A teacher asks the class to name things that end with “-tor” that eat things.
The first little boy raises his hand.
“Alligator.”
“Very good! That’s a big word.”
The second boy says,
“Predator.”
“Yes! That’s another big word. Well done.”
Then Little Johnny slowly raises his hand.
The teacher sighs.
“Yes, Johnny?”
“Elevator.”
The whole class bursts out laughing.
The teacher shakes her head.
“Johnny, an elevator doesn’t eat things.”
Johnny looks completely serious.
“Yes, it does.”
“How?”
Johnny points toward the hallway.
“Every morning, it eats people on the first floor…”
The teacher laughs.
“Johnny, people aren’t eaten by elevators. They just get inside them.”
Johnny nods.
“That’s what I thought too.”
The teacher smiles.
“Then why did you say it eats people?”
Johnny grins.
“Because yesterday, my dad said the elevator ate his wife.”
The classroom goes silent.
The teacher’s smile disappears.
“Your dad said what?”
Johnny shrugs.
“He said, ‘Your mother went into the elevator and never came back.’”
The teacher looks concerned.
“Johnny, where is your mother?”
Johnny points toward the hallway.
“She works here.”
The teacher looks confused.
“She does?”
Johnny nods.
“She was supposed to come to my classroom this morning.”
The teacher walks quickly toward the hallway.
Then she sees Johnny’s mother standing beside the elevator.
The doors open.
She steps out.
“Johnny!”
He runs toward her.
The teacher lets out a huge sigh of relief.
Johnny looks up at her.
“See?”
The teacher laughs.
“Your father was joking, wasn’t he?”
Johnny nods.
“Yep.”
Then he adds,
“He also says the refrigerator eats his food.”
The entire class bursts into laughter.
The teacher puts her hands on her hips.
“Well, Johnny, your father certainly has a strange way of describing things.”
Johnny smiles.
“He says lots of strange things.”
The teacher shakes her head.
“Like what?”
Johnny thinks for a moment.
Then he says,
“He says I’m the reason he can’t sleep at night.”
The teacher laughs.
“That sounds like something many parents say.”
Johnny nods.
“Yeah.”
Then he smiles innocently.
“But Mom says it’s because Dad snores.”
The class erupts again.
The teacher finally gives up.
“Okay, Johnny. You win.”
Johnny proudly returns to his seat.
And the teacher writes one final word on the board:
“JOKESTER.”
Johnny raises his hand.
“Teacher?”
“Yes, Johnny?”
“That one ends with ‘-ter’ too.”
The teacher laughs.
“Good catch.”
Johnny smiles.
“And it eats things.”
“What does a jokester eat?”
Johnny grins.
“Everybody’s serious face.”
The class bursts into laughter again.
Even the teacher couldn’t stop smiling.
And from that day on, whenever the class got too serious, the teacher would point at Johnny and say:
“Careful, everyone. The jokester is hungry.”
