Life, 1918-12-05 · page 48 of 76
Life — December 5, 1918 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a whimsical fairy-tale narrative in sequential sketches. The story appears to follow ladies bathing in a pond who encounter magical transformations. The central joke involves a woman who briefly becomes a fairy (gaining wings), then escapes this enchanted state to resume her "former shape" as a human. The phrase "There's many a slip betwixt such things / As human feet and fairy wings" suggests the precarious boundary between ordinary life and magical fantasy. The final caption references "Professor Podd and Tinklebelle," apparently characters managing an extreme (likely comical) situation. The overall piece satirizes romantic Victorian fairy-tale conventions through absurdist humor—depicting the incongruity of everyday people encountering magical transformation and the relief/humor of returning to mundane reality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Christmas Life There's many a slip bets c ¢ happy to escape ofessor Podd and Tinklebelle things ne net, resumes her former shape. Are yetting on extremely well. As uman feet and fairy wings.