Summary

“John and Barbara’s Story” describes a quiet afternoon when Mary Poppins is spending time with John and Barbara. The baby twins are conversing with the sunlight and also with the Starling, a bird who lives in the chimney. Barbara shares her biscuit with the Starling and the twins discuss how foolish grown-ups are. They think Jane and Michael are stupid, too, because they can’t speak to the wind, sunshine, and animals the way John and Barbara can, but Mary Poppins and the Starling explain to them that they could, once upon a time. Up to the age of one, Jane and Michael had the same abilities as the twins, but they lost this power “because they’ve grown older” (139). The twins begin to wail in sorrow at the prospect of growing up.

Months later, the twins...