Deception is not in Benjamin's skill set. He is baffled that anyone would willingly mislead. Which is why he has a soft spot for April Fool's Day. Last week he practiced a few one liners that might stump his siblings. But his discomfort with untruth is high enough that he cannot bear to wait more than two seconds to ease the tension. 

"April Fools!"

This year the show stopper was about the dog he uses as a goat. A scapegoat. Jenkins is a pet that gets blamed for all manner of mishaps, like the spilled juice, or the car that won't start. For Ben it helps to attach those problems to a canine, however undeserved. It is the impetus for howls of laughter, just to elaborate on Jenkins's flaws. 

"Who thought they were invited to the party but they weren't? Jenkins!"

It seems harmless enough. I have heard of cultures where they lay blame on gremlins, or house elves. If it keeps us from tossing arrows at one another or ourselves I am a fan. 

The message Benjamin sent to several siblings was clever in its simplicity. 

"Jenkins is well behaved.... April Fools!"

His relief comes out with the restoration to what he knows to be reality. Jenkins steals the food off your plate. 

It is not substantially different than the way I hold it.

"If we believed that--as is truly the case--everything good and true comes from the Lord and everything evil and false comes from hell, then we would not claim the goodness as our own and make it self-serving or claim the evil as our own and make ourselves guilty of it." Divine Providence 320, Emanuel Swedenborg