Love from Paddington
By Michael Bond
A. “I expect this will come as a great surprise to you, but not only have I arrived in England, but I have an address!
B. “Jonathan is sending this note by something called Air Mail, so you will get it as soon as possible. I will write again tomorrow because I have another big surprise for you. Love from PADDINGTON.”
C. “Luckily, I have been taken in for the next day or two by a nice family called the Browns, but I’m hoping it will be much longer than that because I am very happy here.
D. DEAR Aunt Lucy, She began, before pausing for a moment as the next word seemed to have been crossed out for some reason.
E. “In fact, it is Judy who is typing this letter because she noticed straight away that my spelling isn’t very good. Also, using Mr. Brown’s computer isn’t easy with paws as I can’t help touching several keys at the same time.
F. I have my own bed, so I am on my best behaviour, which isn’t easy because I have already flooded their bathroom by mistake and a lot of the water went through their downstairs ceiling.
G. I’m staying at number 32 Windsor Gardens and it isn’t at all like the Home for Retired Bears. You may not believe this, but it’s very near the Portobello Road, which you have often talked about when you suggested I might like living in London.
H. This is an example of what happens when I try to type the letter ‘i’ uhiyg…!”
I. But then, as I said to Judy when I first arrived, ‘Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear.’
J. “I find using a pencil to poke the keys is the best way to do it,” she read. “But that takes much longer. “I wrote several letters to you while I was in the lifeboat on the way over. That took even longer because I used marmalade chunks instead of a pen, so the writing wasn’t very clear. I put them one by one inside the empty marmalade jars, screwing the tops on tightly before throwing them into the sea. I expect they might turn up one day.
© Michael Bond 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2008, 2012, 2014
