Peter Pan - When Wendy Grew Up

None

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by John Garvin, Peter Pan
by J. M. Barry, Chapter seventeen. When Wendy grew up,

(00:23):
I hope you want to know what became of the
other boys. They were waiting below to give Wendy time
to explain about them, and when they had counted five hundred,
they went up. They went up by the stair because
they thought this would make a better impression. They stood
in a row in front of Missus Darling, with their
hats off and wishing they were not wearing their pirate clothes.

(00:45):
They said nothing, but their eyes asked her to have them.
They ought to have looked at mister Darling also, but
they forgot about him. Of course, Missus Darling said at
once that she would have them. But mister Darling was
curiously depressed, and they saw that he considered six a
rather large number. I must say. He said to Wendy

(01:06):
that you don't do things by halves, a grudging remark
which the twins thought was pointed at them. The first
twin was the proud one, and he asked, flushing, do
you think we should be too much of a handful, sir,
Because if so, we can go away. Father. Wendy cried, shocked,
but still the cloud was on him. He knew he

(01:27):
was behaving unworthily, but he could not help it. We
could lie doubled up, said NIBBs. I always cut their
hair myself, said Wendy. George missus Darling exclaimed, pained to
see her dear one showing himself in such an unfavorable light.
Then he burst into tears and the truth came out.

(01:48):
He was as glad to have them as she was,
he said, but he thought they should have asked his
consent as well as hers, instead of treating him like
a cipher in his own house. I don't think he
is a cipher, Tootles cried instantly. Do you think he
is a cipher? Curly? No, I don't. Do you think
he is a cipher? Slightly? Rather? Not? Twin? What do

(02:08):
you think? It turned out that not one of them
thought him a cipher, and he was absurdly gratified and
said he would find space for them all in the
drawing room. If they fitted in, we'll fit in, sir,
they assured him. Then follow the leader. He cried, gaily,
mind you, I am not sure that we have a
drawing room, but we pretend we have, and it's all

(02:29):
the same. Hoopla. He went off dancing through the house,
and they all cried hoopla, and danced after him, searching
for the drawing room. And I forget whether they found it,
but at any rate, they found corners and they all
fitted in. As for Peter, he saw Wendy once again
before he flew away. He did not exactly come to

(02:50):
the window, but he brushed against it in passing, so
that she could open it if she liked and call
to him. That was what she did. Hullo, Wendy good,
he said, Oh dear, are you going away? Yes, you
don't feel Peter. She said, falteringly that you would like
to say anything to my parents about a very sweet subject.

(03:14):
No about me, Peter, No, missus Darling came to the window,
for at present she was keeping a sharp eye on Wendy.
She told Peter that she had adopted all the other
boys and would like to adopt him also, would you
send me to school? He inquired craftily, yes, and then

(03:35):
to an office. I suppose so soon I should be
a man, very soon. I don't want to go to
school and learn solemn things, he told her passionately. I
don't want to be a man. Oh, Wendy's mother. If
I was to wake up and feel there was a beard,
Peter said Wendy the comforter, I should love you in
a beard, and missus Darling stretched out her arms to him,

(03:58):
but he repulsed her back. Lady, no one is going
to catch me and make me a man. But where
are you going to live with Tink in the house
we built for Wendy. The fairies are to put it
high up among the tree tops where they sleep at nights.
How lovely, cried Wendy, so longingly that missus Darling tightened
her grip. I thought all the fairies were dead, missus

(04:19):
Darling said. There are always a lot of young ones,
explained Wendy, who is not quite an authority, because you see,
when a new baby laughs for the first time, a
new fairy is born, and as there are always new babies,
there are always new fairies. They live in nests on
the tops of trees, and the mauve ones are boys,
and the white ones are girls, and the blue ones
are just little sillies who are not sure what they are.

