Judge, 1909-04-17 · page 16 of 16
Judge — April 17, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's humorous comic strip with no political satire. It tells a straightforward narrative: Johnny and a friend take pet possums to a tree. The mischievous animals refuse to obey and lead the boys into pranks—dropping rocks in water that splash them, climbing an oak tree. When the branch breaks under the combined weight, all six creatures (the possums and children) tumble down together. The final panel shows Johnny and his friend laughing at the possums' predicament, having forgotten their own troubles in the amusement. The humor derives from slapstick: disobedient pets causing chaos, unexpected consequences, and physical comedy. The title's reference to "taffy" likely means the possums are playful or sticky troublemakers. There is no social commentary—it's simply light entertainment for Judge's readers, featuring anthropomorphized animals and children in a pastoral setting.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Auage LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TAFFY ’POSSUMS. 1. Ted and the "possums one fine day Are told to stay at ho: lay, For Johnny knows a q ‘To take a friend and «i 3. ‘They drop the rock into the water, Although they know they hadn't oughter. It makes a splash when it drops in, And wets those children to the akin. 5. ‘They laughed until they heard, alack, ‘The slender limb begin to crack, Till branch and animals and all Broke sharply off and took a fall. THE TAFFY ‘POSSUMS CLIMB A TREE, AND THEN COME DOWN QUITE SUDDENLY. 2 The naughty pets refuse to mind, But alyly follow clove behind. ‘They find a stone and plan a joke By climbing up yon spreading oak. 4. The "possums laugh ‘To see poor John in auc “ Trought to make him wi “ He hadn’t left us home 6. Kerspling, kereplash! the naughty six Were now in just as bad a fix. And Johnny and his playmate quite Forgot their troubles at the sight. COPYRIONT, 1909 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, FIFTH AVENUE AND MADIBON SQUARE, NEW YORK comicbooks.com