Why did Peter Pan run away …

Peter Pan explains to Wendy that he ran away when he was a baby because he heard his parents talking about what he would be like when he was a man. This horrified the child because he had no desire ever to grow up and be a man, so, instead, he ran away "to Kensington Gardens" to live with the fairies. This statement is typical of Barrie's deft use of humor, which relies upon childish understandings of the world. In reality, Kensington Gardens is a park in London near one of the royal residences, and it is in no way a part of any kind of otherworld; but perhaps it is the kind of place a child might imagine as being removed from the day-to-day humdrum of existence. Peter then explains to Wendy what fairies are and that there is sadly a decline today in the number of children who believe in fairies, which prompts Wendy to ask whether there might be a fairy even in this very room, a thought which delights her.