man
Speaker 13: that the sea cook feared. He lay at his ease
Speaker 13: in a rough chariot, drawn and propelled by his men,
Speaker 13: and instead of a right hand he had the iron hook,
Speaker 13: with which ever and anon he encouraged them to increase
Speaker 13: their pace. As dogs, this terrible man treated and addressed them,
Speaker 13: and as dogs they obeyed him. In person, he was
Speaker 13: cadaverous and blackavised, and his hair was dressed in long curls,
Speaker 13: which at a little distance looked like black candles, and
Speaker 13: gave a singularly threatening expression to his handsome countenance. His
Speaker 13: eyes were of the blue of the forget me not,
Speaker 13: and of a profound melancholy, save when he was plunging
Speaker 13: his hook into you, at which time two red spots
Speaker 13: appeared in them and lit them up horribly. In manner,
Speaker 13: something of the grand seigneur still clung to him, so
Speaker 13: that he even ripped you up with an air. And
Speaker 13: I have been told that he was a raconteur of repute.
Speaker 13: He was never more sinister than when he was most polite,
Speaker 13: which is probably the truest test of breeding, and the
Speaker 13: elegance of his diction even when he was swearing, no
Speaker 13: less than the distinction of his demeanor showed him one
Speaker 13: of a different cast from his crew, a man of
Speaker 13: indomitable courage. It was said that the only thing he
Speaker 13: shied at was the sight of his own blood, which
Speaker 13: was thick and of an unusual color. In Drassees somewhat
Speaker 13: aped the attire associated with the name of Charles the Second,
Speaker 13: having heard it said in some earlier period of his career,
Speaker 13: that he bore a strange resemblance to the ill fated Stuarts.
Speaker 13: And in his mouth he had a holder of his
Speaker 13: own contrivance, which enabled him to smoke two cigars at once.
Speaker 13: But undoubtedly the grimest part of him was his iron claw.
Speaker 13: Let us now kill a pirate to show Hook's method.
Speaker 13: Skylights will do. As they pass. Skylights lurches clumsily against him,
Speaker 13: ruffling his lace collar. The hook shoots forth. There is
Speaker 13: a tearing sound in one screech. Then the body is
Speaker 13: kicked aside, and the pirates pass on. He has not
Speaker 13: even taken the cigars from his mouth. Such is the
Speaker 13: terrible man against whom Peter Pan is pitted, which will win.
Speaker 13: On the trail of the pirates, stealing noiselessly down the
Speaker 13: war path which is not visible to inexperienced eyes, come
Speaker 13: the Redskins, every one of them with his eyes peeled.
Speaker 13: They carry tomahawks and knives, and their naked bodies gleam
Speaker 13: with paint and oil. Strung around them are scalps of
Speaker 13: boys as well as pirates. For these are the Piccaninny tribe,
Speaker 13: and not to be confused with the softer hearted Delawares
Speaker 13: or the Hurons in the van. On all fours is great,
Speaker 13: big little Panther, a brave of so many scalps that,
Speaker 13: in his present position they somewhat impede his progress. Bringing
Speaker 13: up the rear, the place of greatest danger, comes Tiger
Speaker 13: lily proudly erect a princess in her own right. She
Speaker 13: is the most beautiful of dusky dianas, and the bell
Speaker 13: of the pickaninnies, coquettish, cold and amorous. By turns, there
Speaker 13: is not a brave who would not have the wayward
Speaker 13: thing to wife. But she stays off the altar with
Speaker 13: a hatchet. Serve how they pass over fallen twigs without
Speaker 13: making the slightest noise. The only sound to be heard
Speaker 13: is their somewhat heavy breathing. The fact is that they
Speaker 13: are all a little fat just now after the heavy gorging.
Speaker 13: But in time they will work this off. For the moment, however,
Speaker 13: it constitutes their chief danger. The redskins disappear as they
Speaker 13: have come, like shadows, and soon their place is taken
Speaker 13: by the beasts, a great and motley procession lions, tigers, bears,
Speaker 13: and the innumerable smaller savage things that flee from them.
Speaker 13: For every kind of beast, and more particularly, all the
Speaker 13: man eaters live cheek by jowl on the favored island.
Speaker 13: Their tongues are hanging out. They are hungry. Tonight, when
Speaker 13: they have passed, comes the last figure of all, a
Speaker 13: gigantic crocodile, we shall see for whom she is looking. Presently,
Speaker 13: the crocodile passes, but soon the boys appear again. For
Speaker 13: the procession must continue indefinitely until one of the parties
Speaker 13: stops or changes its pace. Then quickly they will be
Speaker 13: on top of each other. All are keeping a sharp
Speaker 13: lookout in front, but none suspects that the danger may
Speaker 13: be creeping up from behind. This shows how real the
Speaker 13: island was. The First to fall out of the moving
Speaker 13: circle was the boys. They flung themselves down on the sward,
Speaker 13: close to their underground home. I do wish Peter would
Speaker 13: come back, every one of them said nervously, though in
Speaker 13: height and still more in breadth, they were all larger
Speaker 13: than their captain. I am the only one who is
Speaker 13: not afraid of the pirates, slightly, said, in the tone
Speaker 13: that prevented his being a general favorite. But perhaps some
Speaker 13: distant sound disturbed him, for he added hastily, but I
Speaker 13: wish he would come back and tell us whether he
Speaker 13: has heard anything more about Cinderella. They talked of Cinderella,
Speaker 13: and Tootles was confident that his mother must have been
Speaker 13: very like her. It was only in Peter's absence that
Speaker 13: they could speak of mothers, the subject being forbidden by
Speaker 13: him as silly. All I remember about my mother, NIBBs
Speaker 13: told them, is that she often said to my father, Oh,
Speaker 13: how I wish I had a check book of my own.
Speaker 13: I don't know what a check book is, but I
Speaker 13: should just love to give my mother one. While they talked,
Speaker 13: they heard a distant sound. You or I, not being
Speaker 13: wild things of the woods, would have heard nothing, But
Speaker 13: they heard it. And it was the grim song, yo, yo,
Speaker 13: the pirate life, the flag of skull and bones, a
Speaker 13: very hour hemp and rope and hay for Davy Jones
Speaker 13: at once the lost boys. But where are they? They
Speaker 13: are no longer there Rabbits could not have disappeared more quickly.
Speaker 13: I will tell you where they are, with the exception
Speaker 13: of Nibs, who has darted away to reconnoiter. They are
Speaker 13: already in their home under the ground, a very delightful
Speaker 13: residence of which we shall see a good deal presently.
Speaker 13: But how have they reached it? For there is no
Speaker 13: entrance to be seen, not so much as a large stone, which,
Speaker 13: if rolled away, would disclose the mouth of a cave.
Speaker 13: Look closely, however, and you may note that there are
Speaker 13: here seven large trees, each with a hole in its
Speaker 13: hollow trunk as large as a boy. These are the
Speaker 13: seven entrances to the home under the ground for which
Speaker 13: Hook has been searching in vain. These many moons will
Speaker 13: he find it to night? As the pirates advanced, the
Speaker 13: quick eye of Starkey sighted Nibs disappearing through the wood.
Speaker 13: Had at once his pistol flashed out, but an iron
Speaker 13: claw gripped his shoulder. Captain let go, he cried, writhing.
Speaker 13: Now for the first time we hear the voice of Hook.
Speaker 13: It was a black voice. Put back that pistol first,
Speaker 13: it said, threateningly. It was one of those boys you hate.
Speaker 13: I could have shot him dead, aye, and the sound
Speaker 13: would have brought Tiger Lily's redskins upon us. Do you
Speaker 13: want to lose your scalp? Shall I after him? Captain asked,
Speaker 13: pathetic Smee, and tickle him with Johnny corkscrew. Smee had
Speaker 13: pleasant names for everything, and his cutlass was Johnny corkscrew
Speaker 13: because he wiggled it in the wound. One could mention
Speaker 13: many lovable traits in Smee. For instance, after killing it
Speaker 13: was his spectacles he wiped instead of his weapon. Johnny's
Speaker 13: a silent fellow, he reminded Hook. Not now, Smee, Hook
Speaker 13: said darkly, he is only one, and I want to
Speaker 13: mischief all the seven scatter and look for them. The
Speaker 13: pirates disappeared among the trees, and in a moment their
Speaker 13: captain and Smee were alone. Hook heaved a heavy sigh.
Speaker 13: And I know not why it was. Perhaps it was
Speaker 13: because of the soft beauty of the evening. But there
Speaker 13: came over him a desire to confide to his faithful
Speaker 13: Bosun the story of his life. He spoke long and earnestly.
Speaker 13: But what it was all about. Smee, who was rather stupid,
Speaker 13: did not know. In the least anon he caught the
Speaker 13: word Peter. Most of all, Hook was saying, passionately, I
Speaker 13: want their captain Peter pan. Twas he cut off my arm,
Speaker 13: he brandished the hook threateningly. I've waited long to shake
Speaker 13: his hand with this. Oh I'll tear him. And yet,
Speaker 13: said Smee, I have I've often heard you say that
Speaker 13: hook was worth a score of hands for combing the
Speaker 13: hair and other homely uses. Aye, the captain answered, if
Speaker 13: I was a mother, I would pray to have my
Speaker 13: children born with this instead of that. And he cast
Speaker 13: a look of pride upon his iron hand, and one
Speaker 13: of scorn upon the other. Then again he frowned. Peter
Speaker 13: flung my arm, he said, wincing to a crocodile that
Speaker 13: happened to be passing by. I have often, said, smee,
Speaker 13: noticed your strange dread of crocodile's Not of crocodile's, Hook
Speaker 13: corrected him. But of that one crocodile. He lowered his voice.
Speaker 13: It liked my arm so much me that it has
Speaker 13: followed me ever since, from sea to sea and from
Speaker 13: land to land, licking its lips for the rest of me.
Speaker 13: In a way, said smee. It's sort of a compliment.
Speaker 13: I want no such compliments, Hook barked petulantly. I want
Speaker 13: Peter Pan, who first gave the brute its taste for me.
Speaker 13: He sat down on a large mushroom, and now there
Speaker 13: was a quiver in his voice. Smee. He said, huskily,
Speaker 13: that crocodile would have had me before this, but by
Speaker 13: a lucky chance, it swallowed a clock which goes tick
Speaker 13: tick inside it, and so before it can reach me,
Speaker 13: I hear the tick and bolt, he laughed, but in
Speaker 13: a hollow way. Some day, said smee. The clock will
Speaker 13: run down and then he'll get you. Hook wetted his
Speaker 13: dry lips. Aye, he said, that's the fear that haunts me,
Speaker 13: since sitting down he had felt curiously warm. Smee, he said,
Speaker 13: this seed is hot. He jumped up, odds Bob's hammer
Speaker 13: and tongs, I'm burning. They examined the mushroom, which was
Speaker 13: of a size and solidity unknown on the mainland. They
Speaker 13: tried to pull it up, and it came away at
Speaker 13: once in their hands, for it had no root. Strangers still,
Speaker 13: smoke began at once to ascend. The pirates looked at
Speaker 13: each other a chimney. They both exclaimed they had indeed
Speaker 13: discovered the chimney of the home under the ground. It
Speaker 13: was the custom of the boys to stop it with
Speaker 13: a mushroom when enemies were in the neighborhood. Not only
Speaker 13: smoke came out of it, there came also children's voices.
Speaker 13: For so safe did the boys feel in their hiding place,
Speaker 13: that they were gaily chattering. The pirates listened grimly, and
Speaker 13: then replaced the mushroom. They looked around them and noted
Speaker 13: the holes in the seven trees. Did you hear them say,
Speaker 13: Peter pan from home? Smee whispered, fidgeting with Johnny corkscrew.
Speaker 13: Hook nodded. He stood for a long time, lost in thought,
Speaker 13: and at last a curdling smile lit up his swarthy face.
Speaker 13: Smee have been waiting for it. Han, rip your plan, captain,
Speaker 13: he cried, eagerly to return to the ship. Hook replied
Speaker 13: slowly through his teeth, and cook a large, rich cake
Speaker 13: of a jolly thickness with green sugar on it. There
Speaker 13: can be but one room below, for there is but
Speaker 13: one chimney. The silly moles had not the sense to
Speaker 13: see that they did not need a door apiece. That
Speaker 13: shows they have no mother. We will leave the cake
Speaker 13: on the shore of the mermaid's lagoon. These boys are
Speaker 13: always swimming about there, playing with the mermaids. They will
Speaker 13: find the cake and they will gobble it up, because
Speaker 13: having no mother, they don't know how dangerous it is
Speaker 13: to eat rich damp cake. He burst into laughter, not
Speaker 13: hollow laughter now, but honest laughter.
Speaker 11: Ha ha ha.
Speaker 13: They will die. Smee had listened with growing admiration. It's
Speaker 13: the wickedest, prettiest policy ever I heard of he cried,
Speaker 13: and in their exultation they danced and sang a vast belay.
Speaker 13: When I appeared by fear there overtook roots left upon
Speaker 13: your bones. When you have shaken claws will hook. They
Speaker 13: began the verse, but they never finished it, for another
Speaker 13: sound broke in and stilled them. There was at fort
Speaker 13: such a tiny sound that a leaf might have fallen
Speaker 13: on it and smothered it. But as it came nearer
Speaker 13: it was more distinct.
Speaker 14: Dick Dick, Dick, dick.
Speaker 13: Hook stood shuddering, one foot in the air. The crocodile.
Speaker 13: He gasped, and bounded away, followed by his bo'sun It
Speaker 13: was indeed the crocodile. It had passed the Redskins, who
Speaker 13: were now on the trail of the other pirates. It
Speaker 13: oozed on after hook. Once more, the boys emerged into
Speaker 13: the open, But the dangers of the night were not
Speaker 13: yet over. For presently nibs rushed breathless into their midst
Speaker 13: pursued by a pack of wolves. The tongues of the
Speaker 13: pursuers were hanging out. The baying of them was horrible.
Speaker 7: Save me, Save me.
Speaker 13: Cried nibs, falling on the ground. But what can we do,
Speaker 13: what can we do? It was a high compliment to
Speaker 13: Peter that at that dire moment their thoughts turned to him.
Speaker 13: What would Peter do, they cried simultaneously, almost in the
Speaker 13: same breath. They cried, Peter would look at them through
Speaker 13: his legs, and then let us do what Peter would do.
Speaker 13: It is quite the most successful way of defying wolves.
Speaker 13: And as one boy they'd bent and looked through their legs.
Speaker 13: The next moment is the long one. But victory came quickly,
Speaker 13: for as the boys advanced upon them in the terrible attitude,
Speaker 13: the wolves dropped their tails and fled. Now Nibs rose
Speaker 13: from the ground, and the others thought that his staring
Speaker 13: eyes still saw the wolves. But it was not wolves
Speaker 13: he saw. I have seen a wonderfuller thing, he cried,
Speaker 13: as they gathered round him eagerly. A great white bird
Speaker 13: it is flying this way. What kind of a bird
Speaker 13: do you think? I don't know, Nibs said, awestruck. But
Speaker 13: it looks so weary, and as it flies it moans,
Speaker 13: poor Wendy, Poor Wendy, I remember, said slightly instantly. There
Speaker 13: are birds called Wendy's. See it comes, cried curly. Pointing
Speaker 13: to Wendy in the heavens. Wendy was now almost overhead,
Speaker 13: and they could hear her plaintive cry. But more distinct
Speaker 13: came the shrill voice of tinker Bell. The jealous fairy
Speaker 13: had now cast off all diskies of friendship and was
Speaker 13: darting at her victim from every direction, pinching savagely each
Speaker 13: time she touched. Hello, Tink, cried the wondering boys. Tink's
Speaker 13: reply rang out, Peter, want you to shoot the Wendy.
Speaker 13: It was not in their nature to question when Peter ordered.
Speaker 13: Let us do what Peter wishes, cried the simple boys.
Speaker 13: Quick bows and arrows. All but Tootles popped down their trees.
Speaker 13: He had a bow and arrow with him, and Tink
Speaker 13: noted it and rubbed her little hands. Quick, Toodles, Quick,
Speaker 13: she screamed, Peter will be so pleased. Toodles excitedly fitted
Speaker 13: the arrow to his bow. Out of the way, Tink,
Speaker 13: He shouted, and then he fired, and Wendy fluttered to
Speaker 13: the ground with an arrow in her breast. End of chapter.
Speaker 9: Chapter six, the little house foolish Tootles was standing like
Speaker 9: a conqueror over Wendy's body when the other boys sprang
Speaker 9: armed from their trees. You are too late, he cried proudly.
Speaker 9: I have shot the Wendy. Peter will be so pleased
Speaker 9: with me. Overhead, tinker Bell shouted, silly ass and darted
Speaker 9: into hiding. The others did not hear her. They crowded
Speaker 9: round Wendy, and as they looked, a terrible silence fell
Speaker 9: upon the wood. If Wendy's heart had been beating, they
Speaker 9: would have all heard it. Slightly was the first to speak.
Speaker 9: This is no bird, he said, in a scared voice.
Speaker 9: I think this must be a lady. A lady, said Tootles,
Speaker 9: and fell a trembling. And we have killed her, Nibs
Speaker 9: said hoarsely. They all whipped off their caps. Now I see, curly,
Speaker 9: said Peter was bringing her to us. He threw himself
Speaker 9: sorrowfully on the ground. A lady to take care of
Speaker 9: us at last, said one of the twins, And you
Speaker 9: have killed her. They were sorry for him, but sorry
Speaker 9: for themselves, and when he took a step nearer they
Speaker 9: turned from him. Tootle's face was very white, but there
Speaker 9: was a dignity about him now that there never had
Speaker 9: been before. I did it, he said, reflecting when ladies
Speaker 9: used to come to me in dreams, I always said,
Speaker 9: pretty mother, Pretty mother. But when at last she really came,
Speaker 9: I shot her. He moved slowly away. It don't go,
Speaker 9: they called, in pity. I must, he answered, shaking, I
Speaker 9: am so afraid of Peter. It was at this tragic
Speaker 9: moment that they heard a sound which made the heart
Speaker 9: of every one of them rise to his mouth. They
Speaker 9: heard Peter, Crow, Peter, they cried, for it was always
Speaker 9: thus that he signaled his return.
Speaker 6: Hide her.
Speaker 9: They whispered and gathered hastily around Wendy, but Tootles stood
Speaker 9: aloof Again there came that ringing crow, and Peter dropped
Speaker 9: in front of them. Greetings, boys, he cried, and mechanically
Speaker 9: they saluted, and then again was silence. He frowned. I
Speaker 9: am back, he said, hotly. Why do you not cheer?
Speaker 9: They opened their mouths, but the cheers would not come.
Speaker 9: He overlooked it in his haste to tell the glorious tidings.
Speaker 9: Great news, boys, he cried, I have brought at last
Speaker 9: a mother for you all. Still no sound except a
Speaker 9: little thud from Toodles as he dropped.
Speaker 6: On his knees.
Speaker 9: Have you not seen her? Asked Peter, becoming troubled. She
Speaker 9: flew this way, ah me, one voice said, Another said,
Speaker 9: oh mournful day. Toodles rose Peter, he said quietly, I
Speaker 9: will show her to you. And when the others would
Speaker 9: still have hidden her, he said, back, twins, let Peter see.
Speaker 9: So they all stood back and let him see. And
Speaker 9: after he had looked for a little time, he did
Speaker 9: not know what to do next. She is dead, he said, uncomfortably,
Speaker 9: and perhaps she is frightened at being dead. He thought
Speaker 9: of hopping off in a comic sort of way till
Speaker 9: he was out of sight of her, and then never
Speaker 9: going near the spot any more. They all would have
Speaker 9: been glad to follow him if he had done this.
Speaker 9: But there was the arrow. He took it from her
Speaker 9: heart and faced his band. Whose arrow he demanded, sternly, lying,
Speaker 9: Peter said, Tootles on his knees. Oh dastard hand, Peter said,
Speaker 9: and he raised the arrow to use it as a dagger.
Speaker 9: Toodles did not flinch. He bared his breast. Strike, Peter,
Speaker 9: he said, firmly. Strike true. Twice did Peter raise the arrow,
Speaker 9: and twice did his hand fall. I cannot strike, he said,
Speaker 9: with Awe, there is something which stays my hand. All
Speaker 9: looked at him in wonder, save Nibs, who fortunately looked
Speaker 9: at Wendy. It is she, he cried, the Wendy lady.
Speaker 9: See her arm, wonderful to relate. Wendy had raised her arm.
Speaker 9: Nibs bent over her and listened reverently. I think she said,
Speaker 9: poor tootles. He whispered, she lives, Peter said, briefly, slightly
Speaker 9: cried instantly.
Speaker 6: The Wendy lady lives.
Speaker 9: Then Peter knelt beside her and found his button. You
Speaker 9: remember she had placed it on the chain that she
Speaker 9: wore around her neck. See, he said, the arrow struck
Speaker 9: against this. It is the kiss I gave her. It
Speaker 9: has saved her life. I remember kisses slightly interposed. Quickly,
Speaker 9: let me see it, Aye, there's a kiss. Peter did
Speaker 9: not hear him. He was begging Wendy to get better
Speaker 9: quickly so that he could show her the mermaids. Of course,
Speaker 9: she could not answer yet, being still in a frightful faint.
Speaker 9: But from overhead came a wailing note. Listen to Tink
Speaker 9: said curly, she is crying because the Wendy lives. Then
Speaker 9: they had to tell Peter of Tink's crime, and almost
Speaker 9: never had they seen him look so stern. Listen, tinker Bell,
Speaker 9: he cried, I am your friend, no more be gone
Speaker 9: from me forever. She flew on to his shoulder and pleaded,
Speaker 9: but he brushed her off. Not until Wendy raised her
Speaker 9: arm did he relent sufficiently to say, well, not forever,
Speaker 9: but for a whole week. Do you think the tinker
Speaker 9: Bell was grateful to Wendy for raising her arm? Oh, dear, No,
Speaker 9: never wanted to pinch her so much. Fairies are indeed strange,
Speaker 9: and Peter, who understood them best, often cuffed them. But
Speaker 9: what to do with Wendy in her present delicate state
Speaker 9: of health? Let us carry her into the house, curly, suggested,
Speaker 9: I said, slightly. That is what one does with ladies. No, no,
Speaker 9: Peter said, you must not touch her. It would not
Speaker 9: be sufficiently respectful. That said, slightly is what I was thinking.
Speaker 9: But if she lies there, Tootles said, she will die. Ay,
Speaker 9: she will die, slightly admitted. But there is no way out. Yes,
Speaker 9: there is, cried Peter. Let us build a little house
Speaker 9: round her. They were all delighted. Quick he ordered them,
Speaker 9: bring me, each of you the best of what we
Speaker 9: have got out the house be sharp. In a moment,
Speaker 9: they were as busy as Taylor's the night before a wedding.
Speaker 9: They scurried this way and that down for betting, up
Speaker 9: for firewood. And while they were at it, who should
Speaker 9: appear but John and Michael. As they dragged up along
Speaker 9: the ground, they fell asleep, standing, stopped, woke up, moved
Speaker 9: another feet and slept again. John John Michael would cry,
Speaker 9: wake up, where is Nana? John and mother? And then
Speaker 9: John would rub his eyes and mutter, it is true
Speaker 9: we did fly, you may be sure. They were very
Speaker 9: relieved to find Peter. Hello, Peter, they said, Hello, replied
Speaker 9: Peter amicably, though he had quite forgotten them. He was
Speaker 9: very busy at the moment, measuring Wendy with his feet
Speaker 9: to see how large a house she would need. Of course,
Speaker 9: he meant to leave room for chairs and a table.
Speaker 9: John and Michael watched him. Is Wendy asleep? They asked?
Speaker 6: Yes.
Speaker 9: John Michael proposed let us wake her and get her
Speaker 9: to make supper for us. But as he said, at
Speaker 9: some of the other boys rushed on carrying branches for
Speaker 9: building the house. Look at them, he cried curly, said
Speaker 9: Peter in his most captainly voice. See that these boys
Speaker 9: help in the building of the house. Aye aye, sir,
Speaker 9: build a house, exclaimed John. For the Wendy said Curly.
Speaker 9: For Wendy, John said, aghast why she is only a girl?
Speaker 9: That explained Curly, is why we are her servants. You
Speaker 9: Wendy's servants, yes, said Peter, And you also away with them.
Speaker 9: The astounded brothers were dragged away to hack and hue
Speaker 9: and carry chairs and defender. First, Peter wrotered, then we
Speaker 9: should build a house around them, I said, slightly. That
Speaker 9: is how a house is built. It all comes back
Speaker 9: to me. Peter thought of everything slightly. He cried, fetch
Speaker 9: a doctor, aye, aye, said slightly at once, then disappeared,
Speaker 9: scratching his head. But as he knew Peter must be obeyed,
Speaker 9: he returned in a moment, wearing John's hat and looking solemn. Please, sir,
Speaker 9: said Peter, going to him, Are you a doctor? The
Speaker 9: difference between him and the other boys at such a
Speaker 9: time was that they knew it was make believe, while
Speaker 9: to him, make believe and true were exactly the same thing.
Speaker 9: This sometimes troubled them, as when they had to make
Speaker 9: believe that they had their dinners. If they broke down,
Speaker 9: and they make believe he wrapped them on the knuckles. Yes,
Speaker 9: my little man, Slightly anxiously replied, who had chapped knuckles? Please, Sir,
Speaker 9: Peter explained, A lady lies very ill. She was lying
Speaker 9: at their feet. But Slightly had the sense not to
Speaker 9: see her look. He said, where does she lie? In
Speaker 9: yonder glade? I will put a glass thing in her mouth,
Speaker 9: said Slightly, and he made believe to do it while
Speaker 9: Peter waited. It was an anxious moment. When the glass
Speaker 9: thing was withdrawn, How is she inquired? Peter un said slightly.
