The author argues that the translation of humoristic texts such as Les Contes Drolatiques by Balzac should imitate their humorous and funny style instead of translating them word for word. If the original text is written in an ancient language, the translation should be given some archaic connotation in order to obtain similar effects of distanciation. But imitation and game have a limit. According to the author, names and historic or literary allusions peculiar to the target language should not be adopted.