(04:41):
I shall have such fun, said Peter, with one eye
on Wendy. It will be rather lonely in the evening,
she said, sitting by the fire, I shall have tink.
Tink can't go a twentieth part of the way around,
she reminded him. A little tartly, sneaky tell tale tink
called out from somewhere round the corner. It doesn't matter,

(05:01):
Peter said, Oh, Peter, you know it matters. Well, then
come with me to the little house, may I? Mummy?
Certainly not. I have got you home again, and I
mean to keep you. But he does so need a mother,
So do you, my love? Oh all right, Peter said,
as if he had asked her from politeness merely. But
missus Darling saw his mouth twitch, and she made this

(05:23):
handsome offer to let Wendy go to him for a
week every year and do his spring cleaning. Wendy would
have preferred a more permanent arrangement, and it seemed to
her that spring would be long in coming. But this
promise sent Peter away quite gay again. He had no
sense of time, and was so full of adventures that
all I have told you about him is only a
hapeney worth of them. I suppose it was because Wendy

(05:46):
knew this that her last words to him were these
rather plaintive ones. You won't forget me, Peter, will you
before spring cleaning time comes? Of course? Peter promised, and
then he flew away. He took missus Darling's kiss with him,
the kiss that had been for no one else. Peter
took quite easily funny, but she seemed satisfied. Of course.

(06:09):
All the boys went to school, and most of them
got into class three, but slightly was put first into
class four and then into class five. Class one is
the top class. Before they had attended school a week,
they saw what goats they had been not to remain
on the island, but it was too late now, and
soon they settled down to being as ordinary as you
or me or Jenkins minor. It is sad to have

(06:30):
to say that the power to fly gradually left them.
At first, Nana tied their feet to the bed posts
so that they should not fly away in the night,
and one of their diversions by day was to pretend
to fall off buses. But by and by they ceased
to tug at their bonds in bed, and found that
they hurt themselves when they let go of the bus.
In time, they could not even fly after their hats.

(06:52):
Want of practice, they called it, but what it really
meant was that they no longer believed. Michael believed longer
than the other boys, though they jeered at him. So
he was with Wendy when Peter came for her at
the end of the first year. She flew away with
Peter in the frock she had woven from the leaves
and berries in the Neverland, and her one fear was
that he might notice how short it had become. But

(07:15):
he never noticed. He had so much to say about himself.
She had looked forward to thrilling talks with him about
old times, but new adventures had crowded out the old
ones from his mind. Who is Captain Hook, he asked
her with interest when she spoke of the arch enemy?
Don't you remember, she asked, amazed, how you killed him
and saved all our lives. I forget them after I

(07:37):
killed them, he replied carelessly. When she expressed a doubtful
hope that tinker Bell would be glad to see her
he said, who is tinker Bell? Oh, Peter, she said, shocked.
But even when she explained, he could not remember. There
are such a lot of them, he said, I expect
she is no more. I expect he was right, for

(07:57):
fairies don't live long, but they are so little that
a short time seems a good while to them. Wendy
was pained, too, to find that the past year was
but as yesterday to Peter. It had seemed such a
long year of waiting to her, but he was exactly
as fascinating as ever, and they had a lovely spring
cleaning in the little house on the tree tops. Next year,

(08:18):
he did not come for her. She waited in a
new frock because the old one simply would not meet.
But he never came. Perhaps he is ill, Michael said,
you know, he is never ill. Michael came close to
her and whispered with a shiver. Perhaps there is no
such person, Wendy. And then Wendy would have cried if

(08:39):
Michael had not been crying. Peter came next spring cleaning,
and the strange thing was that he never knew he
had missed a year. That was the last time the
girl Wendy ever saw him for a little longer. She
tried for his sake not to have growing pains, and
she felt she was untrue to him when she got
a prize for general knowledge. But the years came and

(09:03):
went without bringing the careless boy, And when they met again,
Wendy was a married woman, and Peter was no more
to her than a little dust in the box in
which she had kept her toys. Wendy was grown up.
You need not be sorry for her. She was one
of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end,
she grew up of her own free will a day

(09:23):
quicker than other girls. All the boys were grown up
and done for by this time, so it is scarcely
worth while saying anything more about them. You may see
the twins and Nibs and Curly any day going to
an office, each carrying a little bag and an umbrella.
Michael is an engine driver, slightly married a lady of title,
and so he became a lord. You see that judge

(09:45):
and a wig coming out at the iron door that
used to be Tootles. The bearded man who doesn't know
any story to tell his children was once John. Wendy
was married in white with a pink sash, it is
strange to think Peter did not alight in the church
and forbid the bands. Years rolled on again, and Wendy

