PADDINGTON ON TOP

We might have known that the truant officer was bound to catch up with Paddington some day. Once he hears that the school day begins with ""taking the roll"" Paddington is positively looking forward to his matriculation, but his good manners and logic soon prove him unfit to be a student (""I'm not familiar with your Aunt Lucy's curriculum."" . . . ""I'll show you a picture of her if you like""). With the same imperturbable dignity, Paddington testifies in court and sees one of his marmalade sandwiches entered as Exhibit A; sells his interest in a mail order exercise gadget to Mr. Curry; learns water skiing; and helps the Peruvian reserves score in a rugby match. There's even a surprise visit from Aunt Lucy, on vacation from the Home for Retired Bears in Lima. Funniest of all are the reactions of strangers to meeting a bear in a duffle coat; one quick-witted salesman rises to the occasion, saying ""It's nice when you have a picture of someone in your mind and they turn out exactly as you expected."" These adventures turned out exactly as we expected--vintage Paddington, puns and all. . . and lovable as ever.