How is the story "Charles" humorous?

The humor in the story
"" can be relatively blatant for some readers (like students), while others (like
parents) may find it lacking humor.

The story's humor lies in the fantastical
life of the narrator's son Laurie. The fact that her son changes into a "swaggering
character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave good-bye" can bring laughter to many
readers. Picturing a kindergartner "swagger" is quite funny.

Outside of that, the behavior which Laurie shows is funny. Upon returning from his
first day of school, Laurie

spoke insolently to his
father, spilled his baby sisters milk, and remarked that his teacher said we were not to take
the name of the Lord in vain.

This behavior is far from
the expected behavior readers would expect from a previously "sweet-voiced nursery-school
tot." Later, some readers may find Laurie's own laughter humorous.

Look down, Laurie said. Look at my thumb. Gee, youre dumb. He
began to laugh insanely.

In the end, the fact that Laurie
made up Charles to hide his own rambunctious behavior is the most humorous aspect of the story
itself. While some may feel sorry for the narrator, others may figure that Laurie was simply
"being a boy" and find it funny that he acted as he did.