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The Secret of Laughter, a book of Persian folk and fairytales by Shusha Guppy, gets a great review from Douglas Murray.

[I]n the title story we are introduced to the character of Shoja (who must find the secret of laughter for the melancholic King in order to marry his daughter) and Shoja's mother. We are told of attempts by local mothers to marry off their daughters to the attractive Shoja. Guppy tells us by way of explanation

In those days marriages were arranged between families; it was not like today when parents are lucky if they are invited to the wedding.

Each story is filled with this kind of charm and humour, but also wisdom and profundity, all the while reminding us not just of the difference in outlook of that time, but also of the similarity of the human condition across the ages. In a time when the natural elements directed one's fate rather more than they do today, The Secret of Laughter reminds us through tales of magic and humour that the elements of the mind and the heart nevertheless remain - stubbornly and encouragingly – familiar and insuperable.