Question

"The Battle of the Frogs and Mice" and "How to Tell Jokes Like a Pro" paired texts
The Battle of the Frogs and Mice, A Parody of The Iliad

by Nell Wright

[Breadnibbler, King of the Mice, calls an assembly.]

BREADNIBBLER: O friends, Crumbtaker, my favorite son, has been left to drown by a cowardly Frog. Let us arm against them. Doom to Fly-eaters!

THE MICE: The Frogs will pay!

[The Mice strap on reed-covered breastplates and pick out pine needle spears. They set chickpea shells on their heads and take up shields made from nutshells. Then, the Mice march out along the cliff. Above them, on Mount Olympus, the goddess Demeter is watching. She drops a stalk of wheat for drowning Crumbtaker, and he is saved.]

DEMETER: Ares, look! The Mice are going to war.

ARES (pulling his chair to the edge): How exciting! Athena, you’ll love their armor!

[Athena glances up, nods, but keeps on spinning.]

ARES (scanning the lake): I do like a war. When does it start? Which team is the best?

BREADNIBBLER (to the Frogs): Beware, Pond-dwellers. We Mice have armed for battle against you.

PUFFYJAWS (jumping onto a rock): O friends, I have not harmed any Mouse. Crumbtaker bragged that he could swim, but he could not save himself in the water. Let the Mice attack. If we stand on the cliff, we can easily push them off. Their furry little bodies will sink in the lake.

[The Frogs shout approval, strap peapods around their legs, and fasten breastplates made from beet-greens and holly leaves. Acorn helmets cover their heads, and they carry water-reed spears. The Frogs then march up the beach. On Mount Olympus, Zeus enters.]

ZEUS: Athena, will you favor the Mice who clean up crumbs in your temple?

ATHENA (biting off an end of thread): No, Father, I hate the Mice. They nibble holes in the sacred dress on my statue.

ZEUS: The Frogs, then, daughter?

ATHENA: The Frogs are so noisy when I return from battle that I can’t sleep. Let Ares help them.

ARES: Not me! I’m neutral. I still have warts from a pond Frog, and the Mice make nests in my helmet over the winter.

[The armies stand on the battlefield. The Mosquitoes sound their trumpets. The soldiers face each other down the line. First comes Breadnibbler, a giant among the Mice. Holerunner strides next to him. For the Frogs, Loudcroaker and Cabbagefrog march forth. Loudcroaker’s spear hits Breadnibbler in the stomach. He falls head first, and his armor clatters upon him. When Loudcroaker raises his arms in triumph, Holerunner throws his javelin. But he trips on

a twig, and his weapon misses its mark.]

ARES (laughing heartily): Athena, why aren’t you watching? The Frogs are winning.

ATHENA: This is the wrong thread. I need yellow.

ZEUS: What’s the score?

ARES: One to nothing. The Frogs aren’t so bad.

[Breadnibbler and Holerunner together strike Loudcroaker with their spears. Loudcroaker is unhurt. He takes up a pebble, so huge that it would take three frogs of today to lift it. He drops it on Breadnibbler’s legs; Breadnibbler falls. Cabbagefrog shouts gleefully and throws an armful of gravel at the Mice. Holerunner rushes at Cabbagefrog and rolls him in the dust. The Mouse pulls out his sword, but Loadcroaker hurls his spear and knocks him down. The Mosquitoes sound their trumpets. The warriors stop fighting. Prince Crumbtaker stands on a rock, dripping wet. He raises a walnut and breaks it in two.]

CRUMBTAKER: I am Crumbtaker. Puffyjaws, you thought you killed me on the sea. (He drops the pieces and the earth shakes.) But the gods love me. Now we two can fight on land.

[The Mice cheer.]

PUFFYJAWS (growing pale under his helmet): Help me, Frogs!

[But the Frogs are afraid of Crumbtaker and hop away. The Mice rattle their swords against their shields.]

ZEUS: Now poor Puffyjaws will surely be killed. His wife and children will become slaves. (He wipes away a tear.) That would be a tragedy. Athena!

ATHENA (winding a spool): Yes, Father?

ZEUS: I have to go to Ethiopia now. End the battle fairly.

ATHENA: I am weary today. It is tiring to be goddess of war. I also have weaving and law, remember. Make Ares to do it.

ARES (shouting): I would go, but alone I am not strong enough to stop those Mice.

[Laughing at his children, Zeus thunders so loudly that Mount Olympus shakes. Crumbtaker hears the thunder and trembles. Just then, peacekeepers with snapping claws advance from the water. They wear armored shields on their backs. Their claws snap. The Mice flee; the Frogs dive into the lake. The Crabs bend the swords of the Mice and snap the Frogs’ spears in two, and the sun sets over the field of battle.]

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How to Tell Jokes Like a Pro

by Leah Green

"Why do giraffes have such long necks?" I ask a woman in her 80s outside King's Cross station in London.

I've been asked if I can try to perfect my joke-telling skills. So here I am, accosting strangers with a list of gags. I agreed to the challenge because jokes have never really been my thing. Telling a funny story? Sure. But this purest form of comedy, which so unashamedly screams "Laugh at me!" has always been a struggle.

So getting tips from the comedian Lucy Porter was a welcome offer.

We headed to the busy station so she could observe me telling jokes "cold," without any prior guidance. To put it mildly, it wasn't great. To put it accurately, it was excruciating and only one person laughed.

After the baptism by fire, Lucy and I sat down for a quick lesson, so she could indicate where my flaws are. Unsurprisingly, it's my manner. "First of all, you were unbelievably rigid, physically," she said, suggesting I should appear "confident and happy" while doing my comedy business. Second, I needed more variation in my voice and more belief in the funniness of the joke I'm telling: "If they trust that you're going to make them laugh, they will laugh," Lucy assured me.

Less encouragingly, she says that telling punch line jokes is "probably the toughest kind of comedy to do. I wouldn't do what you're doing." It turns out people don't just laugh because they pity you – it actually has to be funny.

After our pep talk, I'm back by the station. "If I believe I'm funny, they will think I'm funny," I tell myself as I approach a man in purple denim who, based on that outfit, simply has to be up for a laugh.

I tell a joke involving a man in a grocery store. I do funny voices for each of the characters; my posture is relaxed; I am relaxed; the joke is funny. The man grimaces for a couple of seconds, says "very funny," and walks off.

My next attempts have mixed reactions. Some people really laugh, and some people really do not. I will admit it was a good feeling when people laughed: I was relieved, of course, but it is also satisfying to know a stranger thinks you are funny.

Lucy taught me some useful things, mainly that delivery is almost all that matters. I also learned that joke telling is a lot harder than it seems. It's a real performance, which makes you very vulnerable, whether you are a professional comedian, or just with your friends telling jokes in the pub. Every joke-teller put themselves through a trial to make people smile.

I can safely say I won't be going up to people in the street to tell jokes again, but Lucy has taught me that if you think you're funny, the chances of other people agreeing are a lot higher.

Oh, and the giraffe punch line? "Because they have really smelly feet." It's how you tell 'em.



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Multiple Choice Question
Which element of humor do “The Battle of the Frogs and Mice” and “How to Tell Jokes Like a Pro” share?

A.
wordplay

B.
hyperbole

C.
caricature

Answer 1

The element of humor that “The Battle of the Frogs and Mice” and “How to Tell Jokes Like a Pro” share is:

C. caricature

Both texts use exaggerated representations of characters (like mice in battle armor and a woman struggling with joke-telling) to create humor through their absurdity and peculiar traits.