Reading Help Peter-pan BY J. M. BARRIE
`
` `
` One of the first things Peter did next day was to measure Wendy `
` and John and Michael for hollow trees. Hook, you remember, had `
` sneered at the boys for thinking they needed a tree apiece, but `
` this was ignorance, for unless your tree fitted you it was `
` difficult to go up and down, and no two of the boys were quite `
` the same size. Once you fitted, you drew in [let out] your `
` breath at the top, and down you went at exactly the right speed, `
` while to ascend you drew in and let out alternately, and so `
` wriggled up. Of course, when you have mastered the action you `
` are able to do these things without thinking of them, and nothing `
` can be more graceful. `
` `
` But you simply must fit, and Peter measures you for your tree `
` as carefully as for a suit of clothes: the only difference being `
` that the clothes are made to fit you, while you have to be made `
` to fit the tree. Usually it is done quite easily, as by your `
` wearing too many garments or too few, but if you are bumpy in `
` awkward places or the only available tree is an odd shape, Peter `
` does some things to you, and after that you fit. Once you fit, `
` great care must be taken to go on fitting, and this, as Wendy was `
` to discover to her delight, keeps a whole family in perfect `
` condition. `
` `
` Wendy and Michael fitted their trees at the first try, but John `
` had to be altered a little. `
` `
` After a few days' practice they could go up and down as gaily `
` as buckets in a well. And how ardently they grew to love their `
` home under the ground; especially Wendy. It consisted of one `
` large room, as all houses should do, with a floor in which you `
` could dig [for worms] if you wanted to go fishing, and in this `
` floor grew stout mushrooms of a charming colour, which were used `
` as stools. A Never tree tried hard to grow in the centre of the `
` room, but every morning they sawed the trunk through, level with `
` the floor. By tea-time it was always about two feet high, and `
` then they put a door on top of it, the whole thus becoming a `
` table; as soon as they cleared away, they sawed off the trunk `
` again, and thus there was more room to play. There was an `
` enourmous fireplace which was in almost any part of the room `
` where you cared to light it, and across this Wendy stretched `
` strings, made of fibre, from which she suspended her washing. `
` The bed was tilted against the wall by day, and let down at 6:30, `
` when it filled nearly half the room; and all the boys slept `
` in it, except Michael, lying like sardines in a tin. There was a `
` strict rule against turning round until one gave the signal, when `
` all turned at once. Michael should have used it also, but Wendy `
` would have [desired] a baby, and he was the littlest, and you know `
` what women are, and the short and long of it is that he was hung `
` up in a basket. `
` `
` It was rough and simple, and not unlike what baby bears would `
` have made of an underground house in the same circumstances. But `
` there was one recess in the wall, no larger than a bird-cage, `
` which was the private apartment of Tinker Bell. It could be shut `
` off from the rest of the house by a tiny curtain, which Tink, who `
` was most fastidious [particular], always kept drawn when dressing `
` or undressing. No woman, however large, could have had a more `
` exquisite boudoir [dressing room] and bed-chamber combined. The `
` couch, as she always called it, was a genuine Queen Mab, with `
` club legs; and she varied the bedspreads according to what fruit- `
` blossom was in season. Her mirror was a Puss-in-Boots, of which `
` there are now only three, unchipped, known to fairy dealers; the `
` washstand was Pie-crust and reversible, the chest of drawers an `
` authentic Charming the Sixth, and the carpet and rugs the best `
` (the early) period of Margery and Robin. There was a chandelier `
` from Tiddlywinks for the look of the thing, but of course she lit `
` the residence herself. Tink was very contemptuous of the rest of `
` the house, as indeed was perhaps inevitable, and her chamber, `
` though beautiful, looked rather conceited, having the appearance `
` of a nose permanently turned up. `
` `
` I suppose it was all especially entrancing to Wendy, because `
` those rampagious boys of hers gave her so much to do. Really `
` there were whole weeks when, except perhaps with a stocking in `
` the evening, she was never above ground. The cooking, I can tell `
` you, kept her nose to the pot, and even if there was nothing in it, `
` even if there was no pot, she had to keep watching that it `
