Life, 1923-12-27 · page 27 of 37
Life — December 27, 1923 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This comic strip depicts a prank where a child named Skippy is coached by a friend to sit in a bread box and shout insults at a local grocer, Mr. Krousemeyer, while the friend listens from across the street. The insults mock the grocer's business practices—"pads his books" (falsifies accounting), can't weigh goods properly, and attempts to sell vinegar as milk. The satire targets petty neighborhood merchants accused of cheating customers through dishonest weights, measures, and accounting. Skippy's escalating pranks (each increasingly absurd) humiliate Mr. Krousemeyer publicly. The final panel shows Skippy regretting the scheme—suggesting the "joke" has gone too far or backfired. The humor relies on period expectations about urban youth mischief and small-business dishonesty.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Friend: Now ALL YOU HAVE TO DO Is TO SIT IN THE BREAD BOX ’N’ THINK UP INSULTS ’N’ I'LL BE ACROST THE STREET BEHIND THE BIG TREE LIST'NIN’. Voice from Across the Street: MR, KROUSE- MEYER PADS HIS BOOKS—PADS HIS BOOKS. Skippy: MR, KROUSEMEYER PADS HIS BOOKS —PADS HIS BOOKS. Skippy: WELL, MR. KROUSEMEYER, DON’T GET * g SORE ‘CAUSE YA CAN’T WEIGH THE HOLES IN Skippy: SMART MAN, KROUSEMEYER, OH, SWISS CHEESE. VERY SMART! ASK HIM FOR A QUART OF VINEGAR ’N’ HE GOES OUT TO MILK THE A ; se Skippy: MR. KROUSE—— Skippy (aside): 1 CAN SEE NOW I NEVER SHOULDA BEEN TALKED INTO THIS. Skippy Goes Over Big with the Grocer comicbooks.com