Peter Pan - J.M.BARRIE (English Version)

CHAPTER 1: Peter Breaks Through

Chapter 1

PETER BREAKS THROUGH

All  children,  except  one,  grow  up. They soon know  that  they  will  grow up,  and  the  way  Wendy  knew  was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing  in  a  garden, and she plucked another  flower  and  ran with it to her mother.  I   suppose   she must  have  looked  rather  delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand  to  her heart and cried, " Oh,  why  can't  you remain like this for ever!" This was all that  passed  between  them  on  the subject, but henceforth  Wendy  knew that  she  must  grow  up.  You  always know after  you  are  two.  Two  is  the beginning of the end.

Of course they lived at 14 [their house number  on  their  street],  and  until Wendy  came  her  mother  was  the chief one. She was a lovely lady, with a  romantic  mind  and  such  a  sweet mocking mouth.  Her  romantic  mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other,  that  come  from  the  puzzling East,   however   many   you   discover there  is  always  one  more;  and  her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner.

The  way  Mr.  Darling  won  her  was this:  the  many  gentlemen  who  had been   boys   when   she   was   a   girl discovered simultaneously that they loved  her ,  and  they  all  ran  to  her house  to  propose  to  her  except  Mr. Darling, who took a cab and nipped in first, and so he  got  her. He  got  all  of her, except the innermost box and the kiss.  He  never  knew  about  the  box, and in time he gave up  trying  for  the kiss. Wendy thought Napoleon could have  got  it,  but  I  can  picture  him trying ,  and   then   going   off   in   a passion, slamming the door.

Mr. Darling  used  to  boast  to  Wendy that her  mother  not  only  loved  him but respected him. He  was  one  of those  deep  ones   who   know   about stocks and shares.  Of  course  no  one really knows, but  he quite  seemed  to know, and he  often  said  stocks  were up and  shares  were  down  in  a  way that  would  have  made  any  woman respect him.

Mrs.  Darling  was  married  in  white, and  at   first    she    kept    the    books perfectly, almost gleefully, as if it were a  game,  not  so  much  as  a  Brussels sprout  was  missing;  but  by  and  by whole cauliflowers dropped out, and instead of them there were pictures of babies without faces. She drew them when  she  should  have  been  totting up. They were Mrs. Darling's guesses.
Wendy  came  first , then  John ,  then Michael.

For a week or two after Wendy came it was doubtful whether they would be  able  to  keep  her ,  as  she  was another  mouth  to  feed.  Mr.  Darling was frightfully  proud  of  her,  but  he was  very  honourable, and  he  sat  on the edge of Mrs. Darling's bed, holding her  hand  and  calculating  expenses, while she looked at him imploringly. She  wanted  to  risk  it,  come  what might, but  that  was  not  his  way; his way was with a pencil and  a  piece  of paper,and  if  she  confused  him  with suggestions  he  had  to  begin  at  the beginning again.

"Now don't interrupt," he would beg of her.

"I  have  one  pound  seventeen  here, and two and six at the office; I can cut off my coffee at the office, say ten shillings, making two nine and six, with your eighteen and three makes three nine seven, with five naught naught in my cheque-book makes eight   nine   seven  —   who  is  that moving?—eight nine seven,  dot  and carry seven—don't speak, my  own —and  the  pound  you  lent  to  that  man who came to the door—quiet, child —dot  and  carry  child — there,  you've done it!—did  I  say  nine  nine  seven? yes,   I   said   nine   nine   seven;   the question is, can we try it for a year on nine nine seven?"