Judge, 1908-01-18 · page 16 of 16
Judge — January 18, 1908 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's comic strip from Judge magazine (1908) with no political satire. It's a straightforward moral tale about a boy named Johnny and his toy teddy bears. The story shows Johnny ice-skating with his teddy bears, warning them the ice is dangerous. He then abandons them to flirt with a girl and eat candy. While he's distracted, the bears fall through the ice. Johnny, despite enjoying teasing them, can't leave them to freeze—he rescues them, brings them home, and nurses them back to health by hanging them to dry and applying medicine. The narrative arc teaches lessons about responsibility and compassion: don't abandon friends for temptation, and help others in distress despite past mischief. "Teddy bears" were popular toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt, making them culturally relevant to 1908 readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Aiage. LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. THEY FOLLOW JOHN UPON THE ICE, AND COME TO SORROW IN A TRICE. 2. This warning given, Johnny files To where a maiden meets his eyes. She has some sweets for him, you know— The Teds would really be de trop. 1. One day, when Johnny went to skate, The Teds were stirred to emul But John forbade them one ai And tells how easy ‘tis to fall. 3. But Johnny has forgotten quite 4. They see, they come, they rush, they fall— That candy Is the bears’ delight: One dreadful fate o’erwhelms them all. And while he eats, nor danger dreads. John sees them slip with great delight, Behold an avalanche of Teds! But lo! they disappear from sight 5. Now, even though John loves to tease, 6. With half a scold and half a sigh, He cannot let them drown or freeze. He hangs them up to thaw and dry. From out the lake he pulls the bears And then with medicine he tends And homeward with his sled he tears. His meeker, sadder, wiser friends. COPYEIGIFE 1908 BY JUDGE COMPANY, FURLISHRRS, 225 FOURTH AVE, NEW YORK. ‘The First Sertes of ¢ tures of “ Little Johuny ai ow ready im sale by book-dealers every where, or sent postpaid upon receipt of price by Judge Com; comicbooks.com