A Bear Called Paddington

On Christmas Eve in 1956, a not very well-known writer named Michael Bond stumbled upon a lonely toy bear in a shop. Bond bought the bear and named it Paddington, after the nearby railway station. And then, a few stories about the adventures of the little bear from Darkest Peru appeared. This is how a new literary symbol of England was born – his books have been translated into forty languages, his adventures have continued for over fifty years, and there is even a statue of him at that very station.