he would say.
Mrs. Bird was equally tight-lipped on the subject, and for most of the journey everyone else was kept so busy trying out the various gadgets they hardly noticed where they were going anyway.
When they eventually drew to a halt Jonathan pressed the button again, and as the curtains parted he and Judy joined Paddington at one of the windows.
“Guess what!” said Jonathan.
“It looks like a bicycle wheel to me,” said Paddington.
“It’s called the London Eye,” said Judy.
“We’re all going for a ride on it,” explained Mr. Gruber.
“We’re going for a ride on a bicycle wheel!” exclaimed Paddington. “I hope we don’t get a puncture!”
“There’s no fear of that,” said Mr. Gruber. “If you take a closer look, you will see there are lots of cabins all around the rim. We shall be traveling in one of those.”
“They look as though they are made of glass,” said Judy. “They aren’t, of course, but it does mean you can look every which way while you are going around.”
“And you can stand up and walk around,” added Jonathan.
“Thirty-two of them,” said Uncle Pastuzo, helping the others disembark from the car. “Each one holds twenty-five passengers. That is nearly eight hundred people. I book through your friend at the oyster shop, sobrino , and I pay extra so we have a whole one to ourselves. He is so pleased he say any time you want a holiday you go see him.”
“Mrs. Bird’s right,” whispered Jonathan. “Bears do fall on their feet.”
“I fix everything,” said Uncle Pastuzo, as a hostess came forward to greet them. “We take what is called the VIP trip. Tee hee!”
“Tee hee?” repeated Mrs. Brown.
“Ought to be VIB—Very Important Bears!”
Doubled up with laughter at his own joke, Uncle Pastuzo followed on behind their escort.
The timing was exactly right. As they arrived at the starting point, an empty capsule arrived. The doors slid open, and as they stepped aboard, the sun began to disappear behind the Houses of Parliament.
For the first few minutes, as the wheel slowlyrevolved and they gathered height, Mr. Gruber pointed out many of the important landmarks still visible in the gathering dusk to Paddington’s uncle: Big Ben; Buckingham Palace; the Tower of London; St. Paul’s cathedral; the many parks and lakes; and the British Telecom Tower, silhouetted like a pencil against the skyline.
Paddington had visited many of them over the years, but somehow, as London began to unfold before his eyes, they seemed to take on a different life,the buildings evolving into tiny scale models of the real thing, the streets peopled by ants and model cars going hither and thither everywhere he looked.
“Is the only way to see the world,” said Uncle Pastuzo, pleased at everyone’s reaction. “From on high and away from the crowds.”
As darkness fell still further and the capsule gradually rose higher and higher, lights began appearing all over London. Floodlit buildings came into view, and Christmas lights twinkled in the night sky.
They even had a brief glimpse of ice-skaters on the far side of the river farther around to their right.
There was one slight hiccup almost at the end of its journey, when Uncle Pastuzo called them all together to see what he called “something special,” but by the time they had formed themselves into a group, the moment had passed.
It had been one long series of magical moments, and in the rush to disembark, nobody noticed Uncle Pastsuzo disappear for a minute or two. In any case they had grown used to his sudden comings and goings.
On the journey home Paddington joined in the general agreement that it was the best treat they’d had for a very long time.
All the same, Mrs. Bird couldn’t help noticing that in between whiles both Paddington and his uncle were unusually quiet.
She couldn’t help wondering if all the talk about going around the world and now the trip on the London Eye had given Paddington itchy
Mrs. Bird was equally tight-lipped on the subject, and for most of the journey everyone else was kept so busy trying out the various gadgets they hardly noticed where they were going anyway.
When they eventually drew to a halt Jonathan pressed the button again, and as the curtains parted he and Judy joined Paddington at one of the windows.
“Guess what!” said Jonathan.
“It looks like a bicycle wheel to me,” said Paddington.
“It’s called the London Eye,” said Judy.
“We’re all going for a ride on it,” explained Mr. Gruber.
“We’re going for a ride on a bicycle wheel!” exclaimed Paddington. “I hope we don’t get a puncture!”
“There’s no fear of that,” said Mr. Gruber. “If you take a closer look, you will see there are lots of cabins all around the rim. We shall be traveling in one of those.”
“They look as though they are made of glass,” said Judy. “They aren’t, of course, but it does mean you can look every which way while you are going around.”
“And you can stand up and walk around,” added Jonathan.
“Thirty-two of them,” said Uncle Pastuzo, helping the others disembark from the car. “Each one holds twenty-five passengers. That is nearly eight hundred people. I book through your friend at the oyster shop, sobrino , and I pay extra so we have a whole one to ourselves. He is so pleased he say any time you want a holiday you go see him.”
“Mrs. Bird’s right,” whispered Jonathan. “Bears do fall on their feet.”
“I fix everything,” said Uncle Pastuzo, as a hostess came forward to greet them. “We take what is called the VIP trip. Tee hee!”
“Tee hee?” repeated Mrs. Brown.
“Ought to be VIB—Very Important Bears!”
Doubled up with laughter at his own joke, Uncle Pastuzo followed on behind their escort.
The timing was exactly right. As they arrived at the starting point, an empty capsule arrived. The doors slid open, and as they stepped aboard, the sun began to disappear behind the Houses of Parliament.
For the first few minutes, as the wheel slowlyrevolved and they gathered height, Mr. Gruber pointed out many of the important landmarks still visible in the gathering dusk to Paddington’s uncle: Big Ben; Buckingham Palace; the Tower of London; St. Paul’s cathedral; the many parks and lakes; and the British Telecom Tower, silhouetted like a pencil against the skyline.
Paddington had visited many of them over the years, but somehow, as London began to unfold before his eyes, they seemed to take on a different life,the buildings evolving into tiny scale models of the real thing, the streets peopled by ants and model cars going hither and thither everywhere he looked.
“Is the only way to see the world,” said Uncle Pastuzo, pleased at everyone’s reaction. “From on high and away from the crowds.”
As darkness fell still further and the capsule gradually rose higher and higher, lights began appearing all over London. Floodlit buildings came into view, and Christmas lights twinkled in the night sky.
They even had a brief glimpse of ice-skaters on the far side of the river farther around to their right.
There was one slight hiccup almost at the end of its journey, when Uncle Pastuzo called them all together to see what he called “something special,” but by the time they had formed themselves into a group, the moment had passed.
It had been one long series of magical moments, and in the rush to disembark, nobody noticed Uncle Pastsuzo disappear for a minute or two. In any case they had grown used to his sudden comings and goings.
On the journey home Paddington joined in the general agreement that it was the best treat they’d had for a very long time.
All the same, Mrs. Bird couldn’t help noticing that in between whiles both Paddington and his uncle were unusually quiet.
She couldn’t help wondering if all the talk about going around the world and now the trip on the London Eye had given Paddington itchy
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