Speaker 9: This has cured her. I am glad, said Peter. I
Speaker 9: will call again in the evening. Slightly said give her
Speaker 9: beef tea out of a cup with a spout to it.
Speaker 9: But after he had returned the hat to John, he
Speaker 9: blew big breaths, which was his habit on escaping from
Speaker 9: a difficulty. In the meantime, the wood had been alive
Speaker 9: with the sound of axes. Almost everything needed for a
Speaker 9: cozy dwelling already lay at Wendy's feet. If we only knew,
Speaker 9: said one, the kind of house she likes, bas Peter shouted, another,
Speaker 9: she is moving in her sleep. Her mouth opens, cried
Speaker 9: a third, looking respectfully into it. Oh, lovely, Perhaps she's
Speaker 9: going to sing in her sleep, said Peter. Wendy sing
Speaker 9: the kind of house you would like to have. Immediately,
Speaker 9: without opening her eyes, Wendy began to sing, I wish
Speaker 9: I had a pretty house, the littlest ever seen, with
Speaker 9: funny little red head walls and roof of mossy green.
Speaker 9: They gurgled with joy at this, for by the greatest
Speaker 9: good luck, the branches they had brought were sticky with
Speaker 9: red sap, and all the ground was carpeted with moss.
Speaker 9: As they rattled up the little house, they broke into
Speaker 9: song themselves. We've built the little walls in ruth and
Speaker 9: made a lovely door. So tell us, mother, Wendy, what
Speaker 9: are you wanting more to this? She answered greedily, Oh really, Next,
Speaker 9: I think I'll have gay windows all about, with roses
Speaker 9: peeping in, you know, and babies peeping out. With a
Speaker 9: blow of their fist, they made windows and large yellow
Speaker 9: leaves with the blinds. But roses, roses, cried Peter sternly.
Speaker 9: Quickly they made believe to grow the loveliest roses up
Speaker 9: the walls babies. To prevent Peter ordering babies, they hurried
Speaker 9: into song again. We've made the roses peeping out. The
Speaker 9: babes are at the door. We cannot make ourselves, you know,
Speaker 9: cause we've been made before. Peter, seeing this to be
Speaker 9: a good idea, at once, pretended that it was his own.
Speaker 9: The house was quite beautiful, and no doubt Wendy was
Speaker 9: very cozy within, though of course they could no longer
Speaker 9: see her. Peter strode up and down, ordering finishing touches.
Speaker 9: Nothing escaped his eagle eyes. Just when it seemed absolutely finished,
Speaker 9: there's no knocker on the door, he said. They were
Speaker 9: very ashamed, but Tootles gave the sole of his shoe
Speaker 9: and it made an excellent knocker. Absolutely finished now, they thought,
Speaker 9: not a bit of it. There's no chimney, said Peter.
Speaker 9: We must have a chimney. It certainly does need a chimney,
Speaker 9: said John. Importantly, that gave Peter an idea. He snatched
Speaker 9: the hat off John's head, knocked out the bottom, and
Speaker 9: put the hat on the roof the little house. Was
Speaker 9: so pleased to have such a cap, Jimmy, that, as
Speaker 9: if to say thank you, smoke immediately began to come
Speaker 9: out of the hat. Now, really and truly it was finished.
Speaker 9: Nothing remained to do but to knock. All look your best,
Speaker 9: Peter warned them. First impressions are awfully important. He was
Speaker 9: glad no one asked him what first impressions are? They
Speaker 9: were all too busy looking their best. He knocked politely,
Speaker 9: and now the wood was as still as the children.
Speaker 9: Not a sound to be heard, except from tinker Bell,
Speaker 9: who was watching from a branch and openly sneering. What
Speaker 9: the boys was wondering was would anyone answer the knock
Speaker 9: If a lady, what would she be like? The door
Speaker 9: opened and the lady came out. It was Wendy. They
Speaker 9: all whipped off their hats. She looked properly surprised, and
Speaker 9: this was just how they had hoped she would.
Speaker 6: Look Where am I?
Speaker 12: She said?
Speaker 9: Of course slightly. Was the first to get his word in. Wendy, lady,
Speaker 9: He said rapidly, for you weave with this house. Oh
Speaker 9: say you're pleased, cried Nibs. Lovely darling house, Wendy said,
Speaker 9: And they were the very words they had hoped she
Speaker 9: would say. And we are your children, cried the twins.
Speaker 9: They all went on their knees and holding out their arms, cried, Oh, Wendy, lady,
Speaker 9: be our muff ought I, Wendy said, all shining. Of course,
Speaker 9: it's frightfully fascinating. But you see, I'm only a little girl.
Speaker 9: I have no real experience. That doesn't matter, said Peter,
Speaker 9: as if he were the only person present who knew
Speaker 9: at all about it, though he was really the one
Speaker 9: who knew least. What we need is just a nice
Speaker 9: motherly person. Oh, dear Wendy said, you see, I feel
Speaker 9: that is exactly what I am. It is, it is,
Speaker 9: they all cried, we saw it at once, very well,
Speaker 9: she said, I will do my best. Come inside at once.
Speaker 9: You not eat, children. I am sure your feet are damp.
Speaker 9: And before I put you to bed, I have just
Speaker 9: time to finish the story of Cinderella. In they went.
Speaker 9: I don't know how there was room for them, but
Speaker 9: you can squeeze very tight in Neverland. And that was
Speaker 9: the first of the many joyous evenings they had with Wendy.
Speaker 9: By and by she tucked them up in the great
Speaker 9: bed in the home under the trees, but she herself
Speaker 9: slept that night in the little house, and Peter kept
Speaker 9: watch outside with drawn sword, for the pirates could be
Speaker 9: heard carousing far away, and the wolves were on the prowl.
Speaker 9: The little house looked so cozy and safe in the darkness,
Speaker 9: with a bright light showing through its blow, and the
Speaker 9: chimneys smoking beautifully, and Peter standing on guard. After a
Speaker 9: time he fell asleep, and some unsteady fairies had to
Speaker 9: climb over him on their way home from an orgy.
Speaker 9: Any of the other boys obstructing the ferry path at night,
Speaker 9: they would have mischief, but they just tweaked Peter's nose
Speaker 9: and passed.
Speaker 2: On Chapter seven, The Home under the Ground. One of
Speaker 2: the first things Peter did next day was to measure
Speaker 2: Wendy and John and Michael for hollow trees. Hook You
Speaker 2: remember had sneered at the boys for thinking they needed
Speaker 2: a tree apiece, but this was ignorance, for unless your
Speaker 2: tree fitted you, it was difficult to go up and down,
Speaker 2: and no two of the boys were quite the same size.
Speaker 2: Once you fitted, you drew in your breath at the top,
Speaker 2: and down you went at exactly the right speed, while
Speaker 2: to ascend you drew in and let out alternately, and
Speaker 2: so wriggled up. Of course, when you have mastered the action.
Speaker 2: You are able to do these things without thinking of them,
Speaker 2: and nothing can be more graceful. But you simply must fit,
Speaker 2: and Peter measures you for your tree as carefully as
Speaker 2: for a suit of clothes, the only difference being that
Speaker 2: the clothes are made to fit you, while you have
Speaker 2: to be made to fit the tree. Usually it is
Speaker 2: done quite easily, as by your wearing too many garments
Speaker 2: or too few. But if you are bumpy in awkward places,
Speaker 2: or the only available tree is an odd shape, Peter
Speaker 2: does some things to you, and after that you fit.
Speaker 2: Once you fit, great care must be taken to go
Speaker 2: on fitting, and this, as Wendy was to discover to
Speaker 2: her delight, keeps a whole family in perfect condition. Wendy
Speaker 2: and Michael fitted their trees at the first try, but
Speaker 2: John had to be altered a little. After a few
Speaker 2: days practice, they could go up and down as gaily
Speaker 2: as buckets in a well, and how ardently they grew
Speaker 2: to love their home under the ground, especially Wendy. It
Speaker 2: consisted of one large room, as all houses should do,
Speaker 2: with a floor in which you could dig if you
Speaker 2: wanted to go fishing, and in this floor grew stout
Speaker 2: mushrooms of a charming color, which were used as stools.
Speaker 2: A never tree tried hard to grow in the center
Speaker 2: of the room, but every morning they sawed the trunk
Speaker 2: through level with the floor. By tea time, it was
Speaker 2: always about two feet high, and then they put a
Speaker 2: door on top of it, the hole thus becoming a table.
Speaker 2: As soon as they cleared away, they sawed off the
Speaker 2: trunk again, and thus there was more room to play.
Speaker 2: There was an enose rmous fireplace, which was in almost
Speaker 2: any part of the room where you cared to light it,
Speaker 2: and across this Wendy stretched strings made of fiber, from
Speaker 2: which she suspended her washing. The bed was tilted against
Speaker 2: the wall by day and let down at six thirty,
Speaker 2: when it filled nearly half the room, and all the
Speaker 2: boys slept in it except Michael, lying like sardines in
Speaker 2: a tin. There was a strict rule against turning round
Speaker 2: until one gave the signal when all turned at once.
Speaker 2: Michael should have used it also, but Wendy would have
Speaker 2: a baby, and he was the littlest, and you know
Speaker 2: what women are. And the short and long of it
Speaker 2: is that he was hung up in a basket. It
Speaker 2: was rough and simple, and not unlike what baby bears
Speaker 2: would have made of an underground house in the same circumstances.
Speaker 2: But there was one recess in the wall, no larger
Speaker 2: than a birdcage, which was the private apartment of tinker Bell.
Speaker 2: It could be shut off from the rest of the
Speaker 2: house by a tiny curtain, which Tink, who was most fastidious,
Speaker 2: always kept drawn when dressing or undressing. No woman, however large,
Speaker 2: could have had a more exquisite boudoir and bedchamber combined.
Speaker 2: The couch, as she always called it, was a genuine
Speaker 2: queen mab with club legs, and she varied the bedspreads
Speaker 2: according to what fruit blossom was in season. Her mirror
Speaker 2: was a puss in boots, of which there are now
Speaker 2: only three unchipped known to fairy dealers. The washstand was
Speaker 2: pie crust and reversible, the chest of drawers and authentic
Speaker 2: charming the sixth and the carpet and rugs the best.
Speaker 2: The early period of Marjorie and Robin, there was a
Speaker 2: chandelier from Tiddley Winks for the look of the thing,
Speaker 2: but of course she lit the residence herself. Tink was
Speaker 2: very contemptuous of the rest of the house, as indeed
Speaker 2: was perhaps inevitable, and her chamber, though beautiful, looked rather conceited,
Speaker 2: having the appearance of a nose permanently turned up. I
Speaker 2: suppose it was all especially entrancing to Wendy because those
Speaker 2: rampageous boys of hers gave her so much to do. Really,
Speaker 2: there were whole weeks when, except perhaps with a stocking
Speaker 2: in the evening, she was never above ground. The cooking,
Speaker 2: I can tell you, kept her nose to the pot,
Speaker 2: and even if there was nothing in it, even if
Speaker 2: there was no pot, she had to keep watching that
Speaker 2: it came a boil just the same. You never exactly
Speaker 2: knew whether there would be a real meal or just
Speaker 2: a make believe. It all depended upon Peter's whim. He
Speaker 2: could eat, really eat if it was part of a game,
Speaker 2: but he could not stodge just to feel stodgy, which
Speaker 2: is what most children like better than anything else. The
Speaker 2: next best thing being to talk about it. Make believe
Speaker 2: was so real to him that during a meal of it,
Speaker 2: you could see him getting round her. Of course it
Speaker 2: was trying, but you simply had to follow his lead.
Speaker 2: And if you could prove to him that you were
Speaker 2: getting loose for your tree, he let you stodge. Wendy's
Speaker 2: favorite time for sewing and darning was after they had
Speaker 2: all gone to bed. Then, as she expressed it, she
Speaker 2: had a breathing time for herself, and she occupied it
Speaker 2: in making new things for them and putting double p
Speaker 2: pieces on the knees, for they were all most frightfully
Speaker 2: hard on their knees. When she sat down to a
Speaker 2: basketful of their stockings, every heel with a hole in it,
Speaker 2: she would fling up her arms and exclaim, oh, dear,
Speaker 2: I am sure I sometimes think spinsters are to be envied.
Speaker 2: Her face beamed when she exclaimed this. You remember about
Speaker 2: her pet wolf, Well, it very soon discovered that she
Speaker 2: had come to the island, and it found her out,
Speaker 2: and they just ran into each other's arms. After that,
Speaker 2: it followed her about everywhere as time wore on. Did
Speaker 2: she think much about the beloved parents she had left
Speaker 2: behind her? This is a difficult question, because it is
Speaker 2: quite impossible to say how time does wear on in
Speaker 2: the Neverland and where it is calculated by moons and suns,
Speaker 2: and there are ever so many more of them than
Speaker 2: on the mainland. But I am afraid that Wendy did
Speaker 2: not really worry about her father and mother. She was
Speaker 2: absolutely confident that they would always keep the window open
Speaker 2: for her to fly back by, and this gave her
Speaker 2: complete ease of mind. What did disturb her at times
Speaker 2: was that John remembered his parents vaguely, only as people
Speaker 2: he had once known, while Michael was quite willing to
Speaker 2: believe that she was really his mother. These things scared
Speaker 2: her a little, and nobly anxious to do her duty,
Speaker 2: she tried to fix the old life in their minds
Speaker 2: by setting them examination papers on it, as like as
Speaker 2: possible to the ones she used to do at school.
Speaker 2: The other boys thought this awfully interesting and insists stood
Speaker 2: on joining, and they made slates for themselves and sat
Speaker 2: round the table, writing and thinking hard about the questions
Speaker 2: she had written on another slate and passed round. They
Speaker 2: were the most ordinary questions, what was the color of
Speaker 2: mother's eyes? Which was taller father or mother? Was mother
Speaker 2: blonde or brunette? Answer all three questions, if possible, A
Speaker 2: write an essay of not less than forty words on
Speaker 2: how I spent my last holidays or the characters of
Speaker 2: father and mother compared only one of these to be attempted,
Speaker 2: or one describe mother's laugh. Two, describe father's laugh. Three,
Speaker 2: describe mother's party dress. Four describe the kennel and its inmate.
Speaker 2: They were just everyday questions like these, and when you
Speaker 2: could not answer them, you were told to make a cross.
Speaker 2: And it was really dreadful. What a number of crosses
Speaker 2: even John made. Of course, the only boy who replied
Speaker 2: to every question was Slightly, and no one could have
Speaker 2: been more hopeful of coming out first. But his answers
Speaker 2: were perfectly ridiculous, and he really came out last. A
Speaker 2: melancholy thing. Peter did not compete. For one thing, he
Speaker 2: despised all mothers except Wendy. And for another he was
Speaker 2: the only boy on the island who could neither write
Speaker 2: nor spell, not the smallest word. He was above all
Speaker 2: that sort of thing. By the way, the questions were
Speaker 2: all written in the past tense. What was the color
Speaker 2: of mother's eyes? And so on. Wendy, you see, had
Speaker 2: been forgetting two adventures, of course, as we shall see,
Speaker 2: were of daily occurrence.
Speaker 7: But about this.
Speaker 2: Time Peter invented, with Wendy's help, a new game that
Speaker 2: fascinated him enormously until he suddenly had no more interest
Speaker 2: in it, which as you have been told was what
Speaker 2: always happened with his games. It consisted in pretending not
Speaker 2: to have adventures, in doing the sort of thing John
Speaker 2: and Michael had been doing all their lives, sitting on stools,
Speaker 2: flinging balls in the air, pushing each other, going out
Speaker 2: for walks, and coming back without having killed so much
Speaker 2: as a grizzly. To see Peter doing nothing on a
Speaker 2: stool was a great sight. He could not help looking
Speaker 2: solemn at such times. To sit still seemed to him
Speaker 2: such a comic thing to do. He boasted that he
Speaker 2: had gone walking for the good of him for several sons.
Speaker 2: These were the most novel of all adventures to him,
Speaker 2: and John and Michael had to pretend to be delighted also,
Speaker 2: otherwise he would have treated them severely. He often went
Speaker 2: out alone, and when he came back you were never
Speaker 2: absolutely certain whether he had had an adventure or not.
Speaker 2: He might have forgotten it so completely that he said
Speaker 2: nothing about it, and then when you went out you
Speaker 2: found the body. And on the other hand, he might
Speaker 2: say a great deal about it, and yet you could
Speaker 2: not find the body. Sometimes he came home with his
Speaker 2: head bandaged, and then Wendy cooed over him and bathed
Speaker 2: it in lukewarm water while he told a dazzling tale.
Speaker 2: But she was never quite sure.
Speaker 15: You know.
Speaker 2: There were, however, many ventures which she knew to be true,
Speaker 2: because she was in them herself. And there were still
Speaker 2: more that were at least partly true, for the other
Speaker 2: boys were in them and said they were wholly true.
Speaker 2: To describe them all would require a book as large
Speaker 2: as an English Latin Latin English dictionary. And the most
Speaker 2: we can do is to give one as a specimen
Speaker 2: of an average hour on the island. The difficulty is
Speaker 2: which one to choose? Should we take the brush with
Speaker 2: the redskins at slightly gulch. It was a sanguinary affair,
Speaker 2: and especially interesting as showing one of Peter's peculiarities, which
Speaker 2: was that in the middle of a fight he would
Speaker 2: suddenly change sides at the gulch when victory was still
Speaker 2: in the balance, sometimes leaning this way and sometimes that,
Speaker 2: He called out, I'm redskin today, what are you Toodles?
Speaker 2: And Toodles answered redskin, what are you? Nits? And nib
Speaker 2: said redskin, what are you twin? And so on, and
Speaker 2: they were all redskins, and of course this would have
Speaker 2: ended the fight, had not the real Redskins, fascinated by
Speaker 2: Peter's methods, agreed to be lost boys for that once,
Speaker 2: and so at it they all went again, more fiercely
Speaker 2: than ever. The extraordinary upshot of this adventure was. But
Speaker 2: we have not decided yet that this is the adventure
Speaker 2: we are to narrate. Perhaps a better one would be
Speaker 2: the night attack by the Redskins on the house under
Speaker 2: the ground, when several of them stuck in the hollow
Speaker 2: trees and had to be pulled out like corks. Or
Speaker 2: we might tell how Peter saved Tiger Lily's life in
Speaker 2: the Mermaid's Lagoon and so made her his ally. Or
Speaker 2: we could tell of that cake the Pirate's cooked so
Speaker 2: that the boys might eat it and perish, and how
Speaker 2: they placed it in one cunning spot after another, but
Speaker 2: always Wendy snatched it from the hands of her children,
Speaker 2: so that in time it lost its succulence and became
Speaker 2: as hard as a stone, and was used as a missile,
Speaker 2: and hook fell over it in the dark. Or suppose
Speaker 2: we tell of the birds that were Peter's friends, particularly
Speaker 2: of the never bird that built in a tree overhanging
Speaker 2: the lagoon, and how the nest fell into the water,
Speaker 2: and still the bird sat on her eggs, and Peter
Speaker 2: gave orders that she was not to be disturbed. That
Speaker 2: is a pretty story, and the end shows how grateful
Speaker 2: a bird can be. But if we tell it, we
Speaker 2: must also tell the whole adventure of the lagoon, which
Speaker 2: would of course be telling two adventures rather than just one.
Speaker 2: A shorter adventure, and quite as exciting, was tinker Bell's attempt,
Speaker 2: with the help of some street fairies, to have the
Speaker 2: sleeping Wendy conveyed on a great floating leaf to the mainland. Fortunately,
Speaker 2: the leaf gave way, and Wendy woke, thinking it was
Speaker 2: bath time, and swam back. Or again, we might choose
Speaker 2: Peter's defiance of the lions when he drew a circle
Speaker 2: round him on the ground with an arrow and dared
Speaker 2: them to cross it. And though he waited for hours
Speaker 2: with the other boys and Wendy looking on breathlessly from trees,
Speaker 2: not one of them dared to accept his challenge. Which
Speaker 2: of these adventures shall we choose? The best way will
Speaker 2: be to toss for it. I have tossed, and the
Speaker 2: lagoon has one. This almost makes one wish that the
Speaker 2: gulch or the cake or tank's leaf had won. Of
Speaker 2: course I could do it again and make it the
Speaker 2: best out of three. However, perhaps fairest to stick to
Speaker 2: the lagoon and of chapter seven of Peter Pan Chapter.
Speaker 7: Eight, The Mermaid's Lagoon. If you shut your eyes and
Speaker 7: are a lucky one, you may see at times a
Speaker 7: shapeless pool of lovely, pale colors suspended in the darkness.
Speaker 7: Then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins
Speaker 7: to take shape, and the colors become so vivid that
Speaker 7: with another squeeze they must go on fire. But just
Speaker 7: before they go on fire, you see the lagoon. This
Speaker 7: is the nearest you ever get to it on the mainland,
Speaker 7: Just one heavenly moment. If there could be two moments,
Speaker 7: you might see the surf and hear the mermaids singing.
Speaker 7: The children often spent long summer days on this lagoon,
Speaker 7: swimming or floating, most of the time, playing the mermaid
Speaker 7: games in the water, and so forth. You must not
Speaker 7: think from this that the mermaids were on friendly terms
Speaker 7: with them. On the contrary, it was among Wendy's lasting
Speaker 7: regrets that all the time she was on the island.
Speaker 7: She never had a civil word from one of them.
Speaker 7: When she stole softly to the edge of the lagoon.
Speaker 7: She might see them by the score, especially on Marooner's Rock,
Speaker 7: where they loved to bask, combing out their hair in
Speaker 7: a lazy way that quite irritated her. Or she might
Speaker 7: even swim on tiptoe, as it were, to within a
Speaker 7: yard of them. But then they saw her and dived,
Speaker 7: probably splashing her with their tails, not by accident but intentionally.
Speaker 7: They treated all the boys in the same way, except,
Speaker 7: of course Peter, who chatted with them on Marooner's Rock
Speaker 7: by the hour and sat on their tails. When they
Speaker 7: got cheeky, he gave Wendy one of their combs. The
Speaker 7: most haunting time at which to see them is at
Speaker 7: the turn of the moon, when they utter strange wailing cries.
Speaker 7: But the lagoon is dangerous for mortals then and until
Speaker 7: the evening, of which we now have to tell Wendy
Speaker 7: had never seen the lagoon by moonlight from fear, for
Speaker 7: of course Peter would have accompanied her then. Because she
Speaker 7: had strict rules about everyone being in bed by seven,
Speaker 7: she was often at the lagoon. However, on sunny days
Speaker 7: after rain when the mermaids come up in extraordinary numbers
Speaker 7: to play with their bubbles. The bubbles of many colors
Speaker 7: made in rainbow water. They treat as balls, hitting them
Speaker 7: gaily from one to another with their tails and trying
Speaker 7: to keep them in the rainbow until they burst. The
Speaker 7: goals are at each end of the rainbow, and the
Speaker 7: keepers only are allowed to use their hands. Sometimes a
Speaker 7: dozen of these games will be going on in the
Speaker 7: lagoon at a time, and it is quite a pretty sight.
Speaker 7: But the moment the children tried to join in, they
Speaker 7: had to play by themselves, for the mermaids immediately disappeared. Nevertheless,
Speaker 7: we have proof that they secretly watched the interlopers and
Speaker 7: were not above taking an idea from them, for John
Speaker 7: introduced a new way of hitting the bubble with the
Speaker 7: head instead of the hand, and the mermaids adopted it.
Speaker 7: This is the one mark that John has left on
Speaker 7: the Neverland. It must also have been rather pretty to
Speaker 7: see the children resting on a rock for half an
Speaker 7: hour after their midday meal. Wendy insisted on their doing this,
Speaker 7: and it had to be a real rest, even though
Speaker 7: the meal was make believe, So they lay there in
Speaker 7: the sun, and their bodies glistened in it, while she
Speaker 7: sat beside them and looked important. It was one such day,
Speaker 7: and they were all on Marooner's Rock. The rock was
Speaker 7: not much larger than their great bed, but of course
Speaker 7: they all knew how not to take up much room,
Speaker 7: and they were dozing, or at least lying with their
Speaker 7: eyes shut, and pinching occasionally when they thought Wendy was
Speaker 7: not looking. She was very busy stitching. While she stitched,
Speaker 7: a change came to the lagoon. Little shivers ran over it,
Speaker 7: and the sun went away, and shadows stole across the water,
Speaker 7: turning it cold. Wendy could no longer see to thread
Speaker 7: her needle, and when she looked up, the lagoon that
Speaker 7: had always hitherto been such a laughing place, seemed formidable
Speaker 7: and unfriendly. It was not. She knew that night had come,
Speaker 7: but something as dark as night had come, no worse
Speaker 7: than that it had not come, but it had sent
Speaker 7: that shiver through the sea to say that it was coming.
Speaker 11: What was it?
Speaker 14: There?
Speaker 7: Crowded upon her all the stories she had been told
Speaker 7: of Marooner's Rock, so called because evil captains put sailors
Speaker 7: on it and leave them there to drown. They drown
Speaker 7: when the tide rises, for then it is submerged. Of course,
Speaker 7: she should have roused the children at once, not merely
Speaker 7: because of the unknown that was stalking towards them, but
Speaker 7: because it was no longer good for them to sleep
Speaker 7: on a rock grown chilly. But she was a young mother,
Speaker 7: and she did not know this. She thought, you simply
Speaker 7: must stick to your rule. About half an hour after
Speaker 7: the midday meal. So though fear was upon her, and
Speaker 7: she longed to hear male voices, she would not waken them.
