Copyright
First published in hardback in Great Britain by HarperCollins Childrenâs Books in 2012
This edition published in 2018
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Text copyright © Michael Bond 2012
Illustrations copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2012 Cover illustration copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Peggy Fortnum 1974
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Cover illustration adapted and coloured by Mark Burgess from the original by Peggy Fortnum
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Source ISBN: 9780007458851
EPub Edition © APRIL 2012 ISBN: 9780007468263 Version: 2018-05-23
Chapter One
MR CURRYâS BIRTHDAY TREAT
EARLY ONE SPRING morning Paddington hurried into the garden as soon as he had finished breakfast in order to inspect his rockery. He was an optimistic bear at heart, and having planted some seeds the day before, he was looking forward to seeing the results.
The seeds had been a free gift in one of Mrs Brownâs magazines, and the picture on the side of the packet was a blaze of bright yellow flowers. Some of them were almost as tall as the magazineâs gardening expert, Alf Greenways.
Mr Greenways was known to his many friends in the trade as âBeanpole Greenwaysâ, so it was as good a recommendation for success as anyone could possibly wish for.
He also owned the nursery supplying the sunflower seeds, so it was no wonder he was beaming all over his face as he held a watering can aloft, spurring his blooms to even greater heights.
Paddington got down on all fours and peered at the freshly-raked soil in his patch of garden, but apart from a disconsolate-looking caterpillar, there wasnât so much as the tiniest of green shoots to be seen. Everything was exactly as he had left it the night before when he had gone outside with a torch before going to bed.
Mr Greenwayâs seeds were rather large and he couldnât help wondering if he had planted them upside down by mistake.
A robin redbreast landed on a nearby rock to take a closer look at what was going on, but having spotted Paddingtonâs network of cotton threads protecting the patch, it flew off in disgust.
Mr Brown was right. Gardens were a good example of life in the raw; a constant battle between good and evil. Slugs, for example, were given very short shrift, often ending up with the contents of a salt cellar upended over them, whereas worms were always welcome â unless of course they happened to come up for air in the middle of the lawn.
All the same, it was disappointing, and for a moment or two Paddington toyed with the idea of going indoors and fetching his binoculars in case the caterpillar had a hearty appetite and he could see traces of green on its lips.
He was in the middle of weighing up the pros and cons when he heard an all-too-familiar voice calling out to him.
His heart sank as he looked up and saw the Brownsâ neighbour peering at him over the top of the fence. Not that there was anything new in that; Mr Curry was a notorious busybody and he spent his life poking his nose into other peopleâs affairs.
Because his patch of garden coincided with some higher ground on Mr Curryâs side, Paddington often bore the brunt.
It was most disappointing. Mr Brown had spent half of the weekend raising the fence at that particular point, with the express intention of putting a stop to their neighbourâs spying.
At the time Mrs Bird had said âthe chance would be a fine thingâ and it looked as though her worst fears were being realised.
âWhat are you doing, bear?â growled Mr Curry suspiciously. âUp to no good as usual, I suppose.â
âOh, no, Mr Curry,â said Paddington. âI was just checking my blooms â except I havenât got any yet. Mrs Bird was right. She said you would be bound to find a box to stand on. I meanâ¦â