Paddington is questing! Episode 1/25

Deep in the woods, something was stirring, something was going from tree to tree, something was busy, all the while muttering, “Must hide.”

Cosmo, a very lively bunny, lived in a cute little house backed by the Great Pet Woodlands. Today he was more bouncy than usual, today was the Egg Hunt, and it was not just any Egg Hunt, but a traditional one. That meant that he and his friends were going to go off on an adventure. They would look for eggs hidden by…well he was not really sure who hid the eggs, lots of rumours said it was some nice town folk, other rumours said it was the Great Bunny himself who hid the eggs. All Cosmo knew was that he was excited and ready to go find eggs. Paddington his neighbour was already outside waiting. “Hippity-Hop! Good morning Paddington, this is an egg to start you off with, and I have a basket we can use.” Paddington thanked Cosmo for the egg, “I am all a shiver in anticipation of this hunt. Come on, let’s go get Muffy.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 2/25

Cosmo and Paddington skipped all the way to Muffy’s house. The sun was rising, the day was warm, the flowers were starting to bloom, and eggs awaited them—somewhere out there.
"Muffy, Muffy, we are here, come on, the eggs are waiting.” Cosmo yelled. Muffy, a lovely sheep, who had been friends with Cosmo for many years, opened the door and stepped outside. “Cosmo, you don’t have to yell. I was grabbing some snacks for the hunt. Look, I have packed some sandwiches and cookies. Let’s go! Wait, where are we going exactly?” Cosmo swept his hand over in the direction of the forest. “There, we are going to the forest and beyond” “Beyond?” queried Muffy. “Beyond and maybe even beyond that.” Cosmo laughed and hopped up and down. “We go, we hop, we dance, we hunt eggs.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 3/25

“Oh, what a glorious morning,” sang Paddington. Cosmo and Muffy joined in—hopping along the path to the forest, the three intrepid egg hunters sang as loud as they could. “Therin lay the eggs, dear friends,” said Cosmo as they entered the forest. There were trees as far as the eye could see, trees upon trees, and what was that—an egg, they found their first egg and over there—hidden within the roots of a tree, another egg.

Paddington is questing! Episode 4/25

Cosmo and Paddington counted up the eggs they found. “Muffy, we found 5 eggs already, and they sure
are beautifully decorated. I wonder how long it takes to paint them? I think we have all that were around this area. I did not look up into the trees, but we did not bring a ladder, and somehow I don’t think whoever hid the eggs would have gone to all that trouble, “ Cosmo said. The three walked along the path until they came upon a tiny clearing. “Look!” Said Muffy, “Look at that tiny house—who lives here?” Cosmo looked in the direction that Muffy was pointing. “That is a Gnome Home. There are few of them around, we should just pass it quietly and carry on.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 5/25

The forest was thinning out, more sunlight shone through the trees, and it was not long before the three came out into a small park. “Swings and a picnic table,” Muffy gleefully yelled. “It has been a long time since I was on a swing—let’s sit and see how high we can go.” Cosmo hopped up to a swing, “There is an egg sitting here—there is one over there too, don’t sit on it.” They gathered up the eggs, sat on the swings, and swung their legs back and forth. “I can see more eggs over there, by those trees,” called Paddington.

Paddington is questing! Episode 6/25

With eggs collected and swings having been swung, the three friends headed away from the park. They followed the path through some smaller trees, now and then finding an egg hidden in the grass by the path. “Say,” ventured Muffy, “Do either of you get the feeling of being watched?” “What?” Cosmo said. “I don’t know,” said Muffy, “ever since we entered the forest I get the feeling that eyes are on us. I have been looking around, and I have not seen anything.” “Probably just some squirrels or other small animals that live in the forest,” responded Paddington.“I can see the farm,” Cosmo said.

Paddington is questing! Episode 7/25

Cosmo, Muffy, and Paddington raced to the farm. “I can see eggs, and I can see a farmer, and I can see cows,” laughed Cosmo. Muffy walked up to the farmer and told him what they were doing. “Eggs, yes, I saw eggs this morning when I was talking to the cows. They are not my chicken eggs—these were colourful eggs. You can go ahead and collect them if you want to. I did take a few, but there were plenty.” Paddington walked out onto the field and found an egg. “Hi Cow, did you see any eggs?” “Moo, over by the fence,” said the cow.

They collected all the eggs they could find and thanked the farmer and the cows. “You know, I think past this farm, and down in the valley is a mushroom forest. I bet there will be eggs hidden there,” stated Cosmo.

