Early one morning, hearing a knock at the door, Tommy  the cat went to open it. On the doorstep was his neighbour, Penny the cat. She was holding a large box in her hands, from which wafted the most tempting aroma. 

Tommy was surprised and thought  to himself, ‘Penny with a box of sweets? I have known her for years. She is such a miser!’

Penny smiled at Tommy, who was still lost in his thoughts. ‘Tommy, here are some cupcakes I made. I took baking classes a few days ago and thought of trying my hand at making something at home. Taste them and let me know what you think.’ Saying this, she handed the box of cupcakes to Tommy and left.

Tommy was astonished and didn’t get a chance to thank Penny. He opened the box gleefully. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . . There were twenty delicious-looking cupcakes! 

‘I don’t want to eat so many cupcakes by myself. They contain a lot of butter and sugar, which can be unhealthy if eaten in excess. I’ll invite all my friends, and we can all enjoy these goodies together. It will be a lot of fun!’ Tommy thought.

It was a holiday, so Tommy’s friends came over quite 

quickly. The smell and sight of the cupcakes made 

everyone’s mouths water.

‘Wow! They look delicious!’ said Softy the rabbit. 

‘And so colourful!’ added Neeru the mongoose.

‘Hmm . . . what a delightful smell! It is irresistible,’ said Daisy the deer. 

‘Alright then, let’s begin the party!’ exclaimed Tommy as he quickly picked up a cupcake and bit into it. ‘Yuck!’ he spat out the piece of cupcake and frowned.

Seeing this, his friends were alarmed. 

‘What happened, Tommy? Are you all right?’ enquired Neeru, worriedly.

As Tommy’s friends gathered around him, Softy picked up a cupcake and pressed it lightly. Then he said, ‘These cupcakes are not real. They are made of clay. Clay cupcakes that have been painted.’

‘That means . . . Penny played a prank on me,’ Tommy said, drinking water to wash out the taste. The horrid, pasty flavour lingered in his mouth. 

Suddenly, something struck Neeru. ‘Oh! Today is the first of April, isn’t it? Looks like Penny played an April Fools’ prank on you!’ she exclaimed.

‘Ah, yes!’ Tommy’s friends nodded in agreement.

‘So, now, let me teach her a lesson,’ thought Tommy. Then, he whispered something in Daisy’s ear. 

After listening to Tommy, Daisy rushed outside. When she returned after some time, Penny was with her, and she seemed a bit worried. She approached Tommy, who was lying on the bed, and said, ‘Daisy told me that you felt unwell after eating the cupcake. I am so sorry, Tommy! I didn’t know that this innocent joke of mine would have such consequences. I shouldn’t have done such a thing. Come, I’ll take you to the doctor before your condition gets worse.’

Tommy noticed that Penny was so nervous that she was sweating. All of Tommy’s friends were staring at her as if she had committed a major crime. She was embarrassed and ashamed.

Penny had booked a taxi to take Tommy to the hospital.

‘Tommy, the taxi has arrived. Let’s go,’ she said, catching hold of his hand, trying to lift him from the bed.  

‘No, I won’t go to the doctor with you. Send the taxi back,’ Tommy said, angrily pushing her hand away. 

Penny became even more worried and said, ‘Sorry, Tommy. I truly am. I promise I won’t repeat such a prank, but you must see the doctor! Your condition might get worse!’

‘I told you to send the taxi back. If you don’t, I will surely feel worse,’ Tommy said, moaning even louder.

Giving up, Penny cancelled the taxi ride. ‘Okay, if you don’t want to go to the doctor, I’ll call him here,’ she said, picking up her phone.

Suddenly, with a mischievous grin, Tommy chanted, ‘April Fool! April Fool! Are you going to lose your cool?’

Penny and all of Tommy’s friends were surprised. Just like Penny, they had been fooled, too. 

Relieved that this was just a prank, they all smiled, including Penny. This incident taught her that playing a prank could sometimes have serious consequences.