Speaker 7: Even when she heard the sound of muffled oars. Though
Speaker 7: her heart was in her mouth, she did not waken them.
Speaker 7: She stood over them to let them have their sleep out.
Speaker 7: Was it not brave of Wendy? It was well for
Speaker 7: those boys then, that there was one among them who
Speaker 7: could sniff danger even in his sleep. Peter Sprang erect,
Speaker 7: as wide awake at once as a dog, and with
Speaker 7: one warning cry, he roused the others. He stood motionless,
Speaker 7: one hand to his ear pirates.
Speaker 3: He cried.
Speaker 7: The others came closer to him. A strange smile was
Speaker 7: playing about his face, and Wendy saw it and shuddered.
Speaker 7: While that smile was on his face. No one dared
Speaker 7: address him. All they could do was stand ready to obey.
Speaker 7: The order came sharp and incisive.
Speaker 15: Dive.
Speaker 7: There was a gleam of legs, and instantly the lagoon
Speaker 7: seemed deserted. Marooner's Rock stood alone in the forbidding waters,
Speaker 7: as if it were itself marooned. The boat drew near.
Speaker 7: It was the pirate dinghy, with three figures in her
Speaker 7: smee and starkey, and the third a captive no other
Speaker 7: than tiger Lily. Her hands and ankles were tied, and
Speaker 7: she knew what was to be her fate. She was
Speaker 7: to be left on the rock to perish, an end
Speaker 7: to one of her race more terrible than death by
Speaker 7: fire or torture. For is it not written in the
Speaker 7: book of the tribe that there is no path through
Speaker 7: water to the happy hunting ground. Yet her face was impassive.
Speaker 7: She was the daughter of a chief. She must die
Speaker 7: as a chief's daughter. It is enough they had caught
Speaker 7: her boarding the pirate ship with a knife in her mouth.
Speaker 7: No watch was kept on the ship, it being Hook's
Speaker 7: boast that the wind of his name guarded the ship
Speaker 7: for a mile around. Now her fate would help to
Speaker 7: guard it. Also, one more whale would go round in
Speaker 7: that wind by night. In the gloom that they brought
Speaker 7: with them, the two pirates did not see the rock
Speaker 7: till they crashed into it. Luff you lubber, cried an
Speaker 7: Irish voice that was Smee's. Here's the rock now, then
Speaker 7: what we have to do is hoist the red skin
Speaker 7: on to it and leave her here to drown. It
Speaker 7: was the work of one brutal moment to land the
Speaker 7: beautiful girl on the rock. She was too proud to
Speaker 7: offer a vain resistance. Quite near the rock, but out
Speaker 7: of sight, two heads were bobbing up and down, Peter's
Speaker 7: and Wendy's. Wendy was crying, for it was the first
Speaker 7: tragedy she had seen. Peter had seen many tragedies, but
Speaker 7: he had forgotten them all. He was less sorry than
Speaker 7: Wendy for Tiger Lily. It was two against one that
Speaker 7: angered him, and he meant to save her. An easy
Speaker 7: way would have been to wait until the pirates had gone,
Speaker 7: but he was never one to choose the easy way.
Speaker 7: There was almost nothing he could not do. He now
Speaker 7: imitated the voice of hook ahoy, there you lubbers, he called.
Speaker 7: It was a marvelous imitation, the captain said, the pirates
Speaker 7: staring at each other in surprise. He must be swimming
Speaker 7: out to us, Starkey said, when they had looked for
Speaker 7: him in vain. We are putting the red skin on
Speaker 7: the rock. Smee called out, set her free. Came the
Speaker 7: astonishing answer free, yes, cut her bonds and let her go.
Speaker 7: But captain, at once, d'ye hear, cried Peter, or I'll
Speaker 7: plunge my hook and you this is queer. Smee gasped.
Speaker 7: Better do it, the captain orders, said Starkey nervously. Aye, ay,
Speaker 7: Smee said, and he cut Tiger Lily's cords at once.
Speaker 7: Like an eel, she slid between Starkey's legs into the water.
Speaker 7: Of course, Wendy was very elated over Peter's cleverness, but
Speaker 7: she knew that he would be elated also, and very
Speaker 7: likely crow and thus betray himself. So at once her
Speaker 7: hand went out to cover his mouth, but it was
Speaker 7: stayed even in the act. For boat Ahoy rang over
Speaker 7: the lagoon in Hook's voice, and this time it was
Speaker 7: not Peter who had spoken. Peter may have been about
Speaker 7: to crow, but his face puckered in a whistle of surprise. Instead,
Speaker 7: boat ahoy, again came the voice. Now Wendy understood the
Speaker 7: real hook was also in the water. He was swimming
Speaker 7: to the boat, and as his men showed a light
Speaker 7: to guide him, he had soon reached them. In the
Speaker 7: light of the lantern, Wendy saw his hook grip the
Speaker 7: boat's side. She saw his evil, swarthy face as he rose,
Speaker 7: dripping from the water and quaking. She would have liked
Speaker 7: to swim away, but Peter would not budge. He was
Speaker 7: tingling with life and also top heavy with conceit. Am
Speaker 7: I not a wonder? Oh I am a wonder, he
Speaker 7: whispered to her, And though she thought so also, she
Speaker 7: was really glad for the sake of his reputation that
Speaker 7: no one heard him except himself. He signed to her
Speaker 7: to listen. The two pirates were very curious to know
Speaker 7: what had brought their captain to them, but he sat
Speaker 7: with his head on his hook in a position of
Speaker 7: profound melancholy. Captain, is all well, they asked timidly, But
Speaker 7: he answered with a hollow moan. He sighs, said Smee.
Speaker 7: He sighs again, said Starkey. And yet a third time.
Speaker 7: He sighs, said Smee. Then at last he spoke passionately.
Speaker 7: The game's up, he cried, Those boys have found a mother.
Speaker 7: Affrighted though she was, Wendy swelled with pride. Oh, evil day,
Speaker 7: cried Starkey. What's a mother, asked the ignorant Smee. Wendy
Speaker 7: was so shocked that she exclaimed, he doesn't know. And
Speaker 7: always after this she felt that if you could have
Speaker 7: a pet pirate, Smee would be her one. Peter pulled
Speaker 7: her beneath the water, for Hook had started up, crying,
Speaker 7: what was that? I heard nothing, said Starkey, raising the
Speaker 7: lantern over the waters. And as the pirates looked, they
Speaker 7: saw a strange sight. It was the nest I have
Speaker 7: told you of floating on the lagoon, and the never
Speaker 7: bird was sitting on it. See, said Hook, in answer
Speaker 7: to Smee's question, that is a mother? What a lesson?
Speaker 7: The nest must have fallen into the water. But would
Speaker 7: the mother desert her eggs?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 7: There was a break in his voice, as if for
Speaker 7: a moment he recalled innocent days when but he brushed
Speaker 7: away this weakness with his hook. Smee, much impressed, gazed
Speaker 7: at the bird as the nest was borne past. But
Speaker 7: the more suspicious Starkey said, if she is a mother,
Speaker 7: perhaps she is hanging about here to help Peter. Hook
Speaker 7: winced aye, he said, that is the fear that haunts me.
Speaker 7: He was roused from this dejection by Smee's eager voice.
Speaker 7: Captain said, Smee, could we not kidnap these boys mother
Speaker 7: and make her our mother. It is a princely scheme,
Speaker 7: cried Hook, and at once it took practical shape in
Speaker 7: his great brain. We will seize the children and carry
Speaker 7: them to the boat. The boys we will make walk
Speaker 7: the plank, and Wendy shall be our mother again. Wendy
Speaker 7: forgot herself never She cried and bobbed.
Speaker 16: What was that?
Speaker 7: But they could see nothing. They thought it must have
Speaker 7: been a leaf in the wind. Do you agree, my bullies,
Speaker 7: asked Hook. There's my hand on it, they both said,
Speaker 7: and there's my hook swear, they all swore. By this
Speaker 7: time they were on the rock, and suddenly Hook remembered
Speaker 7: tiger lily. Where's the red skin? He demanded abruptly. He
Speaker 7: had a playful humor at moments, and they thought this
Speaker 7: was one of the moments. That's all right, Captain, Smee
Speaker 7: answered complacently, we let her go. Let her go, cried Hook.
Speaker 7: Twas your own orders. The bowsun faltered. You called over
Speaker 7: the water to us to let her go, said Starkey.
Speaker 7: Brimstone and Gall thundered Hook, what cousining is going on here?
Speaker 7: His face had gone black with rage, but he saw
Speaker 7: that they believed their words, and he was startled. Lads,
Speaker 7: he said, shaking a little. I gave no such order.
Speaker 7: It is passing, queer, Smee said, and they all fidgeted uncomfortably.
Speaker 7: Hook raised his voice, but there was a quiver in it,
Speaker 7: spirit that haunts this dark lagoon to night. He cried,
Speaker 7: dost hear me? Of course Peter should have kept quiet,
Speaker 7: but of course he did not. He immediately answered, in
Speaker 7: Hook's voice, odds, bobs, hagmer, and tongs, I hear you.
Speaker 7: In that supreme moment, Hook did not blanch even at
Speaker 7: the gills, but Smee and Starkey clung to each other
Speaker 7: in terror. Who are you, stranger, speak, Hook demanded, I
Speaker 7: am James, Hook replied the voice captain of the Jolly Roger.
Speaker 7: You are not You are not, Hook cried hoarsely. Brimstone
Speaker 7: and Gall the voice retorted, Say that again, and I'll
Speaker 7: cast anchor in you. Hook tried a more ingratiating manner.
Speaker 7: If you are hook, he said, almost humbly, Come tell
Speaker 7: me who am I? A codfish? Replied the voice, Only
Speaker 7: a codfish? A codfish, Hook echoed blankly. And it was then,
Speaker 7: but not till then, that his proud spirit broke. He
Speaker 7: saw his men draw back from him. Have we been
Speaker 7: captained all this time by a codfish? They muttered? It
Speaker 7: is lowering to our pride. They were his dogs, snapping
Speaker 7: at him. But tragic figure though he had become, he
Speaker 7: scarcely heeded them against such fearful evidence. It was not
Speaker 7: their belief in him that he needed. It was his own.
Speaker 7: He felt his ego slipping from him. Don't desert me, bully,
Speaker 7: he whispered hoarsely to it. In his dark nature there
Speaker 7: was a touch of the feminine, as in all the
Speaker 7: great pirates, and it sometimes gave him intuitions. Suddenly he
Speaker 7: tried the guessing game. Hoo, Hook, he called, have you
Speaker 7: another voice?
Speaker 5: Now?
Speaker 7: Peter could never resist a game, and he answered, blithely
Speaker 7: in his own voice, I have and another name. Ay
Speaker 7: I vegetable asked Hook, no, mineral, no animal, yes, man no.
Speaker 7: This answer rang out scornfully boy, yes, ordinary boy no,
Speaker 7: wonderful boy. To Wendy's pain, the answer that rang out
Speaker 7: this time was yes. Are you in England?
Speaker 9: No?
Speaker 7: Are you here?
Speaker 11: Yes?
Speaker 7: Hook was completely puzzled. You asked him some questions, he
Speaker 7: said to the others, wiping his damp brow. Smee reflected,
Speaker 7: think of a thing, he said, regretfully. Can't guess, can't guess,
Speaker 7: crowed Peter, do you give it up? Of course, in
Speaker 7: his pride he was carrying the game too far, and
Speaker 7: the miscreants saw their chance. Yes, yes, they answered eagerly. Well,
Speaker 7: then he cried, I am Peter Pan.
Speaker 15: Pan.
Speaker 7: In a moment, Hook was himself again, and Smee and
Speaker 7: Starkey were his faithful henchmen. Now we have him, Hook
Speaker 7: shouted into the water. Smee, Starkey, mind the boat, take
Speaker 7: him dead or alive. He leaped as he spoke, and
Speaker 7: simultaneously came the gay voice of Peter. Are you ready, boys?
Speaker 9: Ay?
Speaker 2: Ay?
Speaker 7: From various parts of the lagoon, the lamb into the pirates.
Speaker 7: The fight was short and sharp. First to draw blood
Speaker 7: was John, who gallantly climbed into the boat and held starky.
Speaker 7: There was fierce struggle in which the cutlass was torn
Speaker 7: from the pirate's grasp. He wriggled overboard, and John left
Speaker 7: after him. The dinghy drifted away. Here and there a
Speaker 7: head bobbed up in the water, and there was a
Speaker 7: flash of steel, followed by a cry or a whoop.
Speaker 7: In the confusion, some struck at their own side. The
Speaker 7: corkscrew of Smee got tootles in the fourth rib, but
Speaker 7: he was himself pinked and turned by Curly. Further up
Speaker 7: the rock, Starkey was pressing slightly in the twins hard,
Speaker 7: where all this time was Peter. He was seeking bigger game.
Speaker 7: The others were all brave boys, and they must not
Speaker 7: be blamed for backing from the pirate. Captain. His iron
Speaker 7: claw made a circle of dead water round him, from
Speaker 7: which they fled like affrighted fishes. But there was one
Speaker 7: who did not fear him. There was one prepared to
Speaker 7: enter that circle. Strangely, it was not in the water
Speaker 7: that they met. Hook rose to the rock to breathe,
Speaker 7: and at the same moment Peter scaled it on the
Speaker 7: opposite side. The rock was slippery as a ball, and
Speaker 7: they had to crawl rather than climb. Neither knew that
Speaker 7: the other was coming. Each, feeling for a grip, met
Speaker 7: the other's arm. In surprise, they raised their heads. Their
Speaker 7: faces were almost touching, so they met. Some of the
Speaker 7: greatest heroes have confessed that just before they fell too,
Speaker 7: they had a sinking. Had it been so with Peter
Speaker 7: at that moment, I would admit it. After all, he
Speaker 7: was the only man that the sea cook had feared.
Speaker 7: But Peter had no sinking. He had one feeling, only gladness,
Speaker 7: and he gnashed his pretty teeth with joy. Quick as thought,
Speaker 7: he snatched a knife from Hook's belt and was about
Speaker 7: to drive it home when he saw that he was
Speaker 7: higher up the rock than his foe. It would not
Speaker 7: have been fighting fair. He gave the pirate a hand
Speaker 7: to help him up. It was then that Hook bit him.
Speaker 7: Not the pain of this, but its unfairness, was what
Speaker 7: dazed Peter. It made him quite helpless. He could only
Speaker 7: stare horrified. Every child is affected. Thus the first time
Speaker 7: he is treated unfairly, all he thinks he has a
Speaker 7: right to. When he comes to you to be yours
Speaker 7: is fairness. After you have been unfair to him, he
Speaker 7: will love you again, but will never afterwards be quite
Speaker 7: the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness,
Speaker 7: no one except Peter. He often met it, but he
Speaker 7: always forgot it. I suppose that was the real difference
Speaker 7: between him and all the rest. So when he met
Speaker 7: it now it was like the first time, and he
Speaker 7: could just stare helpless. Twice the iron hand clawed him.
Speaker 7: A few moments afterwards, the other boys saw Hook in
Speaker 7: the water, striking wildly for the ship. No elation on
Speaker 7: the pestilent face, now only white fear, for the crocodile
Speaker 7: was in dogged pursuit of him. On ordinary occasions, the
Speaker 7: boys would have swum alongside, cheering, but now they were uneasy,
Speaker 7: for they had lost both Peter and Wendy and were
Speaker 7: scouring the lagoon for them, calling them by name. They
Speaker 7: found the dinghy and went home in it, shouted Peter
Speaker 7: Wendy as they went, but no answer came, save mocking
Speaker 7: laughter from the mermaids. They must be swimming back or flying.
Speaker 7: The boys concluded they were not very anxious because they
Speaker 7: had such faith in Peter. They chuckled boylike because they
Speaker 7: would be late for bed, and it was all mother
Speaker 7: Wendy's fault. When their voices died away, there came cold
Speaker 7: silence over the lagoon, and then a feeble cry, help help.
Speaker 7: Two small figures were beating against the rock. The girl
Speaker 7: had fainted and lay on the boy's arm. With a
Speaker 7: last effort, Peter pulled her up the rock and then
Speaker 7: lay down beside her, even as he also fainted. He
Speaker 7: saw that the water was rising. He knew that they
Speaker 7: would soon be drowned, but he could do no more.
Speaker 7: As they lay side by side, a mermaid caught Wendy
Speaker 7: by the feet and began pulling her softly into the water. Peter,
Speaker 7: feeling her slip from him, woke with a start and
Speaker 7: was just in time to draw her back. But he
Speaker 7: had to tell her the truth. We're on the rock, Wendy,
Speaker 7: he said, but it is growing smaller. Soon the water
Speaker 7: will be over it. She did not understand. Even now,
Speaker 7: we must go, she said, almost brightly. Yes, he answered faintly.
Speaker 7: Shall we swim or fly? Peter? He had to tell her,
Speaker 7: do you think you could swim or fly as far
Speaker 7: as the island? Wendy? Without my help? She had to
Speaker 7: admit that she was too tired. He moaned, What is it?
Speaker 7: She asked, anxious about him at once. I can't help you,
Speaker 7: Wendy hook wounded me. I can neither fly nor swim.
Speaker 7: Do you mean we shall both be drowned? Look how
Speaker 7: the water's rising. They put their hands over their eyes
Speaker 7: to shut out the sight. They thought they would soon
Speaker 7: be no more. As they sat thus, something brushed against
Speaker 7: Peter as light as a kiss, and stayed there, as
Speaker 7: if saying, timidly, can I be of any use? It
Speaker 7: was the tail of a kite which Michael had made
Speaker 7: some days before. It had torn itself out of his
Speaker 7: hand and floated away. Michael's kite, Peter said, without interest.
Speaker 7: But next moment he had seized the tail and was
Speaker 7: pulling the kite toward him. It lifted Michael off the ground.
Speaker 7: He cried, why should it not carry you both of us?
Speaker 7: I can't lift two Michael, and curly tried let us
Speaker 7: draw lots. Wendy said, bravely, and you a lady. Never
Speaker 7: already he had tied the tail round her. She clung
Speaker 7: to him. She refused to go without him, but with
Speaker 7: a good bye Wendy, he pushed her from the rock,
Speaker 7: and in a few minutes she was borne out of
Speaker 7: his sight. Peter was alone on the lagoon. The rock
Speaker 7: was very small now soon it would be submerged. Pale
Speaker 7: rays of light tiptoed across the waters, and by and
Speaker 7: by there was to be heard a sound, at once
Speaker 7: the most musical and the most melancholy in the world,
Speaker 7: the mermaids calling.
Speaker 12: To the moon.
Speaker 7: Peter was not quite like other boys, but he was afraid.
Speaker 15: At last.
Speaker 7: A tremor ran through him, like a shudder passing over
Speaker 7: the sea. But on the sea, one shutter follows another
Speaker 7: till there are hundreds of them, and Peter felt just
Speaker 7: the one. Next moment, he was standing erect on the
Speaker 7: rock again, with that smile on his face and a
Speaker 7: drum beating within him. It was saying, to die will
Speaker 7: be an awfully big adventure.
Speaker 10: End of chapter eight, Chapter nine, the never Bird. The
Speaker 10: last sound Peter heard before he was quite alone, were
Speaker 10: the mermaids retiring one by one to their bedchambers under
Speaker 10: the sea. He was too far away to hear their
Speaker 10: doors shut, but every door in the coral caves where
Speaker 10: they rings a tiny bell when it opens or closes,
Speaker 10: as in all the nicest houses on the mainland, and
Speaker 10: he heard the bells steadily, the waters rose till they
Speaker 10: were nibbling at his feet, and to pass the time
Speaker 10: until they made their final gulp, he watched the only
Speaker 10: thing on the lagoon. He thought it was a piece
Speaker 10: of floating paper, perhaps part of the kite, and wondered
Speaker 10: idly how long it would take to drift ashore. Presently,
Speaker 10: he noticed, as an odd thing that it was undoubtedly
Speaker 10: out upon the lagoon with some definite purpose, for it
Speaker 10: was fighting the tide and sometimes winning, And when it won, Peter,
Speaker 10: always sympathetic to the weaker side, could not help clapping.
Speaker 10: It was such a gallant piece of paper. It was
Speaker 10: not really a piece of paper. It was the never bird,
Speaker 10: making desperate efforts to reach Peter on the nest by
Speaker 10: working her wings in a way she had learned. Since
Speaker 10: the nest fell in to the water, she was able
Speaker 10: to some extent to guide her strange craft. But by
Speaker 10: the time Peter recognized her, she was very exhausted. She
Speaker 10: had come to save him, to give him her nest,
Speaker 10: though there were eggs in it. I rather wonder at
Speaker 10: the bird, for though he had been nice to her,
Speaker 10: he had also sometimes tormented her. I can suppose only that,
Speaker 10: like missus Darling and the rest of them, she was
Speaker 10: melted because he had all his first teeth. She called
Speaker 10: out to him what she had come for, and he
Speaker 10: called out to her what she was doing there. But
Speaker 10: of course neither of them understood the other's language. In
Speaker 10: fanciful stories, people can talk to the birds freely, and
Speaker 10: I wish for the moment I could pretend that this
Speaker 10: were such a story and say that. Peter replied intelligently
Speaker 10: to the never bird. But truth is best, and I
Speaker 10: want to tell you only what really happened. Well, not
Speaker 10: only could they not understand each each other, but they
Speaker 10: forgot their manners. I want you to get into the nest,
Speaker 10: the bird called, speaking as slowly and distinctly as possible,
Speaker 10: and then you can drift ashore. But I am too
Speaker 10: tired to bring it any nearer, so you must try
Speaker 10: to swim to it. What are you quacking about? Peter answered,
Speaker 10: why don't you let the nest drift as usual?
Speaker 17: I want you.
Speaker 10: The bird said, and repeated it all over. Then Peter tried,
Speaker 10: slow and distinct what are you quacking about? And so on?
Speaker 10: The never bird became irritated. They have very short time.
Speaker 10: You dunderheaded little jay, she screamed, why don't you do
Speaker 10: as I tell you? Peter felt that she was calling
Speaker 10: him names, and at a venture he retorted hotly, so
Speaker 10: are you. Then, rather curiously, they both snapped out the
Speaker 10: same remark, shut up, shut up. Nevertheless, the bird was
Speaker 10: determined to save him if she could, and by one
Speaker 10: last mighty effort, she propelled the nest against the rock.
Speaker 10: Then up she flew, deserting her eggs so as to
Speaker 10: make her meaning clear. Then at last he understood and
Speaker 10: clutched the nest and waved his thanks to the bird
Speaker 10: as she fluttered overhead. It was not to receive his thanks, however,
Speaker 10: that she hung there in the sky. It was not
Speaker 10: even to watch him get into the nest. It was
Speaker 10: to see what he did with her eggs. There were
Speaker 10: two large white eggs, and Peter lifted them up and reflected.
Speaker 10: The bird covered her face with her wings so as
Speaker 10: not to see the last of them, but she could
Speaker 10: not help peeping between the feathers. I forgot whether I
Speaker 10: have told you that there was a stave on the rock,
Speaker 10: driven into it by some buccaneers of long ago to
Speaker 10: mark the sight of buried treasure. The children had discovered
Speaker 10: the glittering horde, and when in a mischievous mood, used
Speaker 10: to fling showers of moy doors, diamonds, pearls, and pieces
Speaker 10: of eight to the gulls, who pounced upon them for food,
Speaker 10: and then flew away, raging at the scurvy trick that
Speaker 10: had been played upon them. The stave was still there,
Speaker 10: and on it Starkey had hung his hat, a deep
Speaker 10: tarpaulin watertight with a broad brim. Peter put the eggs
Speaker 10: into this hat and set it on the lagoon. It
Speaker 10: floated beautifully. The never bird saw at once what he
Speaker 10: was up to and screamed her admiration of him, and
Speaker 10: alas Peter crowed his agreement with her. Then he got
Speaker 10: into the nest, reared the stave in it as a mast,
Speaker 10: and hung up his shirt for a sail. At the
Speaker 10: same moment, the bird fluttered down upon the hat and
Speaker 10: once more sat snugly on her eggs. She drifted in
Speaker 10: one direction and he was borne off in another, both cheering.
Speaker 16: Of course.
Speaker 10: When Peter landed, he beached his bark small ship actually
Speaker 10: the never bird's nest in this particular case in point
Speaker 10: in a place where the bird would easily find it.
Speaker 10: But the hat was such a great success that she
Speaker 10: abandoned the nest. It drifted about till it went to
Speaker 10: pieces and often Starky came to the shore of the lagoon,
Speaker 10: and with many bitter feelings, watched the bird sitting on
Speaker 10: his hat. As we shall not see her again, it
Speaker 10: may be worth mentioning here that all never birds now
Speaker 10: build in that shape of nest with a broad brim
Speaker 10: on which the youngsters taken airing. Great were the rejoicings
Speaker 10: when Peter reached the home under the ground almost as
Speaker 10: soon as Wendy, who had been carried hither and thither
Speaker 10: by the kite. Every boy had adventures to tell, but
Speaker 10: perhaps the biggest adventure of all was that they were
Speaker 10: several hours late for bed. This so inflated them that
Speaker 10: they did various dodgy things to get staying up still longer,
Speaker 10: such as demanding bandages. But Wendy, though glorifying and having
Speaker 10: them all home again safe and sound, was scandalized by
Speaker 10: the lateness of the hour, and cried to bed to
Speaker 10: bed in a voice that had to be obeyed. Next day, however,
Speaker 10: she was awfully tender and gave out bandages to every one,
Speaker 10: and they played till bedtime at limping about and carrying
Speaker 10: their arms in slings.
