u like,"
but though he once knew he had long forgotten what kisses are, and he
replied, "Thank you," and held out his hand, thinking she had offered to
put something into it. This was a great shock to her, but she felt she
could not explain without shaming him, so with charming delicacy she
gave Peter a thimble which happened to be in her pocket, and pretended
that it was a kiss. Poor little boy! he quite believed her, and to this
day he wears it on his finger, though there can be scarcely anyone who
needs a thimble so little. You see, though still a tiny child, it was
really years and years since he had seen his mother, and I daresay the
baby who had supplanted him was now a man with whiskers.

But you must not think that Peter Pan was a boy to pity rather than to
admire; if Maimie began by thinking this, she soon found she was very
much mistaken. Her eyes glistened with admiration when he told her of
his adventures, especially of how he went to and fro between the island
and the Gardens in the Thrush's Nest.

"How romantic," Maimie exclaimed, but it was another unknown word, and
he hung his head thinking she was despising him.

"I suppose Tony would not have done that?" he said very humbly.

"Never, never!" she answered with conviction, "he would have been
afraid."

"What is afraid?" asked Peter longingly. He thought it must be some
splendid thing. "I do wish you would teach me how to be afraid, Maimie,"
he said.

"I believe no one could teach that to you," she answered adoringly, but
Peter thought she meant that he was stupid. She had told him about Tony
and of the wicked thing she did in the dark to frighten him (she knew
quite well that it was wicked), but Peter misunderstood her meaning and
said, "Oh, how I wish I was as brave as Tony."

It quite irritated her. "You are twenty thousand times braver than
Tony," she said, "you are ever so much the bravest boy I ever knew!"

He could scarcely believe she meant it, but when he did believe he
screamed with joy.

"And if you want very much to give me a kiss," Maimie said, "you can do
it."

Very reluctantly Peter began to take the thimble off his finger. He
thought she wanted it back.

"I don't mean a kiss," she said hurriedly, "I mean a thimble."

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"It's like this," she said, and kissed him.

"I should love to give you a thimble," Peter said gravely, so he gave
her one. He gave her quite a number of thimbles, and then a deli