Răspuns :
The book opens with the proclamation: "All children, except one, grow up." The narrator does not specify who this lone exception is, and it isn't until the end of the chapter that readers finally meet him. Peter Pan breaks through the "film" that hides his home of Neverland from London. He blows in through the Darling family's third-story window, shedding leaves all over the nursery carpet.
Before that, however, the chapter flashes back through all the key stages in the formation of the Darling family, from Mr. Darling's proposal of marriage to the births of the three children. In the process, both adults are mocked. Mr. Darling values money highly. Although he is "frightfully proud" of Wendy Darling when she is born, he has to convince himself they can afford to keep her by totaling up every shilling she will cost him in terms of food to doctor's visits. He goes through the same process when his sons John and Michael are born, but it gets harder and harder to justify each additional child's expense. The last-born, Michael, barely squeaks through. Because of the exorbitant amount of milk the children drink, the Darlings are even forced to economize on the cost of keeping a nanny. The children are tended not by a human nurse but by a Newfoundland dog named Nana.
Despite Mr. Darling's exaggerated fears of poverty, the family is thriving—until the title character of the book shows up. "There never was a simpler, happier family until the coming of Peter Pan," the narrator comments.
The narrator states that Mrs. Darling first hears of Peter Pan when she was "tidying up her children's minds," a nightly process that the book satirically claims all mothers do. She asks Wendy about him, and Wendy insists that Peter perches at the end of her bed at night and plays to her on his pipes.
One night Mrs. Darling is sitting in the nursery watching her children and falls asleep, dreaming of what she believes is the imaginary world of Neverland. She awakes to find a boy dropping through the window, accompanied by a strange darting light. He is dressed in skeleton leaves. Although he appears to be the same age as Wendy, he still has all his baby teeth. Nana charges into the nursery, lunging at Peter Pan. To escape, he jumps out the window. Nana has managed to capture one piece of Peter—his shadow. Mrs. Darling tucks it away in a drawer and awaits the right moment to tell her husband about the incident.
The right opportunity doesn't arise until a week later. While the couple are getting ready to attend a dinner party, Mrs. Darling produces Peter's shadow, but Mr. Darling doesn't make much of it. There follows a lengthy scene when Mr. Darling chides Michael Darling for not taking his medicine like a man, but then refuses to take his own. Instead, in what will prove to be a life-changing error, Mr. Darling pours his medicine into Nana's water bowl. Then, because he is upset that the family is angry at him for doing this to the dog, he drags Nana outside and ties her up in the back yard. This will prove to be his second grave mistake.
Nana starts barking, but only Wendy Darling realizes she isn't upset about being tied up. "That is her bark when she smells danger," Wendy says. Mrs. Darling locks the window and she and Mr. Darling leave. That is when the stars—who are "so fond of fun that they were on his side tonight"—signal to Peter Pan than the grown-ups are finally gone. First Tinker Bell and then Peter Pan returns through the nursery window. He is looking for the shadow Nana tore away from him. His joy quickly turns to tears when he can't reattach his shadow to his body. His cries awaken Wendy, who after learning that Peter doesn't have a mother assumes that is why he is so sad. "'I wasn't crying about mothers,' he said, rather indignantly." In fact, Peter claims not to want a mother at all, considering them "very overrated persons." He tells Wendy Darling he is upset about his shadow, which she fixes by sewing it back on for him.
Peter Pan is elated about getting his shadow back, acting as if he had done it himself. "How clever I am!" he boasts. His lack of gratitude appalls Wendy, and she hides from him under her blankets. But he manages to charm her by stating that one girl is worth 20 boys, to which Wendy responds by offering him a kiss. Peter has no idea what that is, but when Wendy gives him a thimble he assumes a kiss is a gift, so he gives her a button made out of an acorn. She wears the button on a chain around her neck—something the narrator assures us will later save her life.
Before that, however, the chapter flashes back through all the key stages in the formation of the Darling family, from Mr. Darling's proposal of marriage to the births of the three children. In the process, both adults are mocked. Mr. Darling values money highly. Although he is "frightfully proud" of Wendy Darling when she is born, he has to convince himself they can afford to keep her by totaling up every shilling she will cost him in terms of food to doctor's visits. He goes through the same process when his sons John and Michael are born, but it gets harder and harder to justify each additional child's expense. The last-born, Michael, barely squeaks through. Because of the exorbitant amount of milk the children drink, the Darlings are even forced to economize on the cost of keeping a nanny. The children are tended not by a human nurse but by a Newfoundland dog named Nana.
Despite Mr. Darling's exaggerated fears of poverty, the family is thriving—until the title character of the book shows up. "There never was a simpler, happier family until the coming of Peter Pan," the narrator comments.
The narrator states that Mrs. Darling first hears of Peter Pan when she was "tidying up her children's minds," a nightly process that the book satirically claims all mothers do. She asks Wendy about him, and Wendy insists that Peter perches at the end of her bed at night and plays to her on his pipes.
One night Mrs. Darling is sitting in the nursery watching her children and falls asleep, dreaming of what she believes is the imaginary world of Neverland. She awakes to find a boy dropping through the window, accompanied by a strange darting light. He is dressed in skeleton leaves. Although he appears to be the same age as Wendy, he still has all his baby teeth. Nana charges into the nursery, lunging at Peter Pan. To escape, he jumps out the window. Nana has managed to capture one piece of Peter—his shadow. Mrs. Darling tucks it away in a drawer and awaits the right moment to tell her husband about the incident.
The right opportunity doesn't arise until a week later. While the couple are getting ready to attend a dinner party, Mrs. Darling produces Peter's shadow, but Mr. Darling doesn't make much of it. There follows a lengthy scene when Mr. Darling chides Michael Darling for not taking his medicine like a man, but then refuses to take his own. Instead, in what will prove to be a life-changing error, Mr. Darling pours his medicine into Nana's water bowl. Then, because he is upset that the family is angry at him for doing this to the dog, he drags Nana outside and ties her up in the back yard. This will prove to be his second grave mistake.
Nana starts barking, but only Wendy Darling realizes she isn't upset about being tied up. "That is her bark when she smells danger," Wendy says. Mrs. Darling locks the window and she and Mr. Darling leave. That is when the stars—who are "so fond of fun that they were on his side tonight"—signal to Peter Pan than the grown-ups are finally gone. First Tinker Bell and then Peter Pan returns through the nursery window. He is looking for the shadow Nana tore away from him. His joy quickly turns to tears when he can't reattach his shadow to his body. His cries awaken Wendy, who after learning that Peter doesn't have a mother assumes that is why he is so sad. "'I wasn't crying about mothers,' he said, rather indignantly." In fact, Peter claims not to want a mother at all, considering them "very overrated persons." He tells Wendy Darling he is upset about his shadow, which she fixes by sewing it back on for him.
Peter Pan is elated about getting his shadow back, acting as if he had done it himself. "How clever I am!" he boasts. His lack of gratitude appalls Wendy, and she hides from him under her blankets. But he manages to charm her by stating that one girl is worth 20 boys, to which Wendy responds by offering him a kiss. Peter has no idea what that is, but when Wendy gives him a thimble he assumes a kiss is a gift, so he gives her a button made out of an acorn. She wears the button on a chain around her neck—something the narrator assures us will later save her life.