Granny Mapula stared at the pile of cabbages next to her front door. She worked very hard to look after her garden.Now it was time to sell her harvest at the market. “I need help with counting and packing these cabbages,” thought Granny.

Jabu, Dineo, and Dimpho walked past Granny’s house while she was standing at her door. She was delighted to see them.“Please help me to pack my harvest into these boxes,” she asked the children. She knew they were clever and loved to help.

The children discussed how to pack the cabbages. “Let’s count and pack cabbages in groups of two,” said Dineo.“Let’s count and pack cabbages in groups of four,” said Jabu.“Let’s count and pack cabbages in groups of three,” said Dimpho.

The children decided that counting the cabbages in groups of four was the quickest way to pack the boxes.“Twelve cabbages fit into each box,” said Dineo.“Well done, that was quick!” smiled Granny. “Now Mr Jonas can take the cabbages to the market.”

“How much will one cabbage cost?” asked Dineo.“I know you can work it out. One box of cabbages costs R60,” Granny said.“If a box costs R60, and there are twelve cabagges in a box, we should divide sixty by twelve,” said Dineo.

Jabu said, “I know! One cabbage will cost R5.” Dimpho replied, “That’s right!”Granny’s helpers packed all the cabagges.Mr Jonas was happy. “I will make sure all the cabbages are sold at the market,” he said.

The children sat under a tree in the garden to rest. They saw Granny hiding something in her apron.“What is that in your apron?” asked Dineo.“It’s something to thank you for all your hard work. But you must share equally,” said Granny.

The children shouted with excitement. Granny Mapula gave them a pile of sweet apples.“They look delicious,” said Dineo as she licked her lips.“Are all those apples for us?” asked Dimpho. “Yes, remember you must share them equally!” said Granny.

“Let’s count the apples,” suggested Dimpho. They counted the apples in groups of two.“There are eight groups of two apples, and one extra apple. Altogether, that’s seventeen apples,” said Dimpho.“So, we need to divide seventeen apples between the three of us,” said Jabu.

The children counted five apples each, and there were two apples left over. They were confused about how to share those two apples.“We should cut the two apples into halves,” said Dimpho.“We should cut the two apples into quarters,” said Jabu.

“But the three of us can’t equally share halves or quarters,” complained Dineo. “Let’s give the remaining apples to Granny and Mr Jonas!” she suggested.“Yes, because Granny grew the cabbages,” agreed Jabu. “And Mr Jonas took the harvest to the market,” added Dimpho.

Mr Jonas returned from the market after selling all the cabbages.Dimpho shared the remaining apples between Granny Mapula and Mr Jonas.The clever helpers were proud of themselves. They used what they had learned at school to help Granny and to share equally.