Annabel ran back to them. ‘Will there be any more horses?’ she asked.

‘No more.’ Mouritzen bent down to her. ‘But something else. Do you wish to see?’

She nodded, and he lifted her in his arms.

‘Look!’ he said. ‘Over there. Where the men are fastening the net to the iron bars.’

‘It’s just a box,’ Annabel said. ‘A big box, painted green.’

‘There is something inside. Guess!’

‘Another horse?’ she looked more dubiously at the crate. ‘A pony?’

‘No. Guess again.’

‘I can’t.’ The crane began to whir, and the crate lifted from the quay. ‘Tell me,’ she demanded.

‘A bear!’ Mouritzen said.

She looked at him, her lips compressed. ‘You’re joking.’