Paddington Races Ahead. Michael Bond

Чтение книги онлайн.

      “There’s a young foreign gent wants an oyster,” repeated the boy over his shoulder.

      “I’d like a day return one, if I may,” added Paddington, trying to be helpful.

      “I’m afraid we don’t get any returns here,” said the assistant. “They’re fresh in from France twice a week and once they’re gone they’re gone…”

      “In that case I’d better have two,” said Paddington. “One for going and one for coming back.”

      The assistant didn’t actually say ‘we’ve got the last of the big spenders here’, but his look said it all. “I’ll have to ask the manager,” he said.

      “He wants two!” he called. “One for going and one for coming back. I think it’s some kind of outing.

      “We usually sell them by the dozen,” he explained, addressing Paddington, “and the only returns you get is if there’s a bad one, and if that happens you’ll wish you’d never gone wherever it was in the first place. Ho! Ho! Ho!”

      “Tell him there aren’t many around at the moment,” shouted a voice from the back of the shop. “And there won’t be any at all soon when there isn’t an R in the month.”

      The assistant repeated the message for Paddington’s benefit.

      Paddington gave him a hard stare. “There isn’t an M in a lot of months,” he said. “But that doesn’t stop Mrs Bird giving me marmalade for breakfast.”

      “Tell him we’ve got some kippers,” shouted the manager. “Fresh in this morning.”

      “Can you get very far on a kipper?” asked Paddington hopefully.

      “You can if you set light to its tail and hang on tight,” said the assistant. “Ho! Ho! Ho!”

      “We don’t normally have oysters all through the summer,” said the manager, as he emerged from a back room to see what was going on. “It’s the breeding season.”

      “It must make travelling difficult in August,” said Paddington.