In a kingdom far away, where laughter once flowed freely, a peculiar tale unfolded about a king who decided to tax the very essence of joy itself, jokes and jest. Citizens who dared crack a smile were subject to the Jester's Levy, a tithe collected by royal auditors trained to detect even the subtlest smirk.
The levy operated on a sliding scale. A mild chuckle incurred a copper coin. A full belly laugh warranted a silver. As for the rare involuntary snort, that carried a fine steep enough to make anyone weep, which, conveniently, was tax-free. The full breakdown was published in a royal decree nobody read until it was too late.
Enforcement proved costly. The king deployed battalions of Mirth Inspectors, each armed with a Solemnity Index, a prototype device that measured facial muscle tension against a baseline of profound grief. Maintenance costs alone bankrupted three treasury departments.