Speaker 16: End of chapter nine, Chapter ten, The Happy Home. One
Speaker 16: important result of the brush on the lagoon was that
Speaker 16: had made the Redskins their friends. Peter had saved Tiger
Speaker 16: Lily from a dreadful fate, and now there was nothing
Speaker 16: she and her braves would not do for him. All
Speaker 16: night they sat above, keeping watch over the home under
Speaker 16: the ground and awaiting the big attack by the pirates,
Speaker 16: which obviously could not be much longer delayed. Even by day,
Speaker 16: they hung about, smoking the pipe of Peace, and looking
Speaker 16: almost as if they wanted tit bits to eat. They
Speaker 16: called Peter the Great White Father, prostrating themselves before him,
Speaker 16: and he liked this tremendously so that it was not
Speaker 16: really good for him. The Great White Father, he would
Speaker 16: say to them, in a very lordly manner, as they
Speaker 16: groveled at his feet, is glad to see the piccaninny
Speaker 16: warriors protecting his wigwam from the pirates. Meet Tiger Lily,
Speaker 16: that lovely creature, would reply, Peter, pan save me me,
Speaker 16: his very nice friend me, nor let pirates hurt him.
Speaker 16: She was far too pretty to cringe in this way.
Speaker 16: But Peter thought it his due, and he would answer condescendingly,
Speaker 16: it is good Peter Pan has spoken. Always when he
Speaker 16: said Peter Pan has spoken, it meant that they must
Speaker 16: now shut up, and they accepted it humbly in that spirit.
Speaker 16: But they were by no means so respectful to the
Speaker 16: other boys, whom they looked upon as just ordinary braves.
Speaker 16: They said, how do to them? And things like that,
Speaker 16: And what annoyed the boys was that Peter seemed to
Speaker 16: think this all right. Secretly, Wendy sympathized with them a little,
Speaker 16: but she was far too loyal a housewife to listen
Speaker 16: to any complaints against father. Father knows best. She always said,
Speaker 16: whatever her private opinion must be, her private opinion was
Speaker 16: that the Redskins should not call her a sque We
Speaker 16: have now reached the evening that was to be known
Speaker 16: among them as the Night of Nights, because of its
Speaker 16: adventures and their upshone the day as if quietly gathering
Speaker 16: its forces had been almost uneventful. And now the Redskins
Speaker 16: and their blankets were at their posts above, while below
Speaker 16: the children were having their evening meal, all except Peter,
Speaker 16: who had gone out to get the time. The way
Speaker 16: you got the time on the island was to find
Speaker 16: the crocodile and then stay near him till the clock struck.
Speaker 16: Emil happened to be a make believe tea, and they
Speaker 16: sat around the board, guzzling in their greed and really
Speaker 16: but with their chattering recriminations. The noise, as Wendy said,
Speaker 16: was positively deafening. To be sure, she did not mind noise,
Speaker 16: but she simply would not have them grabbing things and
Speaker 16: then excusing themselves by saying the toodles had pushed their elbow.
Speaker 16: There was a fixed rule that they mane never hit
Speaker 16: back at meals, but should refer the matter of dispute
Speaker 16: to Wendy by raising the right arm politely and saying
Speaker 16: I complain of so and so. But what usually happened
Speaker 16: was that they forgot to do this, or did it
Speaker 16: too much silence, cried Wendy, when for the twentieth time
Speaker 16: she had told them that they were not all to
Speaker 16: speak at once. Is your mug empty, slightly, darling? Not
Speaker 16: quite empty, mummy slightly, said, after looking into an imaginary mug.
Speaker 16: He hasn't even begun to drink his milk. Nibs interposed
Speaker 16: this was telling, and slightly seized his chance. I complain
Speaker 16: of Nibs, he cried promptly. John, however, had held up
Speaker 16: his hand first. Well, John, may I sit in Peter's chair,
Speaker 16: as he is not here? Sit in father's chair John.
Speaker 16: Wendy was scandalized. Certainly not he is not really our father.
Speaker 16: John answered, he didn't even know how a father does
Speaker 16: till I showed him. This was grumbling, we complain of, John,
Speaker 16: cried the twins. Tootles held up his hand. He was
Speaker 16: so much the humblest of them. Indeed, he was the
Speaker 16: only humble one that Wendy was specially gentle with him.
Speaker 16: I don't suppose, Doodles said diffidently that I could be father,
Speaker 16: No Tootles. Once Tootles began, which was not very often,
Speaker 16: he had a silly way of going on. As I
Speaker 16: can't be father, he said heavily. I don't suppose, Michael
Speaker 16: you would let me be baby. No, I won't. Michael
Speaker 16: rapped out, he was already in his basket. As I
Speaker 16: can't be baby, Toodles said, getting heavier and heavier and heavier.
Speaker 16: Do you think I could be a twin?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 16: Indeed, replied the twins. It's awfully difficult to be a twin,
Speaker 16: as I can't be anything important, said Toodles. Would any
Speaker 16: of you like to see me do a trick? No,
Speaker 16: they all replied. Then at last he stopped. I hadn't
Speaker 16: really any hope, he said. The hateful telling broke out again.
Speaker 16: Slightly is coughing on the table. The twins began with
Speaker 16: cheese cakes. Curly is taking both butter and honey. Nibs
Speaker 16: is speaking with his mouthful. I complain of the twins,
Speaker 16: I complain of Curly, I complain of Nibs. Oh dear,
Speaker 16: Oh dear, cried Wendy. I'm sure I sometimes think that
Speaker 16: spinsters are to be envied. She told them to clear
Speaker 16: away and sat down to her work basket, a heavy
Speaker 16: load of stockings and every knee with a hole in it.
Speaker 16: As usual, Wendy remonstrated Michael, I am too big for
Speaker 16: a cradle. I must have somebody in a cradle, she said,
Speaker 16: almost heartily, And you are the littlest. A cradle is
Speaker 16: such a nice homely thing to have about a house, well,
Speaker 16: she sewed. They played around her, such a group of
Speaker 16: happy faces and dancing limbs, lit up by that romantic fire.
Speaker 16: It had become a very familiar scene, this in the
Speaker 16: home under the ground, but we are looking on it
Speaker 16: for the last time. There was a step above in Wendy,
Speaker 16: you may be sure, was the first to recognize it. Children,
Speaker 16: I hear your father's step. He likes you to meet
Speaker 16: him at the door above. The redskins crouched before Peter.
Speaker 16: Watch well, braves, I have spoken, and then, as so
Speaker 16: often before, the gay children dragged him from his tree
Speaker 16: so often before, but never again. He had brought nuts
Speaker 16: for the boys, as well as the correct time for Wendy. Peter,
Speaker 16: you just spoil them, you know. Wendy simpered. Ah, old lady,
Speaker 16: said Peter, hanging up his gun. It was me, told him.
Speaker 16: Mothers are called old lady. Michael whispered to Curly. I
Speaker 16: complain of Michael, said Curly. Instantly the first twin came
Speaker 16: to Peter. Father. We want to dance. Dance away, my
Speaker 16: little man, said Peter, who was in high, good humor.
Speaker 16: But we want you to dance. Peter was really the
Speaker 16: best dancer among them, but he pretended to be scandalized.
Speaker 12: Me.
Speaker 16: My old bones would rattle, and Mummy too, What cried Wendy,
Speaker 16: the mother of such an armful dance, But on his
Speaker 16: Saturday night, slightly insinuated, it was not really Saturday night.
Speaker 16: At least it may have been, for they had long
Speaker 16: lost count of the days, but always if they wanted
Speaker 16: to do anything special, they said, this was Saturday night,
Speaker 16: and then they did it. Of course, it is Saturday night, Peter,
Speaker 16: Wendy said, relenting people of our figure, Wendy, But it
Speaker 16: is only among our own progeny.
Speaker 14: True, true.
Speaker 16: So they were told they could dance, but they must
Speaker 16: put on their nighties first. Ah, Old lady Peter set
Speaker 16: aside to Wendy, warming himself by the fire and looking
Speaker 16: down at her as she sat turning a heel. There
Speaker 16: is nothing more pleasant of an evening for you and me,
Speaker 16: when the day's toil is over, than to rest by
Speaker 16: the fire with the little ones near by. It is sweet, Peter,
Speaker 16: isn't it, Wendy said, frightfully, gratified, Peter, I think curly
Speaker 16: has your nose. Michael takes after you. She went to
Speaker 16: him and put her hand on his shoulder. Dear Peter,
Speaker 16: she said, with such a large family, of course, I
Speaker 16: have now passed my best. But you don't want to
Speaker 16: change me, do you, no, Wendy, certainly he did not
Speaker 16: want to change, but he looked at her uncomfortably, blinking,
Speaker 16: you know, like one not sure whether he was awake
Speaker 16: or asleep. Peter, what is it? I was just thinking,
Speaker 16: he said, a little scared. It is only make believe,
Speaker 16: isn't it that I am their father?
Speaker 12: Oh?
Speaker 16: Yes, Wendy said, primly. You see, he continued apologetically. It
Speaker 16: would make me seem so old to be their real father.
Speaker 16: But they are ours, Peter, yours and mine, But not really, Wendy,
Speaker 16: he asked anxiously, Not if you don't wish it, she replied,
Speaker 16: and she distinctly heard his sigh of relief. Peter, she asked,
Speaker 16: trying to speak firmly, What are your exact feelings to me?
Speaker 16: Those of a devoted son? Wendy, I thought so, she said,
Speaker 16: and went and sat by herself at the extreme end
Speaker 16: of the room. You are so queer, he said, frankly, puzzled,
Speaker 16: and Tiger Lily is just the same. There is something
Speaker 16: she wants to be to me, but she says it
Speaker 16: is not my mother. No, indeed, it is not, Wendy
Speaker 16: replied with frightful emphasis. Now we know why she was
Speaker 16: prejudiced against the Redskins. Then what is it? It isn't
Speaker 16: for a lady to tell? Oh, very well, Peter said,
Speaker 16: a little nittled. Perhaps tinker Bell will tell me. Oh, yes,
Speaker 16: tinker Bell will tell you. Wendy retorted, scornful. She is
Speaker 16: an abandoned little creature. Here Tink, who was in her
Speaker 16: bedroom heavesdropping, squeaked out something impudent. She says she glories
Speaker 16: in being abandoned. Peter interpreted he had a sudden idea.
Speaker 16: Perhaps Tink wants to be my mother. You silly ass,
Speaker 16: cried tinker Bell in a passion. She had said it
Speaker 16: so often that Wendy needed no translation. I almost agree
Speaker 16: with her. Wendy snapped. Fancy Wendy snapping. But she had
Speaker 16: been much tried, and she little knew what was to
Speaker 16: happen before the night was out. If she had none,
Speaker 16: she would not have snapped. None of them knew, Perhaps
Speaker 16: it was best not to know. Their ignorance gave them
Speaker 16: one more glad hour, and as it was to be
Speaker 16: their last hour on the island, let us rejoice that
Speaker 16: there were sixty glad minutes in it. They sang and
Speaker 16: danced in their nightgowns. Such a deliciously creepy song it was,
Speaker 16: in which they pretended to be frightened at their own shadows,
Speaker 16: little wedding that so soon shadows would close in upon them,
Speaker 16: from whom they would shrink in real fear. So uproariously
Speaker 16: gay was the dance, and how they buffeted each other
Speaker 16: on the bed and out of it. It was a
Speaker 16: pillow fight rather than a dance. And when it was finished,
Speaker 16: the pillows insisted on one bout more, like partners who
Speaker 16: know that they may never meet again. The stories they
Speaker 16: told before it was time for Wendy's good night story.
Speaker 16: Even slightly tried to tell a story that night, But
Speaker 16: the beginning was so fearfully dull that it appalled not
Speaker 16: only the others but himself. And he said, happily, yes,
Speaker 16: it is a dull beginning, I say, let us pretend
Speaker 16: that it is the end. And then at last they
Speaker 16: all got into bed for Wendy's story, the story they
Speaker 16: loved best, the story Peter hated. Usually when she began
Speaker 16: to tell this story, he left the room or put
Speaker 16: his hands over his ears. Impossibly, if he had done
Speaker 16: either of those things, this time they might all still
Speaker 16: be on the island. But tonight he remained on his stool,
Speaker 16: and we shall see what happened.
Speaker 17: End of chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Wendy's Story. Listen then said,
Speaker 17: Wendy set them down to her story, with Michael at
Speaker 17: her feet and seven boys in the bed. There was
Speaker 17: once a gentleman. I had rather he had been a lady, Curly, said,
Speaker 17: I wish he had been a white rat, said NIBBs.
Speaker 6: Quite.
Speaker 17: Their mother admonished them there was a lady also, And oh, mummy,
Speaker 17: cried the first twin. You mean that there is a
Speaker 17: lady also, don't you? She is not dead, is she?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 17: No, I am awfully glad she isn't dead, said Tootles.
Speaker 17: Are you glad?
Speaker 7: John?
Speaker 17: Of course I am. Are you glad? Nibs rather, are
Speaker 17: you glad? Twins? We are glad? Oh, dear, sighed Wendy.
Speaker 17: Little less noise there. Peter cooled out, determined that she
Speaker 17: should have fair play, however beastly a story it might be,
Speaker 17: in his opinion. The gentleman's name, Wendy continued, was mister Darling,
Speaker 17: and her name was missus Darling. I knew them, John
Speaker 17: said to annoy the others. I think I knew them,
Speaker 17: said Michael. Rather doubtfully. They were married, you know, explained Wendy.
Speaker 17: And what do you think they had white rats, cried Nibs. Inspired. No,
Speaker 17: it's awfully puzzling, said Tootles, who knew the story by heart.
Speaker 17: Quite Tootles. They had three descendants. What is descendants? Well,
Speaker 17: you are one twin. Did you hear that, John, I
Speaker 17: am a descendant. Descendants are only children, said John. Oh dear,
Speaker 17: oh dear, sighed Wendy. Now, these three children had a
Speaker 17: faithful nurse called Nana, but mister Darling was angry with
Speaker 17: her and chained her up in the yard, and so
Speaker 17: all the children flew away. It's an awfully good story,
Speaker 17: said NIBBs. They flew away. Wendy continued to the neverland
Speaker 17: where the lost children are. I just thought they did,
Speaker 17: curly broke in excitedly. I don't know how it is,
Speaker 17: but I just thought they did. Oh, Wendy, cried Tootles.
Speaker 17: Was one of the lost children, called Tootles, Yes, he was.
Speaker 17: I am in a story. Hooray, I am in a story. NIBBs. Hush, Now,
Speaker 17: I want you to consider the feelings of the unhappy parents,
Speaker 17: with all her children flown away. Oh, they all moaned,
Speaker 17: though they were not really considering the feelings of the
Speaker 17: unhappy parents. One jot think of the empty beds. Ooh,
Speaker 17: it's awfully sad, the first twin said, cheerfully. I don't
Speaker 17: see how it can have a happy ending, said the
Speaker 17: second twin. Do you, Nibs, I'm frightfully anxious. If you
Speaker 17: knew how great is a mother's love, Wendy told them triumphantly,
Speaker 17: you would have no fear. She had now come to
Speaker 17: the part that Peter hated. I do like a mother's love,
Speaker 17: said Tootles, hitting Nibs with a pillow. Do you like
Speaker 17: a mother's love, Nibs, I do, just said Nibs, hitting back.
Speaker 17: You see, Wendy said, complacently. Our heroine knew that the
Speaker 17: mother would always leave the window open for her children
Speaker 17: to fly back by. So they stayed away for years
Speaker 17: and had a lovely time. Did they ever go back?
Speaker 17: Let us now, said Wendy, bracing herself up for her
Speaker 17: finest effort. Take a peep into the future. And they
Speaker 17: all gave themselves the twist that makes peeps into the
Speaker 17: future easier. Years have rolled by, and who is this
Speaker 17: elegant lady of uncertain age alighting at London station? Oh, Wendy,
Speaker 17: who is she cried NIBBs, every bit as excited as
Speaker 17: if he didn't know. Can it be? Yes? No, it
Speaker 17: is the fair Wendy. Oh, and who are the two
Speaker 17: noble portly figures accompanying her, now grown to man's estate.
Speaker 17: Can they be John and Michael? They are? Oh see,
Speaker 17: dear brothers, says Wendy, pointing upwards. There is the window
Speaker 17: still standing open.
Speaker 14: Ah.
Speaker 17: Now we are rewarded for our sublime faith in a
Speaker 17: mother's love. So up they flew to their mummy and daddy,
Speaker 17: and pen cannot describe the happy scene over which we
Speaker 17: draw a veil. That was the story, and they were
Speaker 17: as pleased with it as the fair narrow to herself,
Speaker 17: everything just as it should be. You see, Off we skip,
Speaker 17: like the most heartless things in the world. We choose
Speaker 17: what children are but so attractive, and we have an
Speaker 17: entirely selfish time. And then when we have need of
Speaker 17: special attention, we nobly returned for it, confident that we
Speaker 17: shall be rewarded instead of smacked. So great indeed was
Speaker 17: their faith in a mother's love, but they felt they
Speaker 17: could afford to be callous for a bit longer. But
Speaker 17: there was one there who knew better. And when Wendy finished,
Speaker 17: he uttered a hollow groan. What is it, Peter, she cried,
Speaker 17: running to him, thinking he was ill, She felt him
Speaker 17: solicitously lower down than his chest. Where is it, Peter?
Speaker 17: It isn't that kind of pain, Peter replied darkly. Then
Speaker 17: what kind is it, Wendy? You are wrong about mothers?
Speaker 17: They all gathered round him in affright. So alarming was
Speaker 17: his agitation, and with a fine candor, he told them
Speaker 17: what he had hitherto concealed long ago. He said, I thought,
Speaker 17: like you that my mother would always keep the window
Speaker 17: open for me. So I stayed away for moons and
Speaker 17: moons and moons, and then flew back. But the window
Speaker 17: was barred, for mother had forgotten all about me, and
Speaker 17: there was another little boy sleeping in my bed. I
Speaker 17: am not sure that this was true, but Peter thought
Speaker 17: it was true, and it scared them. Are you sure
Speaker 17: mothers are like that?
Speaker 7: Yes?
Speaker 17: So this was the truth about mothers the toads. Still,
Speaker 17: it is best to be careful, and no one knows
Speaker 17: so quickly as a child when he should give in Wendy,
Speaker 17: let us go home, cried Michael and John together. Yes,
Speaker 17: she said, clutching them. Not tonight, asked the lost boys, bewildered.
Speaker 17: They knew in what they called their hearts that one
Speaker 17: can get on quite well without a mother, and that
Speaker 17: it is only the mothers who think you can't. At once,
Speaker 17: Wendy replied resolutely, for the horrible thought had come to her.
Speaker 17: Perhaps mother is in half mourning by this time. This
Speaker 17: dread made her forgetful of what must be Peter's feelings,
Speaker 17: and she said to him rather sharply, Peter, will you
Speaker 17: make the necessary arrangements if you wish it? He replied,
Speaker 17: as cooly as if she had asked him to pass
Speaker 17: the nuts, not so much as a sorry to lose
Speaker 17: you between them if she did not mind the party
Speaker 17: he was going to show her? Was Peter that neither
Speaker 17: did he, But of course he cared very much, and
Speaker 17: he was so full of wrath against grown ups, who,
Speaker 17: as usual, were spoiling everything, that as soon as he
Speaker 17: got inside his tree he breathed intentionally quick, short breaths
Speaker 17: at the rate of about five to a second. He
Speaker 17: did this because there is a saying in the Neverland
Speaker 17: that every time you breathe, a grown up dies, and
Speaker 17: Peter was killing them off vindictively as fast as possible. Then,
Speaker 17: having given the necessary instructions to the Redskins, he returned
Speaker 17: to the home, where an unworthy scene had been enacted
Speaker 17: in his absence. Panic stricken at the thought of losing Wendy,
Speaker 17: the Lost Boys had advanced upon her, threateningly, it will
Speaker 17: be worse than before she came, they cried. We shan't
Speaker 17: let her go. Let's keep her prisoner, a chain her up.
Speaker 17: In her extremity. An instinct told her to which of
Speaker 17: them to turn. Tootles, she cried, I appeal to you.
Speaker 17: Was it not strange? She appealed to Tootles, quite the
Speaker 17: silliest one. Grandly. However, did Tootles respond. For that one
Speaker 17: moment he dropped his sillinness and spoke with dignity. I
Speaker 17: am this Tootles, he said, And nobody minds me, but
Speaker 17: the first who does not behave to Wendy like an
Speaker 17: English gentleman, I will blood him severely. He drew back
Speaker 17: his hanger, and for that instant his son was at noon.
Speaker 17: There others held back uneasily. Then Peter returned, and they
Speaker 17: saw at once that they would get no support from him.
Speaker 17: He would keep no girl in the neverland against her will. Wendy,
Speaker 17: he said, striding up and down. I have asked the
Speaker 17: Redskins to guide you through the wood as flying tire
Speaker 17: as you sow. Thank you, Peter. Then he continued, in
Speaker 17: the short, sharp voice of one accustomed to be obeyed,
Speaker 17: tinker Bell will take you across the sea. Wake her, Nibs.
Speaker 17: NIBBs had to knock twice before he got an answer,
Speaker 17: though Tink had really been sitting up in bed listening
Speaker 17: for some time.
Speaker 6: Who are you?
Speaker 7: How dare you go away?
Speaker 6: She cried?
Speaker 17: You are to get up, Tink, Nibs called and take
Speaker 17: Wendy on a journey. Of course, Tink had been delighted
Speaker 17: to hear that Wendy was going, but she was jolly
Speaker 17: well determined not to be her career, and she said
Speaker 17: so in still more offensive language. Then she pretended to
Speaker 17: be asleep again. She says she won't, NIBBs exclaimed, aghast
Speaker 17: at such insubordination, whereupon Peter went sternly toward the young
Speaker 17: lady's chamber. Tink, he rapped out, if you don't get
Speaker 17: up and dress at once. I will open the curtains,
Speaker 17: and then we shall all see you in your neglige O.
Speaker 17: This made her leap to the floor. Who said, I
Speaker 17: wasn't getting up, she cried. In the meantime, the boys
Speaker 17: were gazing very forlornly at Wendy, now equipped with John
Speaker 17: and Michael for the journey. By this time, they were dejected,
Speaker 17: not merely because they were about to lose her, but
Speaker 17: also because they felt that she was going off to
Speaker 17: something nice to which they had not been invited. Novelty
Speaker 17: was beckoning to them as usual, crediting them with a
Speaker 17: nobler feeling. Wendy melted. Dear ones, She said, if you
Speaker 17: will all come with me, I feel almost sure I
Speaker 17: can get my father and mother to adopt you. The
Speaker 17: invitation was meant especially for Peter, but each of the
Speaker 17: boys was thinking exclusively of himself, and at once they
Speaker 17: jumped with joy. But won't they think is rather a
Speaker 17: handful NIBBs asked in the middle of his jump. Oh no,
Speaker 17: said Wendy, rapidly thinking it out. It will only mean
Speaker 17: having a few beds in the drawing room. They can
Speaker 17: be hidden behind the screens on first Thursdays, Peter, can
Speaker 17: we go? They all cried, imploringly. They took it for
Speaker 17: granted that if they went, he would go also, but
Speaker 17: really they scarcely cared. Thus children are ever ready when
Speaker 17: novelty knocks, to desert their dearest ones. All right, Peter
Speaker 17: replied with a bitter smile, And immediately they rushed to
Speaker 17: get their things. And now, Peter, Wendy said, thinking she
Speaker 17: had put everything right, I am going to give you
Speaker 17: your medicine before you go. She loved to give the medicine,
Speaker 17: and undoubtedly gave them too much. Of course, it was
Speaker 17: only water, but it was out of a bottle, and
Speaker 17: she always shook the bottle and counted the drops, which
Speaker 17: gave it a certain medicinal quality. On this occasion, however,
Speaker 17: she did not give Peter his draft, for just as
Speaker 17: she had prepared it, she saw a look on his
Speaker 17: face that made her heart Sinkings Peter, she cried, shaking no,
Speaker 17: he answered, pretending indifference, I am not going with you, Wendy, Yes, Peter, No.
Speaker 17: To show that her departure would leave him unmoved, he
Speaker 17: skipped up and down the room, playing gaily on his
Speaker 17: heartless pipes. She had to run about after him, though
Speaker 17: it was rather undignified to find your mother, she coaxed. Now,
Speaker 17: if Peter had ever quite had a mother, he no
Speaker 17: longer missed her. He could do very well without one.
Speaker 17: He had thought them out and remembered only their bad points. No, no,
Speaker 17: he told Wendy decisively. Perhaps she would say I was
Speaker 17: old and I just want always to be a little
Speaker 17: boy and to have fun. But Peter no, And so
Speaker 17: the others had to be told, Peter isn't coming, Peter
Speaker 17: not coming. They gazed blankly at him, their sticks over
Speaker 17: their backs and on edge stick a bundle. Their first
Speaker 17: thought was that Peter was not going. He had probably
Speaker 17: changed his mind about letting them go, but he was
Speaker 17: far too proud for that. If you find your mother's,
Speaker 17: he said darkly, I hope you will like them. The
Speaker 17: awful cynisen of this made an uncomfortable impression, and most
Speaker 17: of them begun to look rather doubtful. After all, their
Speaker 17: faces said, were they not noodles to want to go?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 17: Then cried Peter, no fuss, no blubbering, goodbye, Wendy, And
Speaker 17: he held out his hand cheeringly, quite as if they
Speaker 17: must really go. Now, for he had something important to do.
