Judge, 1907-04-27 · page 7 of 16
Judge — April 27, 1907 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a whimsical six-panel comic strip about toy teddy bears. The narrative follows "Little Johnny" fishing with his stuffed bears: they crowd around to watch him bait his hook, accidentally push him into the water, panic and jump in after him, then rescue him—their sawdust filling acts as flotation. The humor is straightforward slapstick aimed at children: the bears' inadvertent rescue of Johnny, and the punchline where Johnny's father observes the soaking wet toys with deadpan surprise ("Why, you're wet!"). This appears to be simple entertainment rather than political satire. It likely capitalized on the "teddy bear" craze that began around 1902-1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt's hunting exploits made the toys fashionable. The strip uses the bears' popularity to tell an innocent, funny story for young readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE TEDDY BEARS. THEY GO FISHING WITH LITTLE JOHNNY, ACCIDENTALLY PUSH MIM OVERBOARD. AND THEN RESCUE MIM, 1. Now, when a boy a-fishing goes Amazed, intent, they crowd and look He's clear, plain glad down to his toes. While littie Johnny baits his hook. So Johnny and his Teds, I guess, They push up close and eye the worm, Are just chock full of happiness. And watch its every twist and squirm 3. So hard they press around young John 4. The Teddies, scared almost to death, To see him put that fish-worm on See John come up, then hold their breath. That Johnny steps back once too far. And, knowing not what else to do, And— goes down where the fishes are! Plunge straight into the water, too. 5. And now a funny thing occurred, 6. And to this happy circumstance The Teddies. as you must have heard, We owe young John’s deliverance. Are filled with sawdust to the throat John’s pa surveys each dripping pet. And sawdust 's wood, and wood will float ‘nd then announces, ‘* Why, you're wet!” COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 225 FOURTH AVE, NEW YORK. comicbooks.com