Funny stories with a moral
may seem like a preacher trying his best to inject levity into an otherwise
solemn sermon. In short, these stories are like rainbows and sunshine before the
fire and brimstone part come in to darken your day. But this is absolutely not
so!
These hilarious stories provoke giggles, guffaws and laughter simply because
of their funny punch lines, endings and implications, just like any other funny
jokes. The morals of the stories, which can be anything from the virtues of
patience to the dangers of greed, play secondary roles in the telling of these
tales. Besides, virtually all stories have morals for their audience although it
may not be evident at first.
What kinds of audience are receptive to funny stories with a moral? Well, we
have to say that every audience will laugh at these stories although there are a
few preconditions. Don't worry; these preconditions are not set in iron.
For one thing, you must determine the kind of story that your audience will
understand and appreciate. Kids have a different sense of humour than adults for
obvious reasons, which means that the funny jokes you tell adults will not be
appreciated by children and vice versa. For example, funny stories with a moral
in the form of fables (the main characters are animals with human qualities) are
great for kids but adults will appreciate funny stories with human
characters.
For another thing, you must avoid stories that offend sensibilities and
sensitivities about race, religion and culture, among other touchy subjects. For
example, your story may be funny and yet contain a moral lesson to Protestants
but not so much for Catholics and vice versa. It may be that Christians in the
audience laugh at your story and see the moral behind it but your Jewish friends
may not.
Indeed, each person has his or her own funny bone, which largely depends on
the individual's upbringing, education and personality. It is up to you as the
storyteller-cum-comedian to gauge whether your funny stories with a moral will
click with your specific audience at a particular time. If not, you can always
try another story until your audience are rolling on the floor and laughing
their heads off.