Peter appears

All the children grow up, except one. It doesn't take long for them to know that they are going to
grow up and Wendy knew it in the following way. One day, when she was two years old, she was
playing in a garden, plucked another flower and ran to her mother with it. I suppose she must
have been charming, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and exclaimed:

—Oh, why can't you stay like this forever!

They didn't talk about it anymore, but from then on Wendy knew that she had to grow up. You
always know that from the age of two. The two years mark the beginning of the end.

Naturally, they lived in number 14 and until Wendy arrived, her mother was the most important
person. She was a charming lady, with a romantic mind and a sweet teasing mouth. Her romantic
mentality was like those little boxes, coming from the mysterious East, that go one inside the
other and no matter how many you discover, there is always one more; and her sweet mocking
mouth held a kiss that Wendy could never get, although there she was, clearly visible at the right
corner of her.

This is how Mr. Darling won her over: the numerous gentlemen who had been boys when she was
a young girl simultaneously discovered that they were in love with her and they all ran to her
house to propose, except Mr. Darling, who took a coach and arrived first. and that's why he got it.
He got everything from her, except the most hidden box and her kiss. She never knew about the
little box and eventually gave up trying to get the kiss. Wendy thought Napoleon might have done
it, but I imagine him trying and then storming off, slamming the door.

Mr. Darling boasted to Wendy that her mother not only loved him, but that she respected him. He
was one of those shrewd men who knew everything about stocks and quotes. Of course, no one
really understands that, but he gave the impression that he did, and he often commented that
stock prices were up and stocks were down with an air that would have made any woman respect
him.
Mrs. Darling married in white and at first she kept accounts perfectly, almost happily, as if it were
a game, and she did not miss a single Brussels sprout; but little by little whole cauliflowers began
to disappear and in their place drawings of faceless babies appeared. She was drawing them when
she should have been doing the total sum. These were Mrs. Darling's presentiments.

Wendy arrived first, then John and finally Michael. For a couple of weeks after Wendy's arrival
they were wondering if they could keep her, since she was just another mouth to feed. Mr. Darling
was very proud of her, but he was very honest, and he sat on the edge of Mrs. Darling's bed,
holding her hand and calculating her expenses, while she looked at him imploringly.

She wanted to take the risk, no matter what, but he didn't do things like that: he did things with a
pencil and paper and if she confused him by making suggestions she had to start over from the
beginning.

"Don't interrupt me," he begged. Here I have one pound seventeen and two pound six in the
office; I can do without coffee in the office, let's say ten shillings, that makes two pounds,
ninepence and six shillings, your eighteen and three makes three pounds, nine shillings and seven
pence... who's moving?... eight, nine, seven, eat and I'll take seven... don't talk, my love... and the
pound you lent to that man who came to the door... shut up, girl... eat and I'll take, girl... see, it's
already bad!... did I say nine pounds, nine shillings and seven pence? Yes, I said nine pounds, nine
shillings and seven pence; The problem is this: Can we try it for a year with nine pounds, nine
shillings and seven pence?

"Of course we can, George," she exclaimed. But she was biased in favor of Wendy, and, in fact, of
the two of them, he was the one with the stronger character.

"Remember the mumps," she warned him almost threateningly and began to calculate again.
Mumps a pound, that's what I put, but I'm sure it'll be more like thirty shillings... don't talk...
measles one and fifteen, rubella half a guinea, that makes two pounds, fifteen shillings and
sixpence... don't move your finger... whooping cough Let's say fifteen shillings...

And so time went by and each time it gave a different total; but in the end Wendy was able to
stay, with the mumps reduced to twelve shillings and sixpence and the two types of measles
considered as one.
The same turmoil occurred with John and Michael had even more of a narrow escape, but they
stayed with the two of them and soon the three of them were seen walking in a line towards Mrs.
Fulsom's Kindergarten, accompanied by her nursemaid.

Mrs. Darling loved to have everything just right, and Mr. Darling was obsessed with being exactly
like his neighbor, so, naturally, they had a nanny. Since they were poor,