(10:05):
had a daughter. This ought not to be written in ink,
but in a golden splash. She was called Jane, and
always had an odd, inquiring look, as if from the
moment she arrived on the mainland. She wanted to ask questions.
When she was old enough to ask them, They were
mostly about Peter Pan. She loved to hear of Peter,

(10:26):
and Wendy told her all she could remember. In the
very nursery from which the famous flight had taken place.
It was Jane's nursery now, for her father had bought
it at three percents from Wendy's father, who was no
longer fond of stairs. Missus Darling was now dead and forgotten.
There were only two beds in the nursery now, Jane's
and her nurse's, and there was no kennel, for Nana

(10:48):
also had passed away. She died of old age, and
at the end she had been rather difficult to get
on with, being very firmly convinced that no one knew
how to look after her children except herself. Once a
week Jane's nurse had her evening off, and then it
was Wendy's part to put Jane to bed. That was
the time for stories. It was Jane's invention to raise

(11:10):
the sheet over her mother's head and her own, thus
making a tent, and in the awful darkness to whisper,
what do we see now? I don't think I see
anything to night, says Wendy, with a feeling that if
Nana were here, she would object to further conversation. Yes
you do, says Jane. You see when you were a

(11:30):
little girl. That is a long time ago, sweetheart, says Wendy.
Ah Me, how time flies? Does it fly? Asked the
artful child. The way you flew when you were a
little girl, the way I flew? Do you know, Jane?
I sometimes wonder whether I ever did really fly? Yes,
you did, the dear old days when I could fly?

(11:55):
Why can't you fly now? Mother? Because I am grown up? Dearest?
When people grow up they forget the way. Why do
they forget the way? Because they are no longer gay
and innocent and heartless. It is only the gay and
innocent and heartless who can fly? What is gay and
innocent and heartless. I do wish I was gay and

(12:15):
innocent and heartless, or perhaps Wendy admits she does see something.
I do believe She says that it is this nursery.
I do believe it is, says Jane. Go On. They
are now embarked on the great adventure of the night.
When Peter flew in looking for his shadow, the foolish fellow,

(12:37):
says Wendy tried to stick it on with soap, and
when he could not, he cried, and that woke me,
and I sewed it on for him. You have missed
a bit, interrupts Jane, who now knows the story better
than her mother. When you saw him sitting on the
floor crying, what did you say? I sat up in
bed and I said, boy, why are you crying? Yes,

(12:59):
that was it, says Jane, with a big breath. And
then he flew us all away to the Neverland and
the fairies and the pirates, and the Redskins, and the
Mermaid's Lagoon, and the Home under the Ground and the
little House. Yes, which did you like best of all?
I think I liked the Home under the Ground best
of all. Yes, so do I. What was the last thing?

(13:22):
Peter ever said to you. The last thing he ever
said to me was just always be waiting for me,
and then some night you will hear me crowing. Yes,
but alas he forgot all about me. Wendy said it
with a smile. She was as grown up as that.
What did his crow sound like, Jane asked one evening.

(13:45):
It was like this, Wendy said, er er, trying to
imitate Peter's crow. No it wasn't, Jane said gravely. It
was like this, and she did it ever so much
much better than her mother. Wendy was a little startled,
my darling, How can you know I often hear when

(14:07):
I am sleeping? Jane said, Ah, yes, many girls hear
it when they are sleeping, But I was the only
one who heard it. Awake. Lucky you, said Jane. And
then one night came the tragedy. It was the spring
of the year, and the story had been told for
the night, and Jane was now asleep in her bed.