` came aboil just the same. You never exactly knew whether there would `
` be a real meal or just a make-believe, it all depended upon Peter's `
` whim: he could eat, really eat, if it was part of a game, but he `
` could not stodge [cram down the food] just to feel stodgy [stuffed `
` with food], which is what most children like better than anything else; `
` the next best thing being to talk about it. Make-believe was so real `
` to him that during a meal of it you could see him getting rounder. `
` Of course it was trying, but you simply had to follow his lead, `
` and if you could prove to him that you were getting loose for your `
` tree he let you stodge. `
` `
` Wendy's favourite time for sewing and darning was after they `
` had all gone to bed. Then, as she expressed it, she had a `
` breathing time for herself; and she occupied it in making new `
` things for them, and putting double pieces on the knees, for they `
` were all most frightfully hard on their knees. `
` `
` When she sat down to a basketful of their stockings, every heel `
` with a hole in it, she would fling up her arms and exclaim, "Oh `
` dear, I am sure I sometimes think spinsters are to be envied!" `
` `
` Her face beamed when she exclaimed this. `
` `
` You remember about her pet wolf. Well, it very soon discovered `
` that she had come to the island and it found her out, and they `
` just ran into each other's arms. After that it followed her `
` about everywhere. `
` `
` As time wore on did she think much about the beloved parents `
` she had left behind her? This is a difficult question, because `
` it is quite impossible to say how time does wear on in the `
` Neverland, where it is calculated by moons and suns, and there `
` are ever so many more of them than on the mainland. But I am `
` afraid that Wendy did not really worry about her father and `
` mother; she was absolutely confident that they would always keep `
` the window open for her to fly back by, and this gave her `
` complete ease of mind. What did disturb her at times was that `
` John remembered his parents vaguely only, as people he had once `
` known, while Michael was quite willing to believe that she was `
` really his mother. These things scared her a little, and nobly `
` anxious to do her duty, she tried to fix the old life in their `
` minds by setting them examination papers on it, as like as `
` possible to the ones she used to do at school. The other boys `
` thought this awfully interesting, and insisted on joining, and `
` they made slates for themselves, and sat round the table, writing `
` and thinking hard about the questions she had written on another `
` slate and passed round. They were the most ordinary questions -- `
` "What was the colour of Mother's eyes? Which was taller, Father `
` or Mother? Was Mother blonde or brunette? Answer all three `
` questions if possible." "(A) Write an essay of not less than 40 `
` words on How I spent my last Holidays, or The Characters of `
` Father and Mother compared. Only one of these to be attempted." `
` Or "(1) Describe Mother's laugh; (2) Describe Father's laugh; (3) `
` Describe Mother's Party Dress; (4) Describe the Kennel and its `
` Inmate." `
` `
` They were just everyday questions like these, and when you `
` could not answer them you were told to make a cross; and it was `
` really dreadful what a number of crosses even John made. Of course `
` the only boy who replied to every question was Slightly, and no `
` one could have been more hopeful of coming out first, but his `
` answers were perfectly ridiculous, and he really came out last: `
` a melancholy thing. `
` `
` Peter did not compete. For one thing he despised all mothers `
` except Wendy, and for another he was the only boy on the island `
` who could neither write nor spell; not the smallest word. He was `
` above all that sort of thing. `
` `
` By the way, the questions were all written in the past tense. `
` What was the colour of Mother's eyes, and so on. Wendy, you see, `
` had been forgetting, too. `
` `
` Adventures, of course, as we shall see, were of daily `
` occurrence; but about this time Peter invented, with Wendy's `
` help, a new game that fascinated him enormously, until he `
` suddenly had no more interest in it, which, as you have been `
` told, was what always happened with his games. It consisted in `
` pretending not to have adventures, in doing the sort of thing `
` John and Michael had been doing all their lives, sitting on `
` stools flinging balls in the air, pushing each other, going out `
` for walks and coming back without having killed so much as a `
` grizzly. To see Peter doing nothing on a stool was a great `
