Sam Ego's House
by William Saroyan

Sam Ego was confined to a lunatic asylum 45 years ago for his "uncontrollable fits of laughter."

Thereafter, the poor, old, near-human house received all sorts of abuse.

Boys played ball against it, and people defaced it with such contrary comments as "The wages of sin is Death, sayeth the Lord" - "is not, sayeth Harry.

Sinned here, feel fine."

The auctioneer sells it for $1.50 to a delightfully simple fellow named Utmost Urge.

Through seven scenes we see Utmost pushing the house through the streets to its new resting place.

The laughing Sam Ego escapes from the asylum and takes refuge in the moving house.

Pandemonium breaks upon the simple little world of Utmost Urge.

Angels come down to inhabit the Earth; cherubic little Boy Scouts run about performing innocuous heroics; and the townspeople have a jolly romp, as Utmost calmly paints and moves on.