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Joy

Enthuiasm

 

HUMOR IN OTHER LANGUAGES Japanese - yuumoa - a way of saying "humor" in Japanese (see Chinese) Korean - ik sal - wise crack, wit Tagalog - katatawanan - to have a funny quality; a joke or jest; seeing the funny side of life

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What does it mean to have a sense of humor? Why is it healthy to laugh at oneself? What is the difference between laughing at someone and laughing with someone? How would you describe the phrase "filled with joy"? What would take away this feeling?

STORIES AND THOUGHTS FROM SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS

 Hinduism

Where there is joy, there is creation. Where there is no joy, there is no creation. - Upanishads

Christianity

"A cheerful heart is good medicine." - Bible, Proverbs 17:22

"To make an apt answer is a joy and a word in season, how good it is!" - Bible, Proverbs 15:25

Japanese The Terrible Eek

One very stormy night, there was a family tucked into their thatched house in the mountains. The father and son sat warming their hands over a small fire while the mother went about preparing their supper. The rain fell heavily on the little house and the strong winds shook its walls. The noises of the storm began to frighten the little boy and meekly he looked up at his father and asked, "Papa, are you ever afraid?"

"Oh yes, son, there are things which frighten me," nodded his father.

"What is it that frightens you most in the world?" asked the boy.

"Well, among humans, it is a thief that frightens me most," answered the father.

Now it just so happened that a thief was climbing on the roof of that very house, hoping to steal something on that dark and rainy night. When he heard the father's answer to his son's question he was filled with pride. "I am what they fear most in the world! How strong and powerful I am?"

The father continued to answer his son. "Among animals, I must say that I fear the wolf the most."

At that very moment there was a wolf creeping just under the window of the little house, hoping to steal a chicken for his dinner. Upon hearing the father's words he laughed proudly.

"I am what they fear most in the world! How strong and powerful I am!"

"But the most frightening thing of all, " the father continued," especially on a night like tonight, is a terrible leak. I truly hope there are no leaks tonight!"

The sounds of the wind and rain had grown quite loud, and the wolf strained to hear the father's words. "Did he say a terrible eek? Why, I've never heard of an eek before, but it is what frightens him most of all it must be very fearsome indeed!" thought the wolf.

The thief high on the roof could barely hear the father's words between the gusts of wind. "Did he say he was afraid of a terrible eek?" wondered the thief. "I don't know what an eek is, but if it is what he fears most in the world it must be horrible!"

Just then, a great gust of wind knocked the thief over and he slid uncontrollable down the wet roof and landed with a thump right on the back of the wolf. The thief was so surprised to feel something wet and furry beneath him that he was certain that he had landed on an eek. And the wolf, surprised by the sudden burden on his back, thought surely it must be an eek gripping him tightly around the neck. With a great howl, the wolf began running with all his might through the trees while the thief clung with all his might to the wolf's back. The terrified wolf tore through the forest thinking, "Oh no! How will I ever get off the back of this eek?"

Then all at once, the thief spied a low-hanging branch. he reached up and caught it as the wolf shot out from under him. But the branch was too weak to hold the thief, and it snapped and he fell. Now is just so happened that there was a deep hole right next to the tree and the thief fell into it. He tried to climb out, but it was too deep and the sides too slippery.

Meanwhile, the wolf, quite relieved to have the burden off of his back ran back to his den. Quite breathless, he stopped at a stream to drink and there, he met a tiger. "What's the matter, Wolf?" inquired the tiger. You look as though you've had quite a fright."

"Oh yes, I have. I've just had the most terrible eek jump on my back. It gripped me by the neck and I ran and ran until finally, it let go."

"Why, I've never heard of a terrible eek in my life," laughed the tiger.

"Humans fear it more than anything," said the wolf, and now I understand why. It is a terrible and fearsome thing."

