It started as a joke.
"The Mermaid of Druid Lake and Other Stories"
Charles Weathers Bump
"If I might venture a word," she began again ironically, "it seems to me that your friend has been playing a practical joke upon you.
"Lonesome Land"
B. M. Bower
At first I-I thought it would be a joke, but it isn't; it's silly and,-and ill-bred.
"Lonesome Land"
B. M. Bower