Here’s another short one– I was too young to understand it the first time I read it, but somehow still knew it was funny.

~

In the days of the Soviet Union, a young woman, an old woman, a KGB officer and a university student found themselves sharing a cramped railway car traveling from Moscow.

Passing into a tunnel, the car became utterly dark. As soon as the light was gone the four heard a loud kiss followed immediately by the sharp sound of a slap.

The old woman thought, Now there’s a girl with good morals.

The KGB officer grumbled to himself, thinking, Isn’t that tidy. The boy steals a kiss and I catch the clout for his impudence.

The young lady felt confused. I wonder why that handsome student tried to kiss the old lady and not me…

And the student smiled to himself, knowing he had gotten away with assaulting an officer simply by kissing his hand.

~

This is the type of trickster tale that I enjoy– where the little man learns how survive (and frequently to thrive) within the rules of a much larger and frequently hostile system.