This scientific article analyzes the interrelation between cognitive metaphor and the discursive expression of humor and jokes, their cognitive-discursive mechanisms, and principles of operation in literary text, using the example of Gafur Gulam's work "The Mischievous Boy" and its translations into English and Russian. The research is based on the conceptual metaphor theory founded by J. Lakoff and M. Johnson, the theory of mental spaces and conceptual integration by G. Fauconnier and M. Turner, and the semantic script theory of humor by S. Attardo and V. Raskin. The article identifies genetic, structural, and functional similarities between humor and cognitive metaphor, proving that both arise through establishing unexpected, innovative connections between two different conceptual domains. Based on materials from "The Mischievous Boy," the expression of the following types of cognitive metaphor intertwined with humor is observed: ontological metaphors (THE BOY IS POWER, SCHOOL IS WAR), orientational metaphors (UP IS RIGHT, DOWN IS SUBORDINATION), structural metaphors (LIFE IS A GAME, STUDYING IS TRADE). Additionally, problems of preservation, modification, or loss of these metaphor-humor complexes during translation are comparatively analyzed. Research results show that cognitive metaphor and the discursive expression of humor and jokes are mutually necessitating, complementary, and reinforcing phenomena, and their combination is one of the main factors ensuring the artistic-ideological impact and cognitive depth of "The Mischievous Boy."