THE STORY OF PETER PAN.

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 18986, 1 July 1933, Page 16 (Supplement)

THE STORY OF PETER PAN.

J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kei Byron, from the book published by . Pqter Pan In Kensington 'Gardens. : \TTHBN PETER PAN was seven days old—just one week you 'know' —he - found out bow never' j: to get- any older. This -is partly managed by having no birthdays:, -which perhaps Is a pity, because -birthdays are often very useful, with . cards, and cakes,’ and presents, and ’happy returns, and so 'on.'But'a really •manly baby wants other.things as wellPeter Pan did, and when he was a 1 -week 'old, and ’ could see the trees of Kensington Gardens, a long way off, ' .ho -very, much wished to get there. He wished so hard, "that it was almost i ?as..bad as a;toothache: but, of course, he did not think of that, not having any teeth so far. lie _ wished, and wished—and made up his mind. In • wvas out through:the open window, and perched a moment on the pledge outside—and away he flew. he had no wings, he just piflew, like a bird. It seems as easy as *f|a&ythTngT dnee you give it a chance. 'ljj; If--a'nursed or-a policeman, or a •'burglsr.-'Or some -other grown-up, had looked up into the dark sky, and-had., seen a baby -in' a' nightgown ;', flyingabove the roofs and ohimney-pots; there would have been a lot of fuss. They would have fetched fire-escapes, and aeroplanes, and ladders, and invented extra large butterfly-nets with

long handles, to try if they could not hy catch' Peter anti bring him . safely ■ down/ Then, most likely, he would have been obliged to grow up: and so . this tale would never have, been told/ ■' But nobody happened to he looking up, in case there might be a flyaway ' baby; * Peter -Pan-reached Kensington Gardciri'tVlthout any'stop, and'fluttered the grass' beside'- the' "S'erpentine—as quietly as a little leaf u--cmight-falL- . i ' Kensington Gardens are great big places in London —so big that it w r ould take years and weeks to, tell you all about them,' they are so full of trees, v “ ' and flowers, and birds, and dogs, and , fairies, and children. But, anyhow, just to give you some sort of ideaT—•there"ls 1 the- Board-Walk- (mostly for prams and hoops), and the Baby Walk, and lots of other walks; some straighten ones, which have been made, and others twisty, which have made themselves. These are the best, because •- . you never know where they will take .<■> you. They have been formed as they , . went along-along, by children and dogs and others who don’t care about a path being Just-so. 'Then there Is ■ the Round Pond, mostly for every kind of small sailing-vessel, except the • tin sorts that you sail in the hath; and the Serpentine, a large lovely lake

islngton Gardens, f retold by May Hodder and Stoughton.

where the fallen ohestnut-blossoms pretend to .be pink and., white snips. Upon the Serpentine lies Peter Pan’s Island; but this-is a very quiet secret place. It is where'the birds are born who afterwards become baby boys •and girls; and nobody but Peter Pan is now allowed to land there. (If you wished to send him a message, you would write it in penoil on a bit of paper"; the spelling would hot matter, as he has never learned the rights and wrongs of spelling. And you would make it into a paper boat, and drop It Into the water. It would be sure to come to bis Island at last.)

Well, now you see why Peter Pan could fly out of the window and over the house-tops. It was not so long since he had been a bird himself: and the place where his wings 'had been was still a trifle itchy now and then. Indeed, he still thought he was a bird, when he came down in Kensington Gardens.

He saw whole crowds of fairies 'about the place, and remembered who they were: but unluckily, fairies have such -short memories, that they did not remember him at all. Partly, no doubt, •because a baby nightgown ‘ls not £ bit like a bird on the Serpentine Island:, so fhe fairies can hardly .be blamed for getting.’as 40ary as they did. Every fairy that Peter met, bblted like a rabbit—some, one at a time, and some in a bunch. And he could 'hear them telling eaoh other In squeaky voices that there was a Human Child In the Gardens after LockOut. Time: which Is not allowed at all. It was enough to shock and startle any respectable fairy. The same" thing ’happened with the birds.’ 'Directly Peter’ flew up to talk /tb "tft'em, TtKSf Made 'UhTO’pp y squeaklngs and flappings, and were gone in _a ,twinkling. _ .He....-could .not... understand'if all: but presently he thought of trying what could be spoken to In the Island; and there he found old * Solon/on Caw, the raven; who was on ’ guard with one eye open: it was waste of time to use two, as nothing ever happened there. Peter told old Solomon about -his adventures, and how the fairies and birds refused to know him. What could be the reason for suoh rudeness?

“Look -at yourself," said old Mr Caw.

Peter looked. ‘‘Well, what about it?” said ha.

Solomon repeated, ‘‘Sillyklnl Baby I Booby I Why, you have a nightgown and no feathers 1” Too true: that’s how it was: but Peter had never noticed it before. He had been much too excited.

(To be continued next week.).