The time was approaching for the traditional village festival in the area where Koh Pwei Lee lived. Each family took part in preparation for this long-awaited day. Some cooked all kinds of treats, others came up with an entertaining program for the festive performance. In a word, everyone was up to their necks busy.
Only Ko Pwei Lee was loitering around. And since he was known as a master of all sorts of inventions, the organizers of the holiday turned to him with a request to come up with some kind of surprise. Ko Pwei Lee readily agreed to their proposal and promised to make a huge firecracker, which would herald the beginning of the celebration.
Despite all efforts to keep this idea a secret, the news of the firecracker instantly spread throughout the village and interested its residents.
And now the long-awaited day has come. When Ko Pwei Lee, having placed a huge firecracker on a cart, delivered it to the place of celebration, where all the villagers had already gathered, dead silence reigned.
The firecracker turned out to be so large that some of the spectators were worried that their eardrums might burst from its explosion, and as a precaution they hastened to plug their ears with cotton wool. When the signal was given, Ko Pwei Lee lit the fuse and the flame slowly crept towards the firecracker. Suddenly, everyone present was seized with horror: now there would be an explosion, fragments would fly in all directions and, what the hell, they might hit them right. Therefore, some lay down on the ground, others took to their heels. And those who prudently took a place further away froze in mute stupor. However, instead of the expected roar, only a quiet hiss was heard - after all, the firecracker was made of paper.
There was dead silence for several moments, but then there was an explosion - it was an explosion of laughter.
So the famous joker and inventor Koh Pwei Lee once again amused his fellow villagers,
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru