George Pal's Puppetoons #12

Jasper spots a red warning lantern marking a dangerous roadside hole and decides to play a prank—removing it to watch unsuspecting passersby tumble in. But when he returns to the same dark road for another laugh, his own mischief catches up with him as he becomes the hole's next victim, learning that tricks played at others' expense tend to backfire.

Rusty wishes he could escape to the carefree days of cavemen instead of shining his shoes, so when the Puppet Fairy grants him a trip back in time, he's thrilled—until he discovers that prehistoric life offers no language, no fire, no doctors, and plenty of danger from giant animals. His adventure teaches him that modern times, shoes and all, might not be so bad after all.

Punchy and Judy transform a ramshackle railroad-side shack into a charming party venue, but the snobbish Sylvester Buttery Barth has other plans—he sneaks over at night determined to sabotage their celebration and prove his own fancy party superior. When Punchy and Judy discover who's behind the trouble, they decide on a surprisingly gentle punishment that teaches him a lesson about humility and friendship.

When Sgt. Jan delivers a final meal to a condemned German spy, Fritz von Heim, in Puppetville's military prison, the cunning prisoner seizes his chance—knocking out the guard and switching clothes to make his escape. But Mary Lou, Sgt. Jan's quick-thinking girlfriend, spots something amiss when the "guard" thanks her in German, and her accidental tumble from a tree sets off a wild chain of events that puts the real Sgt. Jan in mortal danger.

Jasper gets a telescope from his mother and asks the Scarecrow what's happening up in the sky, prompting the talkative fellow to spin a tall tale about the time he flew his jet plane into the stratosphere to explore the heavenly bodies. As Scarecrow regales the boy with increasingly outlandish adventures—parking in the Big Dipper, swimming in the Milky Way, and taking a bite out of the moon itself—someone up above is listening and taking offense at his boasts. A lesson in celestial comeuppance soon follows.

Rusty dreams of commanding his own fishing sloop as Captain Rusty, determined to hunt down Mopy Dick, the fearsome whale terrorizing the waters and threatening the town's livelihood. When he finally comes face-to-face with the creature, a desperate battle on the open sea tests his courage and seamanship in ways he never imagined—until a jolt brings him back to reality and his mother's bedtime call.

When Judy's cherished wristwatch breaks on the way to meet her arriving aunt, her loyal friend Punchy volunteers to fix it—but the snobbish Sylvester Buttery Barth has other plans to sabotage the repair and steal Judy's admiration. As Punchy works through the night to restore the watch, Sylvester's scheme sets off a chain of trouble that threatens to ruin everything. Watch as this playful tale of mischief and loyalty unfolds in "Watch Trouble," from George Pal's Puppetoons #12 (1947).