It’s the first of April, a day of fun and pranks. It’s April Fool’s Day. Some people love it and some hate it. How about you?

This is only the first day of a whole month full of fun and humour. Did you know that April is National Humour Month in many countries? Fun and laughter are the best medicine. They reduce stress and pain and help our heart and immune system. Laughter also relaxes our body and gives us energy.

DISCUSS
Which are the funniest pranks you’ve ever played? What’s the funniest hoax you’ve ever read?

YOUR TURN
What is your favourite joke? Tell it to your friend. Is he or she laughing? Well done!!

Reading is Fun
April Fools

There was a noise at Mrs. Watson’s door. When she opened it, Mrs. Watson saw the postman walking to her neighbour’s house. Turning around, she saw a letter which was lying on the floor. ‘That’ll be from Alice,’ she thought. But it wasn’t. It was an official looking letter with the city coat-of-arms. Picking it up, she noticed the word ‚urgent‘ written on it.

The same things happened to a great number of dog owners in the town of Dover on the 31 March. Each of them got a letter which said:

As there is a dangerous epidemic among the dogs of our town, all dogs must be vaccinated at once. All persons owning dogs must come to the Town Hall at 11 o’clock on 1 April and must bring their dogs with them.

Seeing the coat-of-arms of the Mayor of Dover, the dog owners thought it was an official document.

On the following morning, there was a terrible noise in the courtyard of the Town Hall. Looking out of the window, the Mayor saw hundreds of dogs, which were all barking loudly. He turned to his secretary and asked, ‘What are all those dogs doing down here? Have you any idea?’

At that moment, the first people with their dogs came into the Mayor’s room. Showing him the letter, they asked where the vaccination would take place. The Mayor thought: ‘I sent out no such letters.’

It soon became clear that someone had played a trick on them. The TV station sent a camera team because an unknown person had informed them. Soon all England was laughing. Seeing the effect of his letter on television, one person laughed the loudest. But nobody knows who it was.

• Have you ever experienced a similar situation on April Fool’s Day?
• What do you usually do on this day?
• This happened before the Internet era. Do you think it could happen today, too? Why/why not?
• Imagine you have seen this on TV. You want to share it on Facebook or Twitter. Write a suitable comment with hashtags.