Judge, 1907-08-24 · page 16 of 16
Judge — August 24, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's comic strip—not political satire—featuring "teddy bears," stuffed toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt (a popular fad in the early 1900s). The plot: Young Johnny goes egg-hunting in a barn while his teddy bears, upset at being left behind, secretly follow him. Johnny, unaware of their presence, becomes frustrated when he finds rotten eggs and angrily throws them. The bears, positioned below him, get pelted with the mess. The joke concludes with ironic observations: Johnny doesn't realize why the bears are there, and he's now covered in egg despite needing to wash clean anyway. The humor is gentle, slapstick comedy aimed at children—the teddy bears' misguided attempt to follow Johnny backfires comically. No deeper political meaning is evident; it's simply playful entertainment capitalizing on the teddy bear craze of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mudge LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. THEY CO EOO-MUNTING IM UNCLE’S BARN. THE TEDDIES GIVE JOHNNY A SURPRISE, AND JOHNNY GIVES THEM A SIGGER ONE. 2. Teds hear this news with deep dismay— Goes to hunt eggs in the barn. They hate to see John go away. He tells the Teds they cannot go They then decide; in circle thus, Because they frighten the hens so. That hens ought not to make such fuss. 1, John, with basket on his arm, 3. They next conclude they ought to try 4. Up on the hay is John, but he To follow John with footsteps sly Is s0 engrossed ha does not see And see, each for himself, just where The Teds, nor do the Teddies know John goes and what he's after there. Just why he's making faces so. 5. When John finds all his eggs are bad, 6. You'll travel miles and you will not Like any other boy, he's mad. Find such another egg-smeared lot. Of course he'd not have flung them so Why Johnny laughs is not quite plain, If he had seen the Teds below. Since he must wash them clean again. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, FUBISLERS, 245 FOURTH AVE, NEW YORE. comicbooks.com