` That is not Nana 's unhappy bark , ' she said , little guessing what was about to happen ; ` that is her bark when she smells danger . ' Danger ! ` Are you sure , Wendy ? ' ` Oh yes . ' Mrs. Darling quivered and went to the window . It was securely fastened . She looked out , and the night was peppered with stars . They were crowding round the house , as if curious to see what was to take place there , but she did not notice this , nor that one or two of the smaller ones winked at her . Yet a nameless fear clutched at her heart and made her cry , ` Oh , how I wish that I was n't going to a party to-night ! ' Even Michael , already half asleep , knew that she was perturbed , and he asked , ` Can anything harm us , mother , after the night-lights are lit ? ' ` Nothing , precious , ' she said ; ` they are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to guard her children . ' She went from bed to bed singing enchantments over them , and little Michael flung his arms round her . ` Mother , ' he cried , ` I 'm glad of you . ' They were the last words she was to hear from him for a long time . -LSB- Illustration : PETER FLEW IN -RSB- No. 27 was only a few yards distant , but there had been a slight fall of snow , and Father and Mother Darling picked their way over it deftly not to soil their shoes . They were already the only persons in the street , and all the stars were watching them . Stars are beautiful , but they may not take an active part in anything , they must just look on for ever . It is a punishment put on them for something they did so long ago that no star now knows what it was . So the older ones have become glassy-eyed and seldom speak -LRB- winking is the star language -RRB- , but the little ones still wonder . They are not really friendly to Peter , who has a mischievous way of stealing up behind them and trying to blow them out ; but they are so fond of fun that they were on his side to-night , and anxious to get the grown-ups out of the way .
So as soon as the door of 27 closed on Mr. and Mrs. Darling there was a commotion in the firmament , and the smallest of all the stars in the Milky Way screamed out : ` Now , XXXXX ! '
Michael Mother Nana Peter Wendy grown-ups night night-lights stealing to-night