Peanuts by Charles Schulz for February 14, 1974

Again,his attempt to improve her term paper had BACKFIRED, BIGTIME—instead of helping her improve her grades, he only helped her make her grades WORSE. Poor Peppermint Patty, but, on the other hand, if only she would not stay up so late, ULTIMATELY, she would do better in school.(I have read,it’s ULTIMATELY because she does not have a mother, that she falls asleep in school—with her father working the shift that he does-THIRD SHIFT—she is AFRAID to go to bed, while in the house ALL BY HERSELF, THUS, she does not get nearly enough sleep, and so, NATURALLY, this is what accounts for her falling asleep in school.)

Speaking of PP being motherless, I have always wondered, whatever became of her mother? (She was "always"motherless,ever since she joined the strip, in late summer 1966.) Like this one question asked, in this one book published on Peanuts—“Did her parents get a divorce, or did her mother die?” is just what I’ve always wondered, myself, as to what had happened to her mother. Guess we’ll never find out for sure now, but, either guess—divorce, or her dad was a widower—would certainly be plausible.

Ah,yes, typical Snoopy, in last two panels-his way of resisting or avoiding BIG TROUBLE, by fantasizing that the other person is merely terribly upset about something, and not furious with him.

How far can you fall from a D-.