Life, 1923-12-20 · page 11 of 36
Life — December 20, 1923 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of humor content: 1. **"What the Gray Cat Sings"** — A poem about a former weaver who became a cat, with repetitive "thr-r-rumm" refrains mimicking a loom's sound. The accompanying illustration shows a cat amid weaving equipment. 2. **"The Night Before the Night Before"** — A cartoon captioned about Mrs. Santa instructing Nick (Santa) to get to bed, as they have a busy night ahead. It's holiday-themed domestic humor. 3. **"At the Opera"** and **"The Altons are going South"** — A sketch depicting two men with a barrel near a boat, with dialogue about attending a state fair and spotting an airplane. The humor appears to reference rural characters encountering modern technology, typical of early 20th-century satire contrasting country and urban sophistication.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What the Gray Cat Sings THe Cat was once a weaver, A weaver, a weaver, A gray and wrinkled weaver \Vho labored late and long; And while she made the shuttle hum And wove the weft and clipped the hrum, Bevle the loom with droning drum sang the weaving song: Thr-r-rumm, thr-r-rumm, ree thr-r-reads in the thr-rum; hr-r-rummm.”” Cat's no more a weaver, \ weaver, a weaver, Id and withered weaver ; r though she did no wrong A witch has changed the shape of her ; And dwindled down and clothed in fur a eA LU NW/j( r eee poe) | ' THE NIGHT BEFORE THE NIGHT BEFORE Mrs. Santa: Now, NICK, YOU GET TO BED. GOT TO BE OUT ALL NIGHT TO-MORROW. At the Opera “Zaza,” and Toto permost tier of the top galle: Beside the hearth with droning purr She thrums her weaving song: Thr-r-rumm, thr-r-rumm, Thr-r-ree thr-r-reads in the thr-rum; A. G. YOU KNOW You’vVE Chr-r-rummm.” T is the third act of It is a Maria.” We Pe Altons are going South for the winter.” : How silly, when there’s so much © of it right here in New York.” is playing Cherubini’s The moment is an exquisite one—a precious jewel in a_ perfect setting. Every seat in the house is filled, from the last row of the orchestra to the up- scene of splendor, of di , of magic, and the “diamond horseshoe” gleams with elegance. In the very front of a proscenium box sit a fashionable couple. They are both sound asleep. “] HEERD YOU'VE BEEN TUH TH’ STATE FAIR, CAL.” “YEAH, RAZ, THET’S RIGHT, I RECKON.’ “DIDJA SEE THET AIRPLANE?” “SEE THAT ’ERE WHAT?” comicbooks.com