James Matthew Barrie doc Peter and Wendy

All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the wayWendy 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 havelooked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, 'Oh, why can'tyou remain like this for ever!' This was all that passed between them on the subject, buthenceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two isthe beginning of the end.Of course they lived at 14, and until Wendy came her mother was the chief one. She was alovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mindwas like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, howevermany you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kisson it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the righthand corner.The way Mr. Darling won her was this: the many gentlemen who had been boys when shewas a girl discovered simultaneously that they loved her, and they all ran to her house topropose to her except Mr. Darling, who took a cab and nipped in first, and so he got her. Hegot all of her, except the innermost box and the kiss. He never knew about the box, and intime he gave up trying for the kiss. Wendy thought Napoleon could have got it, but I canpicture 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 reallyknows, but he quite seemed to know, and he often said stocks were up and shares weredown in a way that would have made any woman respect him