“If you don’t laugh, I’m going to have to arrest you,” said the officer, smiling.
The little boy began to cry, for he had been paralyzed from the mouth down since his accident the day before. He struggled to form a smile, but it wasn’t possible. At his bedside, his mother continued giggling. She didn’t have a choice.
“I don’t want to have to do this,” said the officer. “You have until the count of ten.”
“Somebody tell a joke,” said the nurse.
“It won’t help,” said the doctor.
The officer counted down. When he reached 1, he continued to 0, because the law technically allowed him to do so. The extra time didn’t help the boy.
“Wheel him out of here,” said the officer. The team of laughter police detached the boy’s bed from the wall and wheeled him into the hallway.
“This is such bullshit,” said the doctor. “Fuck the government and their bullshit bureaucratic laws. He would laugh if he could, but it’s not even fucking possible.”
“Stop!” said the officer. “See that camera over there? You are all on Police TV! The law states that everybody must laugh at all times, except those who are not physically able.”
“I knew it!” said the nurse.
“We would never arrest a helpless paralyzed child,” said the officer. “But I am going to have to arrest the mother. She was crying when I first arrived.”
Everybody laughed, except the boy.