One of the well - known funny short stories is 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry. It's about a young couple who are very poor but deeply in love. The wife cuts off her long hair to buy a chain for her husband's precious watch, while the husband sells his watch to buy a comb for her hair. It's funny in a bittersweet way, showing how love can lead to ironic and endearing situations.
The humor. Plain and simple. In a best funny short story, the humor can range from witty wordplay to hilarious situations. For example, in 'The Ransom of Red Chief' by O. Henry, the kidnappers end up being tormented by the kidnapped boy they call 'Red Chief'. It's funny because it turns the typical kidnapping scenario on its head.
Often, they use humor based on human nature. Take the story of the miser who finds a magic lamp. The genie offers him three wishes. He wishes for more money but with the condition that he doesn't lose any of his existing money. The genie tries to explain how it doesn't work like that, but the miser won't listen. This plays on the common trait of greed. Funny short stories also tend to be concise. They get to the point quickly and deliver the punchline or the funny part without a lot of extra fluff.
Here is one. A girl was always late for their dates. One day, the boy told her the next date was at 8 am sharp. She was late as usual. When she arrived, she found the boy sitting there with a big smile. He said, 'I knew you'd be late, so I told you the wrong time. The real time was 9 am. I just wanted to be here early to see you come earlier than usual.'
At a local football match, a small dog ran onto the field and stole the ball from a player. It started running around with the ball in its mouth while the players chased it. The crowd was in stitches. Eventually, the referee managed to get the ball back and the game continued.
A group of friends decided to camp in the woods. At night, they heard a loud growling. They were all terrified. One of them bravely got out of the tent with a flashlight. There, they saw a'strange beast'. It was actually a small dog with a very deep bark. The dog had wandered away from its owner's campsite nearby. The friends couldn't stop laughing at how scared they had been.
There was a game where a goalkeeper tried to do a fancy trick to clear the ball. He attempted to backheel it out but miscalculated and ended up sitting on the ball. The opposing team's striker was so surprised that he also stopped in his tracks and burst out laughing. It was a hilarious moment that lightened the mood of the whole stadium.
A young boy was home alone and heard the doorknob rattle. He was scared out of his wits thinking it was a burglar. But when he finally got the courage to peek, it was his own dog who had accidentally bumped into the door while chasing a ball. It's a simple yet effective short, funny, and scary story.
One funny short Christmas story is about a little elf who accidentally put salt instead of sugar in Santa's cookies. Santa took a big bite and his face was hilarious. He then chased the elf around the workshop in a playful way.
There's this story. A man was driving and his wife called, 'Honey, there's a cop car behind us with its lights on.' The man said, 'I'm speeding up to lose him.' After a while, the wife said, 'He's still behind us.' The man replied, 'I'll take the next exit.' A few minutes later, the wife said, 'We lost him.' The man said, 'Yeah, and we're lost too.' Also, a mouse was working on a computer. When another mouse asked what he was doing, he said, 'I'm making a movie about cats so they will know how we feel.'