(14:29):
Wendy was sitting on the floor very close to the
fire so as to see to darn, for there was
no other light in the nursery. And while she sat darning,
she heard a crow. Then the window blew open as
of old, and Peter dropped on the floor. He was
exactly the same as ever, and Wendy saw at once
that he still had all his first teeth. He was

(14:51):
a little boy, and she was grown up. She huddled
by the fire, not daring to move, helpless and guilty.
A big woman. Hullo, Wendy, he said, not noticing any difference,
for he was thinking chiefly of himself, and in the
dim light, her white dress might have been the nightgown
in which he had seen her first. Hullo, Peter, she replied, faintly,

(15:15):
squeezing herself as small as possible. Something inside her was crying, woman, woman,
Let go of me. Hullo, where is John, he asked,
suddenly missing the third bed. John is not here now,
she gasped. Is Michael asleep, he asked, with a careless
glance at Jane. Yes, she answered, and now she felt

(15:37):
that she was untrue to Jane as well as to Peter.
That is not Michael, she said, quickly, lest a judgment
should fall on her. Peter looked, hullo, is it a
new one? Yes, boy or girl? Girl? Now surely he
would understand, but not a bit of it. Peter she said, faltering,
Are you expecting me to fly away with you? Of

(15:59):
course worse, That is why I have come, he added,
a little sternly. Have you forgotten that this is spring
cleaning time? She knew it was useless to say that.
He had let many spring cleaning times pass. I can't come,
she said, apologetically. I have forgotten how to fly. I'll
soon teach you again. Oh Peter, don't waste the fairy

(16:20):
dust on me. She had risen, and now at last
a fear assailed him. What is it? He cried, shrinking.
I will turn up the light, she said, and then
you can see for yourself. For almost the only time
in his life that I know of, Peter was afraid.
Don't turn up the light, he cried. She let her

(16:41):
hands play in the hair of the tragic boy. She
was not a little girl heart broken about him. She
was a grown woman, smiling at it all. But they
were wet smiles. Then she turned up the light and
Peter saw. He gave a cry of pain, and when
the tall, beautiful creature stooped to lift him in her arm,
he drew back sharply. What is it? He cried? Again.

(17:04):
She had to tell him, I am old, Peter. I
am ever so much more than twenty. I grew up
long ago. You promised not to. I couldn't help it.
I'm married woman, Peter. No you're not. Yes, And the
little girl in the bed is my baby. No she's not,
but he supposed she was, and he took a step

(17:26):
toward the sleeping child with his fist upraised. Of course,
he did not strike her. He sat down on the
floor and sobbed, and Wendy did not know how to
comfort him, though she could have done it so easily
once she was only a woman now, and she ran
out of the room to try to think. Peter continued
to cry, and soon his sobs woke Jane. She sat

(17:49):
up in bed and was interested at once boy. She said,
why are you crying. Peter rose and bowed to her,
and she bowed to him from the bed. Hullo, he said, Hullo,
said Jane. My name is Peter Pan He told her, Yes,
I know. I came back from my mother, he explained,

(18:11):
to take care for the Neverland. Yes I know, Jane said,
I have been waiting for you. When Wendy returned, diffidently,
she found Peter sitting on the bed post, crowing gloriously,
while Jane and her Nighty was flying round the room
in solemn ecstasy. She is my mother, Peter explained, and
Jane descended and stood by his side, with a look

(18:33):
on her face that he liked to see on ladies
when they gazed at him. He does so need a mother.
Jane said, yes, I know, Wendy admitted, rather forlornly. No
one knows it so well as I. Good Bye, said
Peter to Wendy, and he rose in the air, and
the shameless Jane rose with him. It was already her
easiest way of moving about. Wendy rushed to the window. No, no,

(19:00):
she cried, It is just for spring cleaning time. Jane said.
He wants me always to do his spring cleaning. If
only I could go with you, Wendy sighed. You see,
you can't fly, said Jane. Of course. In the end,
Wendy let them fly away together. Our last glimpse of

(19:23):
her shows her at the window, watching them receding into
the sky until they were as small as stars. As
you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming
white and her figure little again. For all this happened
long ago, Jane is now a common grown up with
a daughter called Margaret. And every spring cleaning time, except

(19:44):
when he forgets Peter comes for Margaret and takes her
to the Neverland, where she tells him stories about himself,
to which he listens eagerly. When Margaret grows up, she
will have a daughter who is to be Peter's mother
in turn. And so it will go on so long
as children are gay and innocent and heartless. End of

(20:12):
Chapter seventeen, recorded by John Garvin, Houston, Texas, October twentieth,
two thousand six. End of Peter Pan by J. M.
Barry