Speaker 17: She had to take his hand, and there was there's
Speaker 17: no indication that he would prefer a thimble. You will
Speaker 17: remember about changing your flannels, Peter, she said, lingering over him.
Speaker 17: She was always so particular about their flannels. Yes, and
Speaker 17: you will take your medicine.
Speaker 5: Yes.
Speaker 17: That seemed to be everything, and an awkward pause followed. Peter, however,
Speaker 17: was not the kind that breaks down before other people.
Speaker 17: Are you ready, tinker Bell, he cooled out. I I
Speaker 17: then lead the way. Tink darted up the nearest tree,
Speaker 17: but no one followed her, for it was at this
Speaker 17: moment that the pirates made their dreadful attack upon the Redskins. Above,
Speaker 17: where it all had been so steell, the air was
Speaker 17: rent with shrieks and the clash of steel. Below, there
Speaker 17: was dead silence. Mouths opened and remained open when he
Speaker 17: fell on her knees, but her arms were extended toward Peter.
Speaker 17: All arms were extended to him, as if suddenly blown
Speaker 17: in his direction. They were beseeching him mutely not to
Speaker 17: desert them. As for Peter, he seized his sword the
Speaker 17: same he thought he had slain barbecue with and the
Speaker 17: lust of battle was in his eye.
Speaker 12: End of chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, the children are carried off.
Speaker 12: The pirate attack had been a complete surprise. Are sure
Speaker 12: proof that the unscrupulous hook had conducted it improperly, For
Speaker 12: it is apprise Redskins fairly is beyond the wit of
Speaker 12: the weight man.
Speaker 16: By all the.
Speaker 12: Unwritten laws of savage warfare. It is always the redskin
Speaker 12: who attacks, and with the wiliness of his race, he
Speaker 12: does it just before the dawn, at which time he
Speaker 12: knows the courage of the weights to be at its
Speaker 12: lowest erbor. The weight man, having the maintain, made a
Speaker 12: rude stock heed on the somewhat of yonder undulating ground,
Speaker 12: at the foot of which a stream runs, for its
Speaker 12: destruction to be too far from water. There they await
Speaker 12: the onslaught, the inexperienced ones clutching their revolvers and treading
Speaker 12: on twigs, but the old hands sleeping tranquility, until just
Speaker 12: before the dawn. Through the long black night, the savage
Speaker 12: scouts wriggle snakelike among the grass, without stirring a blade.
Speaker 12: The brushwood closes behind them as silently as sand into
Speaker 12: which shimole has dived. Not a sound is to be heard,
Speaker 12: save when they give vent to a wonderful imitation and
Speaker 12: the lonely call of the coyote. The cry is answered
Speaker 12: by other braves, some of them do it even better
Speaker 12: than the coyotes, who are not very good at it.
Speaker 12: So the chill hours wear on and a long suspense
Speaker 12: is horribly trying to the pale face who has to
Speaker 12: live through it for the first time. But to the
Speaker 12: train hand, those ghastly calls and still ghastlier silences are
Speaker 12: but an intimation of how the night is marching. But
Speaker 12: this was the usual procedure, was so well known to
Speaker 12: Hook that in disregarding it, he cannot be excused on
Speaker 12: the plea of ignorance. The Piccaninnies, on their part, trusted
Speaker 12: implicitly to his honor, and their election of the night
Speaker 12: stands out in marked contrast to his. They left nothing
Speaker 12: undone that was consistent with the reputation of their tribe,
Speaker 12: With that alertness of the senses which is at once
Speaker 12: the marvel and despair of civilized peoples, they knew that
Speaker 12: the pirates were on the island from the moment one
Speaker 12: of them trod on a dry stick, and in an
Speaker 12: incredibly short space of time the coyute cries began. Every
Speaker 12: foot of ground between the spot where Hook had landed
Speaker 12: his forces and the home own of the trees was
Speaker 12: stealthily examined by braves wearing their mucksins with the heels
Speaker 12: in front. They found only one hillock with a stream
Speaker 12: at its base, so that Hook had no choice here
Speaker 12: he must establish himself and wait for just before the dawn,
Speaker 12: everything being thus mapped out with almost diabolical cunning, the
Speaker 12: main body of the Redskins folded their blankets around them,
Speaker 12: and a phlegmatic manner, that is to them the pearl
Speaker 12: of man who had squatted above the children's home, awaiting
Speaker 12: a cold moment when they should deal pale death here,
Speaker 12: dreaming though wide awake of the acquisite tortures to which
Speaker 12: they were to put him. Out break of day, those
Speaker 12: confiding savages were found by the treacherous Hook Bok. From
Speaker 12: the accounts afterwards supplied by such of the scouts as
Speaker 12: escaped the carnage, he does not seem even to have
Speaker 12: paused at the rising ground, though it is certain that
Speaker 12: in the gray light he must have seen it. No
Speaker 12: thought of waiting to be attacked appears from first to
Speaker 12: last to have visited his huttle mind. He would not
Speaker 12: even hold off till the night was nearly spent on
Speaker 12: he pounded, with no policy but to fall to What
Speaker 12: could the bewildered scouts do? Masters, are they aware of
Speaker 12: every warlike artifst saved this one, but trot helplessly after him,
Speaker 12: exposing themselves fatally to view while they gave pathetic utterance
Speaker 12: to the coyote cry. Around the brave tiger lily were
Speaker 12: a dozen of her stoutest warriors, and they suddenly saw
Speaker 12: the perfidious pirates bearing down upon them, fell from their eyes.
Speaker 12: Then the film through which they had looked at victory.
Speaker 12: No more would they torture at the stake for them,
Speaker 12: the happy hunting gruns was now they knew it. But
Speaker 12: as their father's sons, they quitted themselves. Even then they
Speaker 12: had time to gather in a phalanx that would have
Speaker 12: been far to break had they risen quickly. But this
Speaker 12: they were forbidden to do by the traditions of their race.
Speaker 12: It is written that the noble savage must never express
Speaker 12: surprise in the presence of the white, thus terrible as
Speaker 12: the sudden appearance of the pirates must.
Speaker 7: Have been to them.
Speaker 12: They remained stationary for a moment, not a muscle moving,
Speaker 12: as if the foe had come by invitation. Then indeed
Speaker 12: the tradition gallantly upheld. They seized their weapons, and the
Speaker 12: air was torn with the war cry. But it was
Speaker 12: now too late. It is no part of ours to
Speaker 12: describe what was a massacre rather than a fight. Thus
Speaker 12: perished many of the flower of the Piccaninny tribe. Not
Speaker 12: all unavenged did they die for with lean Wulf fell
Speaker 12: alf Mason to disturb the spanish Man no more, And
Speaker 12: among others who bit the dust were George Scry, Charles Turley,
Speaker 12: and the Alsatian Foggerty Urley fell to the tomahawk of
Speaker 12: the Terrible Panther, who ultimately cut away through the pirates
Speaker 12: with tirely and a small remnant of the tribe. To
Speaker 12: what extent Hook is to blame for his tactics on
Speaker 12: this occasion, it's for the historian to decide. Had he
Speaker 12: waited on the rising ground till the proper hour, he
Speaker 12: and his men would probably have been butchered, And in
Speaker 12: judging him, it is only fair to take this into account.
Speaker 12: What he should perhaps have done was to acquaint his
Speaker 12: opponents that he proposed to follow a new method. Neither hand,
Speaker 12: this as destroying the ailment of surprise, would have made
Speaker 12: his strategy of no avail. So that the whole question
Speaker 12: is beset with difficulties. One cannot, at least withhold a
Speaker 12: reluctant admiration for the wit that had conceived so bold
Speaker 12: a scheme, and the fel genius with which it was
Speaker 12: carried out. What were his own feelings about himself at
Speaker 12: that triumphant moment, fain would his dogs have known? As
Speaker 12: breathing heavily and wiping their cutlasses, they gathered at discreet
Speaker 12: distance from his hook, and squinted through their ferret eyes
Speaker 12: at this extraordinary man elation must have been in his heart,
Speaker 12: but his face did not reflect it ever, a dark
Speaker 12: and solitary enigma he stood aloof from his followers in
Speaker 12: spirit as in substance. The Knight's work was not yet over,
Speaker 12: For it was not the redskins he had come out
Speaker 12: to destroy. They were but the bees to be smoked,
Speaker 12: so that he should get at the honey. It was
Speaker 12: Pan he wanted Pan and Wendy in their band. But
Speaker 12: chiefly Pan Peter was such a small boy that one
Speaker 12: tends to wonder at the man's hatred of him. True,
Speaker 12: he had flung Hook's armed to the crocodile. But even
Speaker 12: this and the increased insecurity of life to which it
Speaker 12: led owing to the crocodile's pertinacity, hardly account for a
Speaker 12: vindictiveness so relentless and malignant. The truth is that there
Speaker 12: was something about Peter which goaded the pirate captain to frenzy.
Speaker 12: It was not his courage, It was not his engaging appearance.
Speaker 12: It was not There is no beating about the bush,
Speaker 12: for we know quite well what it was, and had
Speaker 12: got to tell It was Peter's cockiness. This had got
Speaker 12: on Hook's nerves. It made his iron clawed twitch, and
Speaker 12: at night it disturbed him like an insect. While Peter lived,
Speaker 12: the tortured man felt that he was aligned in a
Speaker 12: cage into which a sparrow had gone. The question now
Speaker 12: was how to get down the trees, or how to
Speaker 12: get his dogs down. He ran his eyes over them,
Speaker 12: searching for the thinnest ones. They readled uncomfortably, for they
Speaker 12: knew he would not scruple to ram them down with poles.
Speaker 12: In the meantime, one of the boys. We have seen
Speaker 12: them at the first clang of the weapons, turned, as
Speaker 12: it were, into stone figures, open mouthed, all appealing with
Speaker 12: outstretched arms to Peter. And we returned to them as
Speaker 12: their mouths close and their arms fall to their sides.
Speaker 12: The pandemonium above has ceased, almost as suddenly as it arose,
Speaker 12: passed like a fierce gust of wind. But they know
Speaker 12: that in the passing it has determined their fate which
Speaker 12: side had won. The pirates, listening avidly at the mouths
Speaker 12: of the trees, heard the question put by every boy
Speaker 12: and alas they also heard Peter's answer. If the Redskins
Speaker 12: have won, he said, they'll beat the tom tom. It
Speaker 12: is always their sign of victory. Now, Smee had found
Speaker 12: the tom tom and was at that moment sitting on it.
Speaker 12: You will never hear the tom tom again, he muttered,
Speaker 12: but inaudibly, of course, for strict Silen had been enjoined
Speaker 12: to his amazement. Hook signed him to beat the tom tom,
Speaker 12: and slowly there came to Smee an understanding of the
Speaker 12: dreadful wickedness of the order. Never probably had this simple
Speaker 12: man admired Hook so much. Twice Smee beat upon the instrument,
Speaker 12: and then stopped to listen gleefully. The tom Tom miss
Speaker 12: Grants heard Peter cry an Indian victory. The doomed children
Speaker 12: answered with a cheer that was music to the black
Speaker 12: hearts above, and almost immediately they repeated their goodbyes to Peter.
Speaker 12: This puzzled the pirates, but all their other feelings were
Speaker 12: swollen by a base delight that the enemy were about
Speaker 12: to plump the trees. They smirked at each other and
Speaker 12: rubbed their hands rapidly and silently. Hook gave his orders,
Speaker 12: one man to each tree, and the others to arrange
Speaker 12: themselves in a line two yards apart.
Speaker 13: End of chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen. Do you believe in fairies?
Speaker 13: The more quickly this horror is disposed of, the better.
Speaker 13: The first to emerge from his tree was Curly. He
Speaker 13: rose out of it into the arms of Seco, who
Speaker 13: flung him to Smee, who flung him to Starkey, who
Speaker 13: flung him to Bill Jukes, who flung him to Noodler,
Speaker 13: And so he was tossed from one to another till
Speaker 13: he fell at the feet of the Black Pirate. All
Speaker 13: the boys were plucked from their trees in this ruthless manner,
Speaker 13: and several of them were in the air at a time,
Speaker 13: like bales of goods flung from hand to hand. A
Speaker 13: different treatment was accorded to Wendy, who came last. With
Speaker 13: ironical politeness, Hook raised his hat to her, and, offering
Speaker 13: her his arm, escorted her to the spot where the
Speaker 13: others were being gagged. He did it with such an air.
Speaker 13: He was so frightfully distngay that she was too fascinated
Speaker 13: to cry out she was only a little girl, perhaps
Speaker 13: at his tell tale to divulge that for a moment,
Speaker 13: hook In trees against her, And we tell on her
Speaker 13: only because her slip let the strange results. Had she
Speaker 13: haughtily unhanded him, and we should have loved to write
Speaker 13: it of her, she would have been hurled through the
Speaker 13: air like the others. And then Hook would probably not
Speaker 13: have been present at the tying of the children. And
Speaker 13: had he not been at the tying, he would not
Speaker 13: have discovered Slightly's secret, and without the secret he could
Speaker 13: not presently have made his foul attempt on Peter's life.
Speaker 13: They were tied to prevent their flying away, doubled up
Speaker 13: with their knees close to their ears, and for the
Speaker 13: trusting of them. The black pirate had cut a rope
Speaker 13: into nine equal pieces. All went well until Slightly's turn came,
Speaker 13: when he was found to be like those irritating parcels
Speaker 13: that use up all the string and going round and
Speaker 13: leave no tags with which to tie a knot. The
Speaker 13: pirates kicked him in their rage, just as you kicked
Speaker 13: the parcel, though in fairness you should kick the string.
Speaker 13: And strange to say, it was Hook who told them
Speaker 13: to belay their violence. His lip was curled with malicious triumph,
Speaker 13: while his dogs were merely sweating, because every time they
Speaker 13: tried to pack the unhappy lad tight in one part,
Speaker 13: he bulged out in another. Hook's mastermind had gone far
Speaker 13: beneath slightly surface, probing not for effects but for causes,
Speaker 13: and his exultations showed that he had found them slightly
Speaker 13: white to the gills. Knew that Hook had surprised his secret,
Speaker 13: which was this, that no boy so blown out could
Speaker 13: use a tree, wherein an average man kneeds stick. Poor
Speaker 13: Slightly most wretched of all the children, now, for he
Speaker 13: was in a panic about Peter bitterly regretted what he
Speaker 13: had done, madly addicted to the drinking of water when
Speaker 13: he was hot, he had swelled in consequence to his
Speaker 13: present girth, and instead of reducing himself to fit his tree,
Speaker 13: he had, unknown to the others, whittled his tree to
Speaker 13: make it fit him. Sufficient of this, Hook guessed to
Speaker 13: persuade him that Peter at last lay at his mercy.
Speaker 13: But no word of the dark design that now formed
Speaker 13: in these subterranean caverns of his mind crossed his lips.
Speaker 13: He merely signed that the captives were to be conveyed
Speaker 13: to the ship, and that he would be alone. How
Speaker 13: to convey them. Hunched up in their ropes, they might
Speaker 13: indeed be rolled downhill like barrels, but most of the
Speaker 13: way lay through a morass. Again, Hook's genius surmounted difficulties.
Speaker 13: He indicated that the little house must be used as
Speaker 13: a conveyance. The children were flung into it. Four stout
Speaker 13: pirates raised it on their shoulders. The others fell in behind, and,
Speaker 13: singing the hateful pirate chorus, the strange person set off
Speaker 13: through the wood. I don't know whether any of the
Speaker 13: children were crying. If so, the singing drowned the sound.
Speaker 13: But as the little house disappeared in the forest, a brave,
Speaker 13: though tiny jet of smoke issued from its chimney, as
Speaker 13: if defying hook. Hook saw it, and it did Peter
Speaker 13: a bad service. It dried up any trickle of pity
Speaker 13: for him that may have remained in the pirate's infuriated breast.
Speaker 13: The first thing he did, on finding himself alone in
Speaker 13: the fast falling night, was to tiptoe to slight his
Speaker 13: tree and make sure that it provided him with a passage.
Speaker 13: Then for long he remained brooding his hat of ill
Speaker 13: omen on the sward, so that any gentle breeze which
Speaker 13: had arisen might play refreshingly through his hair. Dark as
Speaker 13: were his thoughts, his blue eyes were as soft as
Speaker 13: the periwinkle. Intently he listened for any sound from the
Speaker 13: nether world, but all was as silent below as above.
Speaker 13: The house under the ground seemed to be but one
Speaker 13: more empty tenement in the void. Was that boy asleep
Speaker 13: or did he stand waiting at the foot of Slightly's
Speaker 13: tree with his dagger in his hand. There was no
Speaker 13: way of knowing, save by going down, Hook let his
Speaker 13: cloak slip softly to the ground, and then biting his
Speaker 13: lips still a lewde blood stood on them. He stepped
Speaker 13: into the tree. He was a brave man, but for
Speaker 13: a moment he had to stop there and wipe his brow,
Speaker 13: which was dripping like a candle. Then silently he let
Speaker 13: himself go into the unknown. He arrived unmolested, at the
Speaker 13: foot of the shaft and stood still again, biting at
Speaker 13: his breath, which had almost left him. As his eyes
Speaker 13: became accustomed to the dim light, various objects in the
Speaker 13: home under the trees took shape, But the only one
Speaker 13: on which his greedy gaze rested, long sought for, and
Speaker 13: found at last was the great bed. On the bed
Speaker 13: lay Peter fast asleep, unaware of the tragedy being enacted above.
Speaker 13: Peter had continued for a little time after the children left,
Speaker 13: to play gaily on his pipes, no doubt, rather a
Speaker 13: forlorn attempt to prove to himself that he did not care.
Speaker 13: Then he decided not to take his medicine so as
Speaker 13: to grieve Wendy. Then he lay down on the bed
Speaker 13: outside the coverlet to vex her still more, for she
Speaker 13: had always tucked them inside it. Because you never know
Speaker 13: that you may not grow chilly at the turn of
Speaker 13: the night. Then he nearly cried, but it struck him
Speaker 13: how indignant she would be if he laughed instead. So
Speaker 13: he laughed a haughty laugh, and fell asleep in the
Speaker 13: middle of it. Sometimes, though not often, he had dreamed,
Speaker 13: and they were more painful than the dreams of other boys.
Speaker 13: For hours he could not be separated from those dreams,
Speaker 13: though he wailed piteously in them. They had to do,
Speaker 13: I think, with the riddle of his existence. At such
Speaker 13: times it had been Wendy's custom to take him out
Speaker 13: of bed and sit with him on her lap, soothing
Speaker 13: him in dear ways of her own invention, and when
Speaker 13: he grew calmer, to put him back to bed before
Speaker 13: he quite woke up, so that he should not know
Speaker 13: of the indignity to which she had subjected him. But
Speaker 13: on this occasion he had fallen at once into a
Speaker 13: dreamless sleep. One arm dropped over the edge of the bed,
Speaker 13: one leg was arched, and the unfinished part of his
Speaker 13: laugh was stranded on his mouth, which was open, showing
Speaker 13: the little pearls. Thus defenseless hook found him. He stood
Speaker 13: silent at the foot of the tree, looking across the
Speaker 13: chamber at his head. Enemy. Did no feeling of compassion
Speaker 13: disturb his somber breast. The man was not wholly evil.
Speaker 13: He loved flowers, I have been told, and sweet music.
Speaker 13: He was himself no mean performer on the harpsichord, and,
Speaker 13: let it be frankly admitted, the idyllic nature of the
Speaker 13: scene stirred him profoundly. Mastered by his better self, he
Speaker 13: would have returned reluctantly up the tree, but for one thing.
Speaker 13: What stayed him was Peter's impertinent appearance as he slept.
Speaker 13: The open mouth, the drooping arm, the arched knee. They
Speaker 13: were such a personification of cockiness, as taken together will
Speaker 13: never again, one may hope, be presented to eyes so
Speaker 13: sensitive to their offensiveness. They steeled Hook's heart. If his
Speaker 13: rage had broken him into a hunt, undred pieces, every
Speaker 13: one of them would have disregarded the incident and leaped
Speaker 13: at the sleeper. Though a light from the one lamp
Speaker 13: shone dimly on the bed, Hooks stood in darkness himself,
Speaker 13: and at the first stealthy step forward he discovered an obstacle,
Speaker 13: the door of slightly stree. It did not entirely fill
Speaker 13: the aperture, and he had been looking over it feeling
Speaker 13: for the catch. He found, to his fury that it
Speaker 13: was low down, beyond his reach to his disordered brain.
Speaker 13: It seemed then that the irritating quality in Peter's face
Speaker 13: and figure visibly increased, and he rattled the door and
Speaker 13: flung himself against it. Was his enemy to escape him,
Speaker 13: after all, But what was that The red in his
Speaker 13: eye had caught sight of Peter's medicine. Standing on a
Speaker 13: ledge within easy reach. He fathomed what it was straight away,
Speaker 13: and immediately knew that the sleep was in his power
Speaker 13: lest he should be taken alive. Hook always carried about
Speaker 13: his person a dreadful drug, blended by himself. Of all
Speaker 13: the death dealing rings that had come into his possession.
Speaker 13: These he had boiled down into a yellow liquid, quite
Speaker 13: unknown to science, which was probably the most virulent poison
Speaker 13: in existence. Five drops of this he now added to
Speaker 13: Peter's cup. His hand shook, but it was in exultation
Speaker 13: rather than in shame. As he did it. He avoided
Speaker 13: glancing at the sleeper, but not lest pity should unnerve him,
Speaker 13: merely to avoid spilling than one long gloating look he
Speaker 13: cast upon his victim, and turning, wormed his way with
Speaker 13: difficulty up the tree. As he emerged at the top,
Speaker 13: he looked the very spirit of evil breaking from its hole.
Speaker 13: Donning his hat at its most rakish, he wound his
Speaker 13: cloak around him, holding one end in front, as if
Speaker 13: to conceal his person from the night of which it
Speaker 13: was the blackest part, and muttering strangely to himself, stole
Speaker 13: away through the trees. Peter slept on. The light guttered
Speaker 13: and went out, leaving the tenement in darkness. But still
Speaker 13: he slept. It must have been not less than ten
Speaker 13: o'clock by the crocodile, when he suddenly sat up in
Speaker 13: his bed, wakened by he knew not what it was.
Speaker 13: A soft, cautious tapping on the door of his tree,
Speaker 13: soft and cautious, but in that stillness it was sinister.
Speaker 13: Peter felt for his dagger till his hand gripped it.
Speaker 13: Then he spoke, who is that? For long there was
Speaker 13: no answer, Then again the knock, Who are you? No answer?
Speaker 13: He was thrilled, and he loved being thrilled. In two strides,
Speaker 13: he reached the door. Unlike Slightly's doore, it filled the
Speaker 13: aperture so that he could not see beyond it, nor
Speaker 13: could the one knocking see him. I won't open unless
Speaker 13: you speak, Peter cried. Then at last the visitor spoke,
Speaker 13: in a lovely bell like voice. Let me in, Peter,
Speaker 13: it was Tink, and quickly he unbarred to her. She
Speaker 13: flew in excitedly, her face flushed and her dress stained
Speaker 13: with mud. What is it, Oh, you can never guess,
Speaker 13: she cried, and offered him three guesses. Out with it,
Speaker 13: he shouted, and in one ungrammatical sentence, as long as
Speaker 13: the ribbons the conjurors pulled from their mouths, she told
Speaker 13: of the capture of Wendy and the boys. Peter's heart
Speaker 13: bobbed up and down as he listened. Wendy bound and
Speaker 13: on the pirate ship. She who loved ever to be
Speaker 13: just so I'll rescue her, he cried, leaping at his weapons.
Speaker 13: As he leaped, he thought of something he could do
Speaker 13: to please her. He could take his medicine. His hand
Speaker 13: closed on the fatal draft. No, shrieked Tinker Pell, who
Speaker 13: had heard Hook mutter about his deed as he sped
Speaker 13: through the forest. Why not, it is poisoned, poisoned? Who
Speaker 13: could have poisoned it?
Speaker 14: Hook?
Speaker 13: Don't be silly? How could Hook have got down here?
Speaker 13: Alas tinker Bell could not explain this, for even she
Speaker 13: did not know the dark secret of Slightly's tree. Nevertheless,
Speaker 13: Hook's words had left no room for doubt. The cup
Speaker 13: was poisoned. Besides, said Peter, quite believing himself. I never
Speaker 13: fell asleep. He raised the cup. No time for words,
Speaker 13: now time for deeds, And with one of her lightning movements,
Speaker 13: Tink got between his lips and the draft and drained
Speaker 13: it to the dregs. Why Tink, how dare you drink
Speaker 13: my medicine? But she did not answer. Already she was
Speaker 13: reeling in the air. What is the matter with you,
Speaker 13: cried Peter. Suddenly afraid it was poisoned Peter, she told
Speaker 13: him softly, and now I am going to be dead.
Speaker 13: Oh Tink, did you drink it to save me?
Speaker 15: Yes?
Speaker 13: But why Tink? Her wings would scarcely carry her now.
Speaker 13: But in reply, she alighted on his shoulder and gave
Speaker 13: his nose a loving bite. She whispered in his ear,
Speaker 13: you silly ass, and then, tottering to her chamber, lay
Speaker 13: down on the bed. His head almost filled the fourth
Speaker 13: wall of her little room as he knelt near her
Speaker 13: in distress. Every moment her light was growing fainter, and
Speaker 13: he knew that if it went out, she would be
Speaker 13: no more. She liked his tears so much that she
Speaker 13: put out her beautiful finger and let them run over it.
