A twinkling light darted into the nursery. It was a tiny fairy called Tinker Bell.
Then the window blew open. Peter Pan dropped to the floor.
“Tink!” he whispered. “Do you know where they’ve put my shadow?”
“In the chest of drawers!” she said. The fairy’s language was like the tinkling of golden bells.
Peter jumped at the drawers. He dug through the nicely folded things. He tossed them over his shoulder left and right. There was his shadow! He slammed the drawer. And shut Tinker Bell inside!
Peter was surprised. Why didn’t his shadow jump right back on him? He tried to stick it on with a bar of soap. But that didn’t work, either. Peter flopped to the floor and cried.
The sound of his crying woke Wendy. “Boy,” she said politely. “Why are you crying?”
Peter sprang to his feet. “Who are you?”
“I am Wendy Moira Angela Darling,” she said.
“I am Peter Pan,” said the boy. “I was crying because my shadow won’t stick. But I wasn’t really crying.”
Wendy knew at once what to do. She took out her needle and thread. Then she sewed the shadow back on.
“Oh, Wendy!” crowed Peter. “One girl is worth twenty boys!”
“Really, Peter?” Wendy was so pleased, she offered to give him a kiss.
Peter stuck out his hand. He clearly didn’t know what a kiss was! Wendy did not want to hurt his feelings. So she gave him her thimble.
“Now shall I give you a kiss, too?” he asked.
“If you please,” said Wendy. Peter dropped an acorn button into her hand.
Wendy sighed. “I know what I’ll do,” she said. “I’ll put your kiss on a chain. Then I can wear it around my neck.” That seemed to please Peter.
“How old are you?” Wendy asked.
Peter frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. He didn’t like questions that he didn’t know the answer to. “I ran away the day I was born.”
“Really?!” said Wendy. “Why?”
“I heard my father and mother talking,” said Peter. “They were planning what I would be when I became a man. But I don’t want to grow up. I want to be a boy and have fun forever. So I ran away to live with the fairies.”
“Oh, Peter!” cried Wendy. “Tell me about the fairies! Would you, please?”
Peter smiled. He knew all about that.
“Fairies began long ago,” he said. “When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces. The pieces all went skipping about. Each piece became a fairy. And that is how fairies began.
“There should be one for every girl and boy,” he said.
“But sometimes a child says, ‘I don’t believe in fairies.’ Each time one does, a fairy dies.”
An angry shake of bells came from the chest of drawers. “Why, I must have shut Tinker Bell up in the drawer,” said Peter.
He opened the drawer. The little fairy flew about the nursery. She was tinkling with fury.
“She’s lovely!” cried Wendy.
“Tink,” said Peter. “Would you like to be Wendy’s fairy?”
Tinker Bell answered with an angry jangle.
Peter shook his head. “She is not very polite,” he told Wendy. “She says you are an ugly girl. And she says that she is my fairy. But she knows she can’t be my fairy. After all, I am a gentleman and she is a lady.”
Tink flew off in a huff.
“Where do you live now?” Wendy asked.
“With the lost boys,” said Peter. “Children who fall out of their carriages and are forgotten. I’m their captain.”
“What fun!” cried Wendy.
“Yes,” said Peter. “But we are very lonely. You see, we have no mothers. That’s why I come to your window. To hear your mother tell stories. She was telling such a nice one. It was about a lady with a glass slipper.”
“Oh, Cinderella!” said Wendy. “She and the prince live happily ever after.”
Peter leapt to the window. “I must tell the other boys how it ended!”
“Peter!” Wendy cried. “I know lots of stories!”
Peter stopped on the sill. He had a greedy look in his eyes. He pulled Wendy toward the window. “Come away with me and tell the other boys, too!”
Wendy was frightened. “Let me go! I can’t fly!”
“Come away with me and I’ll teach you!” said Peter. “Wendy, there are mermaids there …”
“Really?” cried Wendy.
Peter knew he almost had her. “You could tuck us in at night and mend our clothes. You could be our mother.”
That did it! Wendy ran to wake her brothers. “Peter Pan has come. He’s going to teach us to fly!”
John and Michael were up and ready in a second.
Peter blew fairy dust on them. “Wiggle your shoulders,” he said. Soon they were all flying!
Nana was barking wildly down in the yard. At last she broke loose and ran down the street to number 27.
Mr. and Mrs. Darling rushed into the street. They looked up at the nursery window. It was filled with light. And they saw four flying shadows on the curtains!
The Darlings might have reached the nursery in time. But the stars were watching. A young one blew open the window. “Hurry, Peter!” it cried.
Nana and the Darlings ran inside and up the stairs. They flung open the door to the nursery. But it was too late.
The children were gone.
