I resolved that nobody , through my fault , should ever run the risk of being parted from his dear ones , and of dying far from them , as he died . ` So , when you rejoice in your freedom , remember that you owe it to dear old Uncle Tom , and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children . Think of your freedom every time you see Uncle Tom 's Cabin ; and let it help you to try to live as he did , and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was . ' Chapter 1 PETER BREAKS THROUGH All children , except one , grow up . They soon know that they will grow up , and the way Wendy knew was this . One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden , and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother . I suppose she must have looked rather delightful , for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried , `` Oh , why ca n't you remain like this for ever ! '' This was all that passed between them on the subject , but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up . You always know after you are two . Two is the beginning of the end . Of course they lived at 14 -LSB- their house number on their street -RSB- , and until Wendy came her mother was the chief one . She was a lovely lady , with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth . Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes , one within the other , that come from the puzzling East , however many you discover there is always one more ; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get , though there it was , perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner . The way Mr. Darling won her was this : the many gentlemen who had been boys when she was a girl discovered simultaneously that they loved her , and they all ran to her house to propose to her except Mr. Darling , who took a cab and nipped in first , and so he got her . He got all of her , except the innermost box and the kiss . He never knew about the box , and in time he gave up trying for the kiss . Wendy thought Napoleon could have got it , but I can picture him trying , and then going off in a passion , slamming the door . Mr. Darling used to boast to Wendy that her mother not only loved him but respected him . He was one of those deep ones who know about stocks and shares . Of course no one really knows , but he quite seemed to know , and he often said stocks were up and shares were down in a way that would have made any woman respect him .
Mrs. Darling was married in white , and at XXXXX she kept the books perfectly , almost gleefully , as if it were a game , not so much as a Brussels sprout was missing ; but by and by whole cauliflowers dropped out , and instead of them there were pictures of babies without faces .
Cabin Christian Darling East Napoleon PETER Wendy day first old