Laughter is a universal language for humans. It can help people to get on well with others. As children, we laugh when our parents make faces. Then we start to make others laugh like this. That's how we learn to play jokes. But is playing jokes only humans' ability? Scientists believe that some animals also have the ability.
笑是人类共同的语言。它可以帮助人们与他人和睦相处。小时候，当父母做鬼脸时，我们会笑。然后，我们也开始这样逗别人笑。我们就是这样学会开玩笑的。不过，开玩笑是只有人类才具有的能力吗？科学家认为，有些动物也具备这种能力。
Dogs are smart animals with a good nose. They often help people, but sometimes we see dogs play jokes on people. They come near slowly and then quickly run away. This act seems silly, but they may just want to have fun. When dogs are guarding, they sometimes hide behind a door to scare visitors in a playful way. They fool their owners, too. But after a joke, they lick their owner, which is like giving a kiss to show they are friendly.
狗是聪明的动物，拥有灵敏的鼻子。它们经常帮助人类，但有时我们也会看到狗跟人开玩笑。它们会慢慢靠近，然后迅速跑开。这种行为看似很傻，但它们可能只是想找点乐子。狗在看门时，有时会藏在门后，以一种闹着玩的方式吓唬来访者。它们也会捉弄自己的主人。但玩笑过后，它们会舔舔主人，那就像亲吻一样，表明它们是友好的。
Scientists say they have watched young apes play jokes. The young apes quietly follow adult apes and touch them secretly to surprise them. Then they playfully wait and watch what the adults would do. This action is similar to what human children do.
科学家们称，他们曾观察到小猿猴开玩笑。小猿猴悄悄地跟在成年猿猴后面，偷偷地触碰它们，让它们大吃一惊。然后，它们会调皮地等着看成年猿猴会做出什么反应。这种行为与人类儿童的行为相似。
Next time, when you find your pets doing something strange around you, maybe they are having jokes with you. So don't be mad if your dog borrows your shoe or your cat hides your sock; they might just be trying to make you laugh.
下次，当你发现你的宠物在你身边做一些奇怪的事情时，也许它们是在和你开玩笑。所以，如果你的狗“借走”了你的鞋子，或者你的猫藏起了你的袜子，请不要生气，它们可能只是试图在逗你笑。