Speaker 13: Her voice was so low that at first he could
Speaker 13: not make out what she said. Then he made it out.
Speaker 13: She was saying that she thought she could get well
Speaker 13: again if children believed in fairies. Peter flung out his arms.
Speaker 13: There were no children there, and it was night time,
Speaker 13: but he addressed all who might be dreaming of the neverland,
Speaker 13: and who were therefore nearer to him than you think,
Speaker 13: boys and girls in their nighties, and naked papooses in
Speaker 13: their baskets hung from trees.
Speaker 6: Do you believe?
Speaker 13: He cried? Tink sat up in bed, almost briskly, to
Speaker 13: listen to her fate. She fancied, she heard answers in
Speaker 13: the affirmative, and then again she wasn't sure. What do
Speaker 13: you think, she asked Peter, If you believe, he shouted
Speaker 13: to them, flap your hands, don't let Tink die. Many clapped,
Speaker 13: some didn't, A few beasts hissed. The clapping stopped suddenly,
Speaker 13: as if countless mothers had rushed to their nurseries to
Speaker 13: see what on earth was happening? But already Tink was saved.
Speaker 13: First her voice grew strong, Then she popped out of bed.
Speaker 13: Then she was flashing through the room, more merry and
Speaker 13: impudent than ever. She never thought of thanking those who believed,
Speaker 13: but she would have liked to get at the ones
Speaker 13: who had hissed. And now to rescue Wendy. The moon
Speaker 13: was riding in a cloudy heaven when Peter rose from
Speaker 13: his tree, but girt with weapons and wearing little else
Speaker 13: to set out upon his perilous quest. It was not
Speaker 13: such a night as he would have chosen. He had
Speaker 13: hoped to fly, keeping not far from the ground, so
Speaker 13: that nothing unwonted should escape his eyes. But in that
Speaker 13: fitful light, to a fly own low would have meant
Speaker 13: trailing his shadow through the trees, thus disturbing birds and
Speaker 13: acquainting a watchful foe. That he was astir He regretted
Speaker 13: now that he had given the birds of the island
Speaker 13: such strange names, that they are very wild and difficult
Speaker 13: of approach. There was no other course but to press
Speaker 13: forward in red skinned fashion, at which happily he was
Speaker 13: an adept. But in what direction, for he could not
Speaker 13: be sure that the children had been taken to the ship.
Speaker 13: A light fall of snow had obliterated all footmarks, and
Speaker 13: a deathly silence pervaded the island, as if for a
Speaker 13: space nature stood still in horror of the recent carnage.
Speaker 13: He had taught the children something of the forest lore
Speaker 13: that he had himself learned from Tiger Lily and tinker Bell,
Speaker 13: and knew that in their dire hour they were not
Speaker 13: likely to forget it. Slightly. If he had an opportunity,
Speaker 13: would blaze the trees. For instance, Curly would drop seeds,
Speaker 13: and Wendy would leave her handkerchief at some important place.
Speaker 13: The morning was needed to search for such guidance, and
Speaker 13: he could not wait. The upper world had called him,
Speaker 13: but would give no help. The crocodile passed him, but
Speaker 13: not another living thing, not a sound, not a movement.
Speaker 13: And yet he knew well that sudden death might be
Speaker 13: at the next tree, or stalking him from behind. He
Speaker 13: swore this terrible oath, hook or me this time. Now
Speaker 13: he crawled forward like a snake, and again erect he
Speaker 13: darted across the space on which the moonlight played, one
Speaker 13: finger on his lip and his dagger at the ready.
Speaker 13: He was frightfully happy.
Speaker 6: End of chapter Chapter fourteen. The pirate ship one green
Speaker 6: light squ over Kid's Creek, which is near the mouth
Speaker 6: of the Pirate River, marked where the brig the Jolly
Speaker 6: Roger lay low in the water, a rakish looking craft,
Speaker 6: foul to the hull, every beam in her detestable like ground,
Speaker 6: strewn with mangled feathers. She was the cannibal of the seas,
Speaker 6: and scarce needed that watchful eye, for she floated immune
Speaker 6: in the horror of her name. She was wrapped in
Speaker 6: a blanket of night, through which no sound from her
Speaker 6: could have reached the shore. There were little sound, and
Speaker 6: none agreeable, save the whirr of the ship's sewing machine,
Speaker 6: at which Smee sat, ever industrious and obliging the essence
Speaker 6: of the commonplace pathetic Smee. I know not why he
Speaker 6: was so infinitely pathetic, unless it were because he was
Speaker 6: so pathetically unaware of it. But even strong men had
Speaker 6: to turn hastily from looking at him, And more than once,
Speaker 6: on summer evenings, he had touched the fount of hook's
Speaker 6: teers and made it flow. Of this, as of almost
Speaker 6: everything else, Smee was quite unconscious a few of the
Speaker 6: pirates lent over the bulwarks, drinking in the miasma of
Speaker 6: the night. Others sprawled by barrel over games of dice
Speaker 6: and cards. And the exhausted four who had carried little
Speaker 6: House laid prone on the deck, where even in their
Speaker 6: sleep they rolled skillfully to this side or that, out
Speaker 6: of Hook's reach, lest he should claw them mechanically. In passing,
Speaker 6: Hook trod the deck in thought, oh man, unfathomable. It
Speaker 6: was his hour of triumph. Peter had been removed forever
Speaker 6: from his path, and all the other boys were in
Speaker 6: the brig about to walk the plank. It was his
Speaker 6: grimaced deed since the days when he had brought barbecue
Speaker 6: to heal. And knowing as we do, how vain a
Speaker 6: tabernacle is manned, could we be surprised had he now
Speaker 6: paced the deck unsteadily, bellied out by the wind of
Speaker 6: his success. But there was no elation in his gait,
Speaker 6: which kept pace with the action of his somber mind.
Speaker 6: Hook was profoundly dejected. He was often thus when communing
Speaker 6: with himself on board ship in the quietude of the night.
Speaker 6: It was because he was so terribly alone. This inscribable
Speaker 6: man never felt more alone than once surrounded by his dogs.
Speaker 6: They were socially inferior to him. Hook was not his
Speaker 6: true name. To reveal who he really was, would even
Speaker 6: at this date, set the country in a blaze. But
Speaker 6: as those who read between the lines must already have get,
Speaker 6: he had been at a famous public school, and its
Speaker 6: tradition still clung to him like garments with which, indeed
Speaker 6: they are largely concerned. Thus it was offensive to him
Speaker 6: even now to board a ship in the same dress
Speaker 6: in which he grappled her, And he still appeared to
Speaker 6: his walk to the school's distinguished slouch. But above all
Speaker 6: he retained the passion for a good form, good form.
Speaker 6: However much he may have degenerated, he still knew that
Speaker 6: this is all that really matters. From far within him,
Speaker 6: he heard a creaking as of rusty portals, and through
Speaker 6: them came a stern tap tap, tap, like hammering in
Speaker 6: the night when one cannot sleep. Have you been in
Speaker 6: good form today? Was their eternal question. Fame, fame, that
Speaker 6: glittering bauble at his mine, He cried, Is it quite
Speaker 6: good form to be distinguished at anything? The tap tap
Speaker 6: from his school replied, I am the only man whom
Speaker 6: barbecue feared he urged, and flint feared barbecue barbecue flint?
Speaker 6: What house caimed? The cutting report most disquieting reflection of all.
Speaker 6: Was it not a bad form to think about good form?
Speaker 6: His vitals were tortured by this problem. It was a
Speaker 6: claw within him, sharper than the iron one. And as
Speaker 6: it tore him, the perspiration dripped down his tallow countenance
Speaker 6: and streaked his doublets. Oft times he drew his sleeve
Speaker 6: across his face, but there was no damning that trickle
Speaker 6: ah and be not Hook. There came to him a
Speaker 6: presentiment of his early dissolution. It was as if Peter's
Speaker 6: terrible oath had bordered the ship. Hook felt a gloomy
Speaker 6: desire to make his dying speech, lest presently there should
Speaker 6: be no time for it. Better for Hook, he cried,
Speaker 6: if he had had less ambition. It was in his
Speaker 6: darkest hours only that he referred to himself in the
Speaker 6: third person. No little children to love me. Strange that
Speaker 6: he should think of this, which I had never troubled
Speaker 6: him before. Perhaps a sewing machine brought it to his mind.
Speaker 6: For long, he muttered to himself, staring at Smee who
Speaker 6: was hemming placidly under the conviction that all children feared him,
Speaker 6: feared him, feared Smee. There was not a child on
Speaker 6: board the brig that night who did not already love him.
Speaker 6: He had said horrid things to them and hit them
Speaker 6: with the palm of his hand because he could not
Speaker 6: hit with his fist, but they had only clung to him.
Speaker 6: The more Michael had tried on his spectacles to tell
Speaker 6: poor Smee that they thought him lovable, took itch to
Speaker 6: do it, but it seemed too brutal. Instead, he revolved
Speaker 6: this mystery in his mind. Why do they find Smee lovable?
Speaker 6: He pursued the problem like the sleuth hound that he was.
Speaker 6: If Smee was lovable, what was it that made him so?
Speaker 6: A terrible answer suddenly presented itself. Good form had the
Speaker 6: boats in good form without knowing it, which is the
Speaker 6: best form of all. You remember that you have to
Speaker 6: prove you don't know you have it before you're eligible
Speaker 6: for pop. With a cry of rage, he raised his
Speaker 6: iron hand over Smee's head, but he did not take tear.
Speaker 6: What arrested him was this reflection, to claw a man
Speaker 6: because he is good form what would that be bad form?
Speaker 6: The unhappy hook was as impotent as he was damp,
Speaker 6: and he fell forward like a cut flower. His dogs,
Speaker 6: thinking him out of the way for a time, discipline,
Speaker 6: instantly relaxed, and they broke into a bacchanalian dance, which
Speaker 6: brought him poose feet. At once all traces of human
Speaker 6: weakness gone, as if a bucket of water had passed
Speaker 6: over him. Quiet you, scugs, he cried, or I'll cast
Speaker 6: anchor in you, And at once the din was hushed.
Speaker 6: Are all the children chained so that they cannot fly away?
Speaker 15: Aye?
Speaker 13: Aye?
Speaker 6: Then hohist them up? The wretched prisoners were dragged from
Speaker 6: the hold, all except Wendy, and ranged in line in
Speaker 6: front of him. For a time, he seemed unconscious of
Speaker 6: their presence. He lulled at his ease, humming not unloadiously,
Speaker 6: snatches of a rude song, and fingering a pack of cards.
Speaker 6: Ever and anon, the light from a cigar gave a
Speaker 6: touch of color to his face. Now, then bellize, he said, briskly.
Speaker 6: Six of you will walk the plank tonight, But I
Speaker 6: have room for two cabin boys. Which of you is
Speaker 6: it to be? Don't irritate him unnecessarily have been when
Speaker 6: these instructions in the hold, so Tootles stepped forward politely.
Speaker 6: Tootles hated the idea of signing under such a man,
Speaker 6: but an instinct told him that it would be prudent
Speaker 6: to lay the responsibility on an absent person. And though
Speaker 6: a somewhat silly boy, he knew that mothers alone are
Speaker 6: always willing to be the buffer. All children know this
Speaker 6: about mothers and despise them for it, but make constant.
Speaker 14: Use of it.
Speaker 6: So Tootles explained prudently. You see, sir, I don't think
Speaker 6: my mother would like me to be a pirate? Would
Speaker 6: your mother like you to be a pirate? Slightly? He
Speaker 6: winked it slightly, who said mournfully, I don't think so,
Speaker 6: as if he wished things had been otherwise. Would your
Speaker 6: mother like you to be a pirate?
Speaker 12: Twin?
Speaker 6: I don't think so, said the first twin. As clever
Speaker 6: as the others, nibs would stow this gab roared Hook
Speaker 6: and the spokesman were dragged back. You boy, he said,
Speaker 6: addressing John, you look as if you had a little
Speaker 6: pluck in you didst ever want to be a pirate?
Speaker 6: My hearty, Now, John, had sometimes experienced this hankering at
Speaker 6: Maths Prep, and he was stuck by Hook picking him out.
Speaker 6: I once thought of my calling myself red handed Jack,
Speaker 6: he said, difftantly, and a good name too. We'll call
Speaker 6: you that here, Bully, if you join? What do you think?
Speaker 6: Michael asked John? What would you call me if I joined?
Speaker 6: Michael demanded Blackbeard Joe. Michael was naturally impressed. What do
Speaker 6: you think, John? He wanted John to decide, and John
Speaker 6: wanted him to decide. Shall we still be respectful subjects
Speaker 6: at the king? John inquired brew Hook's teeth came the answer,
Speaker 6: you would have to swear down with the king. Perhaps
Speaker 6: John had not behaved very well so far, But don't
Speaker 6: ask now. Then I refuse, he cried, banging the barrel
Speaker 6: in front of Hook. And I refuse, cried Michael. Rule Britannia,
Speaker 6: speaked Billy. The infuriated pirates buffeted them in the mouth,
Speaker 6: and Hook roared out, that seals your doom, and bring
Speaker 6: up their mother. Get the plank ready. They were only boys,
Speaker 6: and they went white as they saw Jukes and Checko
Speaker 6: preparing fatal plank. But they tried to look brave when
Speaker 6: Wendy was brought up. No words of mine can tell
Speaker 6: you how Wendy despised these pirates to the boys. There
Speaker 6: was at least some glamour in the pirate calling, but
Speaker 6: all that she saw was that the ship had not
Speaker 6: been tidied for years. There was not a porthole in
Speaker 6: the grimy glass of which you might not have written
Speaker 6: with your finger, dirty pig, And she had already written
Speaker 6: it on several But as the boys gathered around her,
Speaker 6: she had no thought, of course, save for them. So,
Speaker 6: my beauty, said Hook, as if he spoke in syrup.
Speaker 6: You are to see your children walk the plank. Fine gentleman,
Speaker 6: though he was, the intensity of his communings had soiled
Speaker 6: his rough, and suddenly he knew that she was gazing
Speaker 6: at it with a hasty gesture. He tried to hide it,
Speaker 6: but he was too late. Are they to die, asked Wendy,
Speaker 6: with a look of such frightful contempt that he nearly fainted.
Speaker 12: They are, he.
Speaker 6: Starled silence all he cried gloatingly. For a mother's last
Speaker 6: words to her children. At this moment, Wendy was grand.
Speaker 6: These are my last words, dear boys, she said, firmly.
Speaker 6: I feel that I have a message to you from
Speaker 6: your real mother's and it is this. We hope our
Speaker 6: sons will die like English gentlemen. Even the pirates were
Speaker 6: odd and Toodles cried up hysterically. I am going to
Speaker 6: do what my mother hopes?
Speaker 12: What are you to do?
Speaker 6: Nibn's what's my mother hopes? What are you to do? Twin?
Speaker 6: What's my mother hopes? John bud Hook had found his
Speaker 6: voice again. Tie her up, he shouted. It was Smee
Speaker 6: who tied her to the mast. See here, honey, he whispered,
Speaker 6: I'll see to you if you promised me. My mother,
Speaker 6: But not even for Smee would she make such a promise.
Speaker 6: I would almost rather I have no children at all,
Speaker 6: she said disdainfully. It is sad to know that not
Speaker 6: a boy was looking at her. As snee tighterr to
Speaker 6: the mast. The eyes of all were on the plank
Speaker 6: that last little walk they were about to take. They
Speaker 6: were no longer able to hope that they would walk
Speaker 6: it manfully, for the capacity to think had gone from them.
Speaker 6: They could stare and shiver. Only Hook smiled on them
Speaker 6: with his teeth closed, and took a step toward Wendy
Speaker 6: His intention was to turn her face so that she
Speaker 6: should see the boys walking the plank one by one.
Speaker 6: But he never reached her. He never heard the cry
Speaker 6: of anguish he hoped to wring from her. He heard
Speaker 6: something else instead. It was the terrible pick tick of
Speaker 6: the crocodile. They all heard it. Pirates, boys, Wendy, and
Speaker 6: immediately every head was blown in one direction, not to
Speaker 6: the water. Whence the sound proceeded, but toward a hook.
Speaker 6: All knew that what was about to happen concerned him alone,
Speaker 6: and that from being actors there were suddenly becoming spectators.
Speaker 6: Very frightful was it to see the chains that came
Speaker 6: over him. It was as if he had been clipped
Speaker 6: at every joint. He fell in a little heat. The
Speaker 6: sound came steadily nearer, and in advance of it came
Speaker 6: this ghastly thought the crocodile was about to board the ship.
Speaker 6: Even the iron claw hung inactive, as if knowing that
Speaker 6: it was no intrinsic part of the attacking force wanted
Speaker 6: let left so fearfully alone any other man. Riblin with
Speaker 6: his eyes shut where he fell. But the gigantic brain
Speaker 6: of hook was still working, and under its guidance. He
Speaker 6: crawled on the knees along the deck as far from
Speaker 6: the sound as he could go. The pirates respectfully cleared
Speaker 6: a passage for him, and it was only when he
Speaker 6: brought up against the bulwarks that he spoke, hide me,
Speaker 6: he cried hoarsely. They gathered round him, all eyes averted
Speaker 6: from the thing that was coming on board. They had
Speaker 6: no thought of fighting it. It was fate. Only when
Speaker 6: Hook was hidden from them did curiosity loosen the limbs
Speaker 6: of the boys so that they could rush to the
Speaker 6: ship's side to see the crocodile climbing it. Then they
Speaker 6: got the strange surprise of the night of Nights, for
Speaker 6: it was no crocodile that was coming to their aid.
Speaker 6: It was Peter. He signed them not to give vent
Speaker 6: to any cry of admiration that might arise suspicion. Then
Speaker 6: he went on taking end Chapter fourteen.
Speaker 15: Chapter fifteen, Hook or me. This time, odd things happened
Speaker 15: to all of us on our way through life, without
Speaker 15: our noticing for a time that they have happened. Thus,
Speaker 15: to take an instance, we suddenly discover that we have
Speaker 15: been deaf in one year for we don't know how long,
Speaker 15: But say half an hour now. Such an experience had
Speaker 15: come that night to Peter. When last we saw him,
Speaker 15: he was stealing across the island with one finger to
Speaker 15: his lips and his dagger at the ready. He had
Speaker 15: seen the crocodile pass by without noticing anything peculiar it,
Speaker 15: but by and bye he remembered that it had not
Speaker 15: been ticking. At first, he thought this eerie, but soon
Speaker 15: concluded rightly that the clock had run down without giving
Speaker 15: a thought to what might be the feelings of a
Speaker 15: fellow creature. Thus abruptly deprived of its closest companion, Peter
Speaker 15: began to consider how he could turn the catastrophe to
Speaker 15: his own use, and he decided to dick, so that
Speaker 15: wild beasts should believe he was the crocodile and let
Speaker 15: him pass unmolestic. He ticked superbly, but with one unforeseen result,
Speaker 15: the crocodile was among those who heard the sound, and
Speaker 15: it followed him, though whether with the purpose of regaining
Speaker 15: what it had lost or merely as a friend under
Speaker 15: the belief that it was again ticking itself, will never
Speaker 15: be certainly known, For, like slaves to a fixed idea,
Speaker 15: it was a stupid beast. Peter reached the shore without mishap,
Speaker 15: and went straight on his legs, encountering the water as
Speaker 15: if quite unaware that they had entered a new element. Thus,
Speaker 15: many animals passed from land to water, but no other
Speaker 15: human of whom I know. As he swam, he had
Speaker 15: but one thought hook or me. This time he had
Speaker 15: ticked so long that he now went on ticking without
Speaker 15: knowing that he was doing it. Had he known, he
Speaker 15: would have stopped for to boat the brick by help
Speaker 15: of the tick, though an ingenious idea had not occurred
Speaker 15: to him. On the contrary, he thought he had scaled
Speaker 15: her side as noiseless as a mouse, and he was
Speaker 15: amazed to see the pirates covering from him with hook
Speaker 15: in their midst, as abject as if he had heard
Speaker 15: the crocodile the crocodile. No sooner did it be to
Speaker 15: remember it than he heard the ticking. At first he
Speaker 15: thought the sound did come from the crocodile, and he
Speaker 15: looked behind him swiftly. Then he realized that he was
Speaker 15: doing it himself, and in a flash he understood the situation.
Speaker 15: How clever of me, he thought at once, and signed
Speaker 15: to the boys not to burst into applause. It was
Speaker 15: at this moment that it taint. The quartermaster emerged from
Speaker 15: the forecastle and came along the deck. Now, reader, time,
Speaker 15: what happened? By your watch? Peter struck true and deep.
Speaker 15: John clapped his hands on the ill fated pirate's mouth
Speaker 15: to stifle the dying groom. He fell forward. Four boys
Speaker 15: caught him to prevent the thud. Peter gave the signal,
Speaker 15: and the carrion was cast overboard. There was a splash,
Speaker 15: and then silence. How long has it taken? One slightly
Speaker 15: had begun to count none? Too soon Peter, every inch
Speaker 15: of him on tiptoe, vanished into the cabin. For more
Speaker 15: than one pirate was screwing up his courage to look round.
Speaker 15: They could hear each other's distressed breathing now, which showed
Speaker 15: them that the more terrible sound had passed. It's gone,
Speaker 15: Captain Smee said, wiping off his spectacles, all still again. Slowly,
Speaker 15: Hook let his head emerge from his ruff and listened
Speaker 15: so intently that he could have caught the echo of
Speaker 15: the tick. There was not a sound, and he drew
Speaker 15: himself up firmly to his full height. Then here stood
Speaker 15: Johnny Plank he cried, brazenly, hating the boys more than
Speaker 15: ever because they had seen him unbent. He broke into
Speaker 15: the villainous ditty. Yo ho yo ho, the frisky blank.
Speaker 15: You walks along it so till it goes down, and
Speaker 15: you goes down to Davy Jones below. To terrorize the
Speaker 15: prisoners the more, though with a certain loss of dignity.
Speaker 15: He danced along an imaginary plank, grimacing at them as
Speaker 15: he sang. And when he finished, he cried, do you
Speaker 15: want a touch of the cat on nine days before?
Speaker 15: You walked the plank at that? They fell on their knees. No, no,
Speaker 15: they cried so piteously that every pirate smiled. Fetch the cat,
Speaker 15: Jukes said, Hook, it's in the cabin, the cabin. Peter
Speaker 15: was in the cabin. The children gazed at each other.
Speaker 15: Aye aye, said Jukes blithely, and he strode into the cabin.
Speaker 15: They followed him with their eyes. They scarce knew that
Speaker 15: Hook had resumed his song, his dogs joining in with him.
Speaker 15: Yo ho, yo oh, Hold the scratch chain cat. Its
Speaker 15: tails are nine, you know, and when they are writ
Speaker 15: upon your back. What was the last line will never
Speaker 15: be known? For of a sudden, the song was stayed
Speaker 15: by a dreadful screech from the cabin. It wailed through
Speaker 15: the ship and died away. Then was heard a crowing sound,
Speaker 15: which was well understood by the boys, but to the
Speaker 15: pirates was almost more eerie than the screech. What was that,
Speaker 15: cried Hook two, said, slightly solemnly. The Italian Checko hesitated
Speaker 15: for a moment, and then swung into the cabin. He
Speaker 15: tottered out, haggard, what's the matter with Bill Jukes? You talk,
Speaker 15: hissed Hook, towering over him. The matter with him is
Speaker 15: he's dead, stad replied Checko in a hollow voice. Bill
Speaker 15: Jukes dead, cried the startled pirates. The cabin's as black
Speaker 15: as a pit, Checko said, almost gibbering. But there is
Speaker 15: something terrible in there. The thing you heard crowing, the
Speaker 15: exaltation of the boys, the lowering looks of the pirates,
Speaker 15: both were seen by Hook Checko. He said, in his
Speaker 15: most steely voice, Go back and fetch me out that doodledoo. Checko,
Speaker 15: bravest of the brave, covered before his captain, crying no, no,
Speaker 15: But Hook was purring to his claw. Did you say
Speaker 15: you would go, Checko? He said, musingly. Checko went first,
Speaker 15: flinging his arms despairingly. There was no more singing or
Speaker 15: listen now and again came a dead screech, and again
Speaker 15: a crow. No one spoke except slightly three, he said,
Speaker 15: Hook rallied Stalks with a gesture. Is depth the nought's fish?
Speaker 15: He thundered, Who is to bring me that doodledoo? Wait
Speaker 15: till Cheko comes out, growled Starkey, and the others took
Speaker 15: up the cry. I think I heard you, volunteer, Starkey,
Speaker 15: said Hook, purring again. No by thunder, Starky cried, my hook,
Speaker 15: thinks you did, said Hook, crossing to him. I wonder
Speaker 15: if it would not be advisable Starky to humor the hook.
Speaker 15: I'll swim before I go in there, replied Starkey doggedly.
Speaker 15: And again he had the support of the crew. Is
Speaker 15: this mutiny, asked Hook, more pleasantly than ever. Starky is
Speaker 15: ringleader Captain Mercy. Starky whimpered, all of it tremble Now,
Speaker 15: shake hands, Starcky, said Hook, proffering his claw. Starkey looked
Speaker 15: round for help, but all deserted him. As he backed up.
Speaker 15: Hook advanced, and now the red spark was in his eye.
Speaker 15: With a despairing scream. The pirate leapt upon long tom
Speaker 15: and precipitated himself into the sea. Four said slightly, and
Speaker 15: now said Hook courteously. Did any other gentleman say mutiny?
Speaker 15: Seizing a lantern and raising his claw with a menacing gesture.
