16. Humorous Stories

Variety is of great importance in story-telling, as in all ethical instruction and educational training. Life demands variety. Moral life is full of variety, vitality, and humor. Nor need we fear to bring these qualities into story-telling. Humor is leaven. Without it ethical teaching becomes flat. Laughter too is good for the world. It is a tonic to the emotions. “It does us all good to laugh if there is no smear or smirch in the laugh; fun sets the blood flowing more freely in the veins, and loosens the strained cords of feeling and thought; the delicious shock of surprise at every ‘funny spot’ is a kind of electric treatment for the nerves.” (Sara Cone Bryant.) Laughter is tone to the spirit and inspiration to fresh effort. It is a sign too, of broadening imagination and sympathies. As the nonsense and play-story are good for the child, so the wholesomely humorous story is good for the youth and the adult.