James Matthew Barrie

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens James Matthew Barrie

If you ask your mother whether she knew about Peter Pan when she was a little girl, she will say, 'Why, of course I did, child'; and if you ask her whether he rode on a goat inthose days, she will say, 'What a foolish question to ask; certainly he did.' Then if you askyour grandmother whether she knew about Peter Pan when she was a girl, she also says, 'Why, of course I did, child, ' but if you ask her whether he rode on a goat in those days, shesays she never heard of his having a goat. Perhaps she has forgotten, just as she sometimesforgets your name and calls you Mildred, which is your mother's name. Still, she couldhardly forget such an important thing as the goat. Therefore there was no goat when yourgrandmother was a little girl. This shows that, in telling the story of Peter Pan, to begin withthe goat (as most people do) is as silly as to put on your jacket before your vest. Of course, it also shows that Peter is ever so old, but he is really always the same age, sothat does not matter in the least. His age is one week, and though he was born so long agohe has never had a birthday, nor is there the slightest chance of his ever having one. Thereason is that he escaped from being a human when he was seven days old; he escaped bythe window and flew back to the Kensington Garde