Paddington is questing! Episode 8/25

“A mushroom forest, that sounds like fun, maybe we can collect some mushrooms too. I like a nice plate of fried mushrooms,” Muffy said. “Me too…duck,” yelled Paddington. A dark shape swooped over the three friends. Upon standing up, Cosmo caught a glimpse of a dark shape winging away, and it looked like there was an egg in its beak. “A crow, I bet that was a crow, and it had an egg.” “Whew, that scared me,” said Muffy. “Crows love shiny things—maybe they like painted things too.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 9/25

“Mushrooms!” “We found the mushrooms. Oh! I am going to pick some while I look for eggs. Mushroom omelet, here I come,” squealed Muffy. While the three were busy collecting eggs—they did not notice that more crows had gathered atop some of the trees that surrounded the mushroom forest. They had left their egg basket in the center of the mushrooms, and when they returned to put the eggs they had collected into the basket, they saw a few crows fly away with eggs in their beaks. “They took eggs from the basket,” grumbled Cosmo, “We better keep a better eye on the basket in future.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 10/25

The three friends continued on their way. Muffy asked where to next—Cosmo thought their next destination would be where the bees had their hives. “Beehives?” asked Paddington, “I don’t think we should mess with the bees.” Cosmo shook his head, “We won’t mess with them. The bees are great friends and allow us to take some honey now and then as long as we don’t stay too long or disturb their hives. We will just look for eggs.” “ I want to know why the crows follow us and take eggs,” Muffy said, looking a bit put out. “I think they are just joining in the fun, and crows are playful. I don’t think they mean any harm, but keep an eye on the basket.” Cosmo answered, bending down to pick up an egg he spied behind a bush.

Paddington is questing! Episode 11/25

Bzzz, bzzz. The steady drone of working bees could be heard as the three friends rounded a corner and came into a small clearing. Dozens of bees could be seen working on the flowers that bloomed in the grass. Trees surrounded the clearing, and in some of those trees, beehives hung, with industrious bees coming and going.
”We leave the honey, we take the eggs, quietly and carefully,” said Cosmo. Paddington snuck around looking behind trees and carefully avoiding stepping on any flowers— while Muffy scoured the opposite side of the clearing. All in all, they found a few eggs, but not many—maybe whoever left the eggs had the same feeling, this was not a place to linger in as this was a busy working area. “There is a lack I am sensing,” said Muffy. “What is lacking?” Cosmo asked. “No crows.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 12/25

Through the trees on the other side of the bee haven, the three found themselves overlooking a lake. “Wow, this is nice,” said Paddington, “There is a pier, and I see a fishing shack there. I wonder where the eggs are?” Cosmo mulled this over, looking around and not seeing any eggs in sight. He walked over to the fishing shack and knocked on the door. “Hello. Yes, there are eggs, you are going to need nets, which I have here, and you will need to either stand on the shore and look for the floating eggs or take out the small boat if you like,” said the fisherman. Muffy did not like boats, they were too unstable for her, so Cosmo took the boat while Paddington and Muffy used their nets to scoop up the eggs that bobbed along the shore. As they were packing up and returning their nets to the fisherman, the three were startled by the sound of cawing. “Grab the basket,” yelled Cosmo.

Paddington is questing! Episode 13/25

The three ran as they yelled out their thanks to the fisherman. “Head for those trees,” Cosmo called out. They ran and ran until they no longer heard the sound of crows behind them. “Whew! That was close,” said Muffy, “Hey, there are some benches here—why don’t we stop and have lunch now?” “Good idea, I am getting hungry—what with all this exercise.” Paddington set down the basket close to a bench and sat down. “I have some vegetable sandwiches and peanut cookies,” Muffy said as she handed around wrapped sandwiches. “This is a great spot, by the river, and look, there are even a few eggs.’

“I have a joke,” said Cosmo, “How do you make an egg roll? You give it a little push.” “Haha, good one,” laughed Paddington. “How about this one? How did the egg get up the hill? It scrambled up.” The three friends ate their sandwiches, finished the cookies, and told egg jokes until they felt rested enough to carry on.

Paddington is questing! Episode 14/25

“In all seriousness,” said Cosmo, “Who do you think leaves the eggs?” “Well, they are handpainted, so someone has a shop or house they do the work in. Maybe it is like Santa, and there is a bunny that really does hop around hiding eggs,” stated Paddington. Muffy spoke up, “I think there is a bunny too, but surely you would have heard, Cosmo, you are a bunny—does anyone in your family know who it is?” “Nope. And it is not me, but I am glad someone does it, ” said Cosmo. The three walked on, mulling over the mystery of painted eggs—and where they come from.

Paddington is questing! Episode 15/25

Muffy said she had not heard the crows in a while, and they all stopped and listened. “I hear something, but it is far away,” said Cosmo, “Maybe they were not really following us after all.” The three had walked along the path leading to some small hills, and in those hills, Cosmo knew there was a cave. Now caves were not his favourite place to go—they were dark and damp and held who knew what surprises. But this was an adventure, so he suggested to the others that they head for the cave—one never knew where eggs could be found.

