.

As he picked up his broom again, his twin sister came to the door to
shake a dustcloth. Also, he was sure, to check up on what he was
doing.

"Cathy!" cried Jerry. "There's a great big spider crawling up your
left leg."

Cathy did not let a yip out of her. "You can't April-fool me that
easy," she said in a superior-sounding way that irritated Jerry.

Lately he and his twin often irritated each other. For one thing Cathy
had recently developed an intense interest in how she looked, which
seemed silly to Jerry.

"Better wipe that black off your left cheek," he said, and laughed
when Cathy raised her hand to her cheek. "April Fool! Got you that
time," he exulted.

"Think you're smart, don't you?" grumbled Cathy. "Half the time you
don't even notice it when your face is dirty. To say nothing of your
ears."

Jerry swushed dirt off a step and changed the subject. "Have you
fooled anybody yet this morning?" he asked.

[Illustration]

"Just Andy. I asked him if he knew that Bibsy had grown another head
during the night, and he almost cried when he found I was
April-fooling him. He said he had always wanted a two-headed cat. Then
when I asked him if he had seen the alligator under the dining room
table, he wouldn't look. He just said, 'What's a nalligator?' I told
him it was like Mummy's handbag only much, much bigger, and he wants
to see a real one. Mummy says we must take him to the zoo someday
soon. But I can't remember seeing an alligator there, can you?"

Cathy tossed her head, giving her pony tail a little exercise.

"Too bad you didn't say seal instead of alligator. There _are_ seals
at the zoo. Say, I wouldn't mind going to the zoo this forenoon. Even
if we have to take Andy. Want to?"

"Nope. Mummy's taking me to town to buy a new dress for Easter."
Cathy's eyes were bright with expectation.

It was beyond Jerry why Cathy should be pleased to waste good playing
time in town buying a dress. She didn't used to be that way. She used
to complain bitterly about having to change from blue jeans into a
dress. She still liked wearing jeans, yet there came a shine in her
eyes at even the mention of buying a new dress. Mummy said that
eleven-going-on-twelve was getting to be a young lady. "Rats!" thought
Jerry. It was silly for Cathy to begin to be young-lady-like when she
could throw a baseball just about as well as a boy and sometimes
better.

"Jerry!" called his mother from a front window. "I want you to