396. “My Life of Practical Joking”

February 24, 2025

Q. I am trying to locate the issue where Norm Appleton plays trick on his kids and an Indian boy who could not speak English well.  Norm of course plays does many pranks.  In the end the Indian boy suddenly is able to identify Norm as the one who did the pranks.  There was also a word that Norm or the Indian boy used and I believe I was “sneep.”

It was a short story that appeared approximately between 1977 to 1984.  I have been trying to find it for years. If you know of that issue, please let me know.

A. The story was called “My Life of Practical Joking” by John Stemp. The story doesn’t actually involve Norm or the Appleton kids, but it is accompanied by several Appletons comic strips where Norm plays practical jokes on his kids, all written and drawn by B.K. Taylor. However, the story does mention a Syrian kid the author took on a snipe hunt when he was a boy scout who pronounced the word snipe as “sneep.” So that’s probably what you’re remembering.

It appeared in the October 1979 (“Comedy”) issue.

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