The laugh
Date: 2026-02-15T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science fiction; Short stories; Psychological fiction; Boys -- Fiction

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The laugh

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The laugh

Author: Robert Abernathy

Illustrator: Ed Emshwiller

Release date: February 15, 2026 [eBook #77941]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: King-Size Publications, Inc, 1956

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77941

Credits: Tom Trussel (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAUGH ***

The Laugh
by Robert Abernathy

If a lad of eight should get an urge to go tramping into a cosmic shoestore in search of a giant’s boots his egotism might become a frightening thing. Robert Abernathy probably hopes it won’t happen. But he here plants such grave doubts in our mind that we wonder if it’s safe to spoil children.

To Dicky grownups were absurdly like ants. They worked hard for no good purpose. But some day a big, big change would be coming!

Dicky lay comfortably on his stomach in the high backyard weeds, watching the ants. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to see what all of them were doing at the same time—all around their hill on the sun-warmed bare slope by the weed patch.

But there were too many of them and they ran too fast in too many different directions. They skirmished, climbed, and slid. They pushed, lifted, and tugged at bits of straw, at seeds, and even the leg of a beetle. They labored mightily and inefficiently to transport these treasures to their nest. Dicky gazed at them in rapt absorption obscurely awed by their incomprehensible fervor of dedication.

They reminded him— He searched the teeming storehouse of a five-year-old’s memories, and thought that the ants reminded him of the lawn-tender which, every evening when it wasn’t raining, crept out of its little kennel behind the house to see if the grass needed cutting or watering. If it did, the dutiful machine went clicking and buzzing up and down on its fat wheels, pivoting precisely at the edge of the yard. It never came down here, where the ground sloped toward the brook thirty yards away, and the weeds grew rank—where Dicky the courageous wasn’t supposed to go either.

He glanced up the slope, suddenly conscious of the naked sun blazing down on him through the thin cover of foliage and of the nearness of the house beyond its clipped green rectangle of lawn. The cooling intake on the house roof turned slowly, flaring to snare an unreliable faint breeze. The windows had half-shuttered themselves against the July afternoon brilliance, and they now resembled squinting eyes. The eyes were dark with indoor shadow and you couldn’t tell whether they were looking at you or not.

But if Mother did look out, she couldn’t possibly see him here. She would think he was sitting in the sun by the wall of the house, playing as he was supposed to do with his toy cars or his toy helicopter. The cars would run just to the edge of the yard, and the helicopter would fly only as high as the house. So naturally Dicky had grown bored with them.

He wriggled closer to the busy ants, to the very edge of the weed forest. The ants went on behaving as if Dicky wasn’t there. Softly, Dicky said, “Boo! Woo? You!” But the ants didn’t notice.

Judicially, he decided that he would never be an ant, even if the opportunity should be offered him. Ants were like grownups. They worked hard for no good reason which Dicky could understand and they paid no attention to more important things.

But it would be fun to be very small, and live here among weeds like giant trees. It would be fun to hide under the leaves when people came looking for him. He scanned the ground minutely, picturing himself walking here and there among the wonders of the little world—climbing on a straw that was a fallen log, and looking up to see an insect go whirring past with iridescent wings. Then the slope would be a mountain, and the brook at its foot would become a vast shining ocean.

Not an ant, though. He would rather be a frog.

Vividly, for life, Dicky would remember the day when he’d first seen the frog. It had been back when there’d been a hole in the fence, hidden by weeds. It had been a hole which only he knew about, and several times he’d crawled through and visited the forbidden shores beyond. The brook flowed there dark, deep, and quiet between cement banks, severely walled like almost all the world. But under the footbridge a little way below the house lived the frog.

Dicky had known he was there, had heard him at twilight—krraak! krraak! But for a long time he hadn’t known who made the sound. And then, one rain-washed afternoon, he’d crept stealthily along the wet grass of the bank and peered into the shadows beneath the bridge.

The frog was sitting on the slimed rubble close to the water—fat, green, self-important. He was squatting there with his tiny forefeet accurately tucked up under him. He had lazy jewel eyes, and was ballooning his mottled throat to send out his krraak. Smugly happy he seemed, in his confidence that the world had only been waiting to hear his frog noise.

The revelation had been too much for Dicky, and he had burst out laughing. Then he had looked quickly around, alarmed, to see if anyone had heard him. But nobody had except the frog, who promptly went gchonk! into the water.

Now the fence had been repaired and there was no way through. If Dicky so much as went near it—forbidden as he was to go that far—his father’s voice came to his ears, just as if his father were not away at work. It said: “Dicky, go home!”

But Dicky didn’t grieve unduly. Having found the way blocked, he dismissed it from his thoughts. After all, he had seen the frog, and he could remember it any time he wanted to.

