The Girl Who Could Not Stop Laughing

The Girl

Laughin

Author: Meera Gana

Illustrator: ROSH

Who Could Not Stop

ng

apathi



mmmbrrrpffftbahahahHAHAHAHAAH

An explosive sound erupted across
the 4 B classroom.
Gundappan Sir, the maths teacher, knew
exactly where the bomb had exploded.

2/22

“T

Th
T.

T. Sundari! Please leave the classroom,” he said.
he class went quiet and everyone looked at

Sundari, who sat on the fifth bench.

3/22



“But sir! Please sir! I tried to control my
laughter but it burst out of me!”
Everyone in 4 B burst out laughing too.

4/22

T. Sundari
She laughed for

i laughed a lot.
r nearly everything.

5/22



For example, last week, a
classmate told T. Sundari
this joke:

Q: Why does Maths Sir
always look sad?
A: Because he has to solve
so many problems.

T. Sundari had narrowed her
eyes and giggled.
No wonder everyone
laughed when they saw
Gundappan Sir now.

6/22

Every joke evoked a different
reaction from T. Sundari.

Sometimes a polit

Tra la la ha ha

Sometimes a guffaw

AHAHAHAHA

Sometimes a
giggle

Pehehehehhee

te laugh

7/22

Sometimes a Ghatotkacha* laugh

MUHAHAHAHAHA

Sometimes, when T. Sundari tried really
hard to suppress her laughter, it would
burst out of her like a bomb.

mmmmmmprrrrffttrrrrrahhaahaha

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

*In the Indian epic, Mahabharata, Ghatotkacha is a
powerful rakshasa with a loud and rumbling laugh.

a

A

huge and

8/22

T. Sundari was worried
with her? Why couldn’t
She needed to do some

Stuffing a hanky in her
It just popped out of he

d. Was there something wrong
t she stop laughing?
ething.
mouth didn’t help.
er mouth when she laughed.

9/22

T. Sundari made a list of th

2. Toi

1. Farts

4. People slippin
on banana peels

hings she found funny:

3. The word bonda

ilet jokes

5. Tickling
ng
s

10/22

“I will make sure I never laugh
at these again,” decided T. Sundari.

11/22

Poot poot potrrrrrrr

Next day, during library,
P. Manigantan moved
behind a bookcase and let
out a delicate sound right
next to T. Sundari.

T. Sundari, who knew a fart
when she heard one,
erupted in laughter,
forgetting all about her list!

This was not going to work.
It was time for plan B.

12/22



Skandu Anna, T. Sundari’s older brother
and a scientist, was plan B.
Maybe he could invent a machine
that could stop her from laughing?
When T. Sundari told him what was
bothering her, Skandu Anna, who was
usually the serious sort, burst out
laughing.

13/22



T. Sundari wondered if this was
a family problem.
Did they all have the same
laughing disease?
No, Skandu Anna explained.
“T. Sundari, it’s very normal for
human beings to laugh when
they find something funny. Some
people laugh more than
others and that is fine.”

14/22



“Really?” said T. Sundari,
who had always been told
she laughed too much.
“Yes, in fact, laughter is
good for health,” Skandu
Anna reassured her.
“It releases chemicals that
bring us joy.”

15/22

“Did you know even early h
T. Sundari imagined a man
giggling like her in drawing

“Yes,” said Anna, “Human a
they had language. It was th
everything was okay.”

humans laughed?” Anna asked her.
with a large beard and big club

g class.
ancestors were laughing long before
heir way of telling each other that

16/22

“Today, we laugh to
that we like them o
happiness. Other a
can laugh too, T. Su

“Like chimpanzees
and even dogs!” An

The thought of her
set T. Sundari off ag

o show others
or to express our
animal species
undari.
s, bonobos, rats, dolphins
nna told her.
r pet dog Muthu laughing
gain.

17/22

When the laug
you just exercis

“How, Anna? W

“Whenever you
to work. So eac
workout for yo

“Ooh,” said T. S

ghter finally subsided, Anna said, “Do you know
sed, T. Sundari?”
We were talking the whole time.”
u smile even a little, the muscles of your face get
ch time you giggle or laugh, it’s a complete
our face,” Anna told her.
Sundari, “will my cheeks have biceps then?”

18/22

Anna smiled, “Not biceps, no. Those are
But whenever you laugh, the zygomatic
minor muscles in your face help pull yo
upwards and outwards in a smile.”

