Puck, 1877-09-05 · page 5 of 17
Puck — September 5, 1877 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This comic strip satirizes a domestic drama involving a bantam (small chicken). The narrative follows a father's concern about his escaped bantam and a family's efforts to retrieve it using a ladder. The humor appears to derive from the contrast between the adults' elaborate, flustered efforts to catch a small bird and the bird's elusive behavior. Panel 6's caption "Easy, easy! Don't frighten him, Arabella!" suggests comedic irony—the family is panicking over something minor. Without additional historical context, the specific social or political satire remains unclear. It may lampoon domestic life, family anxiety, or parental overprotectiveness through the extended effort to recapture one small fowl. The piece functions primarily as visual comedy rather than overt political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1. “Oh, papa! that dear little} 2. “No, papa, it is 1 who must go. bantam of mine is over in the next | 1 wouldn't have you hurt yourself for yard. Mayn't I go and look for him?” | that horrid little wretch.” . “Take care, Arabella, don’t let him fly at your face!” 4. Come, birdie! Come, my pet! Here, pretty, pretty, pretty, chip, chip, chip!” . “Easy, easy! Don’t frighten | 7. “Silence?! Heavens, what ean him, Arabella!” be the matter? 1 will go to her as- [Arabella is not frightening him] | sistance.” “ Here we are, papa dear!” comicbooks.com