Double Or Mutton

This is the first cartoon where Jones finally had the wolf/sheepdog formula right.

Ralph Wolf is the predator. Sam Sheepdog is the protector. Every day these two characters punch into work on a clock hanging on a tree. With the sound of the clock's whistle, Ralph immediately begins plotting to steal a sheep from Sam's herd. As the gaurd dog, it's Sam's job to see that Ralph gets none. Ralph's crazy ideas usually backfire or are interrupted by Sam. One such plan was to sneak under the grass (like a carpet) and snatch a sheep from under Sam's nose. Little does Ralph know Sam is waiting for him... under the grass. To the dismay of Ralph, he is grabbed by Sam and given a huge right jab to face that sends him to the edge of the grass. We can see the damage as Ralph twitches with a swollen, black eye. Another hair-brained plan that Ralph comes up with involves riding a unicycle with a cannon attached to it. The idea is to ride up to Sam and blow his head off. The plan is a little shaky at first as Ralph can hardly maintain enough balance to ride the unicycle. Once in position (right in front of Sam), Ralph prepares to fire the cannon. Sam however, shuts the cannon's flap down, causing Ralph to blow himself up. Later, Ralph even tries to tunnel underground and snatch a sheep from below. What he snags is a keg of TNT with fake sheep legs. The result is predictable yet hilarious. After many failed attempts at stealing a sheep or getting rid of Sam, Ralph pulls out all the stops. He rigs an multiple array of cannons, rockets, axes, and a guillotine all above and behind Sam. To make sure that Sam doesn't escape, he's even rigged the ledge that Sam sits on to break away, allowing Sam to fall into a pool of crocodiles. This plan CAN'T fail! Just as Ralph begins to pull the master switch to activate the whole setup, the whistle blows. It's time for the two adversaries to call it a day. At the time clock, Sam amiably says, "Maybe next, Ralph" Being a good sport, Ralph replies, "Sure, sure. You can't win'em all, Sam." The two buddies walk off into the day. "Nice day huh Sam?" asks Ralph. Sam puts an arm around the shoulder of his pal and answers, "Yep, it's good to be alive, Ralph." I love this cartoon! The gags and situations are just so amusing. Particularly the 'grass carpet' incident. The ending is what I appreciate most. Despite the jobs they do, these two guys are true friends when it's all over.

Such a wonderful pair of characters - how well they imitate our ability to be adversaries when necessary, but still able to be amiable afterhours!!!! It reminds us of the need to cut loose from our routine lives!!!!!!!!!!!!