“But what about the sound? That make
too,” said T. Sundari.

“So when you breathe, air passes throu
cords into your lungs. But when you lau
back, leading to those rhythmic ‘ha-ha-
you can’t seem to stop,” Anna explaine

e in your arms.
cus major and
our expression

es others laugh

ugh your vocal
ugh, the air is held
-ha’ sounds that
ed.

19/22

“So, T. Sundari, you understand that l
perfectly natural?

“So long as you’re not hurting anyone
there’s nothing wrong with a good lau

T. Sundari felt so much better.

laughter is

e’s feelings,
ugh.”

20/22

“It’s almost tea time.
Shall we have a bonda then?
perfectly well what would ha

T. Sundari couldn’t stop laug
Not even after the bonda wa

?” said Skandu Anna, knowing
appen next.
ghing.
as in her belly.

21/22

Can you do all th

Gha
Bomb Laugh - mhrrrrppppbbhttttttt

Witch of Wa

Garg

hese laughs?

atotkacha - MU HA HA HA HA

tAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

adanapalli West - ee hee heee heee
Giggle - gehehehehe

gle - gluglgugglugglahahahah
Fake Laugh - teeheehee

22/22

This book was ma
Commons licenses
provided you give
this, and the full te

Story Attribution:
This story: The Girl Who Could Not Stop Laughingis written by Meera Ganap
license.
Other Credits:
'The Girl Who Could Not Stop Laughing' has been published by Pratham Bo
www.prathambooks.org | Guest Editor: Padmaparna Ghosh | Guest Art Dir
Images Attributions:
Cover page: Girl laughing at her food, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Som
students in a classroom, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights rese
classroom, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Release
Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 licen
reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Two children swinging o
under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: Laughing girl, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2
laughing and pointing at something, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Som
ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY
rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Girl working at h
under CC BY 4.0 license.

Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC​-BY-​ 4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify,
distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking
permission. For full terms of use and attribution,
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

ade possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative
s can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐​
e appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about
erms of use and attribution, please visit the following link.

pathi . © Pratham Books , 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0

ooks. The development of this book has been supported by CISCO.
rector: Sumedha Sah

me rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Teacher with
erved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Student standing in a
ed under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Angry man and a school girl, by ROSH ©
nse. Page 5: Girl laughing , by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights
on a gate, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released
2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: Girl
me rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Girl in shock, by
Y 4.0 license. Page 10: Series of activities, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some
her table, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released

The development of this book has been supported by
CISCO. www.prathambooks.org

This book was ma
Commons licenses
provided you give
this, and the full te

Images Attributions:
Page 12: Boy and girl reading, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some right
by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC
Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Girl lookin
under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: Two men laughing at a primitive looking v
CC BY 4.0 license. Page 17: Group of laughing animals, by ROSH © Pratham
Man and little girl reading a book, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some ri
laughter backdrop, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved.
ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY
Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page
reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-​ BY​-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify,
distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking
permission. For full terms of use and attribution,
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

ade possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative
s can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐​
e appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about
erms of use and attribution, please visit the following link.

ts reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: A girl and a man in a lab,
C BY 4.0 license. Page 14: Man putting on a coat, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019.
ng at a poster, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released
vehicle, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under

Books, 2019. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18:
ights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: different kinds of
. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 20: Man carrying a girl piggyback, by
Y 4.0 license. Page 21: Man and a girl talking about food, by ROSH © Pratham
22: Girl wiggling with laughter, by ROSH © Pratham Books, 2019. Some rights

The development of this book has been supported by
CISCO. www.prathambooks.org

The Girl Who Could Not
Stop Laughing

(English)

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on

Pratham Books goes digital to weave a whole new chapter in the realm of
and publishers. Folding in teachers, and translators. To create a rich fabric
world. Our unique online platform, StoryWeaver, is a playground where ch
today, and help us get a book in every child's hand!

Every day T. Sundari gets into trouble because most things make
her laugh. She just cannot keep her mouth sealed. T. Sundari wants
to know if something is wrong with her. Because if there isn't, she
can laugh all the time!

n their own.

f multilingual children's stories. Knitting together children, authors, illustrators
c of openly licensed multilingual stories for the children of India ​ and the
hildren, parents, teachers and librarians can get creative. Come, start weaving