Speaker 15: I'll bring out that doodledom myself, he said, and sped
Speaker 15: into the cabin. Five how slightly longed to say it?
Speaker 15: He wetted his lips to be ready. But Hook came
Speaker 15: staggering out without his lantern. Something blew out the light,
Speaker 15: he said, a little unsteadily, Something echoed Mullins. What a checko,
Speaker 15: demanded Noodler, he's as dead as Juke's, said Hook. Shortly.
Speaker 15: His reluctance to return to the cabin impressed them all unfavorably,
Speaker 15: and the mutinous sounds again broke forth. All pirates are superstitious,
Speaker 15: and cooksin cried. They do say. The surest sign a
Speaker 15: ship's accursed is when there's one on board more than
Speaker 15: can be accounted for. I've heard, muttered Mullins. He always
Speaker 15: boats the pirate craft. Last had he a tale captain,
Speaker 15: they say, said another, looking viciously at Hook, That when
Speaker 15: he comes in the likeness of the wickedest man aboard.
Speaker 15: Had he a hook? Captain asked Cooksen insolently, and one
Speaker 15: after another took up the cry the ship's doomed. At this,
Speaker 15: the children could not resist raising a cheer. Hook had
Speaker 15: well nigh forgotten his prisoners, but as he swung round
Speaker 15: on them, now his face licked up again. Lads, he
Speaker 15: cried to his crew, Now here's a notion. Open the
Speaker 15: cabin door and drive them in. Let them fight the
Speaker 15: doodle doo for their lives. If they kill him, we're
Speaker 15: so much the better. If he kills them, we're none
Speaker 15: the worse. For the last time, his dogs admired Hook,
Speaker 15: and devotedly they did his bidding. The boys, pretending to struggle,
Speaker 15: were pushed into the cabin, and the door was closed
Speaker 15: on them. Now listen, cried Hook, And all listened, but
Speaker 15: not one dared to face the door. Yes, one, Wendy,
Speaker 15: who all this time had been bound to the mast.
Speaker 15: It was for neither a scream nor a crew that
Speaker 15: she was watching. It was for the reappearance of Peter.
Speaker 15: She had not long to wait in the cabin. He
Speaker 15: had found the thing for which he had gone in
Speaker 15: search the key that would free the children of their manacles.
Speaker 15: And now they all stole forth, armed with such weapons
Speaker 15: as they could find. First signing them to hide, Peter
Speaker 15: cut Wendy's bonds, and then nothing could have been easier
Speaker 15: than for them all to fly off together. But one
Speaker 15: thing barred the way, an oath. Hook o meet this time.
Speaker 15: So when he had freed Wendy, he whispered for her
Speaker 15: to conceal herself with the others, and himself took her
Speaker 15: place by the mast, her cloak around him so that
Speaker 15: he should pass for her. Then he took a great
Speaker 15: breath and crowed to the pirates. It was a voice
Speaker 15: crying that all the boys lay slain in the cabin,
Speaker 15: and they were panicstritten. Hook tried to hearten them, but
Speaker 15: like the dogs he had made them, they showed him
Speaker 15: their fangs, and he knew that if he took his
Speaker 15: eyes off them now, they would leap at him. Lads,
Speaker 15: he said, ready to casual or strike as need be,
Speaker 15: But never quailing for an instant, I thought it out.
Speaker 15: There's a jonah aboard, aye, they snarled, a man with
Speaker 15: a hook. Now, lads, no, it's the girl. Never was
Speaker 15: luck on a pirate ship with a woman on board.
Speaker 15: We'll ride the ship when she is gone. Some of
Speaker 15: them remembered that this had been a saying of flints.
Speaker 15: It's worth trying, they said, doubtfully. Fling the girl overboard,
Speaker 15: cried Hook, and they made a rush at the figure
Speaker 15: in the cloak. This nun can save you. Now, Missy
Speaker 15: Mullin's hest jeeringly, there's one, replied the figure. Who's that?
Speaker 15: Peter Pan the Avenger came the terrible answer, and as
Speaker 15: he spoke, Peter flung off his cloak. Then they all
Speaker 15: knew who it was that had been undoing them in
Speaker 15: the cabin. And twice Hook essayed to speak, and twice
Speaker 15: he failed. In that frightful moment, I think his fear's
Speaker 15: heart broke. At last he cried, cleave them to the briskette,
Speaker 15: But without conviction, down, boys, and at them. Peter's voice
Speaker 15: rang out, and in another moment, the clash of arms
Speaker 15: was resounding through the ship. Had the pirates kept together,
Speaker 15: it is certain that they would have won. But the
Speaker 15: onset came when they were still unstrung, and they ran
Speaker 15: hither and thither, striking wildly, each thinking himself the last survivor.
Speaker 14: Of the crew.
Speaker 15: Man to man, they were the stronger, but they fought
Speaker 15: on the defensive only, which enabled the boys to hunt
Speaker 15: in pairs and choose their quarry. Some of the miscreants
Speaker 15: leapt into the sea. Others hid in dark recesses, where
Speaker 15: they were found by Slightly, who did not fight, but
Speaker 15: ran about with the lantern, which he flashed in their faces,
Speaker 15: so that they were half blinded and fell as an
Speaker 15: easy prey to the reeking swords of the other boys.
Speaker 15: There was little sound to be heard, but the clang
Speaker 15: of weapons, an occasional screech or splash, and slightly monotonously
Speaker 15: counting five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. I think
Speaker 15: all were gone when a group of savage boys surrounded Hook,
Speaker 15: who seemed to have a charmed life as he kept
Speaker 15: them at bay in that circle of fire. They had
Speaker 15: done for his dogs, But this man alone seemed to
Speaker 15: be a match for them all. Again and again they
Speaker 15: closed upon him, and again and again he hewed a
Speaker 15: clear space. He had lifted up one boy with his
Speaker 15: hook and was using him as a buckler shield, when another,
Speaker 15: who had just passed his sword through mulleins, sprang into
Speaker 15: the Fray. Put up your swords, boys, cried the newcomer,
Speaker 15: this man a small Thus, suddenly Hook found himself face
Speaker 15: to face with Peter. The others drew back and formed
Speaker 15: a ring around them. For long the two enemies looked
Speaker 15: at one another, Hook shuddering slightly, and Peter with a
Speaker 15: strange smile upon his face. So pan said Hook, at last,
Speaker 15: this is all you are doing, aye, James. Hook, came
Speaker 15: the stern answer, it is all my doing. Proud and
Speaker 15: insolent youth, said Hook, prepare to meet thy doom, dark
Speaker 15: and sinister man. Peter answered, have with thee. Without more words,
Speaker 15: they fell to and for a space. There was no
Speaker 15: advantage to either blade. Peter was a superb swordsman, and
Speaker 15: parried with dazzling rapidity. Ever and anone He followed up
Speaker 15: a faint with a lunge that caught past his for's defense,
Speaker 15: but his shorter reag stood him in ill stead, and
Speaker 15: he could not dry the steel home. Hook, scarcely, his
Speaker 15: inferior and brilliancy, but not quite so nimble in wrist play,
Speaker 15: forced him back by the weight of his onset, Hoping
Speaker 15: suddenly to end all with a favorite thrust, taught him
Speaker 15: long ago by barbecue at rio. But to his astonishment
Speaker 15: he found his thrust turned aside again and again. Then
Speaker 15: he sought to close and give the quietness with his
Speaker 15: iron hook, which all this time had been pawing the air,
Speaker 15: But Peter doubled under it, and, lunging fiercely, pierced him
Speaker 15: in the ribs. At the sight of his own blood,
Speaker 15: whose peculiar color you remember, was offensive to him, the
Speaker 15: sword fell from Hook's hand, and he was at Peter's mercy.
Speaker 15: Now cried all the boys. But with a magnificent gesture,
Speaker 15: Peter invited his opponent to pick up his sword. Hook
Speaker 15: did so instantly, but with the tragic feeling that Peter
Speaker 15: was showing good form hit heurto He had thought it
Speaker 15: was some fiend fighting him, But darker suspicions assailed him.
Speaker 15: Now Pan, Who and what art thou? He cried, huskily,
Speaker 15: I'm youth, I'm joy, Peter answered, at a venture, I'm
Speaker 15: a little bird that has broken out of the egg. This,
Speaker 15: of course was nonsense, but it was proof to the
Speaker 15: unhappy Hook that Peter did not know in the least
Speaker 15: who or what he was, which is the very pinnacle
Speaker 15: of good form. Dot again, he cried despairingly. He fought
Speaker 15: now like a human flail, and every sweep of that
Speaker 15: terrible sword would have severed in twain any man or
Speaker 15: boy who obstructed it. But Peter fluttered round him, as
Speaker 15: if the very wind it made blew him out of
Speaker 15: the danger's zone. And again an again he darted in
Speaker 15: and pricked. Hook was fighting now without hope. That passionate
Speaker 15: breast no longer asked for life but for one boon
Speaker 15: it craved to see Peter show bad form before it
Speaker 15: was cold. Forever abandoning the fight, he rushed into the
Speaker 15: powder magazine and fired it in two minutes. He cried,
Speaker 15: the ship will be blown to pieces. Now, now, he thought,
Speaker 15: true form will show. But Peter issued from the powder
Speaker 15: magazine with a shell in his hands, and calmly flung
Speaker 15: it overboard. What sort of form was Hook himself showing?
Speaker 15: Misguided man though he was, we may be glad without
Speaker 15: sympathizing with him that in the end he was true
Speaker 15: to the traditions of his race. The other boys were
Speaker 15: flying round him now, flouting scornful, and he staggered about
Speaker 15: the deck, striking up at them impotently. His mind was
Speaker 15: no longer with them. It was louching in the playing
Speaker 15: fields of long ago, or being sent up to the
Speaker 15: headmaster for good, or watching the wall game from a
Speaker 15: famous wall. And his shoes were right, and his waistcoat
Speaker 15: was right, and his tie was right, and his socks
Speaker 15: were right. James Hook, thou not wholly unheroic figure. Farewell,
Speaker 15: for we have come to his last moment. Seeing Peter
Speaker 15: slowly advancing upon him through the air with dagger poised,
Speaker 15: he sprang upon the bulwarks to cast himself into the sea.
Speaker 15: He did not know that the crocodile was waiting for him,
Speaker 15: for we purposely stopped the clock that this knowledge might
Speaker 15: be spared him a little mark of respect from us.
Speaker 15: At the end, he had one last triumph, which I
Speaker 15: think we need not grudge him. As he stood on
Speaker 15: the bulwark, looking over his shoulder at Peter gliding through
Speaker 15: the air, he invited him with a gesture to use
Speaker 15: his foot. It made Peter kick instead of stab. At last,
Speaker 15: Hook had got the bone for which he craved bad form.
Speaker 15: He cried jeeringly and went content to the crocodile. Thus
Speaker 15: perished James Hook seventeen slightly sang out, but he was
Speaker 15: not quite correct in his figures. Fifteen paid the penalty
Speaker 15: for their crimes that night, but two reached the shore
Speaker 15: Starkey to be captured by the Redskins, who made him
Speaker 15: nurse for all their papooses. A melancholy come down for
Speaker 15: a pirate, and Smee, who henceforth wandered about the world
Speaker 15: in his spectacles, making a precarious living by saying he
Speaker 15: was the only man that James Hook had feared. Wendy,
Speaker 15: of course, had stood by, taking no part in the fight,
Speaker 15: though watching Peter with glistening eyes. But now that all
Speaker 15: was over she became prominent again. She praised them equally
Speaker 15: and shuddered delightfully when Michael showed her the place where
Speaker 15: he had killed one. And then she took them into
Speaker 15: Hook's cabin and pointed to his watch, which was hanging
Speaker 15: on a nail. It said half past one. The lateness
Speaker 15: of the hour was almost the biggest thing of all.
Speaker 15: She got them to bed in the pirate's bunks pretty quickly,
Speaker 15: you may be sure, all but Peter, who strotted up
Speaker 15: and down on the deck until at last he fell
Speaker 15: asleep by the side of long Tom. He had one
Speaker 15: of his dreams that night, and cried in his sleep
Speaker 15: for a long time, and Wendy held him tightly. End
Speaker 15: of Chapter fifteen.
Speaker 3: Chapter sixteen of Peter Pan by J. M. Barry. The
Speaker 3: return home by three bells that morning. They were all
Speaker 3: stirring their stumps, for there was a big sea running
Speaker 3: and toodles. The bosum was among them, with a rope's
Speaker 3: end in his hand and chewing tobacco. They all dawned
Speaker 3: pirate clothes cut off at the knee, shaved smartly, and
Speaker 3: tumbled up with the true nautical roll in hitching their trousers.
Speaker 3: It need not be said who was the captain. Nibs
Speaker 3: and John were first and second mate. There was a
Speaker 3: woman aboard. The rest were tars before the mast and
Speaker 3: lived in the forecastle. Peter had already lashed himself to
Speaker 3: the wheel, but he piped all hands and delivered a
Speaker 3: short address to them. Said he hoped they would do
Speaker 3: their duty like gallant hardies, but that he knew they
Speaker 3: were the scum of Rio and the Gold Coast, and
Speaker 3: if they snapped at him, he would tear them the bluff.
Speaker 3: Strident words struck the note. Sailors understood, and they cheered
Speaker 3: him lustily. Then a few sharp orders were given, and
Speaker 3: they returned the ship round and nosed her for the mainland.
Speaker 3: Captain Pan calculated, after consulting the ship's art, that if
Speaker 3: this weather lasted, they should strike the Azores about the
Speaker 3: twenty first of June, after which it would save time
Speaker 3: to fly. Some of them wanted it to be an
Speaker 3: honest ship, and others were in favor of keeping it
Speaker 3: a pirate, but the captain treated them as dogs, and
Speaker 3: they dared not express their wishes to him, even in
Speaker 3: a round robin one person after another, as they had
Speaker 3: to captain Hook, instant obedience was the only safe thing.
Speaker 3: Slightly got a dozen for looking perplexed when told to
Speaker 3: take soundings. The general feeling was that Peter was honest
Speaker 3: just now to lull Wendy's suspicions, but that there might
Speaker 3: be a change when the new suit was ready, which,
Speaker 3: against her will, she was making for him out of
Speaker 3: some of Hook's wickedest garments. It was afterwards whispered among
Speaker 3: them that on the first night he wore this suit,
Speaker 3: he sat long in the cabin with Hook's cigar holder
Speaker 3: in his mouth and one hand clenched all but for
Speaker 3: the forefinger, which he bent and held threateningly aloft like
Speaker 3: a hook, instead of watching the ship. However, we must
Speaker 3: now return to that desolate home from which three of
Speaker 3: our characters had taken heartless flight so long ago. It
Speaker 3: seems a shame to have neglected number fourteen all this time,
Speaker 3: And yet we may be sure that missus Darling does
Speaker 3: not blame us. If we had returned sooner to look
Speaker 3: with sorrowful sympathy at her, she would probably have cried,
Speaker 3: don't be silly, what do I matter?
Speaker 2: Do?
Speaker 3: Go back and keep an eye on the children. So
Speaker 3: long as mothers are like this, their children will take
Speaker 3: advantage of them, and they may lay to bed on
Speaker 3: that Even now, we venture into that familiar nursery only
Speaker 3: because its lawful occupants are on their way home. We
Speaker 3: are merely hurrying on in advance of them, to see
Speaker 3: that their beds are properly aired, and that mister and
Speaker 3: missus Darling do not go out for the evening. We
Speaker 3: are no more than servants. Why on earth should their
Speaker 3: beds be properly aired, seeing that they left them in
Speaker 3: such a thankless hurry. Would it not serve them jolly
Speaker 3: well right if they came back and found that their
Speaker 3: parents were spending the week end in the cun It
Speaker 3: would be the moral lesson that they have been in
Speaker 3: need of ever since we met them. But if we
Speaker 3: contrived things in this way, Missus Darling would never forgive
Speaker 3: us one thing I should like to do immensely, and
Speaker 3: that is to tell her in the way authors have
Speaker 3: that the children are coming back, that indeed they will
Speaker 3: be here on Thursday week This would spoil so completely
Speaker 3: the surprise to which Wendy and John and Michael are
Speaker 3: looking forward. They have been planning it out on the ship.
Speaker 3: Mother's rapture, father's shout of joy, Nana's leaped through the
Speaker 3: air to embrace them first, when what they ought to
Speaker 3: be prepared for is a good hiding. How delicious to
Speaker 3: spoil it all by breaking the news in advance, so
Speaker 3: that when they enter grandly Missus Darling may not even
Speaker 3: offer Wendy her mouth, and mister Darling may exclaim pittishly.
Speaker 11: Dash it all.
Speaker 3: Hear those boys again. However, we should get no thanks
Speaker 3: even for this. We are beginning to know Missus Darling
Speaker 3: by this time, and may be sure that she would
Speaker 3: upbraid us for depriving the children of their little pleasure.
Speaker 3: But my dear madam, it is ten days till Thursday week,
Speaker 3: So that by telling you what's what, we can save
Speaker 3: you ten days of unhappiness? Yes, but at what cost
Speaker 3: by depriving the children of ten minutes of delight?
Speaker 15: Oh?
Speaker 3: If you look at it that way, what other way
Speaker 3: is there in which to look at it? You see?
Speaker 3: The woman had no proper spirit. I had meant to
Speaker 3: say extraordinarily nice things about her, but I despise her,
Speaker 3: and not one of them will I say?
Speaker 10: Now?
Speaker 3: She does not really need to be told to have
Speaker 3: things ready, for they are ready. All the beds are aired,
Speaker 3: and she never leaves the house, and observe the window
Speaker 3: is open for all the use we are to her.
Speaker 3: We might well go back to the ship. However, as
Speaker 3: we are here, we may as well stay and look on.
Speaker 3: That is all we are lookers on. Nobody really wants us,
Speaker 3: so let us watch and say jaggy things in the
Speaker 3: hope that some of them will hurt. The only change
Speaker 3: to be seen in the night nursery is that between
Speaker 3: nine and six the kennel is no no longer there.
Speaker 3: When the children flew away, mister Darling felt in his bones,
Speaker 3: that all the blame was his for having changed Nana up,
Speaker 3: and that from first to last she had been wiser
Speaker 3: than he. Of course, as we have seen, he was
Speaker 3: quite a simple man. Indeed, he might have passed for
Speaker 3: a boy again if he had been able to take
Speaker 3: his baldness off. But he had also a noble sense
Speaker 3: of justice and a lion's courage to do what seemed
Speaker 3: right to him. And, having thought the matter out with
Speaker 3: anxious care, after the flight of the children, he went
Speaker 3: down on all fours and crawled into the kennel. To
Speaker 3: all missus Darling's dear invitations to him to come out,
Speaker 3: he replied, sadly but firmly, no, my own one, this
Speaker 3: is the place for me. In the bitterness of his remorse,
Speaker 3: he swore that he would never leave the kennel until
Speaker 3: his children came back. Of course, this was a pity,
Speaker 3: but whatever mister Darling did, he had to do it
Speaker 3: in excess, otherwise he soon gave up doing it. And
Speaker 3: there never was a more humble man than the once
Speaker 3: proud George Darling. As he sat in the kennel of
Speaker 3: an evening, talking with his wife of their children and
Speaker 3: all their pretty ways, very touching was his deference to Nana.
Speaker 3: He would not let her come into the kennel, but
Speaker 3: on all other matters he followed her wishes implicitly. Every morning,
Speaker 3: the kennel was carried with mister Darling in it to
Speaker 3: a cab, which conveyed him to his office, and he
Speaker 3: returned home in the same way at six. Something of
Speaker 3: the strength of character of the man will be seen
Speaker 3: if we remember how sensitive he was to the opinion
Speaker 3: of neighbors. This man, whose every movement now attracted surprised attention. Inwardly,
Speaker 3: he must have suffered torture, but he preserved a calm
Speaker 3: exterior even when the young criticized his little home, and
Speaker 3: he always lifted his hat courteously to any lady who
Speaker 3: looked inside. It may have been quizotic, but it was magnificent.
Speaker 3: Soon the inward meaning of it leaked out, and the
Speaker 3: great heart of the public was touched. Crowds followed the cab,
Speaker 3: cheering it lustily. Charming girls scaled it to get his autograph.
Speaker 3: Interviews appeared in the better class of papers, and society
Speaker 3: invited him to dinner, and added, do come in the
Speaker 3: kennel On that eventful Thursday week, missus Darling was in
Speaker 3: the night nursery awaiting George's return home, a very sad
Speaker 3: eyed woman. Now that we look at her closely and
Speaker 3: remember the gayety of her in the old days, all
Speaker 3: gone now, just because she has lost her babes, I
Speaker 3: find I won't be able to say nasty things about her.
Speaker 3: After all, if she was too fond of her rubbishy children,
Speaker 3: she couldn't help it. Look at her in her chair
Speaker 3: where she has fallen asleep. The corner of her mouth,
Speaker 3: where one looks first, is almost withered up. Her hand
Speaker 3: moves restlessly on her breast, as if she had had
Speaker 3: a pain there. Some like Peter Best and some like
Speaker 3: Wendy Best, but I like her Best. Suppose to make
Speaker 3: her happy. We whisper to her in her sleep that
Speaker 3: her brats are coming back. They are really within two
Speaker 3: miles of the window now and flying strong. But all
Speaker 3: we need whisper is that they're on their way. Let's
Speaker 3: it is a pity we did it, for she has
Speaker 3: started up calling their names, and there is no one
Speaker 3: in the room but Nana, Oh, Nana. I dreamt my
Speaker 3: dear ones had come back. Nana had filmy eyes but
Speaker 3: all she could do was put her paw gently on
Speaker 3: her mistress's lap, and they were sitting together. Thus, when
Speaker 3: the kennel was brought back, as mister Darling put his
Speaker 3: head out to kiss his wife, we see that his
Speaker 3: face is more worn than of yore, but has a
Speaker 3: softer expression. He gave his hat to Liza, who took
Speaker 3: it scornfully. She had no imagination, It was quite incapable
Speaker 3: of understanding the motives of such a man. Outside the
Speaker 3: crowd who had accompanied the cab home were still cheering,
Speaker 3: and he was naturally not unmoved. Listen to them, he said,
Speaker 3: it is very gratifying. Lots of little boys sneered Eliza.
Speaker 3: There were several adults to day, he assured her with
Speaker 3: a faint flush. But when she tossed her head, he
Speaker 3: had not a word of reproof, for her social success
Speaker 3: had not spoilt him. It had made him sweeter. For
Speaker 3: some time he sat with his head out of the kennel,
Speaker 3: talking with missus Darling of this success, and pressing her
Speaker 3: hand reassuringly. When she said she hoped his head would
Speaker 3: not be turned by it. But if I had been
Speaker 3: a weak man, he said, good heavens if I had
Speaker 3: been a weak man. And George, she said timidly, you
Speaker 3: are as full of remorse as ever, aren't you full
Speaker 3: of remorse as ever? Dearest? See my punishment living in
Speaker 3: a kennel. But it is punishment, isn't it, George? You
Speaker 3: are sure you are not enjoying it? My love? You
Speaker 3: may be sure, she begged his pardon, and then, feeling drowsy,
Speaker 3: he curled round in the kennel. Won't you play me
Speaker 3: to sleep? He asked on the nursery piano, And as
Speaker 3: she was crossing to the day nursery, he added, thoughtlessly,
Speaker 3: and shut that window. I feel a draft. Oh, George,
Speaker 3: he ever ask me to do that? The window must
Speaker 3: always be left open for them, always, always. Now it
Speaker 3: was his turn to beg her pardon, and she went
Speaker 3: into the day nursery and played, and soon he was asleep.
Speaker 3: And while he slept, Wendy and John and Michael flew
Speaker 3: into the room. Oh no, we have ridden it so,
Speaker 3: because that was the charming arrangement planned by them before
Speaker 3: we left the ship. But something must have happened since then,
Speaker 3: for it is not they who have flown in. It
Speaker 3: is Peter and tinker Bell. Peter's first words, tell all quick, Tink,
Speaker 3: He whispered, close the window, bar it. That's right now,
Speaker 3: You and I must get away by that door. And
Speaker 3: when Wendy comes, she will think her mother has barred
Speaker 3: her out, and she will have to go back with me.
Speaker 3: Now I understand what had hitherto puzzled me. Why when
Speaker 3: Peter had exterminated the pirates, he did not return to
Speaker 3: the island and leave Tink to escort the children to
Speaker 3: the mainland. This trick had been in his head all
Speaker 3: the time. Instead of feeling that he was behaving back,
Speaker 3: he danced with glee. Then he peeped into the day
Speaker 3: nursery to see who was playing. He whispered to Tink,
Speaker 3: it's Wendy's mother. She is a pretty lady, but not
Speaker 3: so pretty as my mother. Her mouth is full of thimbles,
Speaker 3: but not so full as my mother's was. Of course,
Speaker 3: he knew nothing whatever about his mother, but he sometimes
Speaker 3: bragged about her. He did not know the tune, which
Speaker 3: was Home, Sweet Home, but he knew what it was saying,
Speaker 3: Come back, Wendy, Wendy, Wendy, and he cried exultantly. You
Speaker 3: will never see Wendy again, lady, for the window is barred.
