The next night started as an ordinary Friday evening, even though it was the last time Mr. and Mrs. Darling saw their three children for a very long time.
They were dressing for a dinner party, and Mrs. Darling was helping her husband tie his bow tie.
She looked splendid in her white evening gown and a necklace George had given her.
She told her husband about seeing Peter in the nursery the night before.
When she described how Nana had caught his shadow, Mr. Darling laughed at the story.
But when she took him to the nursery and showed him the shadow, which she had carefully folded and put in a drawer, he almost believed her.
Meanwhile, Nana was getting the children ready for bed.
As the baby of the family, Michael sometimes made a fuss.
"I won't take a bath! I won't! And I won't go to bed!" he would shout.
Tonight, when it came time for his medicine, Michael refused to take it.
Michael ran from the bathroom into the nursery, and Nana followed with his spoonful of medicine held carefully between her teeth.
John and Wendy were right behind.
When Mr. and Mrs. Darling saw the problem, Mrs. Darling went straight to the kitchen for a chocolate to sweeten the taste of the medicine.
Mr. Darling was much more strict. "Be brave!" he commanded Michael.
"When I was your age, I took medicine without a word.
I even thanked my parents for giving me medicine to make me well."
Trying to be helpful, Wendy interrupted, "You still take medicine too, don't you, Father?"
It was true. And even though Mr. Darling wanted Michael to be brave, it was also true that he didn't like his medicine.
He often found reasons not to take it.
"It's much nastier than Michael's!" he said.
"And, if I hadn't lost the bottle, I would take it now to show you how I do it, Michael."
In fact, Mr. Darling hadn't actually lost the medicine.
He had hidden the bottle at the back of the medicine cabinet.
"I know where it is, Father," said Wendy.
She was always a helpful daughter. "I'll bring it to you."
She ran off before he could stop her.
Wendy returned with the medicine in a glass.
It was a white liquid that looked like milk.
Mr. Darling shuddered when he saw it. "Michael first," he said.
"Father first," responded Michael.
"It isn't fair," Mr. Darling complained.
"There is more medicine in my glass than in Michael's spoon."
"Father, I am waiting for you," said Michael suspiciously.
Wendy made a suggestion. "Why not take your medicines at the same time?"
She counted to three: "One, two, three, go!"
Michael took his medicine, but Mr. Darling hid his glass behind his back.
Michael let out a yell. "Not fair!"
Wendy cried, "Oh Father, I can't believe you did that!"
"Well, I meant to take mine, but I . . . I missed it," Father said.
John looked at his father sadly, and Nana left the room in disgust.
Mr. Darling knew he had disappointed his children.
He didn't like the way they were looking at him.
"Let's play a joke on Nana," he suggested.
"I will pour my medicine into Nana's bowl. She will think it is milk.
What fun!" he said, trying to be playful as he poured the medicine.
When Nana returned, he patted her on the head.
"Good dog," he said. "Have a little milk from your bowl, Nana."
Nana wagged her tail and began to lap up the liquid.
The children were shocked at their father's sense of humor.
They didn't think his joke was funny at all.
When the medicine was all gone, Nana shook her big head and crept into her doghouse to lie down.
She did not look well.
Mrs. Darling came back to a silent room.
She looked at the unhappy group and the sick dog.
Then she picked up Nana's bowl and sniffed it.
"George, it's your medicine! How could you!" she cried.