Питер Пен / Peter Pan

Peter admired the thimble very much. “Shall I give you a kiss?” he asked and, jerking a button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her.

Wendy at once fastened it on a chain which she wore round her neck. Afterwards it saved her life.

“Peter, how old are you?” asked Wendy.

“I don’t know, but quite young. I ran away the day I was born.”

Wendy was quite surprised, but interested.

“Ran away – why?”

“Because I heard my father and mother talking about what I was to be when I became a man. I don’t want to be a man.

After a minute Wendy said, “Peter, do you really know fairies?”

“Yes, but they’re nearly all dead now. You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now, whenever a new baby is born, its first laugh becomes a fairy. Children soon won’t believe in fairies, and whenever a child says, ‘I don’t believe in fairies,’ there’s a fairy somewhere that falls down dead[27 - falls down dead – падает замертво].

Really, he thought they now talked enough about fairies. He looked about the room and it struck him that Tinker Bell disappeared! He called Tink by name.

“Peter,” cried Wendy, “is there a fairy in this room?”

“She was here just now,” he said a little impatiently. “You don’t hear her, do you?” and they both listened.

“The only sound I hear,” said Wendy, “is like a tinkle of bells.

Peter, who knew the fairy language, of course understood it.

“Well, that’s Tink, that’s the fairy language. I think I hear her too.”

The sound came from the chest of drawers[28 - chest of drawers – комод], and Peter made a merry face.

“Wendy,” he whispered, “I shut her up in the drawer!”

He pulled open the drawer, and out sprang Tinker Bell, very angry with him.

“Of course I’m very sorry, but how could I know you were in the drawer?”

Wendy saw the romantic figure on the cuckoo clock.

“Tink,” said Peter amiably, “this lady says she wishes you were her fairy.”

Tinker Bell answered insolently.

“What does she say, Peter?”

“She is not very polite. She says you are a great ugly girl, and that she is my fairy.”

He tried to argue with Tink. “You know you can’t be my fairy, Tink, because I am an gentleman and you are a lady.