Paddington is questing! Episode 16/25

“Is everyone ready?” Cosmo asked. They were standing in front of the entrance to the cave. “I am not sure about this,” Paddington and Muffy said in unison. “It will be fine—this cave is not all that dark, there are spots where the light gets through from above, and there may be eggs in there.” Muffy and Paddington looked at each other, shrugged, donning their best brave faces, and walked behind Cosmo into the cave.

Paddington is questing! Episode 17/25

Three friends huddled at the entrance. “It does have some light, barely,” said Muffy. Paddington smiled, “This won’t be so bad—at least it appears dry in here—I can’t imagine anyone wanting to come and put eggs in a cave that was all damp and spooky.” The three friends spread out and started hunting for eggs. Cosmo turned to face them, “Hey, there won’t be crows in here at least.” They were finding eggs placed near the cave walls and the eggs acted like bait, luring them all further inside the cave.

Paddington is questing! Episode 18/25

“I can hear echoes when we talk. How far does this cave extend?” Paddington asked. “I don’t know. I have never been here before. I noticed the entrance when I went for walks but was never tempted to go in alone.” “Oh, so we are your backup, I get it,” laughed Muffy. They walked and picked up eggs for quite some time. Muffy noticed that they appeared to be going downward—there was a slight slope to the cave floor. “There is still some light getting through. Do we continue to see if the cave ends, or do we go back now?” Cosmo asked Paddington and Muffy. “Time to head back, I think. We have a lot of eggs, and we can visit another time and see what lies down there,” replied Muffy.

Paddington is questing! Episode 19/25

After the dim light in the cave, coming out into the bright sunshine was a shock to the eyes, and the three stood still getting their bearings. “I hear the crows—they are closer now—we should get moving,” said Paddington. Cosmo led the group through some dense grass and small trees. “There is a waterfall just over there. Let's check it out.”

Paddington is questing! Episode 20/25

Coming upon the waterfall was a refreshing sight after the dimness of the cave. The sun had risen in the sky, and now the three friends were starting to feel a bit warm. “I should have packed more food,” said Muffy. “We will be ok. After the waterfall, we will dip into the edge of the Misty Woods, and that path will lead us home.” A few eggs had been scattered on the rocks surrounding the waterfall, and after collecting them, the three had a great idea to put their feet into the water of one of the pools. “This feels great,” said Paddington splashing away.

Paddington is questing! Episode 21/25

“Time to make tracks,” Cosmo bounced up and down. “I don’t know where you get all your energy from,” said Muffy. “Wait, I hear crows, we better hurry. They grabbed the basket of eggs and walked away from the waterfall, headed toward the Misty Woods.

Paddington is questing! Episode 22/25

Dense, dark trees, dim light, strange sounds, this was the Misty Woods. “Let's run, I want to get home,” said Muffy. They ran at a steady pace, every now and then stopping to pick up an egg. “Whoever left these eggs sure got around,” Paddington stated, picking up an egg.

Paddington is questing! Episode 23/25

The Misty Woods was a large dark forest, but the three friends were only on the edge of it, and that was enough for them. Suddenly the sound of the crows became louder. Turning to look behind, Cosmo saw many dark shapes headed toward them. “Run faster!”

Paddington is questing! Episode 24/25

The crows were gaining on them. Now they could hear the wings flapping, and the cawing was a loud din. “Look! It’s one of those Gnome Homes, head for that.” The three ran to the house and began pounding on the door.” The door opened, and a Gnome stood there looking surprised. “Please help us— we are being chased by a bunch of crows.” The Gnome ushered them inside. “You mean a murder of crows?” “A murder!” Muffy wailed. “That is what a group of crows is called,” the Gnome laughed. The three friends ran to look out the window of the little house. “The crows are not stopping—they are flying by, “ said Cosmo. “Look! Jake is chasing them.”

Jake, the dog, was a friend of Cosmo, and he had been invited to search for eggs with them, but he had not responded whether he would join them. When the coast appeared clear, Cosmo went outside to talk to Jake. “Hey, Jake, why were you chasing those crows?” Jake looked a bit sheepish, “I was not chasing the crows. I was trying to catch up with you guys.” Muffy, Paddington, and Cosmo all had a good laugh at that. The crows were not chasing anyone. Jake was not really chasing anyone either—it was all a mixup of epic proportions. Cosmo shared some eggs with Jake. They thanked the Gnome and gave him some eggs. The Gnome smiled broadly at them and wished them a peaceful journey home.

Paddington is questing! Episode 25/25

“Finally home,” said Muffy. The four friends busied themselves in Muffy’s kitchen, making food and tea. “We collected a lot of pretty eggs, and we had some laughs and some frights, a perfect adventure I would say,” said Cosmo. They all agreed, though they still wondered who had left the eggs. They were all tired and grateful for whoever had left the eggs, and they were grateful for good friends that they could go on adventures with.
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