The 1 of the custom of April Foolery remains unknown but it seems to resemble a particular festival of ancient Rome and most reference books suggest that it 2 in Europe. Some people feel that the foolery is related to the spring weather, when nature mocks us with sudden changes from warm sunshine to 3 rain; and, of course, April also marks the arrival of the cuckoo – the acknowledged symbol of the gullible.
Naturally, superior pranksters would 4 from telephoning a zoo with messages for Mrs C.Lion or Mr L.E.Fant, but such tricks abound in the classroom, and most teachers have endured trials of 5 blackboards and invisible chalk. Many unsuspecting apprentices, too, will have been sent out to buy “elbow grease' or “pigeon's milk'.