My four-year old son has discovered jokes.  At first he was trying to repeat the ones he’d heard on a cartoon.  Then, he began creating some, uh, original comedy.  An early example was this:

Q: What do cows eat for breakfast?

A: Cow poop!!

I laughed because the punchline was unexpected, which is of course an aspect of comedy writing.  However, I tried to steer him a little by picking up a kids joke book.

Example from book:

Q:  What do angry rats give out during the holidays?

A:  Cross-mouse cards!

This is an antiquated and extreme stretch of the pun.  Young kids in America rarely know the word “cross”.  And no one send cards anymore.

So, I’m trying to up his game a little.  He likes fast-food roast beef (We only go 1-2 times a month I swear!) so I gave him this one:

Q:  Where do pirates like to eat?

A:  Arrrrr-by’s!

He spat out a sympathy laugh and stared at his hands for a moment.  Then, he repeated his current original favorite:

Q:  What do panda bears eat for lunch?

A:  Human brains!!

This could take a while…