Paddington on Top

Paddington on Top
Michael Bond

Peggy Fortnum

The irresistible Paddington Bear, who was found on Paddington station, returns in this reissued novel, with a brand new cover design.Up until now, Paddington has managed to avoid school. But the Inspector himself catches up with him and packs him off. After one day, even the teacher wonders whether there is anything he can teach a certain bear from Darkest Peru.And when it comes to dancing the rumba as always, Paddington takes the cake!Stories of Paddington Bear have delighted children all over the world for fifty years.

Copyright (#u0785ed3a-566c-5414-b6bc-29c90ef219b2)

First published in Great Britain by William Collins Sons and Co. Ltd in 1974

New edition published by Collins in 1999

This edition first published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2008 This edition published in 2018

Collins and HarperCollins Children’s Books are divisions of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF.

Visit our website at www.harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk

Text copyright © Michael Bond 1974

Illustrations copyright © Peggy Fortnum

and William Collins Sons and Co. Ltd 1974, 2008

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, 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.

Source ISBN: 9780006753773

eBook Edition © OCTOBER 2011 ISBN: 9780007403028

Version: 2018-05-23

Contents

Cover (#u94aad9da-3966-562f-9847-41c96f356da9)

Title Page (#u8b9ea28a-51fe-5303-b3db-740fb01f0f0a)

Copyright

1. Paddington Goes to School

2. Paddington Cleans Up

3. Paddington Goes to Court

4. A Birthday Treat

5. Keeping Fit

6. Paddington in Touch

7. Comings and Goings at Number Thirty-Two

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About the Author

Other Books by Michael Bond

About the Publisher

Chapter One PADDINGTON GOES TO SCHOOL (#u0785ed3a-566c-5414-b6bc-29c90ef219b2)

“PADDINGTON HAS TO go to school?” exclaimed Mrs Brown. She clutched at the front door of number thirty-two Windsor Gardens and gazed at the man standing on the step. “But there must be some mistake. Paddington isn’t a…” She broke off as Mrs Bird gave her a nudge. “I mean, he’s a…”

“May I ask why he has to go to school?” interrupted the Browns’ housekeeper.

The man consulted a pile of papers in his hand. “According to our information,” he said, “he’s been living here for a number of years and we’ve no record of a single attendance at St Luke’s or anywhere else for that matter.”

“But he was brought up in Darkest Peru,” exclaimed Mrs Brown. “His Aunt Lucy taught him all she knew before he left. She had to go into a Home for Retired Bears in Lima, you see, and…” Her voice trailed away as she caught sight of the expression on the School Inspector’s face.

“I’m very much afraid,” he said, allowing himself a slight smile, “that neither the Home for Retired Bears in Lima nor Aunt Lucy happen to be on our list of approved establishments.”

He snapped the file shut with an air of finality. “We shall expect to see him at school first thing tomorrow morning,” he continued sternly, “otherwise certain steps will have to be taken.”

Mrs Brown gazed after the Inspector as he disappeared down the road. “Tomorrow morning!” she repeated. “What are we going to do?”

“I think,” said Mrs Bird wisely, “there’s only one thing we can do. Make sure that bear arrives on time. After all,” she added meaningly, “we do have his circumstances to think of. I daresay it’s only a matter of the authorities setting their records to rights, but until they do, I think we’d better tread very carefully.

“And if Paddington is going to school tomorrow,” she continued, “we’d better get busy as well. I must sew a name-tag on his duffle coat for a start. We shall never hear the last of it if that gets lost.” Mrs Bird paused at the kitchen door. “Will you tell him or shall I?”

Mrs Brown gave a sigh. “I will,” she said.

She knew exactly what Mrs Bird meant. Ever since Paddington first arrived on the scene, she’d had a nagging fear in the back of her mind that something like this would happen if only because they’d never actually reported his arrival to anyone, and the thought of breaking the news to him was not one she exactly relished.

But Paddington took the matter surprisingly well, and while the others busied themselves getting his things ready, he spent the afternoon going through some of Jonathan and Judy’s old text books. The rest of the time he spent polishing his suitcase, and that evening he even had a bath without being asked, which was most unusual.

All in all, he looked so spick and span the following morning, even Mrs Bird’s eagle eyes were unable to find fault.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Mrs Brown, as he set off down the road. “The house’ll seem so quiet without him.”

Mrs Bird gave a snort. “I should make the most of it,” she said. “You mark my words, it’ll be four o’clock and he’ll be back home again before we’ve had time to turn round.”

All the same, it was noticeable that the Browns’ housekeeper spent an unusually long time cleaning the step that morning, and she didn’t finish it until long after the small figure in a duffle coat and hat had disappeared around the corner.

But Paddington himself didn’t have any time to dwell on the matter. The school was only a short distance away from Windsor Gardens and as he drew near, one of the teachers hurried forward to greet him.