25 Humorous Stories

Twenty-five humorous stories for practice reading and exercising comprehension skills

Courtesy of Neil Chadwick's Joyful Ministry. http://www.joyfulministry.com/humor.htm

Can You Spell "GOD"?

Three people from different parts of the country passed away at the same time. All were met at the gates by St. Peter. The first was an architect from California. Peter said, "You've built beautiful buildings and served men on earth, but before you come in you have to pass one small test, spell 'God'".

"G-O-D," replied the architect and St. Peter waved him through.

The second person to approach was a rancher from Texas. Peter looked at him and said, "You've served man upon the earth by providing food through the cattle you've raised but before you come in there's just one small test, spell 'GOD'".

"G-O-D", said the rancher and Peter waved him through.

The third person was an attractive businesswoman from New York. Peter said, "You've served the world of commerce, but before you come in you'll have to pass one small test."

At this the woman interrupted, "Oh come on now Saint," said the woman, "I've had to fight for every promotion I've ever gotten. I've had to take lower pay for the same job as a male colleague, and I've been continually harassed by bosses and peers for one reason, my gender. And now here I am and you're giving me a hard time too; what kind of test? Let's get it over with."

Peter thought for a moment and said, "Spell Czechoslovakia"

Can I Help You?

As the new minister in town was walking down the street, he saw a little boy straining every muscle to reach the door-bell. He realized the little guy would never make it, although he admired the kid's tenacity. So he walked up on the porch to help.

"Here buddy, need some help?" He lifted the tyke who rang the bell.

As he set the child down, the kid took off running and called back over his shoulder, "Run mister! Here come the lady!"

The House Is Going To Burn!

In a car in the middle of Colorado a wife says to her husband, "Oh Dear George, I'm afraid the house is going to burn down, I'm sure I left the iron on."

George: "The house will not burn down Dear, don't worry"

Wife: "Now how can you make a statement like that"

George: "Cause I forgot to turn off the water in the bathtub!"

Speeding Ticket

A young man, on the way to visit his girlfriend in northern Michigan was caught speeding through one of the small towns just a few miles from his destination. The officer sauntered up to the car as the young man fished for his license and registration. With the hint of a wry smile across his face, the officer placed both elbows on the window of the car so he could get real close and spoke in a deep voice, "Son, I've been waitin' all day for you."

"Sorry officer," the young driver said. "I got here just as fast as I could."

Having the Preacher for Dinner

In a small town way out in the country, a local farmer invited the new preacher and his wife to come out to the farm for supper. While the women were finishing preparations in the kitchen, the men talked in the living room. The farmer was in the middle of telling the preacher that because he was sure that most ministers liked chicken, that's what he had asked his wife to prepare.

The farmer's son, playing nearby, spoke up and said, "But I thought it was 'buzzard', not 'chicken' that we were eating today."

"Of course not, where did you ever get that idea?" demanded the farmer.

"Well, I overheard you telling mommy that we ought to hurry up and have the 'old buzzard'" for dinner and get it over with."

Answering Machine Messages

1. "Hi! Now you say something."

2. "Hi! John's answering machine is broken. This is his refrigerator. Please speak very slowly, and I'll stick your message to myself with one of these magnets."

3. "Hello, you are talking to a machine. I am capable of receiving messages. My owners do not need siding, windows, a hot tub, or any subscriptions and their carpets are clean. They give to charity through the office. If you are still with me, leave your name and number and they will get back to you."

4. "This is not an answering machine -- this is a telepathic thought recording device. After the tone, think about your name, your reason for calling, and a number where I can reach you, and I will think about returning your call."

5. "Greetings, you have reached the Sixth Sense Detective Agency. We know who you are and what you want, so at the sound of the tone, please hang up."

6. "Hi. I am probably home. I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave me a message, and if I don't call back, it's you."

7. "Hi. This is George. I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now. Leave a message, and then wait by your phone until I call you back."

8. "Hi. If you are a burglar, then we're probably at home cleaning our weapons right now and can't come to the phone. Otherwise, we probably aren't home and it's safe to leave us a message."

TO ALL EMPLOYEES

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

FROM: EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECTION, PERSONNEL SERVICE

SUBJECT: RESTROOM TRIPS POLICY (RTP)

DATE: OCTOBER 11, 1996

In the past, employees were permitted to make trips to the restroom under informal guidelines. Effective October 11, 1993, a Restroom Trip Policy (RTP) will be established to provide a consistent method of accounting for each employee's restroom time.

Under this policy, a Restroom Trip Bank (RTB) will be established for each employee. The first day of each month, employees will be given a Restroom Trip Credit (RTC) of 20. RTC's may be accumulated from month to month.

Currently, entrances to restrooms are being equipped with personnel identification stations and computer-linked voice print recognition. During the next week, each employee must provide two voice prints, one normal and one under stress, to the personnel office. The voice print recognition stations will be operational, but not restrictive for the month of October. Employees should acquaint themselves with the stations during this period.

