Betsy McCall's April Fool - A Paper Doll's Story from 1968

Here's an April Fool's story and a Betsy McCall paper doll for you to print out. (Click on the image twice to enlarge)

Mommy looked at the calendar. "April first already!" she exclaimed. "Goodness, what a silly I was, at your age, on April Fool's Day! We used to put a big 3 in front of the 1 on the calendar, to make the date April 31. Another trick was to tell my daddy to call Mr. Fish at main 06 something-or-other, the telephone number down at the aquarium.
Oh, and the pocketbook trick. We'd put a pocketbook on the sidewalk, with a black thread attached, and when anybody stooped to pick it up, we'd yank it away and shout, 'APRIL FOOL!' Sort of simpleminded of us, I'd say." I didn't tell Mommy that I was playing a trick on her and that I had put SALT in the sugar bowl. I held my breath while she put two spoonfuls into her breakfast coffee. She stirred it and drank it and didn't say a WORD. And then she put a heaping spoonful of it on my cereal. I said I wasn't hungry and, oh, everything I could think of, so I wouldn't have to eat the awful stuff. But Mommy insisted, with a twinkle in her eye. So I put a spoonful in my mouth. And it was SWEET. I must have looked surprised, because she laughed. "I forgot to tell you that we used to switch the sugar and salt, too," she said. "So I just switched them back. APRIL FOOL, Betsy!"