“Yes, Phindulo, but what are we going to do about the pumpkin?” asked Monkey.

“I don’t know,” said Phindulo. “But I can tell you what we did with the apples.”

“What?” asked Monkey.

“We had a party,” said Phindulo.

“A party?” asked Baboon.

“That’s right,” said Phindulo. “We had a big party. We invited everyone. There were friends and neighbours, gogos and grandpas, cousins, nieces and nephews. We decorated our little house with streamers and balloons. Mama made her special apple pies and tata squeezed the older apples into delicious, cool apple juice. We played games together and danced. It really was a lot of fun. And everyone ate until they were full and happy.”

“I love parties,” said Monkey.

“Well, why don’t we have a party?” suggested Baboon.

“Good idea,” said Monkey. “We can share the pumpkin and eat it together!”

“That’s wonderful!” said Phindulo, laughing.

Baboon gave Monkey a big hug.

“Will you come to our party?” Monkey asked Phindulo.

“I would love to,” he said.

Baboon and Monkey smiled happily. And the three friends cooked the very big pumpkin. They each made different things to eat. Monkey baked a pie with a golden crust and gooey centre. Baboon made a spicy soup. Phindulo fried up sweet fritters with cinnamon and sugar!

They did not have any streamers or balloons, but they played games and sang songs and ate as much pumpkin as they wanted.

Soon, other animals arrived. Elephant brought sweet marulas and nuts. Giraffe came with bottles of bubbling spring water to wash down the delicious food. Even Warthog was there with delicious sweet potatoes.

Everyone shared their food and drink. They all laughed and sang and ate until the sun hung low in the sky, like a big ripe melon.