If an employee's Restroom Trip Bank balance reaches zero, restroom doors will not unlock for his/her voice until the first of the next month. In addition, restroom stalls are being equipped with timed paper roll retractors. If occupied for more than three minutes, an alarm will sound. Thirty seconds after the alarm sounds, the roll of paper will retract, the toilet will flush, and the stall doors will open.

If you have any questions regarding the new policy, contact your department supervisor.

A TRAIN RIDE MYSTERY

The story is told of four people who shared a berth in a train going from Paris to Madrid: a beautiful young woman traveling with her grandmother, and a handsome young army lieutenant who was with his commanding officer.

On the way the train passed through a tunnel, and the train became pitch black.

Suddenly, in the darkness there was a sound of a kiss followed by a slap. When the train emerged from the tunnel, the four sat stone faced as if nothing had happened.

The beautiful young woman thought to herself, "That was a wonderful kiss, but my grandmother must have slapped his face and he probably thinks I did it and he won't pay attention to me again."

The grandmother thinks, "That's a fresh thing for that man to kiss my granddaughter. I'm sure glad she stood up for herself, I'm sure it will teach him a lesson."

The commanding officer thought, "This is terrible, she must have thought that I was the one who kissed her, wait until I get back to the base, I'm really going to give my lieutenant a piece of my mind."

And the handsome young lieutenant thought, "This was my day. I got to kiss a beautiful woman and slap my boss and get away with both."

GOOD CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS GONE BAD

What follows are ACTUAL announcements from ACTUAL church bulletins.

1. Don't let worry kill you --let the church help.

2. Thursday night -Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.

3. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

4. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

5. The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.

6. This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.

7. Tuesday at 4:00 PM there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early.

8. Wednesday the ladies liturgy will meet. Mrs. Johnson will sing "Put me in my little bed" accompanied by the pastor.

9. Thursday at 5:00 PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be "Little Mothers" will meet with the Pastor in his study.

10. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

11. The service will close with "Little Drops of Water." One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in.

12. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so.

13. The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday.

14. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

15. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

16. "A songfest was hell at the Methodist Church Wednesday."

17. "Today's Sermon: HOW MUCH CAN A MAN DRINK? with hymns from a full choir."

18. On a New York convalescent home: "For the sick and tired of the Episcopal Church."

19. In the vestry of a New England church: "Will the last person to leave please see that the perpetual light is extinguished."

20. In a Pennsylvania cemetery: "Persons are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own garden."

21. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

22. Announcement in the church bulletin for a National PRAYER & FASTING Conference. "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals".

23. Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

24. Today the pastor will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy"

25. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again" giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

26. "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands".

27. Next Sunday is the family hayride and bonfire at the Fowlers'. Bring your own hot dogs and guns. Friends are welcome! Everyone come for a fun time.

28. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say hell to someone who doesn't care much about you.

29. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

30. The sermon this morning: "Jesus walks on the water'. The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus'.

31. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

32. Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions.

She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

33. The "Over 60's Choir" will be disbanded for the summer with thanks.

34. The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are afflicted with any church.

35. The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

36. Remember in prayer those who are sick of our church and community.

37. Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a terrible experience".

THREE ENGINEERS

There are three engineers in a car: an electrical engineer, a chemical engineer and a Microsoft engineer. Suddenly the car engine shuts off, leaving the three engineers stranded by the side of the road. All three engineers look at each other wondering what could be wrong. The electrical engineer suggests stripping down the electronics of the car and trying to trace where a fault might have occurred.

The chemical engineer, not knowing much about cars, suggests that maybe the fuel is becoming emulsified and getting blocked somewhere.

Then, the Microsoft engineer, not knowing much about anything, comes up with a suggestion, "Why don`t we close all the windows, get out, get back in, open the windows again, and maybe it`ll work!?"

WHAT CHAPTER?

A man has been in business for many, many years and the business is going down the drain. He is seriously contemplating suicide and he doesn't know what to do. He goes to the Pastor to seek his advice. He tells the Pastor about all of his problems in the business and asks the Pastor what he should do.

The Pastor says "Take a beach chair and a Bible and put them in your car and drive down to the edge of the ocean. Go to the water's edge. Take the beach chair out of the car, sit on it and take the Bible out and open it up. The wind will rifle the pages for a while and eventually the Bible will stay open at a particular page. Read the Bible and it will tell you what to do."

The man does as he is told. He places a beach chair and a Bible in his car and drives down to the beach. He sits on the chair at the water's edge and opens the Bible. The wind rifles the pages of the Bible and then stops at a particular page. He looks down at the Bible and sees what he has to do.

Three months later the man and his family come back to see the Pastor. The man is wearing a $1,000 Italian suit, The wife is all decked out with a full-length mink coat and the child is dressed in beautiful silk. The man hands the Pastor a thick envelope full of money and tells him that he wants to donate this money to the church in order to thank the Pastor for his wonderful advice. The Pastor is delighted. He recognizes the man and asks him what advice in the bible brought this good fortune to him.

The man replies: "Chapter 11."

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