An irritatingly intellectual little boy (called by the cartoonist, Repulsive Rupert) sits reading some hefty tomes at a table and says to his mother, who is darning socks, 'It will be interesting to see, Mater, if the Pater's child complex will be sufficiently strong this year to overcome his sense of the ridiculous and thus enable him to enact again this year the 'Santa Claus' legend for the benefit of baby and me'. His bemused father, just seen behind the door, is probably regretting the expensive education he has given his son!