The Shaggy Dog stories have several features. These elements come together to create short, humorous stories that appeal to the readers visual and intellectual senses.
One such common feature is the presence of puns used as the punchline of the story or (joke). Concluding each joke was this play on words as the punchline. Each pun was clever as easy to pick up...if you have sufficient cultural knowledge of the stories and the punchine. Which brings up the next point.
It may be difficult to get some of the punch lines if you don’t have cultural knowledge of the stories. The Friar and the Lawyer jokes are prime examples of that. The “Hugh can prevent florist friars” is a play on the PSA’s from the Smokey the Bear commercials of the 1970’s urging campers and the such, to be careful to put out burning cigarettes and campfires in the woods to prevent forest fires. The punch line of the Lawyer story or joke requires some cultural knowledge as well. The statement from the Sheriff that who “Would you believe a lawyer who told you the Czech was in the male” reflects the opinion about lawyers in American society. Lawyers are often portrayed as unbelievable and untrustworthy. They would tell you that the “check is in the mail” when its not. Untrustworthy.
These are just some common patterns and in the Shaggy Dog stories. They are lighthearted and fun. Researched the history of these stories, particulary, why they are called "Shaggy Dog" stories?.
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