“Why should I thank you?” I asked. “If you think about the situation, you’ll realise that I was just shading the back of your head from the sun. In fact, I probably saved your life by keeping you from getting sunstroke. However — I sniffed my most regal sniff — “You don’t find me fishing for compliments.”

The boy sat in stunned silence for a long time— in fact he was quiet so long that I almost opened my eyes to check on him. But finally he burst out laughing. “You’re impossible.”

I corrected him proudly. “Unique is a better word.” And I drifted off to sleep.