Zimkhitha’s dad looked up, and there Zimkhitha was, floating high, high in the sky above them, like a big pink balloon.

“Oh my word!” exclaimed Mom. “How in the world did she get up there?”

The kind woman stared up into the sky, watching Zimkhitha bobbing about in the clouds. “Is she … laughing?” she asked.

“Zimkhitha always laughs,” said her mom and dad together. “We can’t stop her. Listen.” From high, high up in the sky Zimkhitha’s laugh came tinkling down like a little bell.

“Oh no!” cried her mom, wringing her hands. “She might fall into the sea.”

“Or, onto a rose bush,” groaned her dad.

“I am a scientist,” said the kind woman, “and one of the first things we learn is that air floats. She must have swallowed so much air from laughing that she has floated up like a balloon.”

“Oh, oh, oh,” cried Zimkhitha’s parents.

“There’s only one way to get her down,” said the kind woman. “We’ll have to make her cry.”

“Oh dear,” said her mother. “That’s not easy. She’s such a giggling child.”

“We’ll have to shout something horrible to her,” said Zimkhitha’s dad, sobbing into his handkerchief.

“We need lots and lots of people to all shout at once,” said the woman. “She’ll never hear just the three of us.” So they rang all the doorbells, and asked the people to come outside. Zimkhitha’s dad stopped the traffic and asked everyone to come and help. Soon a big crowd had gathered, and they were pointing and waving and filming Zimkhitha on their cellphones.

Zimkhitha laughed and laughed. It was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

“What are we going to say to make her cry?” asked the kind woman.

“I know!” said Zimkhitha’s dad, and he told them what to say.

“One, two, three, altogether now…” ordered the kind woman.

And with that, the crowd pointed into the sky and roared, “Hey, Zimkhitha! We can see up your dress!” Far up in the clouds Zimkhitha heard them. She looked down and saw five hundred people pointing at her dress, and she stopped laughing.

Down she floated. But as she came down the clouds tickled her, and she thought how funny it was to be so far up while everyone else was down there. And she began to laugh again.

“Oh dear,” said her dad. “That didn’t work.”

“I know!” said her mom. “Tell her we can see her spotted panties.”

So the crowd took a deep breath and shouted at the top of their lungs, “Hey, Zimkhitha! We can see your spotty panties!”