But at home in the Darling household all this time there was deep
sorrow. Mr. Darling, as a punishment to himself for taking their
guardian Nana away, had vowed that he would live in the kennel till
his children's return. For months now he had lived in it, and had been
carried to business in it every morning, much to the disgust of the
prim little housemaid Liza. Mr. Darling had become quite a celebrity,
and great ladies, leaders of society, found him so interesting and
touching, that they all cried out as he passed by, "Oh, do come to
dinner at our house, do come in the kennel!" All the newspapers had
asked him to write the cricket and football news for them, and his
picture postcards were to be seen in every shop window.
But it happened one evening, when he returned from business, carried
as usual in the kennel, he was taken up to the now desolate nursery,
where Mrs. Darling spent most of her time mourning for her lost
children, while the faithful Nana tried in vain to cheer her up.
"George, George, I believe you are beginning to _like_ that kennel,"
she said reproachfully, as he crawled out. He denied the charge,
however, and tried to comfort Mrs. Darling, who never for one moment
forgot the little empty beds and the silence and cheerlessness of the
nursery. Then he left her, and sitting down by the fire, Mrs. Darling
was alone with her sad thoughts.
[Illustration: HE WOULD LIVE IN THE KENNEL TILL HIS CHILDREN'S
RETURN]
Scarcely, however, had she closed her eyes when three little figures
flew in at the window and nestled cosily in their beds. Then softly
Wendy called to her mother. But when Mrs. Darling looked round she
simply couldn't believe that the children were really there. So many
times before she had dreamt of their return, that it was not till they
all three crowded round her that she realised that they had indeed
come home. Oh! what joy to feel once more those dear faces, cool and
fresh from the flight through the night air, pressed against hers, hot
with tears; to hear once more the sound of those sweet voices as they
all talked at once. At last, when she was a little calm, Wendy began
telling her about Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, who with Peter Pan
himself were all waiting outside. Directly Mrs. Darling saw them, and
heard that they had no mothers, she instantly adopted them all. Though
the house would be rather crowded, she could easily put up extra beds
in the drawing-room, she said, and with a screen on her "At Home"
days, all could be comfortably managed.
The only difficulty lay with Peter. Much as at first sight he loved
Mrs. Darling, much as he loved Wendy, he couldn't consent to grow up.
So at last it was arranged that he should fly back alone to the
Never-Never-Never Land, and that once a year Mrs. Darling would allow
Wendy to go and stay with him for a whole week to do his spring
cleaning.
THE TREE TOPS
High in the tree tops of the Never-Never-Never Land, Tinker Bell
placed the little house that was built for Wendy. The tree tops are
soft as velvet, and in the evening at twilight are all bejewelled
with tiny mauve, and white, and blue lights. The mauve ones are boy
fairies, the white, girl fairies, and the blue lights are darling
little sillies who are not quite sure what they are.
And the still air is filled with the singing of birds and the ringing
of hundreds of little fairy bells. But the sweetest sound of all is
the fluting of Peter Pan's pipe as he sits outside the little house
and calls to the spring to make haste, because with the spring comes
Wendy.
[Illustration: THE END]
End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Peter Pan, by Daniel Stephen O'Connor