James Matthew Barrie

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens James Matthew Barrie

You must see for yourselves that it will be difficult to follow Peter Pan's adventuresunless you are familiar with the Kensington Gardens. They are in London, where the Kinglives, and I used to take David there nearly every day unless he was looking decidedlyflushed. No child has ever been in the whole of the Gardens, because it is so soon time toturn back. The reason it is soon time to turn back is that, if you are as small as David, yousleep from twelve to one. If your mother was not so sure that you sleep from twelve to one, you could most likely see the whole of them. The Gardens are bounded on one side by a never-ending line of omnibuses, over whichyour nurse has such authority that if she holds up her finger to any one of them it stopsimmediately. She then crosses with you in safety to the other side. There are more gates tothe Gardens than one gate, but that is the one you go in at, and before you go in you speakto the lady with the balloons, who sits just outside. This is as near to being inside as shemay venture, because, if she were to let go her hold of the railings for one moment, theballoons would lift her up, and she would be flown away. She sits very squat, for theballoons are always tugging at her, and the strain has given her quite a red face. Once shewas a new one, because the old one had let go, and David was very sorry for the old one, but as she did let go, he wished he had been there to see.4The lady with the balloons, who sits just outside. The Gardens are a tremendous big place, with millions and hundreds of trees; and firstyou come to the Figs, but you scorn to loiter there, for the Figs is the resort of superior littlepersons, who are forbidden to mix with the commonalty, and is so named, according tolegend, because they dress in full fig. These dainty ones are themselves contemptuouslycalled Figs by David and other heroes, and you have a key to the manners and customs ofthis dandiacal section of the Gardens when I tell you that cricket is called crickets here. Occasionally a rebel Fig climbs over the fence into the world, and such a one was MissMabel Grey, of whom I shall tell you when we come to Miss Mabel Grey's gate. She was theonly really celebrated Fi