"But I am the most powerful and fearsome creature that humans are afraid of!" cried the tiger. "I will find this terrible eek and catch him just to prove it!"

So the wolf and the tiger set off into the forest. They had not gone far when they met a monkey. "What are you two doing at this time of night?" the monkey inquired.

"We're off to catch the terrible eek," said the tiger.

"I've never heard of a terrible eek," said the monkey.

It's the most fearsome creature in the world," said the wolf. "I know because there was one on my back not too long ago."

"I would like to see you catch this creature. I'm coming along," said the monkey.

The wolf led the monkey and the tiger back to the tree where the thief had jumped off. They spotted a deep hole and wolf whispered, "I think it might be down there."

"Are you in there terrible eek?" roared the tiger. But there was no response. The thief was certain that the eek had come back to get him, and so he remained silent.

Winking a the others, the monkey said "I will lower my tail into the hole. The eek will grab onto it. You catch him as soon as he's out of the hole." The others nodded.

Slowly, the monkey lowered his furry tail into the hole. The thief grabbed onto the tail and pulled hard. The monkey became frightened and pulled back even harder, trying to recover his tail. But the thief held fast. The wolf pulled on the monkey, and the tiger pulled on the wolf with such force that the thief came flying out of the hole, letting out an enormous cry. The cry startled the monkey who screamed, "It's an eek!"

"Oh no, it's an eek!" cried the wolf, turning to the tiger.

"Oh no, an EEEEEEEEEEEEEK! screeched the tiger.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!" hollered the thief.

All the noise and ruckus scared each one so much that they all ran off in different directions, each hoping that the eek was not following them.

Meanwhile, all snug in their little thatched house was the family preparing for bed.

"Goodnight, son," said the father.

"Goodnight, papa. It's a good thing there was no terrible leaks tonight," said the son.

"You're right, son," said the father. "There were no terrible leaks.

PROVERBS AND MAXIMS

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. - Abraham Lincoln

 The most contagious spirit............. Enthusiasm

 The greatest Joy............... Giving

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BILL COSBY (1937 -) Born in the Germantown district of North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as William Henry Cosby, Jr., he grew up in an all-black housing project. His father was a Navy mess steward and his mother worked as a domestic. His father was away a lot but his mother read to him regularly from the Bible and Mark Twain, teaching him to stay away from the dangers of the inner city ghetto. As a child, he was inspired by the comedian Sid Caesar and he earned the reputation of "an alert boy who would rather clown than study" (so writes a sixth-grade teacher). Bill dropped out of school in the tenth grade and joined the navy, where he earned a high school equivalency diploma. He went to college on a track and field scholarship at Temple University in Philadelphia, earning a degree in Physical Education. His career in comedy began in college when he took a part-time job tending bar and telling jokes in a Philadelphia coffeehouse, the Cellar. Today, Bill has a successful career as the dominant comedic voice of black Americans

PUT HUMOR INTO ACTION Smile when you say "good morning." Laugh a little every day. Do something for someone that you know will make them happy. Be enthusiastic about something.

  

BOOKS ON HUMOR The Lady Who Saw the Good Side of Everything. Pat Tapio. New York: Seabury Press, 1975. A Light in the Attic. Shel Silverstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. The Old Dog Barks Backwards. Ogden Nash. Boston: Little, Brown, 1972. Where the Sidewalk Ends. Shel Silverstein. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. - Ralph Waldo Emerson A joy that's shared is a joy made double. - English proverb

MAY - HUMOR

The song of the month for March was written by the first graders in Rooms 1 and 2. The first is sung to the melody of BLUEBIRD and was written by Room 1.

We are very happy

Playing games and having fun.

We are very funny

When we're with our friends

And we always laugh a lot.

The second song was written by Room 2 and is sung to the melody of WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN.

Oh, when we laugh,

Oh, when we play,

Oh, when we laugh and play all day,

We have a good time

When we're smiling,

And we hope it stays that way.

    

 

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