Papa looked at us through the camera’s lens. ‘Perfect,’ he said. ‘We have to get the picture just right. And you know why that is?’ he asked.

‘Because a picture paints a thousand words,’ I replied, pretending to yawn. Papa said the same thing every time he took a photo.

He laughed. ‘That’s right. And believe me, this will be a picture to paint a thousand words – all of them happy ones as well!’ he said. ‘Now remember, whatever you do, don’t smile!’

Max frowned. ‘I thought people always smiled in photos.’

‘Not in my photos,’ Papa replied in a mock serious tone. ‘I don’t allow it.’

Elsa let out a giggle.

‘Ah ah! No laughing either!’ Papa warned.

Elsa giggled again. I could feel my own face twitching into a smile.

‘I said NO smiling!’ Papa said again. By this time, everyone in the carriage was laughing, not just the three of us.

Click, click, click went the shutter.

‘Beautiful, fantastic, wonderful!’ Papa called as he photographed us, talking to us just like I’d heard him talk to his clients. When he’d finished, he lowered the camera. ‘I’ll choose the best photo and give each of you a copy, so you’ll always have a memory of this day. How does that sound?’

‘It sounds wonderful, Papa,’ I said. ‘Thank you!’

‘Good. Now then,’ he said as he put his camera back into his jacket pocket, ‘I think I saw at least one of you smiling. And you know how I punish smilers?’

Elsa shook her head. Max bit his lip. I knew what was coming and had already started to move away.

‘I punish them with tickles!’ Papa announced.

He reached out towards us and all three of us squealed as we tried to run from his clutches. At that exact moment, the Ferris wheel started moving again and the carriage jolted. I fell forward and tripped over a lady’s outstretched foot. The man next to her grabbed hold of me just before I landed in his lap.

Papa was beside me in a second. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said to the couple. Then he looked down at me. ‘Leo, apologize to the lady.’

I cleared my throat and tucked my shirt back under my braces. It had become ruffled as I’d fallen. ‘I’m really sorry,’ I said, looking the lady in the eye. For a moment, she stared at me so hard I thought she was going to tell me off. Then she turned to the man and said something in a different language. German was the only language I knew, so I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

He replied in that other language, and then she nodded and turned back to me.