Judge, 1907-04-13 · page 6 of 16
Judge — April 13, 1907 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous children's story presented as a six-panel comic strip about a prank gone wrong. A boy named Johnny sells his toy teddy bears to an old man, who plans to give them to his grandson as a surprise gift in a large bag. The joke unfolds when the bears, supposedly "playing dead" during the auction, come alive inside the sealed bag as the man carries it. They gnaw a twelve-inch hole and escape. When the grandfather eagerly opens the bag at the garden gate to show his grandson, the bears are nowhere to be found—they've fled, "yelling 'Skiddoo!' and 'Twenty-three!'" (period slang for departing/disappearing). The humor targets the grandfather's disappointment and the boy's failed scheme. "Teddy Bears" were a craze following Theodore Roosevelt's presidency (named after "Teddy"), making them timely commercial reference material for a 1907 satirical magazine audience.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE TEDDY BEARS. JOHNNY PLANS A LITTLE JOKE AND SELLS THEM TO A MAN, WHO PUTS THEM IN A BIO BAG. 1. Now, Johnny, just for fun, you know, ‘Sold out his bears at auction, so. ‘The Teddies saw ‘twas all a joke, And kept as still as trees of oak. 3. Then off he started down the road, And on his back his queer bear-load. He does not know the Teds inside Are gnawing a hole twelve inches wide. 5. The grandson meets him at the garden gate, And grandpa stops, bends under the weight Of the great big bag, making believe he’s got Something heavy inside (which we know he has not). 2. The Teddies made a right good jag When Johnny put them in the bag The old man brought to carry them in. The man-is pleased—just see his grin. 4. He hastens on, chuckling to himself, Thinking of his grandson, the little elf! And how he'll open his eyes and stare When he sees a bagful of Teddy Bear. 6. And now grandpop takes one look In, And straightway loses his gleeful grin. The Teddies, as you can plainly see, Are yelling “ Skiddoo!" and ‘* Twenty-three!" COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, FUBLISNERS, 225 FOURTH AVE., NEW YORK.