Speaker 3: He peeped in again to see why the music had stopped,
Speaker 3: And now he saw that missus Darling had laid her
Speaker 3: head on the box, and that two tears were sitting
Speaker 3: on her eyes. She wants me to unbar the window,
Speaker 3: thought Peter. But I won't, not I. He peeped again,
Speaker 3: and the tears were still there, or another two had
Speaker 3: taken their place. She's awfully fond of Wendy, he said
Speaker 3: to himself. He was angry with her now for not
Speaker 3: seeing why she could not have Wendy. The reason was
Speaker 3: so simple. I'm fond of her too. We can't both
Speaker 3: have her, lady. But the lady would not make the
Speaker 3: best of it, and he was unhappy. He ceased to
Speaker 3: look at her, but even then she would not let
Speaker 3: go of him. He skipped about and made funny faces,
Speaker 3: but when he stopped, it was just as if she
Speaker 3: were inside him knocking. Oh, all right, he said at last,
Speaker 3: and gulped. Then he unbarred the window. Come on, tink,
Speaker 3: he cried, with a frightful sneer at the laws of nature.
Speaker 3: We don't want any silly mothers, And he flew away. Thus,
Speaker 3: Wendy and John and Michael found the window open for
Speaker 3: them after all, which of course was more than they deserved.
Speaker 3: They alighted on the floor, quite unashamed of themselves, and
Speaker 3: the youngest one had already forgotten his home. John, he said,
Speaker 3: looking around him, doubtfully, I think I have been here before.
Speaker 3: Of course you have, you silly. There is your old bed,
Speaker 3: So it is, Michael said, but not with much conviction.
Speaker 3: I say, cried John. The kennel, and he dashed across
Speaker 3: to look into it. Perhaps Nana is inside it, Wendy said,
Speaker 3: But John whistled, hullo, he said, there's a man inside it.
Speaker 3: It's father, exclaimed Wendy. Let me see father, Michael begged eagerly,
Speaker 3: and he took a good look. He is not so
Speaker 3: big as the pirate I killed, he said, with such
Speaker 3: frank disappointment that I am glad mister Darling was asleep.
Speaker 3: It would have been sad if those had been the
Speaker 3: first words he heard as little Michael say. Wendy and
Speaker 3: John had been taken aback somewhat at finding their father
Speaker 3: in the kennel. Surely, said John, like one who had
Speaker 3: lost faith in his memory. He used not to sleep
Speaker 3: in this kennel, John, Wendy said, falteringly. Perhaps we don't
Speaker 3: remember the old life as well as we thought we did.
Speaker 3: A chill fell upon them and served them right. It
Speaker 3: is very careless of mother, said the young scoundrel John,
Speaker 3: not to be here when we come back. It was
Speaker 3: then that missus Darling began playing again. It's mother, cried Wendy,
Speaker 3: peeping so it is, said John. Then are you not
Speaker 3: really our mother? Wendy asked Michael, who was surely sleepy.
Speaker 3: Oh dear, exclaimed Wendy, with her first real twinge of
Speaker 3: remorse for having gone. It was quite time we came back.
Speaker 3: Let us creep in, John suggested, and put our hands
Speaker 3: over her eyes. But Wendy, who saw that they must
Speaker 3: break the joyous news more gently, had a better plan.
Speaker 3: Let us all slip into our beds and be there
Speaker 3: when she comes in, just as if we had never
Speaker 3: been away. And so, when missus Darling went back to
Speaker 3: the night nursery to see if her husband was asleep,
Speaker 3: all the beds were occupied. The children waited for her
Speaker 3: cry of joy, but it did not come. She saw them,
Speaker 3: but she did not believe they were there. You see,
Speaker 3: She saw them in their beds so often in her
Speaker 3: dreams that she thought this was just the dream hanging
Speaker 3: around her. Still, she sat down in the chair by
Speaker 3: the fire where in the old days she had nursed them.
Speaker 3: They could not understand this, and a cold fear fell
Speaker 3: upon all the three of them. Mother Wendy cried, that's Wendy,
Speaker 3: she said. But still she was sure it was the dream. Mother,
Speaker 3: that's John, she said. Mother cried, Michael. He knew her. Now,
Speaker 3: that's Michael, she said, And she stretched out her arms
Speaker 3: for the three little selfish children. They would never envelope again.
Speaker 3: Yes they did. They went round Wendy and John and Michael,
Speaker 3: who had slipped out of bed and run to her. George, George,
Speaker 3: she cried when she could speak, and mister Darling woke
Speaker 3: to share her bliss, and Nana came rushing in. There
Speaker 3: could not have been a lovelier sight, But there was
Speaker 3: none to see it except a little boy who was
Speaker 3: staring in at the window. He had had ecstasies in
Speaker 3: noomble that other children can never know, But he was
Speaker 3: looking through the window at the one joy from which
Speaker 3: he must be forever barred.
Speaker 5: End of Chapter sixteen chapter seventeen. When Wendy grew up,
Speaker 5: I hope you want to know what became of the
Speaker 5: other boys. They were waiting below to give Wendy time
Speaker 5: to explain about them, and when they had counted five hundred,
Speaker 5: they went up. They went up by the stair because
Speaker 5: they thought this would make a better impression. They stood
Speaker 5: in a row in front of Missus Darling, with their
Speaker 5: hats off and wishing they were not wearing their pirate clothes.
Speaker 5: They said nothing, but their eyes asked her to have them.
Speaker 5: They ought to have looked at mister Darling also, but
Speaker 5: they forgot about him.
Speaker 4: Of course.
Speaker 5: Missus Darling said at once that she would have them.
Speaker 5: But mister Darling was curiously depressed, and they saw that
Speaker 5: he considered six a rather large number. I must say.
Speaker 5: He said to Wendy that you don't do things by halves,
Speaker 5: a grudging remark which the twins thought was pointed at them.
Speaker 5: The first twin was the proud one, and he asked, flushing,
Speaker 5: do you think we should be too much of a handful, sir,
Speaker 5: because if so, we can go away. Father Wendy cried, shocked,
Speaker 5: but still the cloud was on him. He knew he
Speaker 5: was behaving unworthily, but he could not help it. We
Speaker 5: could lie doubled up, said NIBBs. I always cut their
Speaker 5: hair myself, said Wendy. George, missus Darling exclaimed, pained to
Speaker 5: see her dear one showing himself in such an unfavorable light.
Speaker 5: Then he burst into tears and the truth came out.
Speaker 5: He was as glad to have them as she was,
Speaker 5: he said, but he thought they should have asked his
Speaker 5: consent as well as hers, instead of treating him like
Speaker 5: a cipher in his own house. I don't think he
Speaker 5: is a cipher, Tootles cried instantly. Do you think he
Speaker 5: is a cipher? Curly, No, I don't. Do you think
Speaker 5: he is a cipher?
Speaker 7: Slightly rather not?
Speaker 6: Twin?
Speaker 4: What do you think?
Speaker 5: It turned out that not one of them thought him
Speaker 5: a cipher, and he was absurdly gratified and said he
Speaker 5: would find space for them all in the drawing room
Speaker 5: if they fitted in. We'll fit in, sir, they assured him.
Speaker 5: Then follow the leader, he cried, gaily, mind you, I
Speaker 5: am not sure that we have a drawing room, but
Speaker 5: we pretend we have, and it's all the same.
Speaker 7: Hoopla.
Speaker 5: He went off dancing through the house, and they all
Speaker 5: cried hoopla and danced after him, searching for the drawing room.
Speaker 5: And I forget whether they found it, but at any
Speaker 5: rate they found corners, and they all fitted in. As
Speaker 5: for Peter, he saw Wendy once again before he flew away.
Speaker 5: He did not exactly come to the window, but he
Speaker 5: brushed against it in passing, so that she could open
Speaker 5: it if she liked, and called to him.
Speaker 11: That was what she did.
Speaker 5: Hullo, Wendy, good bye, he said, Oh dear, are.
Speaker 6: You going away?
Speaker 5: Yes, you don't feel Peter. She said, falteringly that you
Speaker 5: would like to say anything to my parents about a
Speaker 5: very sweet subject. No about me, Peter, No, missus Darling
Speaker 5: came to the window, for at present she was keeping
Speaker 5: a sharp eye on Wendy. She told Peter that she
Speaker 5: had adopted all the other boys and would like to
Speaker 5: adopt him. Also, would you send me to school? He
Speaker 5: inquired craftily, Yes, and then to an office. I suppose
Speaker 5: so soon I should be a man, very soon. I
Speaker 5: don't want to go to school and learn solemn things,
Speaker 5: he told her passionately. I don't want to be a man, Oh,
Speaker 5: Wendy's mother, If I was to wake up and feel
Speaker 5: there was a beard. Peter said, Wendy the comforter, I
Speaker 5: should love you in a beard, and missus Darling stretched
Speaker 5: out her arms to him, but he repulsed her. Keep back, lady,
Speaker 5: no one is going to catch me and make me
Speaker 5: a man. But where are you going to live with Tink?
Speaker 5: In the house we built for Wendy. The fairies are
Speaker 5: to put it high up among the tree tops where
Speaker 5: they sleep at nights. How lovely, cried Wendy, so longingly
Speaker 5: that missus Darling tightened her grip. I thought all the
Speaker 5: fairies were dead, missus Darling said. There are always a
Speaker 5: lot of young ones, explained Wendy, who is not quite
Speaker 5: an authority, because you see, when a new baby laughs
Speaker 5: for the first time, a new fairy is born. And
Speaker 5: as there are always new babies, there are always new fairies.
Speaker 5: They live in nests on the tops of trees, and
Speaker 5: the mauve ones are boys, and the white ones are girls,
Speaker 5: and the blue ones are just little sillies who are
Speaker 5: not sure what they are. I shall have such fun,
Speaker 5: said Peter, with one eye on Wendy. It will be
Speaker 5: rather lonely in the evening, she said, sitting by the fire.
Speaker 5: I shall have tink. Tink can't go a twentieth part
Speaker 5: of the way around, She reminded him. A little tartly, sneaky,
Speaker 5: tell tale tink called out from somewhere round the corner.
Speaker 5: It doesn't matter, Peter said, Oh, Peter, you know it matters. Well,
Speaker 5: then come with me to the little house, may I?
Speaker 16: Mummy?
Speaker 5: Certainly not. I have got you home again, and I
Speaker 5: mean to keep you. But he does so need a mother,
Speaker 5: So do you, my love? Oh all right, Peter said,
Speaker 5: as if he had asked her from politeness merely. But
Speaker 5: missus Darling saw his mouth twitch, and she made this
Speaker 5: handsome offer to let Wendy go to him for a
Speaker 5: week every year and do his spring cleaning. Wendy would
Speaker 5: have preferred a more permanent arrangement, and it seemed to
Speaker 5: her that spring would be long in coming. But this
Speaker 5: promise sent Peter away quite gay again. He had no
Speaker 5: sense of time, and was so full of adventures that
Speaker 5: all I have told you about him is only a
Speaker 5: hapeney worth of them. I suppose it was because Wendy
Speaker 5: knew this that her last words to him were these
Speaker 5: rather plaintive ones. You won't forget me, Peter, will you
Speaker 5: before spring cleaning time comes? Of course, Peter promised, and
Speaker 5: then he flew away. He took missus Darling's kiss with him,
Speaker 5: the kiss that had been for no one else took
Speaker 5: quite easily funny, but she seemed satisfied. Of course, all
Speaker 5: the boys went to school, and most of them got
Speaker 5: into class three, but slightly was put first into class
Speaker 5: four and then into class five. Class one is the
Speaker 5: top class. Before they had attended school a week, they
Speaker 5: saw what goats they had been not to remain on
Speaker 5: the island, But it was too late now, and soon
Speaker 5: they settled down to being as ordinary as you or
Speaker 5: me or Jenkins minor. It is sad to have to
Speaker 5: say that the power to fly gradually left them. At first,
Speaker 5: Nana tied their feet to the bedposts so that they
Speaker 5: should not fly away in the night, and one of
Speaker 5: their diversions by day was to pretend to fall off buses.
Speaker 5: But by and bye they ceased to tug at their
Speaker 5: bonds in bed and found that they hurt themselves when
Speaker 5: they let go of the bus. In time, they could
Speaker 5: not even fly after their hats. Want of practice, they
Speaker 5: called it, But what it really meant was that they
Speaker 5: no longer believed. Michael believed longer than the other boys,
Speaker 5: though they jeered at him. So he was with Wendy
Speaker 5: when Peter came for her. At the end of the
Speaker 5: first year. She flew away with Peter in the frock
Speaker 5: she had woven from the leaves and berries in the Neverland,
Speaker 5: and her one fear was that he might notice how
Speaker 5: short it had become. But he never noticed. He had
Speaker 5: so much to say about himself. She had looked forward
Speaker 5: to thrilling talks with him about old times, but new
Speaker 5: adventures had crowded out the old ones from his mind.
Speaker 5: Who is Captain Hook, he asked her with interest when
Speaker 5: she spoke of the arch enemy. Don't you remember, she asked, amazed,
Speaker 5: how you killed him and saved all our lives. I
Speaker 5: forget them after I killed them, he replied carelessly. When
Speaker 5: she expressed a doubtful hope that tinker Bell would be
Speaker 5: glad to see her, he said, who is tinker Bell? Oh, Peter,
Speaker 5: she said, shocked, But even when she explained, he could
Speaker 5: not remember. There are such a lot of them, he said,
Speaker 5: I expect she is no more. I expect he was
Speaker 5: right for Fairies don't live long, but they are so
Speaker 5: little that a short time seems a good while to them.
Speaker 5: Wendy was pained too to find that the past year
Speaker 5: was but as yesterday. To Peter. It seemed such a
Speaker 5: long year of waiting to her, But he was exactly
Speaker 5: as fascinating as ever, and they had a lovely spring
Speaker 5: cleaning in the little house on the tree tops. Next year,
Speaker 5: he did not come for her. She waited in a
Speaker 5: new frock because the old one simply would not meet.
Speaker 5: But he never came. Perhaps he is ill, Michael said,
Speaker 5: you know, he is never ill. Michael came close to
Speaker 5: her and whispered with a shiver, Perhaps there is no
Speaker 5: such person, Wendy. And then Wendy would have cried if
Speaker 5: Michael had not been crying. Peter came next spring cleaning,
Speaker 5: and the strange thing was that he never knew he
Speaker 5: had missed a year. That was the last time the
Speaker 5: girl Wendy ever saw him for a little longer. She tried,
Speaker 5: for his sake not to have growing pains, and she
Speaker 5: felt she was untrue to him when she got a
Speaker 5: prize for general knowledge. But the years came and went
Speaker 5: without bringing the careless boy and when they met again,
Speaker 5: Wendy was a married woman, and Peter was no more
Speaker 5: to her than a little dust in the box in
Speaker 5: which she had kept her toys. Wendy was grown up.
Speaker 5: You need not be sorry for her. She was one
Speaker 5: of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end,
Speaker 5: she grew up of her own free will a day
Speaker 5: quicker than other girls. All the boys were grown up
Speaker 5: and done for by this time, so it is scarcely
Speaker 5: worth while saying anything more about them. You may see
Speaker 5: the twins and Nibs and Curly any day going to
Speaker 5: an office, each carrying a little bag and an umbrella.
Speaker 5: Michael is an engine driver, slightly married a lady of title,
Speaker 5: and so he became a lord. You see that judge
Speaker 5: in a wig coming out at the iron door that
Speaker 5: used to be Tootles. The bearded man who doesn't know
Speaker 5: any story to tell his children was once John. Wendy
Speaker 5: was married in white with a pink sash. It is
Speaker 5: strange to think Peter did not alight in the church
Speaker 5: and forbid the bands. Years rolled on again, and Wendy
Speaker 5: had a daughter. This ought not to be written in ink,
Speaker 5: but in a golden splash. She was called Jane, and
Speaker 5: always had an odd, inquiring look, as if from the
Speaker 5: moment she arrived on the mainland she wanted to ask questions.
Speaker 5: When she was old enough to ask them, They were
Speaker 5: mostly about Peter Pan. She loved to hear of Peter,
Speaker 5: and Wendy told her all she could remember. In the
Speaker 5: very nursery from which the famous flight had taken place.
Speaker 5: It was Jane's nursery now, for her father had bought
Speaker 5: it at three percents from Wendy's father, who was no
Speaker 5: longer fond of stairs. Missus Darling was now dead and forgotten.
Speaker 5: There were only two beds in the nursery now, Jane's
Speaker 5: and her nurse's, and there was no kennel, for Nana
Speaker 5: also had passed away. She died of old age, and
Speaker 5: at the end she had been rather difficult to get
Speaker 5: on with, being very firmly convinced that no one knew
Speaker 5: how to look after her children except herself. Once a week,
Speaker 5: Jane's nurse had her evening off, and then it was
Speaker 5: Wendy's part to put Jane to bed. That was the
Speaker 5: time for stories. It was Jane's invention to raise the
Speaker 5: sheet over her mother's head in her own, thus making
Speaker 5: a tent and in the awful darkness to whisper, what do.
Speaker 11: We see now?
Speaker 5: I don't think I see anything tonight, says Wendy, with
Speaker 5: a feeling that if Nana were here, she would object
Speaker 5: to further conversation. Yes you do, says Jane. You see
Speaker 5: when you were a little girl. That is a long
Speaker 5: time ago, sweetheart, says Wendy. Ah me, how time flies?
Speaker 5: Does it fly? Asked the artful child. The way you
Speaker 5: flew when you were a little girl, The way I flew?
Speaker 5: Do you know, Jane? I sometimes wonder whether I ever
Speaker 5: did really fly? Yes, you did, the dear old days
Speaker 5: when I could fly? Why can't you fly now?
Speaker 12: Mother?
Speaker 5: Because I am grown up, dearest. When people grow up,
Speaker 5: they forget the way. Why do they forget away? Because
Speaker 5: they are no longer gay and innocent and heartless. It
Speaker 5: is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly?
Speaker 5: What is gay and innocent and heartless? I do wish
Speaker 5: I was gay and innocent and heartless. Well, perhaps Wendy
Speaker 5: admits she does see something. I do believe she says
Speaker 5: that it is this nursery. I do believe it is,
Speaker 5: says Jane.
Speaker 12: Go on.
Speaker 5: They are now embarked on the great adventure of the night.
Speaker 5: When Peter flew in looking for his shadow, the foolish
Speaker 5: fellow says, Wendy tried to stick it on with soap,
Speaker 5: and when he could not, he cried, And that woke me,
Speaker 5: and I sewed it on for him. You have missed
Speaker 5: a bit, interrupts Jane, who now knows the story better
Speaker 5: than her mother.
Speaker 11: When you saw him.
Speaker 5: Sitting on the floor crying, what did you say? I
Speaker 5: sat up in bed and I said, boy, why are
Speaker 5: you crying? Yes, that was it, says Jane, with a
Speaker 5: big breath. And then he flew us all away to
Speaker 5: the Neverland and the fairies and the pirates, and the Redskins,
Speaker 5: and the Mermaid's Lagoon, and the Home under the Ground
Speaker 5: and the little house. Yes, wish did you like best
Speaker 5: of all? I think I liked the Home under the
Speaker 5: ground best of all.
Speaker 11: Yes, so do I.
Speaker 5: What was the last thing Peter ever said to you?
Speaker 5: The last thing he ever said to me was just
Speaker 5: always be waiting for me, and then some night you
Speaker 5: will hear me crowing. Yes, but alas he forgot all
Speaker 5: about me. Wendy said it with a smile. She was
Speaker 5: as grown up as that. What did his crow sound like,
Speaker 5: Jane asked one evening. It was like this, Wendy said, er,
Speaker 5: trying to imitate Peter's crow. No it wasn't, Jane said gravely.
Speaker 5: It was like this, and she did it, ever so
Speaker 5: much better than her mother. Wendy was a little startled,
Speaker 5: my darling, how can you know I often hear it
Speaker 5: when I am sleeping? Jane said, Ah, yes, many girls
Speaker 5: hear it when they are sleeping, But I was the
Speaker 5: only one who heard it.
Speaker 4: Awake, Lucky you.
Speaker 5: Said Jane. And then one night came the tragedy. It
Speaker 5: was the spring of the year, and the story had
Speaker 5: been told for the night, and Jane was now asleep
Speaker 5: in her bed. Wendy was sitting on the floor, very
Speaker 5: close to the fire so as to see to darn,
Speaker 5: for there was no other light in the nursery. And
Speaker 5: while she sat darning, she heard a crow. Then the
Speaker 5: window blew open as of old, and Peter dropped on
Speaker 5: the floor. He was exactly the same as ever, and
Speaker 5: Wendy saw at once that he still had all his
Speaker 5: first teeth. He was a little boy and she was
Speaker 5: grown up. She huddled by the fire, not daring to move,
Speaker 5: helpless and guilty. A big woman. Hello, Wendy, he said,
Speaker 5: not noticing any difference, for he was thinking chiefly of himself,
Speaker 5: and in the dim light, her white dress might have
Speaker 5: been the nightgown in which he had seen her first.
Speaker 5: Hello Peter, she replied, faintly, squeezing herself as small as possible.
Speaker 5: Something inside her was crying, woman, woman, Let go of me. Hullo,
Speaker 5: where is John, he asked, suddenly missing the third bed.
Speaker 5: Jahn is not here now, she gasped. Is Michael asleep?
Speaker 5: He asked, with a careless glance at Jane. Yes, she answered,
Speaker 5: and now she felt that she was untrue to Jane
Speaker 5: as well as to Peter. That is not Michael, she said, quickly,
Speaker 5: lest a judgment should fall on her. Peter looked, hullo,
Speaker 5: is it a new one?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 5: Boy or girl? Girl? Now surely he would understand. But
Speaker 5: not a bit of it, Peter, she said, faltering, Are
Speaker 5: you expecting me to fly away with you? Of course,
Speaker 5: that is why I have come, he added, little sternly.
Speaker 5: Have you forgotten that this is spring cleaning time? She
Speaker 5: knew it was useless to say that he had let
Speaker 5: many spring cleaning times pass. I can't come, she said, apologetically.
Speaker 5: I have forgotten how to fly. I'll soon teach you again.
Speaker 5: Oh Peter, don't waste the fairy dust on me. She
Speaker 5: had risen, and now at last a fear assailed him.
Speaker 12: What is it?
Speaker 5: He cried, shrinking. I will turn up the light, she said,
Speaker 5: and then you can see for yourself. For almost the
Speaker 5: only time in his life that I know of, Peter
Speaker 5: was afraid. Don't turn up the light, he cried. She
Speaker 5: let her hands play in the hair of the tragic boy.
Speaker 5: She was not a little girl heartbroken about him. She
Speaker 5: was a grown woman, smiling at it all. But they
Speaker 5: were wet smiles. Then she turned up the light and
Speaker 5: Peter saw. He gave a cry of pain, and when
Speaker 5: the tall, beautiful creature stooped to lift him in her arms,
Speaker 5: he drew back sharply.
Speaker 12: What is it?
Speaker 5: He cried again. She had to tell him. I am old, Peter.
Speaker 5: I am ever so much more than twenty. I grew
Speaker 5: up long ago. You promised not to. I couldn't help it.
Speaker 5: I'm a married woman, Peter. No, you're not. Yes, And
Speaker 5: the little girl in the bed is my baby. No,
Speaker 5: she's not, but he supposed she was, and he took
Speaker 5: a step toward the sleeping child with his fist upraised.
Speaker 5: Of course, he did not strike her. He sat down
Speaker 5: on the floor and sobbed, and Wendy did not know
Speaker 5: how to comfort him, though she could have done it
Speaker 5: so easily once. She was only a woman now, and
Speaker 5: she ran out of the room to try to think.
Speaker 5: Peter continued to cry, and soon his sobs woke Jane.
Speaker 5: She sat up in bed and was interested at once boy.
Speaker 5: She said, why are you crying. Peter rose and bowed
Speaker 5: to her, and she bowed to him from the bed. Hullo,
Speaker 5: he said, hullo, oh, said Jane. My name is Peter
Speaker 5: Pan He told her, Yes, I know. I came back
Speaker 5: from my mother, he explained, to take her to the Neverland.
Speaker 5: Yes I know, Jane said, I have been waiting for you.
Speaker 5: When Wendy returned, diffidently, she found Peter sitting on the
Speaker 5: bedpost crowing gloriously, while Jane, in her nighty, was flying
Speaker 5: round the room in solemn ecstasy. She is my mother,
Speaker 5: Peter explained, and Jane descended and stood by his side
Speaker 5: with a look on her face that he'd liked to
Speaker 5: see on ladies when they gazed at him. He does
Speaker 5: so need a mother. Jane said, yes, I know, Wendy admitted,
Speaker 5: rather forlornly. No one knows it so well as I. Goodbye,
Speaker 5: said Peter to Wendy, and he rose in the air,
Speaker 5: and the shameless Jane rose with him. It was already
Speaker 5: her easiest way of moving about. Wendy rushed to the window. No, no,
Speaker 5: she cried, It is just for spring cleaning time. Jane said.
Speaker 4: He wants me always to.
Speaker 5: Do his spring cleaning. If only I could go with you,
Speaker 5: Wendy sighed, You see, you can't fly, said Jane. Of course.
Speaker 5: In the end, Wendy let them fly away together. Our
Speaker 5: last glimpse of her shows her at the window, watching them,
Speaker 5: orceeding into the sky until they were as small as stars.
Speaker 5: As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair
Speaker 5: becoming white and her figure little again. For all this
Speaker 5: happened long ago, Jane is now a common grown up
Speaker 5: with a daughter called Margaret, and every spring cleaning time,
Speaker 5: except when he forgets, Peter comes from Margaret and takes
Speaker 5: her to the neverland, where she tells him stories about himself,
Speaker 5: to which he listens eagerly. When Margaret grows up, she
Speaker 5: will have a daughter who is to be Peter's mother
Speaker 5: in turn. And so it will go on, so long
Speaker 5: as children are gay and innocent and heartless. End of
Speaker 5: Chapter seventeen.