MUTT AND JEFF

Whenever you see a short person and a tall person as a couple, people say they look like Mutt and Jeff. Who are Mutt and Jeff?

Mutt and Jeff became the first daily comic strip in 1907. Hundreds of comic strips have followed with many running for decades. On June 7, 1908, the character A. Mutt was killed off, but was later brought back as Augustus P. Mutt.

A San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist named Bud Fisher began drawing a daily comic strip called "Mr. Mutt." A short time later, he added the diminutive Mr. Jeff, and "Mutt and Jeff" was born. Mutt was a tall, lanky man with a penchant for dimes, while Jeff looked like the coin dealer after a rough weekend. Mutt and Jeff were affable losers -- the guys in the cheap seats at horse races on a Wednesday afternoon or walking the next coin show.

Many years ago there was a comic strip entitled "Mutt and Jeff." One day Jeff was sleeping in the shade of an old oak tree. Mutt came up and woke him. "Jeff, why don't you get up?" Jeff asked lazily. "Why?" Mutt chided, So you can get a job." Jeff sighed, "Why?" Mutt said, "So you can make some money." Jeff asked, "Why?" Mutt added, "So you can save it." Jeff, still lazy, asked, "Why?" Mutt was getting impatient. "So you can get rich." Jeff again asked, "Why?" Mutt said, "So you can retire someday." Jeff asked, "Why?" Mutt now had him. "So you can just lay around and do nothing." Jeff perked up. "Why Mutt, that is what I'm doing now. Why go to all the trouble?" 1

1 Miles Wesner

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