Remembering now, he rose to a crouching position among the weeds, and said, “Krraak, krraak!” He said it softly under his breath, and smiled to himself.

A sudden commotion on the sunlit ground recalled his attention to the ants. Two of them had seized hold of a tiny leaf, one on each side, but they seemed unable to agree on which way it should go. They tugged in opposite directions. First one of them found firm footing in a half-buried pebble and dragged the other one, its feet scrabbling madly in loose sand. Then the second ant got a purchase on the pebble and in turn triumphantly wrestled the leaf, and its struggling rival for a fraction of an inch in its chosen direction. Both ants kept skidding.

Dicky bent close to watch them, a well of pure, delighted amusement bubbling up inside him. Suddenly it all seemed irresistibly funny—that grim Lilliputian determination see-sawing across a pebble just when he’d been thinking of the frog and how he’d laughed at the funny frog—

Dicky felt the spasm starting in his stomach, and ascending sneezelike into his throat, making his nose twitch and his eyes half-close. He felt the laughter coming and couldn’t stop it, and suddenly he was laughing uncontrollably, loudly, gleefully....

“Dicky!”

He heard his mother’s shocked voice and scrambled to his feet, the laughter dying into indrawn sobs. The shining afternoon whirled about him into cataclysm.

“What are you doing down there?” she demanded. She stood on the edge of the lawn above him, her voice quivering with anger. “Dicky, answer me!”

“Looking at ants,” he gulped. “I was just—” He crumbled under her reproachful eyes. “I couldn’t help it, Mommie,” he pleaded. “I couldn’t—”

“Come here,” she said in the same strained tone. “What if the neighbors heard you! Do you want them to think crazy people live here? Do you?” She broke off with an effort, and took a deep breath.

“Come straight in the house now. And just you wait until your father comes home!”

The next day Dicky’s father didn’t go to work at the yeast plant. Instead, all three of them went for a ride. They went in a coptercab, which meant downtown, instead of in the car which would have meant a picnic in the country.

The night before there had been a consultation which Dicky had overheard only in snatches: “Laughing at ants! I caught him at it.”

“...At people next, I suppose!”

“But what can we have done wrong?”

Since then, happily, Dicky’s fall from grace hadn’t been mentioned, and in the excitement of a ’copter trip he forgot it altogether.

The automatic pilot set them down on the roof of a building that loomed large even in a neighborhood of huge buildings. Below were long halls with slick tiles and rubber runners. There were also many doors, and a great many people, dressed entirely in white, and all hurrying.

Without knowing quite how it happened, Dicky became separated from his parents in a big room with two men and a lady in white, and a lot of gleaming and mysterious apparatus. He’d been told not to be scared, and he wasn’t—quite.

“Sit right here, Dicky. Just hold still, now....”

They tapped his knees with little mallets, tickled the soles of his bare feet, and shone dazzling lights into his eyes.

“Say ‘black bugs’ blood,’ Dicky.”

“Black bugs’ blood,” stammered Dicky, and looked around anxiously to see what, if anything, the strange incantation might have summoned up.

“That’s a good boy,” said the lady in white soothingly.

“Somatically okay,” said the biggest man in white at last. He nodded to the other two, and they went out.

The big man sat down opposite Dicky and regarded him gravely, but not sternly. He reminded Dicky of his own father in one of his good moods.

“Now, that didn’t hurt, did it?” inquired the big man.

“N-no,” said Dicky.

“We had to give you some tests to make sure you were all right. You are all right. But your parents seem to be a little upset about you. Hmm. Why’s that?” The question was gently authoritative.

“I—I—” Dicky stumbled painfully over the truth. “I guess I laughed.”

The man nodded soberly, and Dicky was aware, with a sudden rush of confidence, that he wasn’t surprised or shocked. It was plain that he wouldn’t be, even if Dicky were to laugh right in his face. Not that Dicky felt like doing that.

“Why did you laugh? Tell me, Dicky.”

“At some ants.” Dicky’s face felt hot, but the big man’s manner was unchanged.

“Do you feel like telling me about the ants?” the big man asked. And Dicky realized that he did.

Dicky’s mother demanded shakily, “But, Doctor, what did we do wrong?”

“We’ve tried to bring the boy up with every scientific advantage,” his father muttered uncertainly.

The man in white sighed imperceptibly. Here were two normally intelligent and well-intentioned people. But obviously the explanations he had just given them in terms of reality had not conveyed a great deal to them. Public education, even in this day and age, left much to be desired.

He said patiently, “So far as I can tell you haven’t done anything seriously wrong. You’ve provided the child with approved play materials, and you’ve proceeded quite properly in supplying him with safely limited opportunities for aggression against authority. Perhaps you’ve left him alone a little too much. What has happened is that in the absence of adult guidance an unhealthy fantasy element has crept into his play.

