Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for December 02, 2013

Indeed; you could be shot for that.

That banjo is taller than the penguin holding it.

Now, if it was a 5 string…

I think #$%^&* means OREOS!

I was about to ask where he was hiding the banjo in the first and second panels, but I see @dingo353 already answered that question.

I am not a morning person. And I don’t like peppy. I am so with Rat on this one! If they come around again, have LGD take care of them.

Cue the polar bear.

i like banjos….

This looks like a job for Guard Duck!

I am a morning person (retired, still up at 4am) but I like to be left alone until well after 9am. Still, penguins at my door would be welcome!

I don’t want to know where the banjo was, but am very glad Rat didn’t see it.

Is anyone in this strip right-handed (notice banjo here, other strips guitars, any character writing). Is Pastis a lefty? Are we watching this strip in a mirror?

Just when we thought it was safe…RATS, Rat & I do have something in common, that dreaded oxymoron, good morning.

I was not aware that penguins came from Alabama. That banjo on the knee :)

I wonder if the anomalous polar bear will move into the neighborhood now.

Now if they break into a song and “dance” we would be talking copyright issues.SMILING PENGUINS??

everybody needs a neighbor like RAT…….

Or (knowing the Crocs) the penguins probably escaped with little trouble!

I see the Oreo twind finally dug their way out of the croc’s freezer… and it is time to twist their tops off for being so annoying at 8am!

8:00 AM ?!?!? I would feed those %@ Oreos on a cracker to the Crocs

Banjo? Must be Steve Martin’s penguin.

Which reminds me of a monologue that Steve Martin did on Saturday Night Live back in the ’70s:

You know, a lot of people come to me, and they say, “Steve.. where do you get your comedy ideas?” Well, I try to draw them from real life, things that happen to you and me every day, things we can all relate to. Like, early in the morning, you’re sound asleep, the telephone rings, and you pick up the phone and your voice is all scratchy and gravelly.. and you’re going, “Hello-o-o-o..” The voice on the other end of the phone always says, “Oh. Did I assassinate your penguin?”

I’m sure Rat would have been nicer if they had played the banjo.

Yes, That is a good thing.Rat would have got out his famous cricket bat.xxx

I’m still waiting for the inevitable announcement that being a “morning person” has been official declared a form of mental illness.

Ah, I nice comic with PENGUINS!

Where is Rat going to get a sea lion?!?

For once, Rat is right on. Leave me alone until I’ve had my first cup of coffee and watched the morning news. Period.

At least it’s not an accordion….

“Paddle faster, I hear banjos!”

I hear Mary Poppins is hiring.

He wouldn’t be LION if he did it.

I will gladly take some food, rat.

I find it fascinating and also quite enjoyable that EVERYTIME someone in this strip plays a stringed instrument it’s ALWAYS played left-handed!!

Must be hard to smile with a beak. Never mind shaking hands with a flipper.