Jokes in the Coffeehouse

Nasruddin and his friends were sitting in the coffeehouse, and one of them decided to tell a joke. It was a very long joke, and the man told the joke very badly.
Everyone squirmed in their seats as they listened to his performance.
Finally, the joker reached the punchline, which he bungled.
No one laughed... except Nasruddin.
Later, one of Nasruddin's friends asked him, "Why did you laugh at that joke? It wasn't funny at all."
"You should always laugh at the joke," Nasruddin told him. "If you don't, there's a possibility that they might try to tell it again."

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Inspired by: The Little Book of Sufi Parables by Nico Neruda
Notes: This is story 1 in the book. This belongs to the genre of "Nasruddin-in-the-coffee-house" stories.

This story is included in Tiny Tales of Nasruddin, where it is Story 78.