“Do hurry up, Henry,” called Mrs. Brown. “Paddington’s waiting.”
“Why don’t you have a go then,” said Mr. Brown, handing him the spade.
Paddington needed no second bidding, and in no time at all he prized the box out of the ground and had the lid open.
The first thing he came across was a canvas bag with his name on the tag. Pulling on the drawstrings, he felt inside and discovered it was full of foreign coins.
“Uncle Pastuzo must have collected them while he was traveling around the world,” said Jonathan, taking a closer look. “I bet they’re worth a fortune!”
Underneath that, carefully wrapped in tissue paper, were seven large glossy photographs of the whole family taken inside the capsule on the London Eye.
“So that’s where he disappeared to,” said Judy. “I saw a notice on the way in saying if you pose at a certain point a picture is automatically taken, ready to buy when you get off.”
“What a very kind thought,” said Mrs. Brown. “We must have ours framed, Henry. It can have a place of honor on the mantelpiece.”
“I shall put mine by my bed,” said Mrs. Bird.
“We can take ours with us when we go back to school,” added Judy.
“And I shall put mine alongside Aunt Lucy’s picture,” said Paddington. “I’ll give Mr. Gruber his tomorrow. I expect he would like it for the shop.”
“We shall miss Uncle Pastuzo,” said Mrs. Brown on the way back to the house.
“He may have been a bit of a whirlwind, but it will seem very quiet without him.”
“At least that bear’s ends are tied up now,” said Mrs. Bird. “It’s always bothered me.”
Having overheard the conversation, as soon as he got indoors Paddington hurried upstairs to his bedroom and examined his reflection carefully in the mirror.
As ever, Mrs. Bird was right. He had no idea how or when it had happened, but Uncle Pastuzo must have done a good job. Everything was in its proper place. No matter which way he turned, he couldn’t see the slightest sign of any knots.
Later on that morning the Browns heard the sound of hammering coming from Paddington’s room, but everyone was so pleased by the fact that he was still with them, they pretended not to notice.
“I’ve been following Aunt Lucy’s example,” he announced that evening when they all went up to his room to say good night. “I’ve been counting my blessings. Except, I wanted to do mine before I go to sleep. I have so many I may not have time tomorrow.
“I still have some important shopping to do and I shall need to go to the bank to get all Uncle Pastuzo’s coins counted.”
“I don’t think you will be very popular with the rest of the queue at this time of the year,” warned Mr. Brown.
“Anyway,” said Mrs. Brown, “you mustn’t go spending the money on us. Your being here is the best present we could possibly have.”
“Life just wouldn’t be the same without you,” added Mrs. Bird amid general agreement.
Paddington pointed to a large nail on the back of his bedroom door. “Uncle Pastuzo taught me one thing,” he explained. “Home is where you hang your hat.”
“Never mind, Paddington,” said Mrs. Brown amid the laughter that followed. “Practice makes perfect, and from now on you have all the time in the world!”
About the Author
Michael Bond is the author of all the books about Paddington Bear. His first book, A BEAR CALLED PADDINGTON, was published in 1958. In 1997 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to children’s literature and in 2007 was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by Reading University. Mr. Bond lives in London, not far from Paddington Station, with his wife, Sue, and a guinea pig named Olga da Polga.
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Other Paddington Storybooks by Michael Bond
A Bear Called Paddington
More About Paddington
Paddington Abroad
Paddington Helps Out
Paddington at Large
Paddington Marches On
Paddington at Work
Paddington Takes the Air
Paddington on Top
Paddington Takes the Test
Paddington on Screen
Credits
Jacket art © Peggy Fortnum 2008
Copyright
PADDINGTON HERE AND NOW. Text copyright © 2008 by Michael Bond. Illustrations copyright © 2008 by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Cover illustration copyright © 2008 by Peggy Fortnum. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-194771-1
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
About the Author
Other Books by Michael Bond
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher