The bus journey was uneventful. Ulysses, entirely content with Bertie’s company, gurgled appreciatively each time the bus turned a corner, but regurgitated nothing. And when they came to the stop at which Bertie normally alighted, Bertie managed to carry both Ulysses and his pushchair with no difficulty at all. From there, the walk along Merchiston Crescent and Spylaw Road was simplicity itself, and in no time at all they reached the school.

Miss Maclaren Hope was out of the classroom when Bertie entered with Ulysses.

‘What have you got there, Bertie?’ asked Olive suspiciously. ‘Have you brought a doll? Boys shouldn’t play with dolls, you know.’

‘It’s my little brother,’ said Bertie. ‘He’s called Ulysses.’

‘Good!’ shouted Pansy. ‘A real live baby. Can I have a go with him, Bertie?’

Olive was quick to take command of the situation. ‘No,’ she said peremptorily. ‘I’ll take him. Give him here, Bertie.’

Bertie handed Ulysses over gently. ‘Keep him the right way up, please,’ he said. ‘He doesn’t like going upside down.’

‘I know how to hold a baby,’ snapped Olive. ‘I’ve held hundreds of babies. They really like me.’

‘That’s because they can’t see very far,’ said Tofu, who had appeared from the back and was peering at Ulysses.

Olive ignored this taunt, and busied herself with tickling Ulysses under the chin. ‘I like his sailor suit,’ she said. ‘And his nose is really cute, Bertie. You should be proud of his nose.’

‘I am,’ said Bertie.

‘I’m a bit worried about what Miss Maclaren Hope is going to say,’ went on Olive. ‘I think that we should hide him in case she says that he’s not allowed.’

‘Yes, hide him,’ agreed Pansy. ‘Then we can take him out at playtime.’

‘He’s not a toy,’ said Bertie mildly. ‘It might be better to …’

‘No, Pansy’s right,’ said Olive. ‘We should make a little bed for him in the cupboard.’

Bertie tried to point out that Ulysses might not like being put in a cupboard, but was quickly overruled by the girls, who had now taken complete control of their young visitor.

The cupboard had been opened and several jerseys laid down to form a makeshift bed when Miss Maclaren Hope came back into the room. In the silence that followed, Bertie looked at Olive, who quickly handed Ulysses back to him.

‘I’ve brought my little brother in for Show and Tell,’ he explained. ‘He won’t be any trouble, Miss Hope. He’s very nice.’

‘What a sweet little boy,’ said the astonished teacher. ‘But …’

‘He looks like my last psychotherapist,’ said Bertie. ‘Especially his ears.’

‘Well, that’s very interesting, Bertie, but where’s your mummy? Is she here as well?’