I’ve seen people in recent years criticize C&H for being too mean-spirited for their taste, but I think that, like with Peanuts, the mean-spirited moments make the really wholesome strips like this one stand out more.
This reminds me a lot of that Calvin and Hobbes story where Calvin had to write a story for class…except in reverse, with the Calvin analogue writing for the Hobbes analogue.
Barnacle Boy?