"All children, except one, grow up."
"Peter Pan!"
"Peter never grew up, did he, daddy?"
"It's Pan, isn't it father?"
At Number Six, the time just after dinner and right before bath time was reserved for storytelling. Storytelling time was the singularly most favorite time of the day for the three children who resided in Number Six. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Darling enjoyed it, too, especially Mr. Darling. During his busy days as a bank manager, he rarely had time to reminisce about his childhood adventures, but Michael Darling had far from forgotten them.
This was to the delight of his children, who loved the stories of Neverland their father told. Even Mrs. Darling felt as though she had been there as a child long ago, though she couldn't remember exactly.
"Which story are you going to tell today, Daddy?"
"Oh, father, please tell the one about the crocodile!"
"No, Daddy … I want to hear the one about the Lost Boys who fell out of their prams!"
"Hook!"
The last speaker was the youngest Darling child, a little girl named Mary. She was a very small child and couldn't speak very well.
Mr. and Mrs. Darling had two other children, a boy and a girl. The boy, William, was already eleven years old and had, at one time, been a firm believer in Neverland. However, like all children, he had begun to grow up. And as he grew up, he became more and more unbelieving. Why, it was just the other day that Mrs. Darling had been watching her daughters play peacefully at being fairies when William had entered the room and shouted defiantly, "There's no such thing as -" Only at the last second had Amalia clasped her hand over his mouth and he had resented his actions.
Amalia, at only six years old, was still just a little child. To her, Neverland was as real as plum pudding. Mrs. Darling dreaded the day little Amy would begin to doubt its existence. Luckily, it was far off. Amy was still a strong believer in the tales of crocodiles and mermaids and fairies.
"Which story shall it be, Michael?" Mrs. Darling asked fondly.
"I've been thinking," replied her husband, "and I had thought of perhaps not telling a Peter Pan story to-night." Disappointed cries filled the room. "Oh, shush, you'll like this story. It's not unlike the tales of Pan and his Lost Boys."
William scoffed. "It's going to be more stupid make-believe, isn't it father?"
"It's not stupid, Will! And it's not make-believe," Amy insisted. "Daddy would only tell us stories that are completely true."
Michael Darling smiled at his daughter. "Of course. And this story is, if possible, even more true than those from Neverland. This is the story of a lost boy. But, unfortunately, not all lost boys make their way to Neverland. Some cannot believe and so Peter Pan cannot take them with him. Such was the case with a little boy named James Oliver Westbrook."