Judge, 1903-12-19 · page 38 of 52
Judge — December 19, 1903 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1903 Judge comic strip depicts a Christmas Eve prank war between a mother and her children. The mother attempts to outwit the kids by hiding their presents in a drawer while she checks whether they've snooped. The children discover only coal—a traditional punishment gift for misbehavior—and complain loudly about the "measly shame." The joke's payoff comes when the mother, amused by the children's mock outrage ("Merry ha! ha!"), opens the drawer herself only to discover the children have replaced her note with their own prank, reversing the deception. The humor relies on early-20th-century Christmas customs: hiding presents, coal as a comedic threat, and the domestic dynamic of children attempting to get the upper hand on their parents through trickery. The colloquial dialect ("Gee!" "Nothin' but") reflects period-typical comic styling.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Motuer—"'I'll Just fool the children—they always rubberneck Into this drawer where | usually put thelr presents!" ‘Tue xips—" Gee! Nothin’ but blamed old coal! Ain't that a measly shame, to fool us kids that way!" 6. Motwer—*‘ I'll Just take a peep in that drawer and see if the children have ‘She found out. been In there yet! Wonder what ‘ Merry ha! ha!’ means." , GETTING EVEN WITH MOTHER ON CHRISTMAS EVE. CoPrRIeNT 1903 Br JUDGE CommANy OF MEW YORK. ‘Saacheit ithe Lino & Pr fo ew York comicbooks.com