Perhaps I had always had hope.

Perhaps it had only been washed away temporarily by the waters of time and life.

Perhaps the barbs had never struck me, the teenage yearning been a mere dream, the doubts and thwarted ambitions really echoes of other people's lives and not my own.

For in these moments I knew only that there was a town, a camp site, an airport, a safari park. That these places held the mysteries of the universe. A misbehaving vacuum cleaner. Flight controllers playing badminton. Five men blowing up a balloon.

These were not mere abstractions. These were gifts of the Magi. Peace offerings, or, less charitably, sops to Cerberus.

There were no special editions in those days. We were not yet attuned to such expectations. We weren't quite like the previous generations, apparently happy with a cardboard box or playing outside until nightfall. Still, though, we asked little beyond the joy of finding. The quest was the reward itself.

The hope which had long since subsided reappeared by nightfall. It was dressed in red and white strips, carrying a walking stick. (There was supposed to be a camera and a mallet as well, but they had been dropped along the way and not yet found.)

The hope remained. ( )

Encuentra a Wally (y a sus amigos Woof, Wenda, el Mago Barbablanca y Odlaw) en los bulliciosos lugares que visita.

Das erstaunliche Original, das die weltweite Suche nach Waldo auslöste! Perfekt für den jüngsten Waldo-Sucher: Diese Sonderausgabe enthält den ganzen Spaß des Originals, aber mit vielen auffälligen Extras! Jeder, der Waldo schon einmal gefunden hat, wird ihn wiederfinden wollen, denn er ist in jeder Szene an einem neuen Ort. Und jetzt können die Leser auch nach Woof, Wenda, Zauberer Weißbart, Odlaw und vielem mehr suchen - alles neu in dieser Sonderausgabe!

Alle 5 Abenteuer des Weltreisenden "Walter" sind in diesem Buch vereinigt. Ab 9.

Where's Waldo? He's hiding on each busy page, along with some friends. Seek and find.