Sharon Metcalf, age 11, of Albuquerque, for her question:

HOW DID APRIL GET ITS NAME?

April, the fourth month of the year, was named for aprilis, a Latin word meaning "to open." In the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, it is the time when the last of the ice and snow disappears, when grass grows green and new leaves appear on bushes and trees.

April was the second month of the year in an early Roman calendar, but it became the fourth month when Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar in 46 B.C.

April Fools' Day is celebrated on the first day fo the month. In English speaking countries, men, women and children often play absurd but harmless jokes. The victim is called an "April fool."

The observance of April Fools's Day originated in France after the adoption of a reformed calendar by Charles Ix in 1564. France was the first nation to adopt this calendar. Up to that time, the New Year celebration began March 21 and ended on April 1. In France, the victim of practical jokes is called an April fish.

In Scotland, by the way, the victim of practical jokes on the first day of April is called a gowk or cuckoo.