Mr Gruber gives Paddington the idea of going into business, so to get some experience in the working world, he gets a job as a barber's assistant. Unfortunately, he ends up giving an unsuspecting American tourist a disastrous haircut!

He manages to save the day and get a handsome tip into the bargain, however, when the American notices a Spode jug which Paddington is looking after for Mr Gruber. The American is a keen antiques collector, so buys the Spode and a huge amount of other things from Mr Gruber, too! So success comes from a crisis once again.

This book is part of a book series called Paddington .

There are 24 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 1999 by HarperCollins Publishers .

Michael Bond has published many books including the phenomenally-successful Paddington Bear books and in 1997 received the OBE for his services to children's literature.