Mr Badger and the Big Surprise (2 page)

As he neared the Empire Tea Shop, Mr Badger looked left and right then crossed the street. He strode up some big stone steps covered with crimson carpet. Large brass doors at the top made a lovely swishing sound as they were pushed open.

‘Good morning, Mr Badger!' said Harry the doorman.

‘Good morning to you, Harry,' said Mr Badger.

As always, Mr Badger looked absolutely splendid in his pale-blue waistcoat, butter-yellow bow-tie, bright-red tail coat, black pinstriped trousers and very shiny shoes.

He strolled along the corridor beneath the chandeliers towards his office, his paws in their white gloves tucked behind his back.

CHAPTER 3

A Busy Day for Mr Badger

M
r Badger is the Special Events Manager at the Boubles Grand Hotel (pronounced
Boublay
). He is in charge of parties, weddings, balls – well, anything really that one might call a special occasion.

Mr Badger has worked there for years. So did his father, and Grandfather Badger before him.

On this particular day, Mr Badger had a very important party to organise. It was a birthday party with hundreds of guests, mountains of food, a little orchestra, party games and a giant birthday cake.

Miss Pims.

Fortunately he didn't have to do all the work himself. Mr Badger had a wonderful helper – a personal assistant called Miss Pims. They had worked together for quite a long time.

Mr Badger and Miss Pims worked well as a team.

‘How are we this morning, Miss Pims?' said Mr Badger.

‘Raring to go, Mr Badger,' replied Miss Pims. ‘We certainly have a big day ahead of us.'

‘And don't I know it,' said Mr Badger, giving his glasses a careful wipe.

Sylvia Smothers-Carruthers was the birthday girl, and she was turning seven.

Her grandparents, Sir Cecil and Lady Celia Smothers-Carruthers, were the owners of the Boubles Grand Hotel. They were hosting the party, and they wanted everything to be perfect for their sweet little Sylvia.

Sir Cecil and Lady Celia Smothers-Carruthers weren't
just grandparents, they were
grand
grandparents.

Sir Cecil and Lady Celia Smothers-Carruthers were rather old and their hearing wasn't nearly as good as it had been. Nor was their eyesight. That might explain why they often didn't notice when their dear little Sylvia was not as nicely behaved as they would have liked.

Sylvia was
very
fussy. She wanted her seventh birthday to be a party that she and her friends would never forget. Sylvia had no idea that her wish was about to come true.

Mr Badger and Miss Pims had carefully calculated what would be required for the party: 410 watercress sandwiches, 820 party pies, 512 butterfly cakes with pink-and-yellow icing, five large tubs of chocolate mousse, two tubs of vanilla ice-cream and six large tubs of strawberry sorbet, seven assorted sponge cakes – not counting the giant birthday cake and the layered sponge fingers – plus fourteen huge bowls of strawberry jelly with raspberries and cream, and of course the three dozen pineapple tartlets, which were Sylvia's personal favourites.

Sylvia Smothers-Carruthers' closest 205 friends had been invited to the party.

Mr Badger knew from past experience what big appetites little children often have.

Even though Sylvia already had everything money could buy, the invitation had said in great big letters: ‘DO NOT FORGET TO BRING A PRESENT!' It also said: ‘Do not dress up too much.'

There was a not-so-secret reason for this, which was that Sylvia was planning to wear her best party frock and didn't want anyone else to look better than
she
did.

This was one of the many reasons why Sylvia was known by quite a few of her 205 friends – no, in fact
all
of her friends – as Sylvia Smartypants.