A loud cry burst from Michael's mouth as he rushed towards the window.
Away she stalked through the Nursery's reflection
"Mary Poppins!" he cried. "Come back! Come back!"
Behind him the Twins began to grizzle.
"Oh, please, Mary Poppins, come back to us!" called Jane, from the window-seat.
But Mary Poppins took no notice. She strode on swiftly towards the Door that shimmered in the air.
"She won't get anywhere that way!" said Michael. "It will only lead to Miss Lark's wall."
But even as he spoke, Mary Poppins reached the Other Door and pulled it wide open. A gasp of surprise went up from the children. For the wall they had expected to see had entirely disappeared. Beyond Mary Poppins' straight blue figure there was nothing but field on field of sky, and the dark spreading night.
"Come back, Mary Poppins!" they cried together, in a last despairing wail.
And as though she had heard them, she paused for a minute, with one foot on the threshold. The starfish sparkled on her collar as she glanced back swiftly towards the Nursery. She smiled at the four sad watching faces and waved her bouquet of flowers. Then she snapped the parrot umbrella open and stepped out into the night.
The umbrella wobbled for a moment and the light from the fire shone full upon it as it swayed in the air. Then, with a bound, as though glad to be free, it soared away through the sky. Up, up went Mary Poppins with it, tightly holding the parrot handle as she cleared the tops of the trees. And as she went, the Hurdy-gurdy broke out with a peal of music, as loud and proud and triumphant as any wedding march.
Back in the Nursery the great blaze faded and sank into crimson coals. The flames went down and with them went the shining other room. Soon there was nothing to be seen but the Cherry-Trees waving through the air and the blank brick wall of Miss Lark's house.
But above the roof a bright form rose, flying higher every minute. It seemed to have gathered into itself the sparkle and flame of the fire. For it glowed like a little core of light in the black frosty sky.
Leaning upon the window-seat, the four children watched it. Their cheeks lay heavily in their hands and their hearts were heavy within their breasts. They did not try to explain it to themselves, for they knew there were things about Mary Poppins that could never be explained. Where she had come from nobody knew, and where she was going they could not guess. They were certain only of one thing—that she had kept her promise. She had stayed with them till the Door opened and then she had left them. And they could not tell if they would ever see that trim shape again.
Michael reached out for the box of dominoes. He put it on the sill beside Jane. And together they held it as they watched the umbrella go sailing through the sky.
Presently Mrs. Banks came in.
"What—sitting all alone, my darlings?" she cried as she snapped on the light. "Where's Mary Poppins?" she enquired, with a glance round the room.
"Gone, ma'am," said a resentful voice, as Mrs. Brill appeared on the landing.
Mrs. Banks' face had a startled look.
"What do you mean?" she demanded anxiously.
"Well, it's this way," Mrs. Brill replied. "I was lis-tenin' to a Nurdy-gurdy that's down in the Lane, when I sees the empty perambulator and the Matchman wheelin' it up to the door.' 'Ullo!' I says, 'where's that Mary Poppins?' And 'e tells me she's gone again. Lock, stock and barrer gone. Not even a note on 'er pincushion!"
"Oh, what shall I do?" wailed Mrs. Banks, sitting down on the old armchair.
"Do? You can come and dance with me!" cried Mr. Banks' voice, as he raced upstairs.
"Oh, don't be so silly, George! Something's happened. Mary Poppins has gone again!" Mrs. Banks' face was a tragedy. "George! George! Please listen to me!" she begged.
For Mr. Banks had taken no notice. He was waltzing round and round the room, holding out his coat-tails.
"I can't! There's a Hurdy-gurdy down in the Lane and it's playing the Blue Danube. Ta-rum pom-pom-pom—de-di, de-dum!"
And, pulling Mrs. Banks from the chair, he waltzed her round, singing lustily. Then they both collapsed on the window-seat among the watching children.
"But, George—this is serious!" Mrs. Banks protested, half-laughing, half-crying, as she pinned up her hair.
"I see something much more serious!" he exclaimed, as he glanced through the Nursery window. "A shooting star! Look at it! Wish on it, children!"
Away through the sky streaked the shining spark, cleaving a path through the darkness. And as they watched it, every heart was filled with sudden sweetness. Down in the Lane the music ceased and the dancers stood gazing, hand in hand.
"My dear Love!" Mr. Banks said tenderly, as he touched Mrs. Banks' cheek. And they put their arms around each other and wished on the star.
Jane and Michael held their breath as the sweetness brimmed up within them. And the thing they wished was that all their lives they might remember Mary Poppins. Where and How and When and Why—had nothing to do with them. They knew that as far as she was concerned those questions had no answers. The bright shape speeding through the air above them would forever keep its secret. But in the summer days to come and the long nights of winter, they would remember Mary Poppins and think of all she had told them. The rain and the sun would remind them of her, and the birds and the beasts and the changing seasons. Mary Poppins herself had flown away, but the gifts she had brought would remain for always.
"We'll never forget you, Mary Poppins!" they breathed, looking up at the sky.
Her bright shape paused in its flight for a moment and gave an answering wave. Then darkness folded its wing about her and hid her from their eyes.
"It's gone!" said Mr. Banks, with a sigh, looking out at the starless night.
Then he pulled the curtains across the window and drew them all to the fire....
Sussex, England,
New York, U.S.A.
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GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO
P. L. TRAVERS (1899–1996) was a drama critic, travel essayist, reviewer, lecturer, and the creator of Mary Poppins. Ttavers wrote eight Mary Poppins books altogether, including Mary Poppins (1934), Mary Poppins Comes Back (1935), Mary Poppins Opens the Door( 1943), and Mary Poppins in the Park (1952). Ms. Travers wrote several other children's books as well as adult books, but it is for the character of Mary Poppins that she is best remembered.
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* See opposite page.
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P. L. Travers, Mary Poppins Opens the Door
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