``Oh, that is demonstrable,'' I told him. ``Do you remember the woman in the French Alps who was all alone with her sheep one day when the sun darkened ominously? She told the sheep,' The world is coming to an end'! And the sheep said -- all in unison, I have no doubt -- 'Ba-a-a'! The sound mockery of sheep is like the salubrious horse laugh.''

``That is only partly non nonsense,'' he began.

``If you saw the drama called Rhinoceros,'' I said, ``think of the effect it would have on an audience of rhinos when the actor on stage suddenly begins turning into a rhinoceros. The rhinos would panic, screaming 'Help'! - if that can be screamed in their language.''

``You think the Russians are getting ahead of us in comedy?'' Moreland demanded.

``Non-God, no,'' I said. ``The political and intellectual Left began fighting humor and comedy years ago, because they fear things they do not understand and cannot manage, such as satire and irony, such as humor and comedy. Nevertheless, like any other human being upon whom the spotlight of the world plays continually, Khrushchev, the anti personality cultist, has become a comic actor, or thinks he has. In his famous meeting with Nixon a couple of years ago he seemed to believe that he was as funny as Ed Wynn. But, like Caesar, he has only one joke, so far as I can find out. It consists in saying,' That would be sending the goat to look after the cabbage'. Why in the name of his non-God doesn't he vary it a bit?''