Can you figure out the humor?

[Haizi]

Before I start my "real" work today, let me tell a "homophone" story in case that someone in this forum haven't yet heard it. It is a famous crosstalk piece.

A little boy was playing in the living room while his mother was busy in a separate kitchen. A thief came into the living room and told the boy that his name was dou4 ni3 wan2. Then he started to take things away from the living room.

The boy shouted to his mother: "Somebody is taking our TV away!"

"Who is it?" responded the mother in the kitchen.

"Dou4 ni3 wan2 ya5!"

So, the mother carried on her cooking in the kitchen.

She rushed into the living room after several rounds of such a dialogue and only found all the valuables in the living room had been gone!

Of course, my story-telling skill won't do justice to the wonderful humor of the original work. It's especially funny when the piece is done with a crosstalk master's Tian1jin1 accent.

Regards,

Haizi

[Guest Anonymous]

I heard jokes like this during my first trip to China back in 1998. My favorite one was about an American tourist trying to purchase something and it had to do with how "one dollar" sounds like "wan da le" (the bowl has been broken) and it goes on with "six dollar", "ten dollar"... etc. I wish I remember the joke :-

[akdn]

The tourist breaks his rice bowl in a restaurant, and offers to pay for it...

The tourist overhears the waitress tell the boss:

Waitress: wan da le

Tourist hears 'one dollar'

Boss: shei da le?

Tourist hears 'six dollar'

Waitress: ta da le!

Tourist hears 'ten dollar'!