“When you come back tomorrow, we’ll go over the home environment in detail and I may suggest a few changes. Then, with the prescription I’ve given you, and with Dicky coming to see me once a week, I think we’ll have him entirely straightened out by the time school starts.”

“Oh, I hope so!” exclaimed the mother prayerfully.

The psychologist cast an approving glance at her, and said reassuringly, “You shouldn’t be unduly alarmed. It’s important to remember that at Dicky’s age an occasional emotional explosion—laughter, tears, rage, or the like—isn’t necessarily a sign of dangerous emotional instability. After all,” he smiled faintly, “a hundred years ago your Dicky’s behavior would have been considered quite normal.”

“Normal?” said the father with corrugated brow.

“Ideas of normality differ in different eras. Our ancestors considered laughter—even violent laughter in public—quite permissible ... though they would have frowned on various other types of emotional exhibition. At sundry times and places there have been societies which condoned or even encouraged orgies of grief and guilt—megalomaniac outbursts, religious ecstasies, public sexual excesses.

“Our own forebears continued to laugh right into the twentieth century, at a time when psychiatry had already taken its first great steps forward—steps hampered, naturally, by the cultural bias.... The popular psychology of the period even worked out a theory of the alleged value of ‘emotional outlets,’ disregarding, of course, the fact that energy going into such outlets was wasted. The steam that blows the whistle doesn’t turn the wheels.”

The parents nodded with an understanding that pleased the psychologist. Maybe there was still hope for public education.

“No doubt,” he went on, “some of those immature societies I referred to—when population was sparse and resources under-developed—could afford their eccentricities. But modern civilization requires that all the individual’s inborn aggressive energy be channeled into effective action, directed by the reality principle.

“Before we could accomplish that, we had to get rid of our forefathers’ sterile idea of ‘happiness,’ ideas which the early psychiatrists actually regarded as a therapeutic goal. They tried to alleviate human misery without realizing that it was only one face of the coin, and that to succeed they must also study the causes and cure of happiness!

“So—” The psychologist caught himself with a glance at his watch, which had begun to buzz quietly but insistently to remind him of an appointment. “Don’t worry. You see, a century ago Dicky would have gone without treatment. Upon reaching the age of puberty, he might have fallen in love, or developed other psychosomatic ills—”

The parents exchanged horrified glances.

“But nowadays we know just what to do. You haven’t a thing to worry about.”

He ushered them to the door beyond which Dicky waited with the nurse.

Fall was coming, a first chill in the air. Dicky stood at the edge of the green lawn, looking down the bare slope toward the fence and the brook beyond.

The backyard slope was no longer forbidden to him—hadn’t been since the day the lawn-tender had clicked and buzzed its way along it, mowing the weeds. But he no longer felt any particular urge to explore.

Once, a long time ago in the summer, there had been something very special about the brook and the footbridge over it. But now he couldn’t remember what had seemed so important. He remembered, of course, that he had walked along the brook, and had seen a frog. But he’d been much younger then.

Now summer was over, and in a few days Dicky would be starting to school.

He scuffed his new shoes down the weedless slope aimlessly—as far as the fence and back again. Suddenly he stopped, noticing that the ants were still there. They seemed fewer than they had been, and not so active as they straggled in thinning lines across a patch of ground completely denuded of forage.

The ants reminded him of the big man in white, who was so good at explaining things so that Dicky could understand. One thing he’d explained on request was why ants couldn’t see you, even when you stood right over them.

They couldn’t see you because you were too big. That seemed a strange idea, but the big man, in his patient way, had made it all sound perfectly reasonable. If ants could see you, they’d be scared, but only because you were so much bigger that they couldn’t do anything to help themselves. So it was better for them not even to know you were there.

Dimly, as an echo, he remembered too how he’d watched the ants on a sunny afternoon, and wished he could be as small as they were. That was a silly thought, fit only for little kids that laughed and cried and wet their pants.

But it would be fun to be a very big giant, so big that all the people and cars in all the streets would look like little ants running around. So big they couldn’t even see you, because if they could it wouldn’t do them any good.

“Black bugs’ blood!” said Dicky abruptly to himself.

The hard sharp heel of his new shoe ground into the anthill, obliterating the entrance, burying the frantic workers under tumbled dust. He stamped the anthill flat with careful thoroughness.

Then he turned without another glance, not laughing or crying any more, and walked sedately up the slope to the house.

Transcriber’s note:

This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe, June 1956 (Vol. 5, No. 5.). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

Obvious errors in punctuation have been silently corrected in this version.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAUGH ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

- The Laugh
- Transcriber’s note:
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE