Michael Bond

A Bear Called Paddington


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       Copyright

      First published in Great Britain by Collins in 1958

      This edition first published in hardback by Collins in 2002

      This edition first published in paperback by Collins in 2003

      This edition published in 2018

      Collins is an imprint of

      HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

      Visit our HarperCollins Children’s Books website at: www.harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk

      Text copyright © Michael Bond 1958

      Postscript copyright © Michael Bond 2001

      Illustrations copyright © Peggy Fortnum 1958

      The author and illustrator assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

      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, downloaded, 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.

      Conditions of Sale

      This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      Source ISBN: 9780007174164

      EPub Edition © JANUARY 2012 ISBN: 9780007372843

      Version: 2019-05-24

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      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       2. A Bear in Hot Water

       3. Paddington Goes Underground

       4. A Shopping Expedition

       5. Paddington and the ‘Old Master’

       6. A Visit to the Theatre

       7. Adventure at the Seaside

       8. A Disappearing Trick

       Postscript

       Keep Reading …

       About the Author

       Other Books by Michael Bond

       About The Publisher

       Chapter One PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR

      MR AND MRS Brown first met Paddington on a railway platform. In fact, that was how he came to have such an unusual name for a bear, for Paddington was the name of the station.

      The Browns were there to meet their daughter Judy, who was coming home from school for the holidays. It was a warm summer day and the station was crowded with people on their way to the seaside. Trains were humming, loudspeakers blaring, porters rushing about shouting at one another, and altogether there was so much noise that Mr Brown, who saw him first, had to tell his wife several times before she understood.

      “A bear? On Paddington station?” Mrs Brown looked at her husband in amazement. “Don’t be silly, Henry. There can’t be!”

      Mr Brown adjusted his glasses. “But there is,” he insisted. “I distinctly saw it. Over there – near the bicycle rack. It was wearing a funny kind of hat.”

      Without waiting for a reply he caught hold of his wife’s arm and pushed her through the crowd, round a trolley laden with chocolate and cups of tea, past a bookstall, and through a gap in a pile of suitcases towards the Lost Property Office.

      “There you are,” he announced triumphantly, pointing towards a dark corner, “I told you so!”

      Mrs Brown followed the direction of his arm and dimly made out a small, furry object in the shadows. It seemed to be sitting on some kind of suitcase and around its neck there was a label with some writing on it. The suitcase was old and battered and on the side, in large letters, were the words WANTED ON VOYAGE.

      Mrs Brown clutched at her husband. “Why, Henry,” she exclaimed. “I believe you were right after all. It is a bear!”

      She peered at it more closely. It seemed a very unusual kind of bear. It was brown in colour, a rather dirty brown, and it was wearing a most odd-looking hat, with a wide brim, just as Mr Brown had said. From beneath the brim two large, round eyes stared back at her.

      Seeing that something was expected of it the bear stood up and politely raised its hat, revealing two black ears. “Good afternoon,” it said, in a small, clear voice.

      “Er… good afternoon,” replied Mr Brown, doubtfully. There was a moment of silence.

      The bear looked at them inquiringly. “Can I help you?”

      Mr Brown looked rather embarrassed. “Well… no. Er… as a matter of fact, we were wondering if we could help you.”

      Mrs Brown bent down. “You’re a very small bear,” she said.

      The bear puffed out its chest. “I’m a very rare sort of bear,” he replied importantly. “There aren’t many of us left where I