` sight; he could not help looking solemn at such times, to sit `
` still seemed to him such a comic thing to do. He boasted that he `
` had gone walking for the good of his health. For several suns `
` these were the most novel of all adventures to him; and John and `
` Michael had to pretend to be delighted also; otherwise he would `
` have treated them severely. `
` `
` He often went out alone, and when he came back you were never `
` absolutely certain whether he had had an adventure or not. He `
` might have forgotten it so completely that he said nothing about `
` it; and then when you went out you found the body; and, on the `
` other hand, he might say a great deal about it, and yet you could `
` not find the body. Sometimes he came home with his head `
` bandaged, and then Wendy cooed over him and bathed it in lukewarm `
` water, while he told a dazzling tale. But she was never quite `
` sure, you know. There were, however, many adventures which she `
` knew to be true because she was in them herself, and there were `
` still more that were at least partly true, for the other boys `
` were in them and said they were wholly true. To describe them `
` all would require a book as large as an English-Latin, Latin- `
` English Dictionary, and the most we can do is to give one as a `
` specimen of an average hour on the island. The difficulty is `
` which one to choose. Should we take the brush with the redskins `
` at Slightly Gulch? It was a sanguinary [cheerful] affair, and `
` especially interesting as showing one of Peter's peculiarities, `
` which was that in the middle of a fight he would suddenly change `
` sides. At the Gulch, when victory was still in the balance, `
` sometimes leaning this way and sometimes that, he called out, `
` "I'm redskin to-day; what are you, Tootles?" And Tootles `
` answered, "Redskin; what are you, Nibs?" and Nibs said, `
` "Redskin; what are you Twin?" and so on; and they were all `
` redskins; and of course this would have ended the fight had not `
` the real redskins fascinated by Peter's methods, agreed to be `
` lost boys for that once, and so at it they all went again, more `
` fiercely than ever. `
` `
` The extraordinary upshot of this adventure was -- but we have `
` not decided yet that this is the adventure we are to narrate. `
` Perhaps a better one would be the night attack by the redskins on `
`
` `
` One of the first things Peter did next day was to measure Wendy `
` and John and Michael for hollow trees. Hook, you remember, had `
` sneered at the boys for thinking they needed a tree apiece, but `
` this was ignorance, for unless your tree fitted you it was `
` difficult to go up and down, and no two of the boys were quite `
` the same size. Once you fitted, you drew in [let out] your `
` breath at the top, and down you went at exactly the right speed, `
` while to ascend you drew in and let out alternately, and so `
` wriggled up. Of course, when you have mastered the action you `
` are able to do these things without thinking of them, and nothing `
` can be more graceful. `
` `
` But you simply must fit, and Peter measures you for your tree `
` as carefully as for a suit of clothes: the only difference being `
` that the clothes are made to fit you, while you have to be made `
` to fit the tree. Usually it is done quite easily, as by your `
` wearing too many garments or too few, but if you are bumpy in `
` awkward places or the only available tree is an odd shape, Peter `
` does some things to you, and after that you fit. Once you fit, `
` great care must be taken to go on fitting, and this, as Wendy was `
` to discover to her delight, keeps a whole family in perfect `
` condition. `
` `
` Wendy and Michael fitted their trees at the first try, but John `
` had to be altered a little. `
` `
` After a few days' practice they could go up and down as gaily `
` as buckets in a well. And how ardently they grew to love their `
` home under the ground; especially Wendy. It consisted of one `
` large room, as all houses should do, with a floor in which you `
` could dig [for worms] if you wanted to go fishing, and in this `
` floor grew stout mushrooms of a charming colour, which were used `
` as stools. A Never tree tried hard to grow in the centre of the `
` room, but every morning they sawed the trunk through, level with `
` the floor. By tea-time it was always about two feet high, and `
` then they put a door on top of it, the whole thus becoming a `
` table; as soon as they cleared away, they sawed off the trunk `
` again, and thus there was more room to play. There was an `
` enourmous fireplace which was in almost any part of the room `
` where you cared to light it, and across this Wendy stretched `
` strings, made of fibre, from which she suspended her washing. `
` The bed was tilted against the wall by day, and let down at 6:30, `
` when it filled nearly half the room; and all the boys slept `
` in it, except Michael, lying like sardines in a tin. There was a `
` strict rule against turning round until one gave the signal, when `
` all turned at once. Michael should have used it also, but Wendy `
` would have [desired] a baby, and he was the littlest, and you know `
` what women are, and the short and long of it is that he was hung `
` up in a basket. `
` `
` It was rough and simple, and not unlike what baby bears would `
` have made of an underground house in the same circumstances. But `
` there was one recess in the wall, no larger than a bird-cage, `
` which was the private apartment of Tinker Bell. It could be shut `
` off from the rest of the house by a tiny curtain, which Tink, who `
` was most fastidious [particular], always kept drawn when dressing `
` or undressing. No woman, however large, could have had a more `
` exquisite boudoir [dressing room] and bed-chamber combined. The `
` couch, as she always called it, was a genuine Queen Mab, with `
` club legs; and she varied the bedspreads according to what fruit- `
` blossom was in season. Her mirror was a Puss-in-Boots, of which `
` there are now only three, unchipped, known to fairy dealers; the `
` washstand was Pie-crust and reversible, the chest of drawers an `
` authentic Charming the Sixth, and the carpet and rugs the best `
` (the early) period of Margery and Robin. There was a chandelier `
` from Tiddlywinks for the look of the thing, but of course she lit `
` the residence herself. Tink was very contemptuous of the rest of `
` the house, as indeed was perhaps inevitable, and her chamber, `
` though beautiful, looked rather conceited, having the appearance `
` of a nose permanently turned up. `
` `
` I suppose it was all especially entrancing to Wendy, because `
` those rampagious boys of hers gave her so much to do. Really `
` there were whole weeks when, except perhaps with a stocking in `
` the evening, she was never above ground. The cooking, I can tell `
` you, kept her nose to the pot, and even if there was nothing in it, `
` even if there was no pot, she had to keep watching that it `
` came aboil just the same. You never exactly knew whether there would `
` be a real meal or just a make-believe, it all depended upon Peter's `
` whim: he could eat, really eat, if it was part of a game, but he `
` could not stodge [cram down the food] just to feel stodgy [stuffed `
` with food], which is what most children like better than anything else; `
` the next best thing being to talk about it. Make-believe was so real `
` to him that during a meal of it you could see him getting rounder. `
` Of course it was trying, but you simply had to follow his lead, `
` and if you could prove to him that you were getting loose for your `
` tree he let you stodge. `
` `
` Wendy's favourite time for sewing and darning was after they `
` had all gone to bed. Then, as she expressed it, she had a `
` breathing time for herself; and she occupied it in making new `
` things for them, and putting double pieces on the knees, for they `
` were all most frightfully hard on their knees. `
` `
` When she sat down to a basketful of their stockings, every heel `
` with a hole in it, she would fling up her arms and exclaim, "Oh `
` dear, I am sure I sometimes think spinsters are to be envied!" `
` `
` Her face beamed when she exclaimed this. `
` `
` You remember about her pet wolf. Well, it very soon discovered `
` that she had come to the island and it found her out, and they `
` just ran into each other's arms. After that it followed her `
` about everywhere. `
` `
` As time wore on did she think much about the beloved parents `
` she had left behind her? This is a difficult question, because `
` it is quite impossible to say how time does wear on in the `
` Neverland, where it is calculated by moons and suns, and there `
` are ever so many more of them than on the mainland. But I am `
` afraid that Wendy did not really worry about her father and `
` mother; she was absolutely confident that they would always keep `
` the window open for her to fly back by, and this gave her `
` complete ease of mind. What did disturb her at times was that `
` John remembered his parents vaguely only, as people he had once `
` known, while Michael was quite willing to believe that she was `
` really his mother. These things scared her a little, and nobly `
` anxious to do her duty, she tried to fix the old life in their `
` minds by setting them examination papers on it, as like as `
` possible to the ones she used to do at school. The other boys `
` thought this awfully interesting, and insisted on joining, and `
` they made slates for themselves, and sat round the table, writing `
` and thinking hard about the questions she had written on another `
` slate and passed round. They were the most ordinary questions -- `
` "What was the colour of Mother's eyes? Which was taller, Father `
` or Mother? Was Mother blonde or brunette? Answer all three `
` questions if possible." "(A) Write an essay of not less than 40 `
` words on How I spent my last Holidays, or The Characters of `
` Father and Mother compared. Only one of these to be attempted." `
` Or "(1) Describe Mother's laugh; (2) Describe Father's laugh; (3) `
` Describe Mother's Party Dress; (4) Describe the Kennel and its `
` Inmate." `
` `
` They were just everyday questions like these, and when you `
` could not answer them you were told to make a cross; and it was `
` really dreadful what a number of crosses even John made. Of course `
` the only boy who replied to every question was Slightly, and no `
` one could have been more hopeful of coming out first, but his `
` answers were perfectly ridiculous, and he really came out last: `
` a melancholy thing. `
` `
` Peter did not compete. For one thing he despised all mothers `
` except Wendy, and for another he was the only boy on the island `
` who could neither write nor spell; not the smallest word. He was `
` above all that sort of thing. `
` `
` By the way, the questions were all written in the past tense. `
` What was the colour of Mother's eyes, and so on. Wendy, you see, `
` had been forgetting, too. `
` `
` Adventures, of course, as we shall see, were of daily `
` occurrence; but about this time Peter invented, with Wendy's `
` help, a new game that fascinated him enormously, until he `
` suddenly had no more interest in it, which, as you have been `
` told, was what always happened with his games. It consisted in `
` pretending not to have adventures, in doing the sort of thing `
` John and Michael had been doing all their lives, sitting on `
` stools flinging balls in the air, pushing each other, going out `
` for walks and coming back without having killed so much as a `
` grizzly. To see Peter doing nothing on a stool was a great `
` sight; he could not help looking solemn at such times, to sit `
` still seemed to him such a comic thing to do. He boasted that he `
` had gone walking for the good of his health. For several suns `
` these were the most novel of all adventures to him; and John and `
` Michael had to pretend to be delighted also; otherwise he would `
` have treated them severely. `
` `
` He often went out alone, and when he came back you were never `
` absolutely certain whether he had had an adventure or not. He `
` might have forgotten it so completely that he said nothing about `
` it; and then when you went out you found the body; and, on the `
` other hand, he might say a great deal about it, and yet you could `
` not find the body. Sometimes he came home with his head `
` bandaged, and then Wendy cooed over him and bathed it in lukewarm `
` water, while he told a dazzling tale. But she was never quite `
` sure, you know. There were, however, many adventures which she `
` knew to be true because she was in them herself, and there were `
` still more that were at least partly true, for the other boys `
` were in them and said they were wholly true. To describe them `
` all would require a book as large as an English-Latin, Latin- `
` English Dictionary, and the most we can do is to give one as a `
` specimen of an average hour on the island. The difficulty is `
` which one to choose. Should we take the brush with the redskins `
` at Slightly Gulch? It was a sanguinary [cheerful] affair, and `
` especially interesting as showing one of Peter's peculiarities, `
` which was that in the middle of a fight he would suddenly change `
` sides. At the Gulch, when victory was still in the balance, `
` sometimes leaning this way and sometimes that, he called out, `
` "I'm redskin to-day; what are you, Tootles?" And Tootles `
` answered, "Redskin; what are you, Nibs?" and Nibs said, `
` "Redskin; what are you Twin?" and so on; and they were all `
` redskins; and of course this would have ended the fight had not `
` the real redskins fascinated by Peter's methods, agreed to be `
` lost boys for that once, and so at it they all went again, more `
` fiercely than ever. `
` `
` The extraordinary upshot of this adventure was -- but we have `
` not decided yet that this is the adventure we are to narrate. `
` Perhaps a better one would be the night attack by the redskins on `
`